Day 30 - July 10, Dancing in Catherine the Great's Ballroom

A Waltz in Catherine the Great's Ball Room

We ventured out today with metro and taxi bus to Pushkin to Catherine Palace,

where we waltzed around in the ornately decorated ballroom.

The biggest adventure for us today was our metro ride. We had to make a few transfers to different lines to get out to Pushkin about 30 km outside of Petersburg. Because we have difficulty reading Russian, we have thankfully learned to count stops to the exit spot. On our second transfer, the train was really crowded. Our group of five was the last to push aboard...well I should say four. The door shut on Russ's back pack. I was still on the platform. The door did a couple of quick open and closes. First Russ tried to push in and make room for me. Nope the door closed on him sideways, he muscled it open just enough to try and jump off, but that didn't work. A couple people drug his stuck body inside, the doors slid shut and the train took off. They watched me and I watched them as they disappeared down the track.

Fortunately we had just confirmed that we would get off at the seventh stop. I waited for the next train, a few minutes after the first. It wasn't crowded at all. I got a seat and rather than zone out and read, I attentively counted stops. I was hoping it would be an open platform stop so I could see the group on the platform. It was a safety station where there is a second set of doors so that the metro is like a horizontal elevator. I stepped out and looked around. It took a couple of seconds, but we spotted each other. Yeah! We were reunited, enjoyed our day to this splendid palace and gardens, and got to dance in Catherine's ballroom.

All is well with the Worrall Travel R's

... from Russia with Love.

Days 28-29, July 8 & 9 a Saint Petersburg, Russia

Tonight, July 9, marks the end of our Silk Road Trip.

July 8 - We arrived in Saint Petersburg yesterday morning at 9:00 am. The train from Moscow was a private British Railcar, and the best one yet. The air conditioning actually worked, there was toilet paper in the bathroom, the windows were clean so we could see out and enjoy the scenery, and breakfast was served up and sent to our compartment at 8:00, three fried eggs withs chive and bacon bits, bread roll and coffee.

As soon as we arrived, we were met by our driver and local guide Elana. Our morning was filled with churches, monasteries, and forts, all beautifully restored.




 Our hotel is near the university and is old, but quaint. We checked in at 2:00 in the afternoon, cleaned up, and were back out by 5:00 pm for a canal ride, dinner, and climb to the top of Saint Issac's Cathedral colonnade to watch the sunset...at 11:00 pm.

 No wonder I'm so tired, we are staying up way too late! by the time we got back to our hotel at 11:30, it was dusk but not dark.

July 9 - Our local guide and driver picked us up at 10 am and we went directly to the Winter Palace of Catherine and Peter the Great, known now as,the Hermitage. Wow! unbridled splendor and wonderful art collections of master painters. These buildings are kept in beautiful condition. We spent the morning and early afternoon at the Hermitage, and saw only a fraction of the collections. It is said that it would take a person nine years to see everything if they were to spend 1 minute learning about each exhibit. Magnificent.

On our way back to the hotel

Russ and I returned to the hotel around three, took a rest break, and went for another long stroll and farewell dinner which included borscht and stroganoff. Yum.

Our traveling companions will begin to leave Russia through the weekend. We will be the last to leave on Sunday. We have planned some post trip excursions with our buddies including a trip to Catherine's summer palace and gardens, Peterhof, and ballet on Friday night.

All is well with the Worrall Travel R's....From Russia with Love

Days 26-27, July 6 & 7, 2014 MOSCOW

Saint Basils Cathedral

We have spent the last two days in Moscova, Moscow. As a child of post WWII and the Cold War with the USSR, my ideas of what this city would be like is far different from the reality of what it once was or what I thought it was. Having been in Berlin prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, and then again within 5 years of the fall of the wall, there was still a heavy Soviet inflluence. Perhaps we expected there would be some heavy remnants here too.

But no, Moscow is a delightful city with a mixture of modern and old Russian, with parks, flowers, beautiful shopping arcades, outdoor cafes, street artists, and fashionable young people and families.

We've been busy with city tours, park strolls, churches, royalty palaces, Red Square, and Kremlin.

All are very impressive/ Tonight we attended a professional Russian Folk and cultural ballet. It was brilliant/ Our train to Saint Petersburg leaves at 1:00 am. It is now 11;00 pm and our transfer will be here in half an hour.

All is well with the Worrall Travel Rs.....From Russia with Love!

Days 21-25 Tashkent, Uzbekistan into Kazakhstan to Moscow

July 1 and July 5, 2014

Day 21, July 1 - Samarkand to Tashkent

We enjoyed a lovely walk and fountain filled night in lovely Samarkand before leaving the following morning for Toshkent. We hated to say goodbye to our very quaint hotel which had been recently remodeled and an enchanting decor of art work and artifact niches. After a relaxing morning where we did nothing (internet wasn't working), we boarded our van for Tashkent. It was a pretty boring day of a long drive through unremarkable brown countryside (could have been the brown hills of California).

