Urielle's first birthday

It was niece Urielle's first birthday the other day- and great fun to see the three "cousins" together again. They had great time - and so had we.

Ouma Lalie made sure there were enough push toys for everyone. Franco particularly liked this pram.

Urielle wasn't quite walking yet, but she easily pushed around this wagon.

Urielle enjoying her cow birthday cake.

Our two one year old guests watching the candle blowing intently.

Martelize couldn't wait to also tuck into the birthday cake.

Franco wasn't so much interested in the cake, but the BALLOON! He quickly ripped off the balloon from his chair and was far more interested in the balloon than the yummy goodies on the table.

Urielle opening her presents. Her baby sister is due in a month's time.

At first Martelize wanted to help to open the presents, but then she decided climbing into this crate of toys was more interesting.

Franco's only interest in the toy opening was when his uncle put in the screws of a new toy for Urielle. Screwdrivers are very interesting! However, he soon went off exploring the big garden and climbed on everything in sight.

Thelwyn had to go to another function and left Martelize in Dorette's and my care. Martelize, uncharacteristically took a fancy in a teenage guest and wanted to be on her lap for ... well for a long time. However, when I later walked past them, she held out her arms for her Ouma. (Sy het ons darem nog nie afgeskryf nie!)

Gelukkige verjaarsdag Urielle! Mag God jou seen!

On our way to Moscow: A few perceptions about life in Russia

My perceptions are based on what I heard and saw in Russia... of course we only saw a little bit of Russia and was there a very short time and spoke to only a few Russians, so maybe they are warped, but here are some of my impressions:

Russians are not big on maintenance: many of the boathouses we saw along the river were pretty dilapidated and the same can be said for many buildings in St Petersburg.
However, everywhere we went everything was CLEAN - no littering and the rivers, lakes and canals that we traversed seemed chrystal clear.

Many dwellings along the river were uninhabited (no lights at night)... apparently their owners have already left these "summer houses".... So some people do have summer vacation houses.

Many Russians are poor. We heard the average income is R5000 per month. 28% live under the breadline , but this is a big improvement since Gorbachev's time when it was 58%! Apparently some people can never leave their dwellings in winter, simply because they do not have enough warm clothing. However, we saw very little indication of this massive poverty. We saw three toothless women with scarves selling small bunches of flowers and a woman singing for passing tourists, but only one begging outright... few considering the poverty level. (In S.A. there are beggars/ windowscreen washers /dancers on nearly every main city intersection.)

This looked like a good idea to us: a chain to the ground instead of a gutter.

Some people are apparently very rich: near Moscow we saw impressive houses and fun parks.



The Russian diet is very healthy: lots of vegetables, berries and fish. There was even cucumber in the breakfast buffet. All the soups we had were very tasty but clear with chopped up vegetables. Many recipes, from bread to salad, feature apples. Hard boiled egg is another favourite.

Our pretty waitress who donned traditional clothes when traditional food was served. (We all wanted to bring her back home - for our unmarried sons.)

Our tour leader, Olga, bringing a cake to one of our tour members for her birthday. In the background are younger staff members: they were all very well groomed and very slim. According to Olga, looks are very important for young girls and often bely the fact that they have very little money and may not have had anything to eat.
We saw many fashionable, slim girls strutting down the streets on very high heels.... and sadly often smoking a cigarette. I can't recall having seen an obese person. We heard that alcoholism and drugs are big problems in Russia, but never witnessed anything - did not see any "bums".

Our trim little guide in Uglich, taking us through the monastery. These young guides all seemed very proud of their country, but they often made jokes about life in Russia - and especially about politicians like Breshnev and his sickly successors.

Two very old wooden churches. Why two next to each other? The bigger (cooler) church is (was) for summer, and the smaller one for winter, because it is easier to heat the smaller church.

The inside of the smaller church, decorated with typical Russian icons. The churches are still (again) used, but it is difficult to say how many true believers there are. I got the impression that church is important for festivities like Easter and Christmas, but that people did not really go to church otherwise.

