sarah. on the run.

Sarah vs. the Muscovites

The overnight train from St. Petersburg to Moscow was fairly painless. Brendan and I were both so hungover from vodka overdoses the night before that I'd have probably slept in the bathroom without putting up much of a fuss. But we had our own little sleeping compartment in first class, so once the train got rolling at around midnight, it was lights out.

We arrived in the Moscow terminal at 8 a.m. the following morning to find that our pre-booked apartment was going to be inhabited by a Norwegian trio until noon. Rats. Thankfully, Russia has an abundance of Starbucks-type cafes, so we plopped down the backpacks, ordered some "filtered" coffee, praised the invention of wifi, and read our novels.

Speaking of novels, here's the book rundown so far:

"Skinny Dip"- Just okay. Didn't think it was all that funny or clever for murder mystery satire.

"Interview with the Vampire" - A little slow and flowery, but picked up about halfway in. Tried not to picture Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, and Kirsten Dunst as the main characters, but gave up eventually.

"A Map of the World" - Loved it! A true page turner. Highly recommended unless you don't like sad stories.

Ok, onto Moscow. I like it because it's big and jumbled and doesn't exactly know what it wants to be. St. Petersburg is world renowned as Russia's "beautiful" city, and while it certainly was, we had gotten used to a sense of structure and uniformity there that doesn't apply to Moscow one bit. Everything's under construction here. The old clashes with the new around every corner. I do love that Kremlin, though.

My uncle Edwin lives here in Moscow, and last Friday he treated B and I to authentic Russian cuisine at Pushkin, one of the nicest restaurants in town (thanks Edwin, you rock!). He also turned us onto the coolest supermarket on the planet. I mean, seriously... how can you NOT want to shop here?

Oh yeah, I dyed my hair today. The shocking truth is that I'm not a natural blonde, and we non-natural blondes can't go very long without touchups before the truth starts peeking out of our hairlines. Something had to be done, and in lieu of an expensive visit to "Red Square Hair", I decided on a box of Loreal Preference #6.23. I can't say I love my new look, but at least the roots are history.

I made up "Red Square Hair", by the way. Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all year.

For some reason, Moscow puts me to sleep. And I don't mean that the city is boring or anything, it's that I've been sleeping 10 hours a night for the past week. At first I worried that I was sick or depressed or not having enough fun, but my body feels great. Constantly being on the move just wears this kid out. A two-hour trip to the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum practically had me napping on the metro.

Speaking of metros, I'm really impressed with Moscow's. Before I get into that, though, I should first explain my fondness for trains. When I was a little girl, my dad had a model train that he would set up at Christmas. It was an old Radio Flyer model that would smoke like a real train if you put special droplets inside the smokestack. There was a particular smell that smoke would give off, and to this day, all trains smell faintly reminiscent of that old Radio Flyer train that stood for presents and egg nog and Christmas cheer. I adore trains of all shapes and sizes, and I especially like a good metro system.

Moscow's metro is like an underground museum. What struck me was how far down under the city the lines actually lie. I've never been on a steeper escalator in my life. Every station has a unique style and decor, and those along the #5 circle line are so grand, you'd swear you weren't just trying to get across town. The trains themselves are retro and funky and propel me back to the Soviet era. I love having to change lines a few times and spending an hour hopping from train to train in what feels like a secret city hidden from the rest of civilization. B thinks the whole experience is hot and dirty and gross and can't see what my problem is.

The weather's really been cooperating with us lately. St. Petersburg was infinitely hotter and stickier, with a bigger mosquito problem. Besides the occasional rain shower, we've hovered around 65 degrees, partly cloudy, light breeze here in Moscow all week. From what I hear from friends and family back in California, it could be worse. My mom's hood hit 105 yesterday. Yikes.

So yeah, the Russian capital's been a hoot, but it's time to blow this place. Tonight we're boarding the Trans-Mongolian Express for a six-day railway journey into Beijing. Yep, six days without phone or email access on a non-stop train through Russia, Mongolia, and China. Hooray! I'm beside myself with excitement. B is already wondering if these will be the six longest days of his life. And they very well may be. We've stocked up on new novels, Russian instant soup packages, handi-wipes, and quite a bit of vodka for the road.

See you in the hutong!

Love,
Sarah

The Traveling Morans Episode 6: Russia. It Ain't Turkey.

Watch "The Traveling Morans Episode 6: Russia. It Ain't Turkey".

Laugh at our pathetic attempts at humor and decide to  subscribe!

Enjoy our latest batch of travel photos.

Finally, have a slice of delicious chocolate cake and call it a day.

I Left My Heart in St. Petersburg

I'm happy to report that we made that 1:50 am flight from Istanbul to St. Petersburg. Problem is, the flight was only three hours and we flew right into the sunrise, so any form of sleep was impossible. I'm really quite a nightmare when I haven't slept, that's a fact. Let's just say there were some tears. At least the guy from City Realty was waiting for us outside of passport control, just as promised.

