bryansk: home of partisans and their succession

As supposedly one of many relicts of communist times in Russia, there is an emergency help at every train station, which is run 24 hrs and available freely for everybody. Still having 15 min until the train leaves, we go there and experience very warm and deedful help. Not only do I get my finger precautionaryly splinted but also a straight shot of analgeticum in the behind. But now you better run and get the train!

Five hrs night train ride to the 350 km far Bryansk for € 15. As students, which we still are at least regarding our spirit, we booked "third class", which basically means 15 open cabins per cart each providing six bunk beds.

Ilyas mum picks us up at the train station at 5.30 am, and -15 °C, it is a warm welcome. She seems to be close to crying regarding the fact, that Ilya, Anna-Sofia and me had met in America and now are visiting her. During the three days in Bryansk we are served like zars. "Guten Morgen! Anna, Samuel, chai or kofi?" Combining all her skills in Russian, German and English language Ms. Osadchiy investigates our desires for drinks and food. It is not quite easy to make her understand the concept of vegeterianism, which has to be the weirdest thing in the world for any meat spoiled Russian, but at the second day, things are already clear.

In order to check my ... splinted finger, we visit the neighbourhood's doctor house. The surgery section is open 24 hrs and here again, I am helped well and unburocratically (We just dont put your case in the records). Ilya tells me afterwards how excited the doctor was to treat a foreigner (and German) and how he apologized for the low standard of his clinic (which is not so bad at all). I recieve the x-ray image and a diagnosis for further treatment back home. I am truely amazed by the Russian health system as far as I experienced it. Good shit, geiler Scheiss.

[In front of the neighborhood's medical care house in Bryansk.]

[Right after I had received my new cask.]

where there are more churches than sheep and immediate sins visitation

Susdl is part of the famous Golden Ring located 5 train hrs north east of Moscow. With approximately 11000 inhabitants, it is not quite the size of Moscow but surely can compete in terms of its churches. In which ever direction you may look, there are at least three orthodox churches in sight.

We meet up with two COUCHSURFERS, Ivan and Adriana to go there together. The train station is very nice and modern, as much as the train is not. Wooden benches, providing space for three people on each side. We are late, so there is no more seats for us. At first it is really warm, but after half an hour the furnace is turned off and restarted only irregularly for a short time. It is really cold.

The main square of Susdl is full of bouthes offering all kinds of warm socks, boots and hats. The Russians also know Grintwein, self made hot red wine with spices. Prices are like at a German Christmas market. We march through snow and over frozen rivers, visiting a couple of churches. I am not sure which sin I committed, but in any way I am punished by a twisted right ringfire when trying to climb a trail to a monarchy. It does not hurt much since my fingers are senseless from the cold.

moscow is the capital of russia

After Berlin and New York, Moscow makes a good continuation of new year's eve celebratins in huge cities. Even better of course renunified with part of the Atlanta gang. After a long night into 31st's morning getting up did not happen any early (7.00pm), so that we managed to get downtown Moscow for the change of the year 10 minutes early. It is impressive to doi a stroll around Moscows Kremlin as first thing in the new year. We dont miss the chance to visit the highly renowned hotel Ritz Carlton just around the corner. Ilya gets some souvenirs, obvouisly not exactly from the hotel's souvenir shop.

Generally it is cold, barely over -15 °C and sometimes even windy. Streets are snow covered, so are sidewalks, ince even in Moscow snow fall in January seems unexpected. We take a cap to a COUCHSURFING party. "Wear something you normally never wear" is the theme, so I become turtle man. Some Russians are excited. Anna-Sofia becomes twister queen (for sure thanks to the intensive training in summer back in Atlanta. However, the party spirit is not really getting us. On the way home we give basic first aid to an alcohol intoxinated woman laying besides the street using the famous recovery position. After a few minutes she already stands again slightly waveringly.

The first couple of days of our 10 days stay we don't make it out of the house before sunset, which is around 4.00 pm. Since it is holiday periode in Russia (Jan. 1st to 10th are national holidays, potentially the longest in the world) Moscow people do it the same way recovering from the long and streneous work year. Moscow is probably anyways most beautiful at night, which we can see at a great view point close to the university of Moscow. Although I wear pantihose, trousers and a windbreaking top layer plus woulen socks and five layer on the upper body, I am freaking cold. The way to dress in such conditions is fur mantle and hat, combined with high heeled boots for the women, thats how the Russians do it. It looks fancy and is warm.

