30 April 2011

From St Petersburg to a Small Valhalla

Just after midnight at 0030 7 May, our train leaves for our summer life in Tverskaya Oblast.  A one way ticket costs rubles 765.5 = $27.93, for a comfortable ride in a compartment with foldout beds.  If you run a line from Petersburg and another over from Riga, Latvia, they intersect near our simple Valhalla.  Our doctor cousin is returning to Pena with us after a short visit to SPb.

We plan to stay in nearby Zaloze through the beginning of September... from planting to harvesting, from cold dampness to warm swimming waters.  All this requires planning, and trying to not forget essentials. 

Tonight my cable stops until September 1, so I will pack the computer, a Beeline USB, a never used battery, wires,  and chargers for the cellphone and  camera.  I have a box of paperbacks received from Book Mooch ready to go!

We hired Dima to bring the new-old refrigerator, an electric cultivator, an electric lawnmower, and everything else but a few carry-ons for the train.  The cost for him to drive here and take all this back is rubles 10,000 @27.40496= $364.96.  The US greenback is getting uncomfortably weak.

I am sad to leave running water including showers, easy mail delivery, and good food shopping... but eager again to live in a house with windows on all sides, lots of fresh air, and the chance to just step outside without elaborate dressing and using a vandalized elevator.

My plan is to be connected to the Internet by cellphone network USB within a few days of our arrival.   If the battery is still good I’ll be able to sit under the apple trees and write you a post about the work and beauty all around me.  See you then!

2 comments:

  1. I hope you have a wonderful and relaxing holiday! :)

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  2. Thanks! Now that we are settled and the weather is warmer, it's a good life here! I look forward to more Interculturist posts!

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