When we decided to include Russia on our itinerary, we knew it wouldn't be easy. Just procuring an entry visa is a challenge. The way it goes it that you have to be "invited" in order to visit. That invitation could be from a friend, supplied by a hotel, or arranged through a tour group, but you must have a specific plan so the Russian government can keep track of exactly where you are, when. And your visa requests must include that information before your access is granted. So suffice it to say you can't wing anything. We were forced to arrange our accommodations well ahead of time, so fortunately, Russia's been covered for months. We also discovered that while hotel prices are ridiculously expensive, private studio weekly prices are much less so. God, I love the internet. Eventually we chose two cute little places in St. Petersburg and Moscow, paid our deposits, and were good to go.

The huge relief is that all the hassle was worth it. St. Petersburg is spectacular. The city is outstanding. The streets are wide and well-maintained. The architecture is exquisite. I've never seen churches like these. You can pretty much walk in any direction and be wowed by something. And for all the stories I've heard about the Russian mafia and dangerous street gangs and corrupt policemen, we've felt completely safe so far. Though US dollars don't go very far here... the only thing that isn't expensive is the vodka.

The highlight was our visit to the Hermitage Museum, housed in the former Winter Palace on one edge of the impressive Palace Square. I'm a museum fan anyway, but this place is more opulent than anything in my wildest dreams. I'm not sure what was better- the art collections, or the palace itself. Too bad I had no idea what I was looking at. We left, exhausted, after about five hours and had barely seen half of it!

A phenomenon occurs during the summer at this latitude and is known as the White Nights, where the sun only sets for a short period and St. Petersburg is in a constant state of either sunshine or twilight. We've missed the official cut-off by a couple weeks, but the deal still exists. For example, I took this photo at 9:30 p.m. I took this photo at 10:30 p.m. Then I took this photo at 11:30 pm. The whole city just keeps on ticking, and the temperature never cools off. We've been staying up until 4 a.m. and sleeping until noon because our internal clocks keep waiting for darkness that never comes. Wild. I can only imagine how dreary the winters are.

Oh, and I've come to the conclusion that Russian women are, in fact, the most beautiful people in the world. Most of them really do look like Anna Kournikova and are taller than Brendan. I don't know what's in the water around here. And I'm not sure how much it has to do with the fall of Communism or the giddiness of summer weather, but women, young and old, are dressed appropriately for a nightclub at all hours of the day.

Today is Brendan's 30th birthday. He's being a good sport, but I've detected twinges of melancholy here and there. I think most people have inevitable feelings of lost youth as they reach this milestone. My 30th is in October and I often feel that my maturity level is still hovering around 23. Growing up is hard to do. We've already decided on a no-gift policy, but I don't think a little celebratory vodka would hurt anyone. Happy birthday to B! Tomorrow we leave on a train bound for Moscow.

Vitals:
1 liter bottle of good Russian vodka: 180 rubles ($7)
Entry fee to the Hermitage Museum: 400 rubles
Splurging on Russian sushi: we lost count
Watching Matt Lauer do the Today Show on-location for the G8 Summit: priceless

Where the Hell is...

My buddy Matt Harding has posted his latest dancing video online. If you haven't seen it yet, please indulge. It's outstanding.

Kudos to Matt for taking the road less traveled!

The Traveling Morans Triumphantly Return...

...To G4's Attack of the Show!

Well, we'll actually be in St. Petersburg, Russia, but you get the idea.

Thursday, July 13th, at 7:00 PM ET.

Be there.

So Long, Chicken Shish. Hello, Borsch.

We thought our flight to St. Petersburg, Russia, was leaving tomorrow, July 10th, at 1:50 p.m.. Turns out it's tomorrow, July 10th, at 1:50 am, which is still tonight by my American pub standards. So we figured we'd just check out after breakfast today and save ourselves a night's accommodation. But the guys at the front desk weren't having any of that idea. They pulled out their copy of our confirmation receipt and showed us where exactly in the fine print it states that all cancelations must be made three days in advance. We pled our case to no avail. The only sympathy I picked up on was directed toward our apparent inability to read our own airline tickets.

So here I am, sitting in the hotel room I had to pay for anyway, watching CNN International where it seems the only news worth repeating revolves around the fans of third place Germany and how they feel about tonight's World Cup final. I must confess I've lost interest.

After living abroad for a while (39 days and counting!), we've grown so accustomed to not hearing our own language that we end up devouring it like candy. Our hotel cable includes a channel called CNBC-E (no idea) that runs American TV shows in the evenings. I've been introduced to gems like "Gilmore Girls", "Prison Break", and "Cold Case". There seems to be no rhyme or reason as to when or why certain programs come on, and we've learned not to trust CNBC-E. Last night I was crushed to find a Japanese surfing movie with Turkish subtitles in place of the heavily promoted english airing of "Bull Durham".

All this TV talk might make you wonder how much I'm enjoying Istanbul. Well, to be honest, I'm a little burned out. We've been here for ten days. The big attractions can be covered at a leisurely pace in about four. We've spent the rest of the time getting to know a massive urban area more intimately. Getting to know massive urban areas tends to wear me out. Istanbul is a stunning and unique place, but it's also a big, noisy, dirty city (saying I miss my Western toilets would be quite an understatement). There's a reason people tend to pick their favorite neighborhoods and stick with them. That said, we've covered a ton of ground and here are the highlights:

-The 1.5 hour ferry ride to the Prince's Islands. We spent the afternoon admiring summer homes of the very rich along tree-lined streets only accessible by bicycle or horse-drawn carriage.

