Oh, and in Africa this... and in Africa that...!!!

Yes Courtney was really here - for one whole week! Yey! It was wonderful to have her over and listen to all the stories from the four months of backpacking through Africa. Did you know that in Africa it is completely normal to strike up a conversation with a complete stranger, and as you are trying to wake up in the morning going for a stroll up the street a total strange can come up to you and ask how you've slept?!... well this happens in Africa. :)))

We spent some good times together drinking around Friedrichsein and smoking shisha. While talking about our favourite books I noted some down and on Tuesday ordered five off Amazon. And we, the girls, did some shopping during the day - we actually did quite a bit of that now that I think about it. And then all good things end and other good things begin, so Courtney left this Monday to go to beautiful Prague. If someone asks - "So Polina, are you now inspired enough to go to Africa?" my answer would be a very definite "Yes."




This is Courtney and I slaving away in the kitchen preparing dinner last Saturday night.






And this is Chie (my japanese friend from my german course), Courtney and I... and shisha.

So what are we really up to?

Here we are in sunny 27 degree Berlin on the 13th of September and some of you might be wondering what are we really up to here apart from travelling? The answer is not much really...

Jack is working full time and I am still doing my German Integration course. On the 26th and 27th of October I have my big exam and then I'm free. I've been looking for work but there doesn't seem to be much that's available. I am considering doing a TEFL certificate but not sure how many opportunities I will have at teaching English, and since the course is not cheap (1000-15000 EURS) it is a tricky decision.

Other than that we have _more_ travel planned:
16-17 Sept - Marburg (Jack's auntie is celebrating 50 years of being a nun)
29 Sept - 3 Oct - last minute something (haven't worked out what yet)
14-15 Oct - Oldenburg (one of Jack's uncles is turning 50)
20-22Oct - Milan
18-25Nov - New York
26-30Nov - Los Angeles
2-16Dec - Melbourne YEY!!!!
22-26 Dec - Paris
28Dec-3Jan - London

And we have two visitors coming - Courtney is stopping over after her big African trip in the next couple of weeks, and then Emmi - Jack's Mum, is here for a couple of days in October.

Here are some adsf rom Russian newspapers for your amuzement, which made me raise my eyebrow...


This one advertises grounded up deer horns as a good remedy for a whole list of illnesses. Although in the end it does say "It won't cure all diseases, but possibly, this is your new way to health!"




This one is just disturbing: "A family of three will take in an elderly woman or man without children, who don't want to go to a nursing home, but want to still happily many years live within a family, garden, fishing, little chickens. Warmth and care guaranteed."




And this one is just selling guns... one can purchase a Kalashnikov for only 300 EURS!

We vodkad and then vodkad some more

Yes - we spent some wonderful time in Russia. First we spent four days in St Petersburg (but I'll leave Jack to write about that)... and then we were in my noble home-town Novosibirsk (Jack was there for a week and I spend an extra week). As our taxi pulled up at my parents' house we saw yet another taxi in front of us and then realised that it was actually my parents, who arrived at the exact time as us (they just got back from their European holiday).

And thus the drinking began...On the day after our arrival we slept ... and drank and then slept some more. And then it was my birthday... lots of preparations and then of course drinking and eating... and then the same over and over the course of the evening. I won't bore you with all the stories, but I'll just say that we had a fantastic time and parents' flat looks very nice and cosy and it was great to see them all together. So here be pictures...:



Here is everyone for my birthday.





A bit later in the night...







Still later in the night - trying on my Mum's winter fur coat... mmmm warm and fluffy!




And finally all of us together :-)



We also went with Dad and Grandma to the zoo... it is actually considered to be a very good one and the forrest in which it is, is not too bad, but some of the cages are pretty small. Although I've seen smaller ones here in the Leipzig Zoo and in the Berlin one also. The funniest things are not the monkeys but the cafes and rides that are also within the zoo grounds. Here is one example of a traditional Russian house with a Coca-Cola signature...

We visited my cousin Andrei and his family one of the sundays. Him and his wife Sveta have their own house just outside of main Novosibirsk. They have four pigs, a whole bunch of bunnies, two dogs ('Малыш, Грэй' - Baby and Gray) and two cats - Muska 1 and Muska 2 (daughter of Muska 1). My nephew Alesha is growing and becoming very dictatorial - giving commands here and there.


This is Gray...






Andrei, Jack and a baby bunny... his daddy became very yummy dinner the following weekend.




Alesha... very cute sitting on the couch.





Muska 2




We also went fishing and Jack caught a "big" fish :) To be fair - the second and last one that Sveta caught was even smaller and both of them got fed to Muska 1 and Muska 2 respectively.




