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).