Strong geometric patterns, the juxtaposition of the large imposing wall with the small, vulnerable child, the solitary image of the boy with his toy — this photograph by fiznatty has it all. Beautiful capture of a child in play in downtown Moscow – well done!
If you’ve got some great travel shots you’d love to share, be sure to upload them to the Gadling pool on Flickr. We might just pick one as our Photo of the Day.
At the start of this episode of Amazing Race 14, after an overnight rest from stacking wood, shutter building or both, teams took off from Krasnoyarsk, Siberia for Novosibirsk on a 400-mile journey via the Trans- Siberian Railway. The sleeper cars of the night train gave most a chance for some shut-eye and a lovely scene of the moon glimmering on snow as the train wound along the tracks.
Tumbling out of the mint green train station, teams made a dash to find taxis to take them to Punkt Tehnicheskogo Osmotra which somehow put Mark & Michael darting across the multi-lane road in the middle of traffic. But as one of them said, “Being stunt men, we know how to get hit by cars.” The taxi ride to the first clue box was the last of other people driving which might have been welcome relief for those who have problems with taxi drivers smoking.
For the first task, teams drove themselves either to Stadium Spartak to drive a snow plow or to a massive apartment complex to look for a Russian bride and drive her to a specific church to find her groom. The first task was easier. Driving the manual transmission Ladas to get to the snow plows was harder than actually driving the enormous vehicles through an obstacle course. Roads in Siberia after a snow are slick and the traffic, although organized with traffic lights and roundabouts is not easy when looking for landmarks. As Victor ground gears and slid he said, “Clearly, we don’t know how to drive in Russia.”
Luckily each time teams got lost, people were more than willing to help and a couple of times led teams to their destinations by driving in front of them so they could follow.
There was only one point when Tammy gave me the impulse to smack her. While she was waiting for Victor finish driving the snow plow for her turn, she said something like, “The largest thing I’ve ever driven is a Mercedes Benz..” Yes, Tammy, you are special.
As the episode editing cut back and forth between those driving the plows and those looking for the bride, the church and the groom, it was clear that the snow plow driving was the easiest choice but not so interesting. The bride finding involved a trip up stairs to knock on doors to see if a bride would come out–sort of like a cuckoo clock striking the hour. The teams interacted with the brides commenting on how lovely they looked. Flight attendants Christie & Jodi apologized for not being dressed appropriately for such an austere occasion. “If we really came to your wedding, we’d look a lot nicer,” one said.
Only one bride became worried by the exercise of driving with Americans who didn’t know what they were doing. took their bride to the wrong church at first. That was after they had stopped to ask a gaggle of young men drunk on vodka for directions. They didn’t take these yahoos advice, through particularly after one of them pinched Christie’s butt and asked for her phone number. Another person they asked for directions led them astray, but as one of them said, the church was lovely–just not the right place. Instead of bitching at each other, they decided to just keep forging ahead which certainly makes for more enjoyable travel–and television. Once the right church was found, the bride ran to her groom in relief.
Next stop for each of the teams was the Gosudarstvennaya Publichnaya Nauchnaya Tekhnicheskaya Biblioteka and the next clue. This is where one team member stripped down to his or her underwear to run 1.4 miles to the Novosibirsk Ballet and Opera Theater in 27 degree Fahrenheit temperatures. Very funny and an indication of how people do things while traveling in another country that might horrify them at home.
If you’re ever on the Amazing Race, pay attention to the underwear you’re wearing. Christie ran in a G-string and Jen had to put on underwear before she started running. The passersby didn’t seem to mind. Christie’s dash was met with a lot of whooping and car honking. Mark reported he was given his fair share of attention also. Considering he’s shorter than five-feet tall, I can imagine.
This leg was where Margie and Luke’s decision to U-turn Amanda and Kris paid off. This mother & son duo came in first again winning a trip to St. Lucia. As each member of a team came dashing around the last corner in his or her underwear, the ones who had come in before cheered.
Christie & Jodi came up last, but happily this wasn’t an elimination round. With Jodi’s finger bandaged after slamming it in the car door and Christie wondering what her father might think of her G-string, this was a happy ending to a visually interesting episode. It was particularly beautiful at the end where there was the visual treat of a ballet being performed on stage. Each time a new team stepped on the mat, a young girl broke out from the corps and headed to center stage with a graceful sweep of her arm saying, “Welcome to Novosibirsk.”
I bet the teams had a great time rehashing this particular day. One thing that’s clear this year is that this is any team’s game.
[Photos from Amazing Race 14 Web site.]
What’s going on in Moscow? If you have any valuables in your luggage, they may not be there when you get to the hotel! Well, maybe the odds are better now that police at the city’s main international airport have arrested several luggage handlers suspected of sifting through bags and pocketing the good stuff.
The thefts began in early January at Sheremetyevo Airport. It seems that a daily flight to Sharm el-Sheik, a Red Sea resort in Egypt, was the most popular target. This destination is something of a favorite among Russians. So, the bags on Nord Wind Flight 1921 were lightened a bit, especially of cameras, computers and jewelry.
