Adventures in Russian food #9

While in Kazan, I got the opportunity to try something truly unusual. Pinecone jelly.

According to Galia, if you pick pinecones while they are still green and soft, you can boil them in a sugar solution and then preserve them.

They taste pretty much as you'd expect: pine-y, mildly sweet. The texture is similar to undercooked bamboo or ginger, it's pretty woody and fibrous. The interesting thing about it is that there is still resin in the cone and when you eat it, if feels as if it coats the inside of your mouth. It's somewhat astringent feeling and your mouth feels tacky for some time afterward. 

Train Tips and Stories

So I feel like 4 trips and more than 72 hours in platzkart is quite an accomplishment. Here are some tips in case you ever decide to cruise Russia on rail.

1) Use the Rzd website to reserve and purchase tickets. Yes, it's in Russian, but any idiot with google translate can figure it out. Why use it? You get exactly the same price there as you do in the ticket offices. If you use a third party website or service to purchase your tickets for you, you'll probably end up paying 30%-40% more than you would by purchasing direct. Also, the platzkart option will most likely not be offered.
2) By purchasing online, you now need to head to the train station and use the ticket printing kiosk to obtain your tickets. It's super easy to use and a billion times faster than using the ticket office.
3) Traveling alone? Don't want to be locked in a box with 3 strangers who probably smell 'interesting'? Use platzkart. It's the third class, open compartment option offered in every former-USSR country. I can't speak to it specifically, but I've read from other female travelers that this is safer than second or first class because it's open, and the openness keeps people honest.
4) Don't forget your tracksuit. Approximately 20 minutes after your train departs, the clock strikes pantsless o'clock. Almost everyone changes into more comfortable clothes for the journey like tracksuits (velour, or 'mafia red or white), pj's, or other loose fitting clothes. This brings us to...
5) Slippers. Don't forget your slippers. No matter how many times the stewardess mops the aisles, the floor is still disgusting and you don't want to be wearing your outside shoes the entire time. Literally everyone has them on the train, and assuming you're near social people (or babushki) you will be asked why you don't have them.
6) Bring a cup, tea, and coffee. Every wagon has a boiler in it and the boiling hot water is free. If you bring a cup, you can fill it as many times as you want and be sufficiently hydrated for your journey. You can also buy tea, coffee, and sometimes cocoa from the stewardess for no more than 30 rubles AND you get to drink it out of one of those sweet podstakanniki!
7) Also ramen. For food, you can bring what ever you want on the train, but because the water is free, why not bring some ramen or instant potatoes. Ramen in Russia is pretty good, and on the whole, seems to be more involved than ramen in the States. Some varieties come with meat sauce (I don't quite know what that means) or miniature meat balls (think kibble-like chunks of freeze-dried meat product).
8) Think of another excuse to refuse alcohol other than "I'm taking antibiotics" because they've caught on, and it doesn't work anymore. On the way to Volgograd after we all woke up, the men in the lower bunks decided 9:30am was an appropriate time to start downing the pepper vodka. Having found out the night before that I was a foreigner, they probably thought it would be fun to get me drunk or something. I tried refusing, saying that I was taking antibiotics and the medicine wouldn't work if mixed with booze. They countered with "booze is better medicine, drink!". After about half an hour of this, I decided it was easier to take booze from strangers than to argue. This started some pretty good conversation and was a fantastic experience.
9) Russians might offer you food, so you might want to bring something to share as well. On the trip from Volgograd to Moscow, I shared the compartment with some middle-aged women who were just the nicest people ever. They also had a strange desire to feed the foreigner. Tried refusing, didn't work, ended up eating cookies with my favorite cheese, kolbasny cheese (literally sausage cheese, and it's one of the cheaper cheese, probably the Russian equivalent of American cheese).
10) Layers. Bring layers. The trips I had varied from freezing to boiling hot.
11) Train rides can be the most fun, or the scariest experience ever. On the way back from Moscow, there were two very drunk soccer hooligans in my compartment. Granted, I had the worst compartment in the wagon-- the one next to the toilets-- but jeez, that night was bad. Shortly after departure, I realized one of the drunks had a fully-loaded gun. Needless to say, I didn't sleep that night.

Moscow Redux

This time, with a mission.

