Vladimir (Volodya to his friends) and his wife, Tatyana, are the TWO MOST HOSPITABLE Russians I have ever encountered! They treated me like their son. The dacha experience (life in "the country") I had thanks to them was unforgettable, berry-picking and all! Volodya is a retired Russian Army colonel and a psychologist (and is actually a professor at Murom U.) He and his wife-- she is a school teacher who speaks some English-- really love their country place. He renovated an old 1940s era dacha (dacha comes from the Russian verb "to give" and refers to the actual plot of land given to Soviet citizens) house and built his own Russian-style banya (steambath) behind it. He also installed a hot water shower next to the banya... In a country where the hot water is turned off every summer for days at a time, he's living in the lap of luxury.The banya is a part of Russian culture-- it's more than a sauna. There's a ritual to going in and coming out to shower off three times. The temperature inside was abour 150 degrees and when inside, you wear a silly-looking, almost elf-like wool hat ("to keep your head from burning"). Flagellation with a handful of wet birch branches while you're in there is supposed to be therapeutic... I don't know what medicinal properties birch trees have, but I know that when all was said and done, I was cured like a ham. I really DID feel refreshed (like someone had ripped off my old skin and put me in a new one)... There's nothing like a naked 65-year old man covered in sweat and wearing an elf hat beating you with tree branches. Oh well, as we say, there's one way and there's the Russian way...
After we went through three times, Stacie and Tatyana went in. Stacie had never experienced a banya (my only other experience was a public banya in Moscow three years ago-- not QUITE the up close and personal treatment I got at the dacha!) before, so she was a little apprehensive perhaps. But we could hear the two of them chatting and laughing from outside, where the Colonel was building a fire... In the end, Tatyana really enjoyed talking with Stacie (and even shared some anecdotes about her husband with her). We drank beer and chatted around the fire until later in the evening, then The Colonel brought out the accordian and sang a tune or two... We really had a good time (and, again, all slept in the same room-- a little too close for comfort for me, but it was only for a few hours)!
When we were eating breakfast, they gave both me AND Stacie parting gifts. It was very nice of them. I will truly remember my time with them as one of the most positive real-life cultural experiences in Russia! Unfortunately, I don't have enough time to tell all the stories I have about The Colonel (his driving, his sense of time, his talking to himself, his fondness of repeating "No need to hurry... I'm a pensioner... and you are on vacation." as we're running late, etc.)
The first picture below is of the three of us as we were getting ready to drive over to Murum U. to get the bus back to Vladimir today. The other two are of Volodya last night.
Tonight we're off to St. Peterburg at 10pm on a sleeper train. More from St. Petersburg...
So, stay tuned!
