Russki Jammies
My family started a new Christmas tradition last year: on Christmas Eve, my 2 brothers and I (and муж, of course) go over to my parents to open presents in our PJs. It’s kind of a way to try to keep the child-like magic of Christmas going - both for us, and for my parents.
Here’s me this Christmas Eve. This must be the true test of having the “Passion for Russian” - having Russian PJs. Do you?
IKEA
“IKEA delivers”.
Once again, I love seeing brands I recognize translated into Russian. See more of these on my Cyrillicized Tumblr. (And feel free to send me submissions there as well!)
Fancy Bar
It’s a good thing they had a sign up - I never would’ve guessed this was a fancy bar! Btw, isn’t that nice to know? I hate when I go to a fancy bar unprepared…
Happy Friday!
Record Keeping
This is something I like doing when I’m on vacation and I try to keep it up in my non-vacation life as well. I keep a tiny weekly calendar on me and record what I do each day. It’s a lot easier to keep up than a traditional journal (which I’ve never been able to commit to) and I just think it’s fun to know that I had a Cake Batter Ice Cream Cone at Handles (in Stow, Ohio) on May 21st, 2005, for example. It’s also really helpful in this case, when it takes me over a year to finish blogging about one trip. :)
This was actually at a pizza place we stopped at after the Cossack concert, btw, so that’s probably what I’m writing about here.
Do you have a way you keep track of the fun things you do on your trips to Russia (or elsewhere)?
Не Прислоняться - Do Not Lean
I’m pretty impressed with Google Translate on this one - it actually translated it as “Do not lean against the doors”. I was sure it would say “Not to lean” or something. Go Google!
*Note: I actually wrote this post before I wrote the Google Transliterate Post. I told you: I’m a Google girl! :)
For Russians, Free
So, as I was saying, the thing that topped off my experience at the “Bagatitsa” Cossack Concert was this:
It was the second time in my trip I got ‘the Russian discount’ on something. (The first time, you may remember, was at Peterhof.) We came out of the concert and a few of the dancers were taking pictures with tourists. I might add that pretty much everyone in attendance was a tourist, which was kind of disappointing.
They had a sign up that said “Photos: $2 or €2” (I think that’s about how much they were - I don’t remember exactly.) Obviously, the thrill of the discount isn’t saving the $2, it’s passing for Russian.
So I asked (in Russian) how many rubles it was and they said, “For Russians, Free”. Okay! So I got mistaken for a being Russian and got this cool picture! My only regret in this situation was that I held back from speaking very much because I didn’t want to give myself away as a non-Russian. In hindsight, I should have just risked it - it would have been worth a nice chat with a couple Cossacks.
What do you think - do I pass for a Cossack?
Багатица!
I think I have been putting this post off because it was such a wonderful experience, I just don’t know how I can do it justice. This was, by far, the highlight of our trip.
First of all, I faced my fear of going into one of the various ticket booths, and actually arranged plans with someone in Russian. (It’s not that I was so afraid of the ticket booths in particular, but any ‘customer service’ transaction (and I use the phrase ‘customer service’ very loosely) in Russia can be quite the challenge - especially if you’re Russian’s not perfect.
Actually, it ended up that the scariest part wasn’t talking to the lady, but was when an armored truck driver dressed in camo and carrying a machine gun stopped by to pick up a deposit. (I really wanted to take a picture…but thought better of it.)
But anyway, we stopped by the ticket booth, not knowing what we were looking for, but right away I saw 2 Cossack Concerts and chose Багатица. (I have no idea what Багатица means, by the way - I think it is just the name of their ensemble. Anyone know otherwise?)
So, we attended the concert, and it was just wonderful. I don’t know how to describe it. They obviously love what they do and put a lot of energy and spirit into it. Plus, if you’ve ever seen a Cossack concert, how can you not love it? And if you haven’t, please do as soon as possible!
The one thing that topped it all off was…well, this post is getting a little long, you’ll have to check back tomorrow.
По Газонам Не Ходить!
This is a beautiful garden, Таврический Сад, that we happened upon on the way to an awesome concert! You’ll have to check back next week to get the story on the concert.
I love the “Keep off the grass” sign: По Газонам Не Ходить
Гоод Джоб, Гоогл!
I’ve known for a while now that I’m a Google girl: Android phone, Gmail, Google Translate, Google Calendar, Google Apps, you name it.
And now, Google has given me one more thing to admire: the new version of Gmail supports transliteration into Russian! All you have to do is click the transliterate button, type in English how the word sounds in Russian, and when you add a space or punctuation - poof - it’s in Russian! It’ll even spell check your Russian for you!