For the sole reason of 'I didn't want to spend 30 straight hours on a train', I decided a stop-over in Moscow was in order on the way back home from Volgograd. My train arrived shortly after 10am and the next leg would begin at 1:10am. I had lots of time to fill.

Probably my favorite structures in Moscow are the skyscrapers constructed as per order of Stalin. There are seven of them, often called the 'Seven Sisters', and they are quite the sight on the Moscow skyline.
In terms or architecture, they are pretty good representations of the Stalinist style, about which I do not know enough about to even try to sound smart, so Wikipedia that or something. The really interesting part is that there was a eighth one planned, but was never constructed. Just off of Red Square, there used to be an absolutely HUGE church which was demolished pretty early on in the history of the USSR for the construction of this eighth sister. After the government realized that it didn't have the funds for its construction, nor would the ground support the tallest of the sisters (including a gigantic Lenin on top), construction was ended and the already-completed foundation was turned into the largest swimming pool in Europe. The church was eventually reconstructed after the collapse of the USSR, but hey, nobody's perfect.

Names of the buildings in Moscow:
-Main building of Moscow State University

-Kotelnicheskaya Embankment

-Red Gates Administration Building

-Ministry of Foreign Affairs

-Kudrinskaya Embankment

-Hotel Ukraina

-Hotel Leningradskaya

Regardless, I love the way these buildings look so used my time in Moscow to seek them out. Despite some people I know who say Moscow is difficult to navigate, I found it incredibly easy to find my way around. That is, if you know what metro you're going to, it's practically impossible to get lost there.
Fun story: It only takes a couple hours to see all 7 skyscrapers and if your train doesn't leave for another 8 hours, one day in Moscow quickly turns into "Let's see how many McDonald's I can find" Day.
I also had time to stroll down New and Old Arbat, cruise through VDNKh, and ride the longest escalator in the world (and yes, it is as exciting as it sounds).

The Arbat's are a couple of the older, main streets in Moscow. Old Arbat is pedestrian whereas New Arbat is a pretty major road through downtown. Old Arbat has a mix of older businesses, souvenir shops, and Western stores. New Arbat is partly residential and has some mall-looking things on it. Old Arbat wins.








VDNKh, now called VVTs, was built as an exhibition center to feature the various successes of the republics of the USSR. There is a pavilion for each of the republics plus many more for other uses. There is also a monorail, an airplane, and a rocket. All in all, it's the Soviet Epcot Center.

Adventures in Russian Food #8

STREET MEAT EDITION

Sorry CIEE, but I ate a lot of street meat while in Volgograd. I'm not going to specify exactly how much, but enough to significantly increase the chances of getting food poisoning.

Street Meat #1- Котлет по-Киевски
Chicken Kiev. 25-30 rubles

Just like Shaverma in St. Petersburg, there were kiosks and stands everywhere in Volgograd. You could probably manage to find one on every corner, literally.
Chicken Kiev in this context is a little chunk of chicken, wrapped around either cheese and mushrooms, or just straight up butter. In both varieties, there is a significant amount of butter added.

These guys have a pretty delightful texture. You bite in, and it crunches and squirts much like you'd imagine a gigantic beetle to. They serve them in plastic bags partly because it's impossible to eat one without liquid butter getting everywhere.

Money shot

Street Meat #2- Хачапури
Khachapuri. 30-50 rubles

 

This is apparently a Georgian dish and is basically deep fried bread with an assortment of fillings. I only had one, and it was stuffed with a feta-like cheese. It tastes pretty much like you'd expect, but delicious nonetheless.

Volgograd

My life is complete.

Mostly kidding, but I do feel like I crossed a major item of my bucket list.

Fun Facts:
-Volgograd's name has changed three times. Tsartsyn was the name before 1925. In 1925 the name was changed to Stalingrad and as per de-Stalinization, the name was changed to the current Volgograd.
-It's located on the Volga river. Just to clear that one up.
-It mostly famous because of the Battle of Stalingrad, the most deadly battle in all history.
-There are two structures that still exist in Volgograd from before the war: A preserved building, and a tree
-The Mamayev Kurgan, a massive war memorial complex with the tallest non-Buddha statue in the world, is there.
-The city is around 100 km. long, stretching along the Volga.

