Mushroom Hunting

(Here are a few final posts which never made it to teh interwebs before I left for the US)

On my last weekend in Миасс I had the great opportunity to go mushroom hunting with my friends and dear hosts Артем and Марина. After maybe 1 hour of riding a bus and walking we arrived to birch forest on the outskirts of town. It would be here that we would start stalking our prey.

We walk silently through beautiful larch and birch forests. This process of finding mushrooms is very peaceful, almost a meditation. You slowly comb the floor of the forest looking for the right type of mushrooms.

These are not edible. I am no mushroom expert but I knew it right away because if they were edible then there would not be any left! Mushroom hunting is a huge part of Russian culture and many people take part in it every year. The knowledge is passed down from generation to generation. I heard more than a few stories of people hunting as a child with their parents.

Our first few edible ones!

These mushrooms grow in pairs and live under the moss and grass. (Скажите мне, пожалуйста, имя этого гриба)

Examine the stem to see if the mushroom is healthy.
If it is brown or has holes (not good) then cut away at the stem to see how far the decay goes.

Finally we walked far enough away from the town to find some real quality mushrooms in this beautiful, lush grove of trees. I fully expected a hobit or gnome to appear and tell us to get off his lawn.

Now to the really fun part: eating! First wash the mushrooms.

Then fry in a pan with oil. For these small mushrooms the preparation is pretty simple. The big mushrooms which grow in pairs must be soaked in water for a few months before they are ready to eat!

Russian Billards

(Here are a few final posts which never made it to teh interwebs before I left for the US)

I had the opportunity to play Russian pool a few times before I left and I have the following to report:

Russian billards are waaaaaay harder than American billards.

No matter, I had a great time anyways. Thanks to all my friends in the Miass office for showing me a good time!

A Russian Cemetery

(Here are a few final posts which never made it to teh interwebs before I left for the US)

On one of my weekend jaunts around Миасс and Тургаяк I stumbled upon something that I had wanted to visit before I left, a local cemetery. No, I'm not a goth or a grave robber, I just think that cemeteries are really interesting places and can sometimes give you an insight into a culture or community that you might not get elsewhere.

The first difference you notice between American and Russian cemeteries is that our cemeteries are more like parks. Well manicured lawns, perfect little foot paths, immaculate headstones.

Each plot has it's own area surrounded by a small fence. There will usually be a table and a stool for family members to bring food and drink.

There were also a lot of fake flowers, which is really a great idea because they look good a long time after you "plant" them.

All of the headstones also had a picture, usually in color, of the person. This is also a stark contrast with what you will find in the US where only the very wealthy people get their portrait engraved into the stone.
Above, the more typical type of portrait, a small round photo.

Hiking in Таганай

Артём and I went hiking the other day to Taganay national park. It situated near the neighboring town of Златоуст (which happens to be in Europe, BTW!). We had a long and fun day.

We meet at 7:20AM to catch the 8AM train. The whole town was covered in thick fog. Pretty creepy.

The ants in Russian are on steroids, this is a standard ant "hill".

The "stone river" caused by glaciers.

Magic mushrooms (not edible).

Magic Rocks (also not edible).

Stairway to Heaven.

Heaven. Ok, really it's just a great view of the stone river and surrounding mountains. The Ural Mountains the are oldest in the world so they are a bit wore down by weather and time. It's still beautiful landscape though.

Here are some rock slabs thrown down by Zeus himself when he found out how much fun I'm still having in Russia (he's always been the jealous type).

Ahoy!!!

On Caitlin's final weekend we got the chance to go sailing in a handmade sailboat on Lake Turg. Our new friends Ольга and Артур who run a private school program invited us onto their friends boat to sail to a mysterious island.

Our captain, Эдвард (Edward) and his boat "supreme".

Vera Island, our destination.

An Orthodox Cross on the highest point on the island.

The couple, inside some ancient caves. There are places like this all over the island and also remnants of actual dwellings as well.

On the ride home we had a beautiful susnset, but no wind and no engine. So, what else to do but sing Russian folk songs a cappella!

Ганина Яма Monastery

After the Tsar and family were killed, their bodies were buried outside of Ekaterinburg in a well in the middle of the forest. Today this site has been turned into a monastery by the Russian Orthodox Church. It's name is Ganina Yama. The site is very serene and peaceful and all sound is lost in the middle of the birch forest.

Camping at Lake Turg

Last week I went camping at our local gem of a lake, озеро Тургояк (Lake Turgoyak). I finally took up the invitation from our friend Михайл (Michael). He spends his summer camping at the lake alongside other families and friends from in town.

With Caitlin still sick at home, I set out on my bike. I got a good workout riding for an hour to get the campsite. The food tasted even better after that.

A traditional Russian soup: potato, bologna-like meat, onions, carrot, dill (essential) and a chicken broth. The cook also added some spice which made this soup out of this world.

A marshmellow like thing filled with caramel, which is not as sweet or liquid as the caramel sauce we have in the US.

Another essential for any Russian gathering: чай (tea). It's actually not as exciting as the pic above, we are just boiling water :) but I really do enjoy the tradition. It seems when ever we go someplace with Russians, you must at least have чай.

After being stuffed with delicious food and meeting some of the people camping with Михайл, we went "next door" and meet up with another set of campers who traveled to the Urals from the Moscow region. By this time it was getting dark, so the fire was kicked up a notch and guitars were brought out. Then begins hours of singing Russian folk songs around the campfire.

Morning mist over the lake

Turgayak Town

Екатеринбург

A few weekends ago (see post date), we went to visit the beautiful city of Ekaterinburg. It is 5 hours north of Миасс by bus. We were on a mission: celebrate our 1 year wedding anniversary and delivery some gifts from America to some mutual friends.

When people in Ekat heard that it was our anniversary they decided to through a huge party for us!! Russians are so wonderful!

Ok, fine, it was actually the birthday of the city that weekend. The main street Улица Ленина (Lenin Street) was closed to traffic. There were people everyone, food stands, balloons and tons of music, both new and old.

On the bridge crossing река Исеть (Iset River), newly weds place locks with their names engraved on them.

Traditional Russian music from ethnic minorities (I think). This was great stuff! The women have jingly things sown into their clothes so their bodies become an instrument when they dance.

Does it mean that I am not cool if I think accordian is one of the best instruments ever?

And of course, no Russian city would be complete without Lenin watching over the residents.

Later on we went to a Serbian restaurant. Caitlin is preparing to devour this plate o' meat. It was a bit too much for us, but really delicious none the less.

The owner was a great guy, a Serb who has lived most of his life in Russia and who recently moved to Ekat. Yours truely with a traditional Serbian hat and jug of alchohol.

An American style mall with an interesting facade.

This church was built on the site of the execution of the last Russian Tsar and his family in 1918.

Our new friends: Olga and Stas. One of the wonderful Russian ladies (Hello Anna!) who I practiced Russian with in Newton is from Ekat originally. She was so execited to learn we would be near her birthplace and her long time friend Olga. We got in touch with them and they took us around town and out for lunch. They were wonderful hosts!

We had a great anniversary weekend in this wonderful city, happy 1 year anniversary to us!