Traditional embroidery: the pictures have meanings and testimony of many superstitions.
I was amazed at how many superstitions are upheld e.g. in traditional cooking: On 7 January they celebrate New Year ( pretty much the same way we celebrate Christmas) with a Grandfather Prost in a blue coat and granddaughter Snow Maiden , handing out gifts to children. They make dumplings and put spices or objects inside e.g. if you get a dumping with a sunflower seed inside, it means you are going to have a baby! A ring means you will get married, pepper indicates crying, salt indicates effort - you will have to work hard etc.

Our energetic guide explaining the importance of the stove in traditional farm houses: of course it was used for cooking, but it had a niche underneath for the chickens to stay warm, a shelve where you could leave milk to curdle or dough to rise and old people and small children could sleep on top of the oven!

Jan outside a Vodka museum at Mandrogi. Alcoholism is on the rise and killing Russian men - one of the reasons why there are far more Russian women than men. Gorbachev tried to prevent it, by prohibiting the sale of alcohol in his time, but it only led to the making of "moonshine." After the fall of the Soviet Government alcoholism has spiralled out of control and people drink anything with alcohol including cologne and anti-freeze! Vodka is no longer so cheap. (Jan and I did not buy any - we don't drink any alcohol besides an occasional beer or wine - so I don't know the price!)

More of St Petersburg

When we first arrived in St Petersburg after our long flight via Paris, we quickly went to a supermarket close to the ship to buy milk, water and Coke for our trip. The prices were more or less the same that we pay for similar things in a similar shop - we paid 35 rouble for 500 ml Coke light = R8 - R9.
We had to cross a busy road and remember to look to the right first! There were trams in the middle of the street and people seemed to embark anywhere. It didn't look very safe to me. (We didn't see trams in Moscow, but there they have lots of trolley buses.)

The tram rails didn't look safe either. St Petersburg is a beautiful city, but there are many signs of neglect. Many buildings have peeling plaster - a rather strange phenomenon. I wondered whether the harsh climate had anything to do with it.

A rather dilapidated block of flats -we saw several of those. Apparently the average income is about R5000 per month. I guess it is about the same here in S.A. There is also severe poverty and hardship and unemployment. What amazed me, was that we did not see a single beggar or vendor in the street or windscreen washer at traffic lights. (Here you find them at all major intersections.)

And this ordinary looking building that we passed on our way to the Winter Palace? It used to be the headquarters of the K.G.B.! Who would ever have thought that we pass here without any fear? Apparently the K.G.B. did instill terror in every ordinary citizen's life: At one stage (Breschnev's time or Gorbachof's? Can't remember) the K.G.B. would go into cinemas and if they found a student bunking class, his parents would get fired after a 2nd warning! Our guide said, the University lecturers were surprised when all of a sudden, there was 100% attendance!

The Palace square - also called the Decembrists square between the General Staff Building and the Winter Palace. This is the place where, in 1905, the citizens protested that they had no food: they wanted to bring the plight of Russians to the attention of the Tsar (Nicholas II) but he wasn't even in St Petersburg at the time and his guards started to shoot the crowd. Remember Dr Zhivago? Sounds a lot like Sharpeville doesn't it?
The yellow building is the longest building in Europe: 700 metres!

The Winter Palace again. It is really so blue and magnificent as we have seen in pics before. St Petersburg was built by Tsar Peter the Great, so as to have a gateway to the Gulf of Finland. He was a remarkable man: He was very tall 6' 8" - exceptional especially if you think that he lived in the 17th - 18th century! He did everything in his power to modernise and Westernise Europe. He learnt shipbuilding in Holland (V.O.C time) and brought his skills to Russia. He became co-Tsar with his not so bright half brother, when he was still a child. He liked to play with soldiers - except his soldiers were boys and not toys. His child army later became a real, great army.