Getting to Volgograd was the absolute longest train ride ever. It was exactly 24 hours from Kazan to Volgograd and I couldn't wait to get off the train. This trip also marked my first time couchsurfing. My host, Roman, met with me at the train station and led me to his apartment. Roman was a really nice guy who knew quite a bit about the city. It was great chatting with him about history, politics, and just small talk.
My main purpose for going to Volgograd was to see the Mamayev Kurgan. I have been completely in love with that statue ever since I found out about her a couple years back. Since train tickets are so cheap here, and who knows when I'll be back, I absolutely couldn't miss this opportunity to visit.
Riding into the center of the city, the train passes directly in front of the Mamayev Kurgan and you get this wonderful view of the statue on the horizon for a good half hour. Needless to say, I was practically peeing myself on the train.

Actually visiting the statue is a completely different experience. The complex is located on a hill and the MetroTram literally drops you off at the base of this hill. There are 200 steps leading up to the top, symbolizing the 200 days of the battle, along with ramps. Get some street meat at the base, you know, for energy.
After about half the steps, you get to the first lake. The next set of stairs is in this corridor of reliefs where they play all sorts of patriotic music.
The next lake is the "Lake of Tears". In the summer, the lake overflows. Along the side of this lake, there are multiple statues representing the various stages of the battle. The last one being two Russian soldiers throwing a snake, Germany.

Past this lake is the entrance to the hall with the eternal flame. There is a changing of the guard about every hour or two, I think. The guards march very slowly up the ramp and are perfectly synchronized.  The inside of the hall is almost completely mosaic. During the day, really creepy music is played and the echo produced is quite unsettling.
And there she is. There are now but a few ramps between you and the statue. The ramps are lined with various grave stones.
The statue is self-supporting and does not have any sort of foundation; it is simply sitting on top of a hill. To put her size into perspective, from foot to torch the Statue of Liberty only comes up to the Motherland's waist. She is gigantic.
When I was there, I couldn't stop taking pictures. I was considering uploading an album of just her, but who really wants to look at a 100 pictures of the same thing?

While in Volgograd, I also went to the Panorama Museum. The museum is a history museum of the Battle of Stalingrad. Next to it is the only building still remaining from before the war, the remnants of a mill. The museum itself is fantastic, one of the most well-done museums I've been to in Russia. In the museum, they have Vasily Zaytsev's sniper rifle (the sniper on which the film "Enemy at the Gates" is loosely based), and the sword of Stalingrad (the sword given to the city by Winston Churchill). The very top of the museum is a 360 degree panorama of the city during the war. It's painted on the walls and on the floor they have constructed dugouts and other 'war thingies'.

I spent the rest of my time walking down the main streets and the embankment, which in any city, is something I find enjoyable.

Overall, Volgograd was a very pleasant to place to visit; it's cheap, the people are nice, and it's just a good place to walk around. That being said, there really wasn't too much to do and I'm glad I was only there for two days.

Adventures in Russian Food #7

Ok, I SWEAR this will be my last pop blog. It's just that I find new pops and sodas really interesting, mostly because unless you go for that BigK stuff (carbonated fruit flavor), America really only has like 4 flavors of soda: Cola, Citrus, Dr. Pepper, and Root Beer. It's interesting to see what other countries find delicious. Alright, pop time! (Haven't done this in a while, grab a snickers)

Pop #1 Брусника
Or Brucnika. According to googletranslate, this means cowberry, bilberry, huckleberry, or whortleberry. Overall, REALLY tasty. This drink is also 'with grass', but specifically, grass from the TAIGA so it's probably pretty special. Because of the grass, it tastes a little medicinal, but pleasant. These fruity drinks are also half-carbonated. Unlike the pepsi's and coke's which produce really large bubbles on the tongue and foam up a lot when you pour them, this drink produces lots of little itty-bitty bubbles not unlike champagne. Really enjoyable. The bottle was darker, so I just had to imagine what an enjoyable, deep, succulent red color the pop was.

 Until I poured it onto a spoon and realized it was coffee colored. Oh well.

Pop #2 Cream Soda
Long story short- Like American Cream Soda, but not. A little sweeter, not enough of the 'cream soda' flavor. Just a little disappointing.

