5. Weekend at the dacha
This Friday I went straight home after work. Packed my stuff and changed clothes. Then Lolita and her parents picked me up at 20:45 and we hit the road. Their dacha is located close to Volokolamsk around 130 km from the city center. We weren’t the only ones going to the dacha a Friday evening so the traffic was rather heavy. It us around 2,5 hours to get there. Usually you can make it in 1,5 hours. We were all rather tired whenever got there so called it an evening.
Relaxation, good food and Russian banya on Saturday
The Saturday was about relaxation. I got out of bed late, had breakfast went out to the hammock and read for a while. After that, I and Lolita took a walk. In the evening, we had a typical Russian barbeque with shashliki (pork grilled on toasting irons). Sergey, one of the neighbors came over as we were having dinner. He told us that he was firing up the banya and that we were welcome over. So, we all went over after a while. Sergey’s brother and father was there as well. My mother-in-law and Lolita styed for a short while and said hello before going back. So, I and my father-in-law stayed with the other men. It was nice and relaxing with some good banya. I thought to myself this is so Russian, as I sat outside the banya between the rounds at a table full of snacks. Of course, we had some drinks of vodka and something ‘home-made’. As the evening progressed, Sergey brought out his rifle so we could go shooting on the lawn. Unfortunately (luckily?), he couldn’t find any ammunition so we gave up the shooting. Overall it was a great evening; the full Russian experience and I am grateful for all the hospitality everyone shows.
Return to Moscow
On Sunday, we repeated what we did on the Saturday with exception for the dinner and banya. We went back to Moscow as the evening closed. Very nice weekend indeed and now I feel relaxed and ready for a new week at work.
/Anton