The grand staircase... Once ambassadors entered here to be admitted to the court. I would have liked to play Tsarina, but did not feel like one clad in jeans and surrounded with all the other similarly clad tourists. We had to buy a permit to take photos inside the palace and the Hermitage.

Jan in front of the throne of Nicholas 1.

This room is devoted to the victory over Napoleon in 1812.

This passage is an exact copy of a passage in the Vatican. The "frescoes" were copied onto fabric and this was attached to these walls - very well done!

Jan in the Vatican Hall - not the real name, but I can't recall exactly what it was called.

Jan in front of a Picasso painting. The State Hermitage is home to over 3 million pieces of art. It was started by Catherine the Great. She bought whole art collections to impress the rest of Europe, and since then the art museum has grown and grown.

This beautiful Smolny convent was built by Empress Elizabeth 1 (daughter of Peter the Great). At the end of her life she apparently wanted to become a nun and had this beautiful convent built, but she died before the building had been completed! Smolny means tar - it was built on the tar yard (for the ships) of Peter the Great. The building was never used as a convent, but later became a school for women of the nobility.

Sir Isaacs Cathedral: it was the largest cathedral in Russia at one stage. It took 40 years to build it, from 1818 to 1858. Under the Soviet government, the building was first abandoned, then turned into a museum of atheism! Praise God, today it is again a place of worship, albeit only in one portion of the church. (Jan was especially alarmed that so many churches are "dens of robbers.")

Statue of Tsar Nicholas 1. It seems to me he was the real villain in the history. His predecessor Alexander 1 introduced some reforms, but Nicholas 1 (1825 - 1855) was anti reform and came down on the population like a ton of bricks, making life really hard for serfs. (In his defense, whereas Alexander grew up in the time of enlightenment, Nicholas grew up in the time of the French revolutions and knew that ordinary people were the enemy and had to be kept in their place!) If only he had not been so autocratic, history could have been different - the seeds of discontent were really sown in his time.

Russian style weddings: Although our city tour was on a Wednesday, we saw many bridal parties, having their photos taken at historic landmarks - amidst the throngs of tourists! Like here, weekends are most popular for weddings, but since there are so many weddings, many people must be satisfied to marry in the middle of the week. The done thing apparently is to hire limousines to escourt the couple and other guests. Cars and limousines are decorated with wedding style white and pink ribbons and flowers and big golden rings. (We saw some with bright orange and red ribbons.)

A white wedding limousine - same party as the black Mercedes above.

Busy streets! In the background the Church of our Saviour on Spilled Blood. (See below.)

Our final stop in St Petersburg was this beautiful church, which was built in memory of Alexander 11, on the spot where he was assassinated.
Tsar Alexander 11 (1855 -81) was the good guy: he had emancipated the serfs (albeit that they still had considerable problems afterwards) and he was on the verge of forming some sort of parliamentary representation or Duma, when he was assassinated.
When his son Alexander 111 (1881- 86) came to power, he tore up those plans. The first Duma was only installed by Nicholas 11 in 1905, but by then it was far too late and a revolution was inevitable. (My thoughts: If only Nicholas 1 had not botched up reform, if only Alexander 11 was able to go through with his reforms.... the communist revolution might have been prevented!)

Our time in St Petersburg was far too short: if ever you go there, make sure that you have a few days and if ever you travel to Russia, make Moscow your last stop -it is the ultimate cherry on the cake!

"From Russia with Love".... we're back!

We're back from Russia, but not quite back to blogging yet. I am still sorting out thousands of pics! We took two cameras, so choosing pics takes longer than usual. We plan to have a Russia evening and I wish I had worked out the whole moviemaker versus Power Point thing before we left. Once I have the pictures a bit more organised, I'll blog some - or maybe I must have a separate blog devoted to the TRIP!

The trip to Russia was FANTASTIC! We can really recommend the Huisgenoot/ You tours. Everything was well organised and it was a very relaxing and stress free holiday. It was a cruise from St Petersburg to Moscow and there were 37 South Africans in our group.