 Pop #3 Колокольчик
Or Kolokolchik. See those flowers? Those are Kolokolchiki. It really means 'little bell' which I guess makes sense. When I bought this, I thought it would be some delicious, flower flavored pop. Nope. Ladies and Gentlemen, I introduce to you: Soviet Sprite. Yes indeed, this is Lemon-lime soda and that's it. It tastes exactly like Sprite, but perhaps a little more syrupy.

Pop #4 Байкал
Or Baikal, which for those who don't know, this is the name of the worlds largest, deepest lake located in Asian Russia. This is one of the classic Soviet-era sodas, which until I looked at the ingredients, had no idea what it could possibly be. It's dark brown, so I was thinking something like root beer. Nope. It's flavored with tea concentrate. That being said, I don't think it tastes like carbonated sweet tea. It difficult to describe, but it's sweet and has an interesting flavor. I like it.

Pop #5 Лаймон Фреш
Or Laimon Fresh. This is Sprite + Mint, or virgin Mojito. This is by far my favorite pop I've had so far. I was skeptical at first because, why would you want a mojito without the booze? It is yummy. It's refreshing and not overly sweet.

Pop #6 Абрикос
Or Apricot. I was SOOO excited when I bought this (in Volgograd) because I had never seen apricot soda before and it was a really cool bottle. Unfortunately it tasted like junk and I didn't even finish it. Next to the bottle on the shelf was peach soda and I thought I had purchased that, but instead accidentally grabbed the pear soda. It was the worst pear soda I've ever had. Not enough syrup, not enough pear. I didn't even take a picture of it. Ugh.

Bonus Round-McCafe

McDonald's coffee in Russia is legit. This is a 'coffee with milk', how it differs from a cappucino I'll never know. It's cheap, it's tasty, and it's well worth the purchase. McDonald's here actually has baristas, not someone with ambiguous gang affiliation, pulling your drink. And it's from an actual espresso machine that takes talent to run, not the ones in America where you ask for 'lightener' in your coffee and the person bops a couple buttons. Delicious.


P.S. There's a good chance I'm going to move on to junk food now, like chips and stuff. Also, if I find another yummy soda, I'm probably going to write about that as well.

Return to Kazan

As part of the program, we are all given one week in the semester when we are free to travel where ever we want. They call it 'Russian Travel Week' and it would probably be better if people actually chose to travel within Russia, but I'm guessing 90% chose to leave.
Regardless, I chose to visit Kazan, Volgograd, and Moscow with my time and I chose to only use platzkart train accommodations. 
My host sister from last summer, Liliya, had invited me back to visit them so I decided to take her up on the offer. The train ride from St. Petersburg took 21ish hours and it was pretty normal; everyone was civil and quiet, and the train ride was peaceful.
Arriving in Kazan felt great. I think sometimes it takes a couple times to realize how great and amazing something is. From the second I stepped off the train, I just felt comfortable and at home, more so than I do in St. Petersburg. I had forgotten how much I love Kazan.
Liliya was working when I arrived, so I took some time to cruise around the city solo before meeting up with friends. I was completely taken off guard when I realized how small the center of the city really is; I remembered it being larger. From the train station, I had only walked a short while when I passed TsUM and then I could see the Kremlin a short distance further. I toured the Kremlin for a bit, and then continued in the direction of what I believed to be the university I studied at.

And what do you know, after a short walk, I found my way back to the old FSB building, and from that point I knew how to get where I was going. I also visited Kazan State University (Now called the Kazan (Volga Area) Federal University) and the surrounding area. It truly felt great to be back in Kazan.

Before I left, Liliya had given me directions on how to get to their apartment even though I knew I could find my way back there. I hopped on the metro and off I went.
There seemed to be a lot of construction there. They are construction a new overpass on Prospekt Pobedy along with the never-ending apartment complex renovation. Liliya's apartment had undergone renovation and looked quite nice.
A lot had changed in a year. There is a new mall across from the apartment, construction everywhere, new bars and businesses on Bauman, and a new metro station opened earlier this year. I mad sure to visit it and cruise around that area.

