Day 5, 6, 7:Kostroma

Day 5, 6, 7: Kostroma

Word of the day: смешной [smeshnoy]: Funny 

I'm sorry my blogger friends for not writing for a few days, but we have been in Kostroma, Russia for the past little bit and there was absolutely no service. Kostroma is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. We went there to check out the new NOV factory that will be built in the near future. Before we left, we stopped by the supermarket to get some snacks and a Dr. Pepper of course.  We were both surprised to see a Dr. Pepper because they aren't very commonly sold around here. I was a pretty happy camper. We got on the train in Moscow Wednesday afternoon and got to Kostroma about four hours later. The train ride was a little hot and stuffy with a little bit of stink to it. People in Russia don't really wear deodorant...don't ask me why. Anyway, it was fun getting out of the city and seeing what it was like.  The city is basically a lot of tall buildings full of soviet style and newer apartments, nice cars, metro stations, restaurants and shops, and business buildings.  On the way to Kostroma, I saw colorful worn down houses, each with their own style and unique architecture, gardens, wide open spaces, and older style cars. To give you an idea of what the train ride looked like, here are some pictures...

A few of these houses may also be summer homes for people living in Moscow or other places.
They like to have summer homes with gardens in the country to get away from the city life for a bit.

 

I have seen a few smashed cars on the street and eventually they clean them up.

There were a bunch of trees everywhere in Kostroma and on our way there.  Lumber is commonly sold here in Russia. 

I think the drapes add a little bit of flare.

So that was basically all I saw for four hours. When we finally arrived in Kostroma, Tony, the director of the NOV factory project, picked us up and took us to his house. His house was about an hour away from the train station. There were SO many potholes during the drive, but luckily he drove a Toyota land cruiser. It was a nice ride, we barely even felt how crazy huge the potholes were. He told us that the people here fill the potholes when it is raining so that it doesn't last very long and they have to fix them again; it's a clever way to make more money.  On our way, I basically saw the same things that I saw on the train, only there were fewer houses and it was even more in the middle of nowhere. We did see a few crazy things though...we saw a truck full of some type of gravel or sand tipped over in the middle of the road and a random lady riding a horse, which I didn't get a clear picture of. But here are a few pictures of that bumpy ride...

The potholes.  

The sign on the top is pronounced "Kostroma" and the one on the bottom is "Yaroclavl"

                                

The tipped over truck (obvious caption, I know)

The cars here are so dirty from all the roads and black melting snow.
It looks like everyone went mudding by the end of a typical drive.

When we got to Tony's place, he told us that he lived in a resort of cabins.  He and his fiancee had their own cabin while others were able to rent them for vacation or stay at the hotel on the resort's land. There was a few different restaurants there, an indoor pool, and a ZOO. A ZOO. How cool is that! We went to dinner at one of the restaurants and I had some yummy Salmon. Man, it was amazing! I am a huge fan of fish. Max had some Borsch, which is a type of soup that Russia has. It most commonly has beats, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, meat. I tried some and I really liked it. I wouldn't mind having it again and I am sure I will. After dinner we went back to the cabin and got some sleep.

The Resort: Romanov Lec 

The Resort. Beautiful Cabins.

Bobcat nervously pacing

 The next day, Tony took us around Kostroma and showed us what it was all about. A few things that really stood out in my mind was how many soviet style apartments were around. The area was very old and with that comes a lot of really interesting history. One story that really fascinated me was about this Russian man by the name of Ivan Susanin. This is how the shortened story goes...Poland was trying to invade Moscow from a different angle that they wouldn't expect and in result passed through Kostroma.  They didn't know their way through Kostroma so they decided to ask a local. This local turned out to be Ivan Susanin. Knowing that he was dead either way, he lead them the wrong way and into a swamp. When they got into the swamp, they began to sink; it had the same effect as quicksand. After they all sunk, Poland's army of thousands were dead and they decided not to attack any more. He is now recognized as a hero of Russia and they made a statue of him in his honor. If you want to learn more about this story or you want the longer, more detailed version, you can go to this website... http://russiapedia.rt.com/on-this-day/july-11/

We also toured the land where the huge NOV factory will be and their offices. It was a fun and interesting day, I learned a lot. We also went to the mall/supermarket/arcade all combined into one building and went on this way awesome "7-D" ride. We rode mechanical horses while wearing 3-D glasses and we got sprayed with water. It was a sweet ride.