The only excitement of the day was our pull over by the police. Our driver and policeman had a half hour long, gesticulated argument. The result was a speeding ticket for our driver. It didn't seem to us that he was speeding, but the fine was a hefty one for him probably 10% of his monthly salary. After that we really slowed down and the day dragged on.

Arriving in Toshkent around 5:00 pm, we had just enough time to find a geocache a couple of miles from the hotel (only one in Toshkent - and perhaps in all of Uzbekistan) and then head off to the next dore sports arena to catch the semi finals of the two local soccer teams, Paktokor and Locomotiv. The stadium was fractionally filled and there were more policemen than spectators. Guess they were expecting a local rivalry riot spurred on by unbridled testosterone. Rachel, Katya, and I, along with a couple of other local women were the only representatives of estrogen in the arena.

Our dinner consisted of bread, chips, and water in the stands Yum! Someone forgot to bring the hot dogs! The game ended in a 2-2 tie. The players seemed to be overly dramatic with their phony fall downs in hopes of better ball position and free kicks. It seemed pretty corny, but the refs were handing out penalties right and left, making both sides angry with the refs. Everyone left generally unhappy with the results, but not with each other. Anyway, it was a way to soak up some local flavor.

Day 22, July 2 - Happy Birthday to me ...and Garyn in the states a day later.

We woke to a beautiful blue sky. Russ and I spent the morning making arrangements for the couple of weeks after our tour ends in St. Petersburg. We will fly from Finland to Stockholm to visit our Lion's exchange student and her family, then fly to Tallin, Estonia where we plan to rent a car to travel through Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Our group met up for an underground cultural experience of the Tashkent subways which are beautifully decorated, then we went to the History Museum of Uzbekistan

.

Our driver picked us up at our hotel at 3:00 pm and took us grocery shopping for our 3 day Trans-Kasak train to Russia (noodle cups, juice drinks, crackers, water, cookies and candies) -well balanced meals for the next couple of days.

After our shopping expedition, we went to a restaurant for a birthday celebration, complete with wine, good food, cake with candles, and little gift from our guide, and Russian birthday card signed by our group of travelers, It was very thoughtful and made my day. I will remember this birthday in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. 

Last year I celebrated in Philadelphia, the year before in the Whitsunday Islands, the year before that In Vanuatu and Shinneyboo in California at Abby and Neal's wedding the year before that. Birthdays when you are my age all seem to run together, unless they are someplace special.

We arrived at the train station at 5:30. The ladies in our group were singled out for a random small bag luggage inspection. Katya (our guide) said it was the first time she had ever gone through we this. We were ushered into a small room by a female officer and every inch, every item was examined (rings taken out of cushioned jewelry boxes and the little cushions underneath examined, bottles opened and smelled). The officer asked me to open the case with my Go Girl (rubbery she wee gadget). Great! Thankfully, she recognized it for what it was without demonstration! 

I was a bit worried about my second bag which housed Spot, my GPS tacker. But she waived me off and said she had seen enough. I was given a a thorough pat down, wished a happy birthday and we were released about half an hour later. The men were waiting for us as we all headed for our train, luggage plus groceries, down two flights of steps and up to flights of steps. We were in Car 1....ooops no car 1, 2, or 3. It took several minutes of time while our guide gesticulated and explained in Russian to the conductors, that our group was to stay together and not be dispersed. I thought we might be sleeping in the station, but it was finally sorted out, and we boarded. Once again, our train had been sitting in the sun and by the time we made it to our compartments, we were sweating bullets.

We had been told to leave our luggage out for a likely inspection by both the Uzbeks or Kazaks, so we sat amidst our bags and could not leave our compartments while we exited Uzbekistan and entered Kazakhstan ( a couple of hours). Our train proceeded from Toshkent to the Uzbek border. Border Patrol came aboard and gathered our passports and collected our declarations and departure papers. They were followed by German Shepherd and handler sniffing for drugs.. About an hour later our passports were returned to us, and there was no luggage inspection. We never would have gotten out of the station if each piece of luggage was to be checked.

The train started up and within 15 minutes we had passed through no man's land and were at the Kazak border. Once again, border patrol came aboard and gathered our passports visually checking our photos with our person. 45 minutes later, the passports were returned and as we were mentally preparing for a baggage inspection, the train started to roll forward. Lucky day! Guess neither country thought we were dangerous and harboring drugs or weapons, so we escaped the luggage inspection.

By midnight we had the luggage stowed and beds were made up. Now it's 3 nights and 3 days across the Kazak steps to Russia.

Day 23, July 3, 2014 Happy Anniversary Abby and Neal

It was a hot sticky night on the train followed by a hot sticky day. We debate all day about opening the window for hot moving air or keeping the shades down and let the piffeling air conditioner try to cool. Neither idea works well. Nothing much to see except sparsely grassed golden fields with a sandy base. Occasionally we see a car or old truck racing parallel to the train, bumping along sending up clouds of dust. 