Later in the week we went to my uncle Yakov and auntie Larisa's dacha (countryhouse) in Yagodnaya (Berry Village). There we spent a considerable amount of eating and drinking... and berry picking and berry eating.



We also made shashliks... what you can see on the stove was only for us (ie. 6 people... I think that's about 1,5kgs per person... very yummy though)




In the evening we were involved in the illegal activity of fishing with a net (с бреднем)... My Dad and uncle Yakov look like two Karlsons only without the propellers.




And what did we catch? about two dozen smallish fish and a biggish судачок.



I also got to catch up with my school friend Sveta, whom I know now for 18 years... not a bad record I think. And of course we met up in the old time favourite bar 'Hammer and Sikle', drank some beer and shared stories.


After Jack left to go back to Berlin, parents, Gleb and I went to Akademgorodok (nearby university town) to walk around the nice forrest and go to the beach on Obskoe Sea.



We encountered some cool mushrooms...





amuzing grafitti...




and managed to insert Gleb into a barrel on the beach.







As I was leaving on the 1st of September I got to see Gleb in his first-day-of-school-year suit... looking positively like a New Russian.




And flying out at 7am from Tolmachevo... looking at a beautiful sunrise over the Siberian capital!

Where the heck have we been...

We've been to Dresden to see the queen! Well not exactly, but at least it rhymes.

We've actually been to Dresden just for a day - that was mainly to return Gelb (Polina's brother) to Polina's parents as they have finished their tour of Europe and were heading back to sunny Siberia...
We did the usual touristy things - saw the newly restored Frauenkirche and the Zwinger (Old masters gallery etc...) which is IMHO the best gallary in Europe (well that I've seen so far).




We saw Polina's folks onto their bus, hung around and listened to some of Carmen in the Zwingers gardens and wandered down to our train.

Prelude
We need to get back to Berlin as our flight to Russia leaves the next afternoon and we have to do some packing etc... before that. Our train is supposed to leave at 8pm and get us back to Berlin around 10pm - no problems you say.

The saga begins
We wander up to our platform, wait around a bit - there seems to be some other train on the platform and we can't quite make out a barely audiable announcement. As the time for our train to leave passes we get a little anxious and as some other people are trying it on we have a chat to the driver of the train that is on the platform. He tells us we need to take his train to the other Dresden train station as there are track works pretty much everything is leaving from there. Oh well - not running too late so we take his train and arrive at the other Dresden station.

The saga continues
There we get off the train, and with the 150 or 200 other passangers mill around anxiously. There is no sign of the train or of any sort of staff member. There are no anouncements. We check the timetables and find that the train we want should be leaving from Platform 1 - not 8 where we have been dumped. Mass trasfer of passanges from 8 to 1, with much rushing and swearing. Get to platform 1 and find another train there and no sign of the one we want. Go back to Platform 8. Call information who know much less than we do. Wait. Some 20 minutes later there is an announcement that the train will be 80 to 90 minutes delayed. Swear. If they'd told us this 20 minutes ago we could have organised a slight round trip through various one horse towns and still been in Berlin relatively soon. Now there is no other option - this will be the last train heading in the right direction tonight.
The 90 minutes pass very very slowly and eventually they announce the train. Many passangers troop from various bars to the platform. We get the standard stand clear train approaching announcement. 10 minutes pass we get the train approaching announcement again. It's true the train is approaching. It's been doing that - in theory - ever since it left Prague. Finally the train does pull into the station - to all round clapping and general jeering. We board and depart.

The empire (of cute furryness) strikes back.
We are now chugging along some backwater rail route (track works again) and discussing how to organise everything when we get home so that we can still fly out. Asking the conductor and we will arrive at about 12am so just over 2 hours late at this stage. He hands out a 'your train was late get a partial discount next time' vouchers. I have a bit of a doze only to be woken by a large thump, a sudden deceleration, many smaller thumps.
The train stops. This is by no means a scheduled stop.
Various confused announcements:

• We've hit something, not sure what.
  
• We've hit something that wasn't a person.
  
• The train is farked.
• A new locomotive is coming from Leipzig - it will be here in two hours or so.
• We're going to drive this train slowly to Leipzig and change engines there
• We're not going to drive this train. Ve vill vait hire.
• We will hook the new engine in front and just hope the thing makes it to Berlin
• All passangers may collect a free drink from the food car. Beer lasted about 5 min, coffee 10. By the time I'd gotten through the 3 carriage queue I was considered lucky to get a couple of waters and a juice.
• We're leaving soon
• We're leaving soon
• We're almost ready now

As we finally pulled off there wasn't so much cheering, but it did stop the passangers from riping the conductors ears off...

Arrival in Berlin almost 4am. *sigh*

The red/furry bits are not paint. Nuff said.