Get the detailed instructions from Google here.
Good stuff, huh? What do you think - will you be using this feature?
Замок Любви - Love Locks
Here are some love locks on the bridge near the Church of Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg. (Yes, another New Year’s Resolution is to finish blogging about my Russia trip before it’s 2 years old!)
The tradition, possibly Italian in origin, is for a young married couple to write their names on the lock (замок), lock it on a bridge in a beautiful location, throw the key into the river and their love is safe forever.
In some places, the tradition can be a controversial: the locks begin to overtake public structures, but the public doesn’t want their symbols of everlasting love removed and discarded. Here are some funny pics of workers removing locks right next to the couples who are attaching them. That’s gotta be a bad omen, no?
They apparently cut them off in St. Petersburg, as well, because there were only a handful there, and they were all from the previous several days. Муж and I were there right near our anniversary (August 11th) but couldn’t find any with our wedding date. Why the heck didn’t we think to put one on ourselves? Oh well - next time!
I think this is a really cute tradition and I love how people personalize their locks. They range from the professionally engraved, to do-it-yourself with puffy paint (which would definitely be the way I’d go).
Have you locked a love lock on a bridge anywhere? (And did it work?)
Anastasia
This may be hard to believe, but until about a week ago, I’d never seen the animated movie, Anastasia. The thing that actually prompted me to finally watch it was listening to one of the songs from the movie, Once Upon a December, which several people posted on Tumblr lately, and I think is really lovely - especially the Russian version.
I really liked the movie and especially enjoyed the music, although I really wish I could find the Russian version of at least the soundtrack. (Can anyone help me out?)
If you’ve seen this movie, do you recognize the photo above? It’s the self-portrait that Anastasia shares with her grandmother in the movie. Fun fact: this is an actual self portrait that Anastasia Romanov painted when she was 12 years old, that was scanned for use in the movie.
If only the rest of the movie were true…
So, really - does anyone know how I can get my hands on the Russian version of the movie or the soundtrack?
I hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Year’s. Муж and I spent the week in Ohio, and got back to DC just in time to have a nice low-key New Year’s at home alone.
I don’t really believe in New Year’s resolutions, exactly, but I do think it’s a nice time to get a fresh start and get into some good habits. There are a lot of good habits I plan to work on for this year, and I have a lot of plans for my blog that I’m going to keep a secret for now.
But one thing that I am willing to put out there in writing (partly because I need the accountability) is that I plan to have a new post for every weekday. This will take a lot of organization and discipline, but I’m sure I can do it.
Do you have any good habits you’d like to work on for this year? Maybe spend more time practicing Russian?
In the mean time, let me know if there’s anything you’d like to see on this blog - I’ll need lots of ideas!
Elf Party - Hey!
This weekend, we had what is becoming a tradition in our ‘household’ - our annual “Elf Party”: basically a Christmas gathering, during which we watch one of the best movies ever, Elf.
If you haven’t seen it, you’re really missing out. And here’s is one of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite movies: Buddy the Elf puts some “syrup” in his coffee and is inspired to do an impromptu Russian dance, right in the middle of the shiny mail room.
What do you think of his Russian dance skills?
Word of the day: Congratulations!
Поздравляю = Congratulations
I’m not celebrating anything in particular. I just came across this post card in some old stuff an I always liked it. I actually bought this used at a little book market somewhere in Russia in 2003.
Are you celebrating something today? If so….Поздравляю!
Russian Winter Festival
It’s been a busy holiday season (so far) but I’m never too busy to squeeze in another Russian festival! This weekend, муж and I attended the Russian Winter Festival at the Hillwood Museum.
I am not ashamed to admit, the part of the festival I was most excited for was the “special art activity where visitors of all ages can create their own kokoshnik, a lady’s headdress”. What do you think of my special art?
And do you recognize the musical group from the bottom picture? (Hint here.)
In the middle are my two favorite artifacts from ‘the Estate’.
The festival was fun, but I’m not sure I’d pay the $18 admission to go back next year. Most of the festivals I went to this year were just as jolly of a good time and were also free.
What Russian events have you been to this holiday season?
I've been studying Russian for years - I'll fill you in on the fun stuff! (It's all fun!)
I love this…
Moving to Moscow (click through for the source)
Monks of the Archangel Michael Cheremis monastery, Vasilsursk, 1894. Photo by Maksim Dmitriev.