Here a village, a mosque, a train station,

 a few cattle, a donkey, a camel, a lone man raising and lowering a crossing gate, and so the day goes. Train stations in he middle of no where are brightly painted. One stop actually had iced cold Coke Zeroes! Heaven. Passengers roam up and down the narrow aisle hawking toys, candies, bottles of water. Most interesting was the lady selling scratchy natural wool socks and hats she had probably spent all winter knitting. On a 100+ degree day, her marketing strategy isn't working. "Vodka, vodka!" one passenger yells. One lady stops by with a string of huge smoked and skinned fish.

We read, play cards, take naps. I spray myself with the mister and keep my fan hand moving. Russ and I watch the sunset in the dining car over some awful grasshopper green apple juice, and are happy to not be on the back of a camel. We need to be up at 5:30 for our exit out of Kazakhstan and entrance into Russia. It will take us another day and a half and another night before we reach Moscow.

Day 24, July 4, 2014 Happy Birthday America

I never imagined celebrating July 4th in Russia. So from afar, I wish a happy birthday to my country. I fear for our country, our personal rights, and freedoms as our Supreme Court continues to make supremely stupid decisions, the latest one in allowing a corporation with "sincerely held religious beliefs" even though they may be wrong or delusional in denying and withholding rights from individuals because it does not coincide with their own. 

This is so wrong on so many levels, it sickens me. I was taught that individual freedom ends when it impinges on the freedom of others. This slaps this long held tradition in the face. It appears that religious belief and freedom extends beyond your own person and can now be imposed and lorded over those you employ, stripping the individual worker of making his or her own choices regarding insurance coverage. I think we the people need a legitimate means of removing appointed-for-life judges who are setting terrible precedence and favoring corporations and religion over individuals by their decisions, Had our forefathers ever conceived our Supreme Court would become so twisted in their disregard for individual rights, they surely would have conceived a means of recourse for life terms and rescinding of poor decisions.

Americans, give yourself a birthday present and support causes and candidates that protect individual freedoms, with your time and money. Individuals alone cannot win against corporate spending and influence, but collectively and united we still have a chance. Corporations are not inherently evil, but their bottom line of profit and now with their newly given privilege of imposing their religious beliefs on their employees, the door is opened for increased power and abuse of power.

**********

The morning light started to peak through our windows by 4:00 am. At 4:45 the train comes to a stop and it is time to check out of Kazakhstan. Our passports are collected while we wait for border patrol, customs comes through our car and checks underneath our bunks for ?? Illegal
Emigrants. The passport control officer looks at me and says "Toshkent?". Yes we came from Toshkent. "Moscow?" Yes, we are going to Moscow? "Tourists?" Yes, we are tourists.

Then "chickens?" I repeat what I thought he said, "chickens?" Rachel buries her head in her blankets overcome with laughter. "No, no," he says and points to me, "children?" No, no children. Ok, he walks away seemingly unconvinced that we don't have either children or chickens hidden in our room. Rachel is still giggling. This is a bit too much before morning coffee. We are cleared out of Kazakhstan. Before we finish our coffees, we have gone through no man's land and are now checking into Russia. The train is stopped for two hours while our passports are stamped, visas cleared, declarations filled out and turned in, and under bunks checked for children and chickens.

Halfway through the procedure, the coffee had worked through our system, but no one could leave the compartment or use the toilets when the train is stopped. We wait for another hour until all cars are cleared and we can move about. The train moves and we queue up to use the toilets. Thank goodness.

Fortunately, it is a little cooler today, but by 2:00 the air conditioning is no match for our sun baked railroad cars. Once again, the spray bottle and fan come out and the shades have already been lowered. We reach Moscow tomorrow afternoon. The Russian country side is much greener and has trees. The roofs of village homes are steeper. Lunch in the dining car is soup bowl filed with potatoes, and two small beef and rice stuffed green peppers in a tasty broth with fresh dill on top. Excellent.

With no more borders to cross and cooler weather, we will spend the rest of the day napping, reading, and playing cards. No fireworks tonight here in Russia.

Day 25 - July 5, 2014 - Moscow

Sometime during ing the night, I felt the need to cover my cooling body with a sheet. It's the first time in weeks, and I slept better, too. A fresh cool air was drifting through the window. About dusk last night our diesel engine was swapped for an electric one. Now we can open our windows without the awful exhaust permeating our compartment.

When we awoke this morning, groves of silver birch, and lush green vegetation swept by. We could catch a glimpse of flowered fields behind the woods. We pass shabby villages with individuals out early in morning light, raking, sweeping, and hoeing their gardens, We enjoy the fresh air and our morning coffee as Russia unfolds before us. We will be arriving in Moscow mid afternoon. concluding our 3,315 km trip from Uzbekistan through Kazakhstan.

3:00 pm We have safely arrived in our Moscow hotel, 16th floor, great view, and 2 hours to shower, recharge batteries, then we go out for dinner and evening on the town!

All is well with the Worrall Travel Rs in Moscow