Police spokeswoman Yelena Starkova was stingy with the details, not revealing how many arrests were made or the value of the stolen goods.
Travelers around the world are waiting for the day when the borders to Russia open wider to visitors. Although the formerly Communist country does and will accept tourists, the application process is long and expensive — you don’t just wander up to the border to Russia, get your passport stamped and mosey down to Red Square, no, before visitors to the Red State are even allowed to apply for a visa they need to be sponsored, a process that isn’t difficult but one that takes time, money and most of all, patience.
Now that the Obama administration has the reigns, however, many have high hopes for better relations between the United States and some of her formerly cold neighbors. Cuba, for example, has recently been hinting at welcoming American citizens back into the island nation and kick starting its economy.
Such is the message that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is taking with her as she circles the globe: Give us some time and space to figure things out and rebuild bridges — we’re not here to fight.
Or at least that’s what she thought she was saying to Sergi Lavrov, Russia’s Secretary of State and a prominent official with whom she met last week. In an attempt to get relations started off on the right foot, Mrs. Clinton presented Lavrov with a gag “reset button” that was meant to symbolize the resetting of relations between the former Cold War foes.
On the bottom was written RESET, in English, while the top said PEREGRUZKA, in Russian. Which does not mean “reset.” It means “OVERLOAD.”
Thankfully, Mr. Lavrov took the gaff in stride and the meeting still went well. And with any luck, relations between the east and west will soon become even warmer, making we American tourists one step closer to easy weekend caviar and vodka trips to Moscow.
During episode 4 of this season’s Amazing Race, the teams headed off in the middle of the night from Bucharest to Krasnoyarsk, Siberia via Moscow. Unlike getting to Bucharest from Salzburg, Moscow from Bucharest is a piece of cake. Flights went through Munich, Frankfurt and Sofia, Bulgaria. Half the teams were on one flight and half on another once they reached Moscow. After the teams landed in Krasnoyarsk they were in for some fun and games with wood piles and bobsleds.
Here’s one travel tip: On the way to the airport, flight attendants Christie and Jodi stopped at an Internet cafe to find the best option and book tickets. Those flight attendants sure know how to zip through airplane schedules.
This episode was the best so far for giving each team air time, and again showing off the flavor of the country. In Siberia there were traces of snow and grey skies, but the people were friendly and seemed happy to be part of the reality TV experience. Plus, taxi drivers seemed to know where they were going and the traffic was minimal. Besides that, the teams seemed to be enjoying each other each time their paths crossed. Also, when a team experienced bad luck, the others close by doled out sympathy.
First stop, the Krasnoyarsk Hydroelectric Dam–no bungee jumping this time, just the clue for the next stop and a look at Lenin’s face. This is where this episode began to get dicey.
Once teams headed to the charming, small wooden Church of Innukenty, they could either stack wood or build traditional wooden shutters for a house in need of some TLC. Each task was to give a nod to Siberian winters and had to be done exactly.
The wood pile was daunting for half of the teams who tried. One wrong move and half the enormous pile came tumbling down–and in the worst case scenario, taking the already stacked pile partially with it. While teams were busy stacking, there were some Siberians hanging out drinking, eating sausage cooked that was cooked over an open fire, and playing music to add in some cultural backdrop.
Once some of the teams gave up on wood stacking, the shutter building business proved to be a doable task, but like any task done under pressure, finding the house to put the shutters on gave a couple of the teams pause.
Because the teams were spread out time wise, this episode provided a rollicking switch back and forth between tasks as some teams moved on to the second task while others were just starting the first one. Split screen TV comes in handy.
Once teams either stacked their wood, or made their shutters and fastened them to the house, they were off to the Museum of the Novel “The Last Bow” and the next clue. Here Margie and Luke did a “Blind U-Turn” to Amanda and Kris, who, earlier in the episode, were waxing poetic on how their youth and competitiveness made them a shoo-in to win the million. Yeah, right.
Next stop, Bobrovy Amusement Park and a speedy ride down the 3 miles of a bobsled course keeping track of the 7 letters in the name of a famous Russian playwright. One thing was clear, Russian literature isn’t general knowledge information. Victor was one of the few who knew the answer straight off and seemed to think Anton Chekhov isn’t exactly obscure.
As an interesting aside, this task offered a slight glimpse into what people who are deaf have to deal with when it comes to the interplay between American Sign Language, English and another language. Luke was operating through his second language, English to figure out an answer in another language. It took him several attempts, but by trying various combinations he eventually got it right.
Like last week, this week showed that this season is any team’s game. As Mike said after he and his dad hung their shutters after the wood pile task went bust, then finished the bobsled task and found out that other teams were behind them at the bobsled course, “Just when you think you’re out of this race, you’re back in.”
Once the bobsled task was done, off the teams galloped to the Krasnoyarsk State Musical Comedy Theater.
Who won?: Christie and Jodi made it to the Pit Stop first with Kesha and Jen a close second. For their win, they each received a 650 motorcycle.
Who lost? Amanda and Kris came in last due to their U-Turn, but took it well. They have their love and maybe will pep things up in Ko Samui, Thailand where the other losers are at the Elimination Station.