Fortunately, there is a lonely branch of an awesome Russian fast food chain at the scenic terasse. ... : Whole baked potatoes with cheese and butter and all kinds of toppings. Half a liter of beer is little more than a Euro. We heat up our feet at a small electric radiator. Next to it, there is a thick ice layer on the inside of the wall. Souvenir seller wrap up their tables outside.

finnish sauna at the northern edge of California

While our America's Best Value Inn room was already really nice - who would expect that - this magnificent spot in California's most northern larger populated area named Crecent City even offered a Spa including a chaccousi and a sauna.
Since it is actually chilly up north here, especially at the rough Pacific coast, we were so going to do some sauning. In the early evening, the whole spa located in between the parking lots was ours. My mum, an experienced saunist, was little concerned about missing but essential features like sufficient towels, towel wracks and the lack of nudity. It is really weird to sit in a sauna wearing a swim suits. But hey, its complementary and it was actually pretty nice ... until THEY came.
They were a typical (I did not say that!) US-American end of forties couple and obviously not so sauna experienced. Wearing full rope, they first climbed into the jaccousi, puffing and blowing. Later on, we had to share the sauna with'em. "It is gonna get a full house in here, ehu", the guy said entering the small room, soaked and dripping all over. Way better even was the entering of her. When she placed her butt on the wooden bench, the sound was like pouring a 10 gallon bucket from the 5 th floor on the street. Seriously, I think not only her pants and underwear was pressed out, but also other parts back there. Ok, so were they sitting there eventually. "Baby, I don't remember when I had a real good swet the last time". That was him, and I had the hardest time not laughing when imagining him doing sweaty activities - or not doing them, as he said. My mum just left after them entering and I followed her, not hearing what he actually said about his last real good swet experience, which he apparently remembered - in presence of his girlfriend/wife.
Oh, the sauna was brought to us buy Finnlandia Sauna. Thank you!

it's getting hot out here

While describing my dune climb in the Mojave Desert, there would be no way doing this in one of the hottest places, Death Valley. We slept in sight of the highest thermometer in the world (yes, they do it biiig), which measures 134 feet. The equivalent temperature (56°C) was measured in 1937 or so. And really, it is insanely hot. When standing inside the Park, in the large valley of death, there is a constant wind, which feels exactly like a huge hair blower directed at you. Still, facing 116°F, I barely ever swet, which is so nice. However, physical excercise is torture. You cant stand any ten minutes outside without a bottle of water in front of your mouth. In the center of the valley, Bad Water is the lowest elevation in the Western Hemisphere (who the heck knows what this exactly is?), - 78 m below see level. Few miles away, mountains as high as 2800 meters arise. Star Wars and many other movies were shot here, which makes perfect sense considering the the moon like rock formations.
After driving and walking through heat and dryness (around 0 % humidity, 6 cm precipitation per year in average) an ice cold beer at Furnace Creek oasis (well chosen name!) feels sooo good.
To further illustrate the present heat, it is interesting to see that "cold" water from the tab is still so warm, that even I take ice in it, which does not last long melting in minutes. Warm tab water is therefore as steamy hot, that you can easily prepare a tea right away, true story.
In the information and visitor centers everywhere around the parks, friendly staffs welcome you, giving true advice about what to see and do. And there is free stuff everywhere, wifi in the middle of nowhere. One lady in a flea market store in tiny Shoshone, which is a really cute place with 47 (?) inhabitants at the entrance to Death Valley, was so excited about our visit, that she felt like giving us one of the self painted travel bags crafted by herself.
Driving and climbing up the sourrunding mountains in Death Valley brings cooler Temperatures. Actually, at around 2200 m hight, it gets already chilly, in the middle of the desert. At the trail head in a remote valley, 7 charcole kilns (Holzkohle Meiler) from 1879 (!) are still standing there like being in use, since they had only produced charcole for 3 years. Such relicts of the times of gold rush can be found all over the place, and its impressive to imagine how people have been living under such severe conditions more than hundrets of years ago.

acknowledgement

Thank you, America (and I mean the USA, sorry all other Americas) for creating the National Parks all over the nation. It seems like one of your best achievements (besides free drinking fountains and beverage refills). Everything is kept really neat, the park roads seem to be in better condition than in the rest of the country. There are abundant and nice rest areas, toilets even at the most remote trail head. It also feels safe, I do not feel terrified of being shot around the next corner (just kidding). I want to conclude with a citation to the US citizens, which is most likely both incomplete and altered without indication. Also I forgot the : "Welcome home. The National Parks are all yours. Come and discover the rich variety of these lands connect with it. It is the land, the connects all of us." (I ll try to find the true statement, since such a statement by unknown author is admittedly little pointless. Its my effort to give my blog more substance. And I know I fail, but I ll keep trying. Hope thats not what they ll write on my grave stone at the end of my days, though.)

the story of the tortoise

I really wanna share the story of a small desert inhabitant with hard crust but soft inside. Theses tortoises live up to 80 years and are capable of surviving without water for more than a year. This is possible due to their uberbladder, which retains liquid and makes it reaccessible for the tortoise's metabolism. Isn't that amazing? However, not everything in their life is as easy as it sounds like. Desert tortoises suffer from a mean enemy, know as man. Such one approaching a tortoise or even touching it, can terrify the latter in such a way, that it urinates, loosing too much liquid to survive until the next rain. Poor thing.