Schorle

this has to be in german, non swabians don't get the meaning or the drink anyway :)

Wenn man in russland einen apfelsadtschorle bestellt, was schon mal einiges an erklaerungsbedarf kostet, kommt das mit ner flasche perrier. Waere ja auch echt schade wenn mal was unter 8 euro kostet. Stimmt;)

lg

accidents / traffic

Did I mention that I had two minors accident in the last month?

Two times somebody crashed me in my rear. Once a girl in stop and go, once a guy in a stop – stop no go situation. Just everybody stayed since minutes when he decided to drive. But ok, the guy was drunk and in a Lada. Nothing happened.
In case of the girl it was a bit more annoying, as that I finally made my way home after 90 min in the traffic jam. And almost at home she crashed into me and I had to wait 2 hours for the police.

Interesting about Russia is, that you are forbidden to move you car in case of any accident (they are supposed to change this law no). Means you wait and block the stress for everybody else. What caused traffic james, what causes accidents, what causes traffic james…you get the picture ;)

You anyway see easily 5 – 10 accidents here every day.
Just for you reference, attached a picture of the streets and a scan of one page of the street map here, as that you can see the kind of intersections you face here.

Gilles

P.S. by the way, in Russia the traffic jam topics beats weather and sport as smalltalk topic. You can discuss is with anybody, they will always agree and everybody has a strong emotional bond to it ;)

Apparment Search in Moscow

I am currently again taking a look for a new apartment. My one is great, but I am feed up with the traffic jam. Sure, I know about the pricing in Moscow. And I absolutely accept pay 2000 dollar a month for an apartment (I am not happy about, but hey, this is Moscow).
Actually a lot of people would tell this, that 2000 dollars are still cheap (including my real eastat agent).
What is just partly true. This people have either apartments payed by the company or no experience in Russia or usually both. So they get ripped of by the landlord and agents. When my agent tried to explain me that 2000 dollars are nothing I simply asked here why she is not rich. After all she gets 1 or 2 month of commission and is supposed to make a couple of deals a month.
Still, I am surprised about the bad quality they are going to offer you. Russians lacks style in this terms. The picture attached are for an apartment for 1 900 Dollar. I watched another (no pictures) which was even worse. 2 200 Dollars a month for something which had a grandmother style. (blush, thick carpets, awful couch, squiggled picture frames *brrrr* ).
No discussion even about the heating system, isolation or common staircase.

Poka

Gilles

P.S. do you know that you in Russian describe a apartment as "renovated" or "euro-renovated". Euro-Renovated means more or less european style. The pictures below are euro-renovated. This means (for me) just renovated is just clean Russian understanding of the word and this is more or less "you don't mind the details of housing".

welcome at home

Wow, couple of weeks ago I arrived in Germany and how did the country welcome me?
"welcome at home, please don't forget to pay you fees for watching TV"

The point is, that 3 of the dozened German channels are federal. So everybody with any kind receiver (even a laptop) has to pay for the possibility of watching it.

Sometimes Germany is stranger than Russia.

Moldovian Hospitality

I was last week in Moldovia, in the capital Chisinau.
Not really a place I used to be. On business the turnover is almost nothing. So I am not too much there.

Exactly the reason I went there to see it with my own eyes.
It was pretty wired,

in 24 h....

2 cutoms officers
1 police (after work in civil)
3 police in uniforms in a car (I used to chase away the first)
2 police patrolling the street
3 military police (who accompanied the two aboce)

...wanted bribery.

I made them a hard time in avoiding this, with 4 years of Russia experience.
It happens everywhere that government officials (usually the traffic police) mix up a foreigner and a cash maschine.
But this amount of incounters was extrem. I am not sure if I just had very bad luck or if it is normal. But unfortunately I guess it is.

Then there was also a raid of masked special forces (something you hear in Russia, but appears very rarely)... with all people around me seems to be with perfectly fine.

Yap, and finally we went over to Kiev on a ferry which was merely a steel raft with some cars on it which a guys pulled over the river on a steel rope.
All in all, Ukraine and Russia seemed very high developed afterwards.

I feel like Moldova never really came out of the situation, where Russia was in the wild 90s.
Thanks good Russia made a long way to become this country where I enjoy to life in (even though this blog not always sound like :)

Marry a foreigner :)

I saw a flayer on the streets of Kiev. It say...

Marry a foreigner

Getting a real gentlemen as groom form French, Germany, Australia, GB, Sweden (...)
All services for free and you get as present 28 lessons of english and a professional photo.

Honestly, I am surprised. Didn't expect to find something like this anymore. Ukraine is a well developed country which in my mind is pretty far ahead. Anyway, obvious still existing:)

At the other hand, all this "russian bridge" spam we get need their "human capital" from somewhere.

High Hell Race & Taxi Trouble

It can just be so fun to be in Moscow... :o)Here two of the things which happens today

High Hell Race
There is an annual race in a couple of town in Russia. Russian girls get on their heels and then they run for a price of 100.000 Rubel (approx. 3k Euro).
This actually makes perfect sense in a countrym wheremen only can wonder how the female party of the society manage manage to walk on heels even on clear ice (in short skirts). Besides this it is an delight to watch for me, as that my company sells also stuff to orthopedic surgeons:)
Movie below, some pictures here.

Taxi
In Moscow you just stop a car and negotiate a price, instead using a taxi. Sometimes stops just a normal car who makes some pocket money, sometimes a limousine where the chauffeur has the same idea and usually an old, crappy Lada with an guy from middle Asia who makes so his living.
This isn't actually as dangerous as it sound. But a lot of funny stories rank around this kind of taxis. Yesterday for example the car stopped in the middle of the road, we blocked all, chorus of horns, the driver got out and made a quick repair. Here a pick of my friend and the open hood with the driver in the background :)