Ok, so I have traveled throughout the world, and except for Asia, never have I felt so much like a neophyte. After arriving in Moscow, we exchanged currency before we grabbed lunch. There is a little fast food place that sells mostly blinis. For those of you who don't know, a blini is a Russian pancake--served either savory or sweet. Thinking I knew what I was doing, I walk up to order and look at the menu. None of it looked familiar! Usually, well at least in Europe, the words are similar enough to make a selection. Not here. I could not even point to what I wanted. Jared, our "tour director" cleared the confusion. He got us an English menu! Now what to choose from-- probably 10+ varieties of blini, soups, honey beer, kvas, a beverage called birch sap,regular beer....too many choices! As it was lunch, I chose a cheese blini, and Julie, one of my travel companions chose a cabbage and egg. We were going to share. The blinis were a delicious lunch. I tasted the birch sap beverage, smelled the kvas and drank bubbly water from a small paper cup--they don't drink water from bottles like Americans do.
Normally, I think of myself as an adept traveler, able to order food off the menu, move about freely, and otherwise get by. Not so here. The Cyrillic Alphabet is dense, difficult. The people are not as familiar with English as other European countries. But I made it though my first day. Walked the Red Square, took selfies with St. Basils in the background, and ate Georgian food for dinner. An amazing first day. And guess what--my room from the Hotel Balchug Kempinski is indeed one with a view. I look out my window to gaze upon this famed church, and the lights of the Gum department store are lit up like Our Lady of the Snows at Christmas--breath taking.
Even though Cyrillic is dense, and the menu looks different, in the end, I am embracing this experience and enjoying it thoroughly. Because, really, who does not like pancakes? So even though you may not see blinis at home on the menu, we still all, the world over, eat and share our pancakes.
Normally, I think of myself as an adept traveler, able to order food off the menu, move about freely, and otherwise get by. Not so here. The Cyrillic Alphabet is dense, difficult. The people are not as familiar with English as other European countries. But I made it though my first day. Walked the Red Square, took selfies with St. Basils in the background, and ate Georgian food for dinner. An amazing first day. And guess what--my room from the Hotel Balchug Kempinski is indeed one with a view. I look out my window to gaze upon this famed church, and the lights of the Gum department store are lit up like Our Lady of the Snows at Christmas--breath taking.
Even though Cyrillic is dense, and the menu looks different, in the end, I am embracing this experience and enjoying it thoroughly. Because, really, who does not like pancakes? So even though you may not see blinis at home on the menu, we still all, the world over, eat and share our pancakes.