Most of all, it was just great to visit with Liliya and her mother, Galia. I feel like I was able to talk with them more and understand them more than when last I saw them. Additionally, Galia is a great cook and makes amazingly tasting food. Homemade noodle soup, salad, delicious jams, and julienne (my absolutely favorite thing ever eaten in Russia) were some of the things I had.
One day, we met up with one of Liliya's friends, Leysan. Together we played a homemade variant of Apples to Apples that included both American and Russian culture. I tried explaining the Hellen Keller Trump Card rule, but I don't think it translated well (different senses of humor I guess).
The next day, we went to Leysan's and I tried persimmon for the first time. Let me tell you, they are delicious. Sweet, interesting texture...delicious.
One of the most memorable experiences in Kazan was going to one of Liliya's English classes. Her class consisted of adults who worked in the same office together. We did some exercises together and played a short round of the hybrid Apples to Apples. I was amazed at how well they spoke. It's always interesting to witness someone learning your language and being able to understand them completely despite the challenges.

Fun Experience-- I noticed a babushka selling suckers on the street. Not completely an uncommon thing, but sometimes the shapes the suckers are in are a little surprising. This particular babushka was selling pistol suckers, cow suckers, bar suckers, and....ahem...'rooster' suckers. I decided this was funny, so I bought one. The best part was as I handed her the 20 rubles, she said that it was good for sore throats. Yup, I'm sure it is. 
Overall, Kazan was a fantastic experience. I cannot wait to go back again sometime.

Next stop--Volgograd

Kiev, Ukraine -or- Holy crap I'm lazy

About a month ago, I went with the other 90 Americans to Moscow and Kiev, and shortly after, I got super lazy because I have not yet written about it.

Kiev was my first time in Ukraine, but it also marked my first trip riding the Russian Platzkart option. I have read about other people's platzkart stories, either of horror or of amazing memories, but riding with other Americans made the trip less than memorable.

We stayed at a pretty decent hotel, not as nice as the Holiday Inn in Moscow though. The hotel was definitely from the Soviet era.

The trip confirmed what I suspected. I hate group tours and excursions. The places we all went weren't horrible. Some of them were quite pleasant. What was not pleasant was being with 40 other people, most of whom were not happy to be there. Another thing was having a tour guide that was really bad about reading the desires of the group. For example: Sure, St. Sophia's is a really beautiful church. It does not, however, deserve an hour and a half of my time, especially when the tour only includes the first floor. I do not need to know the entire history of the church, rather maybe some interesting facts like during the fresco restoration, a bunch of workers died from dust inhalation. Cool Stuff. I also do not need to spend a couple hours in the National Museum of Ukraine and only see the sections on pre-Ukrainian history (granted the money exhibit was really cool and I explored that area by myself. Too bad the rest of the tour group just got to see a bunch of Greek coins and stuff).
The tour guide also assumed that were were all just a bunch of dumb Americans. When she asked us "Do you know who Lenin was?", what she interpreted as confusion was actually a group-aneurism. Most of us had actually seen his very waxy embalmed self just a few days earlier!

Kiev is definitely on my plans for winter break. I did get to visit the WWII museum in the base of the Motherland Calls monument as well as visit the Chernobyl Disaster Museum.

The WWII museum was spectacular, seriously one of the best museums I have been to on this trip. It cost only 3 hryvni on a student card. One thing I wish I would have done was, for just 200 hryven (about $35) you can go up to the top of her shield. My friend and I wrestled with the decision for quite a while before deciding it was too much money. Also, it would have required us to share the journey with a really creepy dude who was obviously in Kiev to purchase a wife. (Speaking of that, the map that we all received had about 10 escort service ads on it. Classy CIEE, classy)
The Chernobyl Museum, while very good, was not what I expected. It was designed as more of a memorial to the aftermath rather than an exhibit of the event itself. I kinda figured they wouldn't have any items from the site, and they didn't, but I still wish they did. In the front lot they had many old vehicles that were used during the cleanup and evacuation. The last room in the museum had a massive structure on the floor that looked like the top of a reactor, with chairs on top of extracted control rods. COOL.

On food. There is a super cheap restaurant in Ukraine called Puzata Hata (Пузата Хата) which, if I remember correctly, means something like "fat gut". The restaurant is set up like a cafeteria; grab a tray and tell the servers what you want (or point, if you're lazy). Not only is it absolutely delicious, it's cheap; you can get a complete, huge meal for under $6.

Since it's not obvious, These are Hryvnia, the currency of Ukraine