-The main shopping district of Beyoglu, where we caught a matinee screening of "The Omen" remake. I was just as scared as I would have been back in the States, and the popcorn was great.

-The Bosphorous tour (also by ferry), which cruised us past affluent northern shoreline suburbs, eventually stopping off at a little town where a hike up to an ancient fortress awarded us with a view out over the mouth of the Black Sea. Looked big, that Sea.

-Being disappointed by the much-touted Grand Bazaar, which is less like a bazaar and more like a mall offering designer knockoffs, gaudy jewelry, and whirling dervish trinkets. A few treats, but barf overall.

-An elevator ride to the top of Galata Tower for some killer views of the city.

-The Sulemaniye mosque, as beautiful as the Blue Mosque but with a cityscape.

-Getting lost more than once or twice and hoping for the best.

It's nice to feel ready to move on, rather than pressed for time and wishing I had a few more days. Ah, the satisfaction of having a whole year.

Every so often the magnitude of having a whole year hits me, and I'm faced with an uneasy mix of emotions. Just the other day a dear friend emailed the good news that she and her husband are expecting a baby at the end of January. It's bizarre and disappointing to think I won't be around for any of it. Or when I get a deep, painful craving for a big plate of pancakes, IHOP style, and have to talk myself down off the ledge because there is nowhere, absolutely nowhere I could possibly order anything even remotely resembling a big plate of pancakes, IHOP style, without crossing a major ocean first. Stuff like that.

My husband has abandoned reading "Interview with the Vampire" in favor of a Wimbeldon set on CNN Turk, complete with Orange Fanta. What a doll.

Subscribe to our travel podcast!

Fourth of July? Blank Stares.

"The Daily Show: Global Edition" is on the CNN International channel in our hotel room. It's much like the regular edition of "The Daily Show", just chopped up a little to appeal more to the rest of the world. Yesterday we got an episode from the second season of the Sopranos. I don't know what's going on here, but I like it.

Istanbul is really something. A city of mosques, that's for sure. We visited the famous Blue Mosque and neighbors Aya Sofya and Topkapi Palace on our first day, which were each impressively grand. No wait, that was our second day. Our first day was spent napping, wandering aimlessly, and bickering due to lack of sleep during our 12-hour overnight bus ride from Goreme. We're beginning to gauge one another's fatigue enough to know when to just stop talking to each other. And a beer always helps.

We're staying near the historic/touristy part of town called Sultanahmet. What's neat is that our hotel (yes! an actual hotel with a/c and cable TV with English channels!!!!!!!) is hidden on a little side street in a rather non-touristy neighborhood off the main drag, though we still have a nifty little view from our terrace. It feels like we're part of the local scene.

The city is huge. HUGE. We've been here for five days and have barely scratched the surface. I've never seen more street vendors selling more crap in all my life, and that's not even inside the Grand Bazaar. Crap aside, it's quite beautiful here. The rows of buildings remind me of Manhattan, the colors and hills of San Francisco, the heat and humidity of summertime in Chicago. Everybody's out and about. We're sweaty, but we're enjoying ourselves. World Cup fever is alive and well here, too. A few nights ago on a street near our hotel, every single outdoor cafe showcased the game on a big screen TV where about half of the patrons were cheering for Portugal, the other half for England (sorry bout those penalty kicks, England). And this is in a country whose own team didn't even qualify for the World Cup. Oh, and today we toured a carpet museum- another little reminder that we're far from home. 

B and I continue to run into ridiculously nice Turkish people. Every time some old man stops us on the street to assure us how much he loves the U.S. and then invites us to his daughter's home for tea, I instinctively clutch my day pack and look around for an accomplice who's ready to steal my camera. I'm just not used to such unabashed friendliness.

The podcast episodes are coming along well. Obviously there are places and situations where we can't whip out the camcorder (like inside a mosque or down a dark alley at night), but for the most part, we have an overabundance of material. Usually once we feel like we have enough to work with, B digitizes it into the MacBook Pro and begins the editing process using iMovie. We either compose our own music or choose from a pre-built song using GarageBand, compress the final piece, and FTP our masterpiece to my server from any internet cafe with wi-fi or an available ethernet cable. It's not a flawless system, but I'm pleasantly surprised with our success so far using fairly basic programs and services. Right on, 2006.

Vitals:
Daily plate of tavuk shish: 5 lira
Side dish of haydari to accompany daily plate of tavuk shish: 3 lira
Double room at the Sultan's Inn with a/c and cable TV: $40 per night
Snapping your own award-winning National Geographic cover photo: priceless

Subscribe to our travel podcast!

The Traveling Morans Episode 5: Turkish Delight

Watch "The Traveling Morans Episode 5: Turkish Delight".

Subscribe via iTunes, or via Feedburner.

Enjoy our latest batch of travel photos.

A big thanks to Kyle Richmond, who created our new Traveling Morans homepage/podcast image! We heart you, Kyle.