Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Saturday, 14 May (Departure from Moscow) - Sunday, 15 May (Arrival in Syktyvkar)

Our final in Moscow proved to be a cool one--but we cannot complain us we have had absolutely terrific weather. Off to Tretyakov gallery. Before we went into the Gallery we went to a bridge over the river. The bridge has "fake trees" where recently married couples place a lock on the tree and then throw the key into the river (probably not good for pollution) to note that their relationship is a "lock." When the "trees" are filled, they are moved to the banks of the river and off the bridge. The first two photos are of the tree and one lock that just caught my attention. It seems to be surprising nostaligic and romantic act for Russian married couples. The next photo is the front of the Gallery and the final photo is of a piece of art that caught my attention. The painting is so vivid and alive you can almost hear the birds singing and feel the cold.

We then went for lunch in a nearby restaurant and then off to a 26 hour overnight train ride to Syktyvkar. The next photo is where we had our lunch. As we headed to the train it started to rain, so I think folks were glad to be out of the weather and also looking forward to some rest on the train itself. The next two pictures are of them working in the dining car (which we essentially took over--the costs there are too high for most Russian Travellers) and in their 4 person compartments--not a great deal of room, but adequate.

The ride allowed us to see the Russian country side and to experience life outside of the big cities of the country. We watched as the view changed to rolling country side, flowing rivers from the artic, small dachas (essentially vacation cottages), and poorer and poorer villages. As we closed in on Syktyvkar late Sunday afternoon, we actually saw snow on the ground (and as we later found out they had snow storms earlier in the week before we arrived). Syktyvkar is the capital of the Komi Republic, a region rich in natural resources and heavily forested like Maine. It lies north and east of Moscow.

The moment of arrival in Syktyvkar is full of tension and concern--our travellers are a bit worried about who they will be staying with, how will they communicate and will they essentially get along with one another. As we pulled into the train station, there was a crowd to greet us and the next thing was controlled chaos on the station platform. The next 8 photos are of our folks meeting their hosts. In a matter of minutes they were gone. We would not see them again until Monday morning (folks these photos are in the next email--please delete this sentence).

John F. Mahon

May 14 pictures





On the train to Siktyvkar













Meeting the host families in Siktyvkar:









1 comment:

  1. Love the railway station photos and the mingling with the hosts...who is Greg with?

    ReplyDelete