Robert, the only black guy in Kostroma, Russia (New story, recently added) 
When we went home, we grilled some meat and ate some potato salad with one of Tony's friends, Robert and his little boy, Martin. It was, again...SO YUMMY! I haven't stopped thinking about how good it was. I love food way too much. As we ate dinner, Robert told us some funny stories. First of all, keep in mind that there aren't a whole lot of American's in Kostroma, or the countryside of Russia in general. Second of all, there aren't a whole lot of black people in Russia. Robert is both an American and a black man living in the countryside of Russia. Everyone in Kostroma refers to him as "their black man". He is a celebrity there. He has been on TV multiple times and he is often called to do reality TV shows. One day he was driving home and someone rear-ended him. They both got out of their cars and the guy that rear-ended Robert asked if he could just give him money to fix it.  He was in a hurry and the police take forever. Robert thought, well I pay for insurance and never use it, so I need to use it this time. He told the man that he wanted him to stay. He then told him to get his phone, call the police, and tell them that he hit the black guy. Two minutes later the police were there yelling at the man saying, "You hit our black guy!" haha Robert walked up to the policemen and they were relieved that he was okay. They were not very happy about his little joke to get them there faster, but laughed it off in the end. They love him. Another funny story that he told us (he had ALOT) was when his second child, Sabrina, was born. They were in the emergency room and when the baby was coming out Robert said, "Honey, this baby is completely white, blonde hair and everything." His wife reassured him that the baby would probably change color and get darker when it was fully out. When the baby came out, it didn't change colors. In fact, it was completely white with blonde hair. The doctors and nurses left the room because it was really awkward. How does a black man give birth to a completely white baby?  His wife is Russian, very white, with blue eyes and blond hair, but usually dark genes dominate. They took DNA testing to prove that it was in fact his baby. He has to carry around the documents showing it is his child because he has been stopped multiple times and asked why he had a white baby with him. They thought he stole the baby! He was quite the character. His stories were really amusing. 

Firetruck in Volgorechensk (a little place outside of Kostroma)

7-D Ride

The last day we were there, it was pretty boring. We just went to the office and I literally just sat there for a few hours while the business man did their thing. Then we ate and headed back to Moscow. It was another four hours before we got home. 

Our drive...

Pulled over by the Russian police (New story recently added)

On our way home, we got pulled over by the Russian police at one of the check points. I guess Tony had been speeding a little bit. It was kind of scary at first because I didn't know what to expect. Tony got out of the car and went over to the police car. Here in Russia, they have A LOT of paperwork. Everything is documented...well, not everything. When Tony came back with his pile of documents and papers, he and his fiancee began speaking back in forth to each other in Russian. I didn't understand any of it, but later Max translated for me. She asked Tony if he had to pay a fine. He said that he gave them a blue one. A blue one meant, 1,000 rubles (about $30). She then said, "so you paid a bribe?" and he kept denying it. Finally, she just started laughing. He had paid the policeman 1,000 rubles to get out of a ticket. He bribed them. It is funny how Russia's legal system works. Bribes are really helpful when you are caught in tough situations. 

When we got home, guess what we found...yup! Another cockroach. Cockroach number 2. This time we killed it. Gross, I can't talk about it. Then we went to bed. (don't look, I made it very small for a reason) 

That was basically our last couple of days. Pretty exciting and fun stuff! I am loving Russia so far, but definitely miss the convenience and food of the U.S.A. We will be home before we know it and I know I will miss it, so I am going to enjoy every minute of it. I can't wait to share more of our Russian adventures.