A boat just like ours, leaving St Petersburg. We started our trip with (only) one day in St Petersburg. St Petersburg is supposed to be the Venice of the North, but it reminded me more of Paris.

St Petersburg is a beautiful city and the highlight was the visit to the Hermitage (Winter Palace). The hermitage is home to over 3 million works of art. All these treasures were evicted to Siberia during the 2nd World War. St Petersburg (then Leningrad) was in siege for 900 days... terrible suffering.... but that's another story.

Me, standing in front of Rembrandt's Prodigal Son. We had special interest in this picture after reading Henry Nouwen's "The Prodigal Son" - thanks Anne for recommending and lending this book to us!

We had a delightful little cabin - it reminded us a bit of our caravan holidays. The fact that we could unpack our cases completely and only needed to repack the morning we left again, added to the bliss of this holiday- I am totally sold on cruises and will go on one any day again!

Our tiny bathroom. To shower, you just had to shield off the toilet with the curtain and hook the shower to the wall - an excellent use of space.

We became very good friends with our dining table companions, Maria and Gert. Maria is a teacher and Gert an artist and cartoonist. All our meals were included and I gained nearly 2 kg - but it could have been worse. The Russians eat a lot of vegetables - there was even cucumber in the breakfast array. Dessert was often just fruit.

In the evenings there were music performances and dancing - no one else danced, but Jan and I danced a little one evening. (If we had practised a bit before we went, we would have danced more, but we were a bit shy and the music wasn't quite the langarmsokkie that we are used to.)

However, we loved the folk music and bought the C.D. Later on in the tour we had Russian language classes and learnt to sing Kalinka - one of the songs on the C.D. and as Russian as you get. We also did some group dances: basic line and circle dances and the men (Jan included) did a spoon dance. It was great fun. In a way I wish I were still an ordinary teacher - I would certainly have taught those dances to my class!

Dances to remember:

• Move in a circle and hold on to one another's ears/ knees / noses etc. Very funny.
• Hold hands with a partner like "Suikerbos" and next couple "dives" in and hold up hands for next couple and so on... Let the movement of couples moving under the hands of the rest flow. (I guess this doesn't make sense, but at least this "description" will help me remember it...!)
  
• Spoon dance: Hold two spoons so that they can tap like castenjets and all tap different parts of the body at the same time.

Spoon "dance" directed by our Russian tour leader, Olga.

Sunrise on the first day of sailing. The beauty of the cabin was the large outside window -this pic was taken through our window.

Jan, ready for our first excursion after St Petersburg. We had lovely weather right through and never once wore our winter coats or gloves or scarves!

Our first stop was Mandrogi - an artificial "old" town - something like Pilgrimsrust. It was a bit touristy and not really our thing, but the picnic food was great....

Russian barbecue: We had a huge succulent grilled chicken kebab, stirfried potato with onion and mushrooms and lots of salads. (Plenty of cabbage and plenty of cucumber). The potato was delicious - I have since tried my own version at home and although it looked like a train smash, it was a hit with the family.

It was interesting to see how delicately they hand paint Matreschka dolls. Guess what we bought at the souvenir shop....! Other beautiful souvenirs were pashminas and lacquer boxes. I do not want to0 much clutter in my house, so rather settled for the pashminas. Jan and I couldn't be bothered to even taste vodka. We are not all that into drinking. There was also a lot of fur to be bought here, there and everywhere, but real fur is definitely not my thing!

Back on board, we enjoyed the weather and the view and sat on the deck. A Danish passenger tried to teach me to knit her way. I loved sitting on the deck knitting a blanket for Kleintjie (Franco's expected sibling) and was rather surprised by the attention my knitting attracted. I am an inexperienced, clumsy knitter, but am no longer shy to knit in public - let them giggle all they want to, I enjoy myself and will not be intimidated like when I was young!

The sun set round 21:00 and it was full moon. How lucky can one get?

Enough for now.... More to come!