The Wedding

Katya and Vitalik were married on Saturday, July 14, 2007, in a beautiful wedding. I was honored to be the stand-in-father of the groom (since Vitalik's father had left the family long ago). Part of my duties involved giving a little speech at the wedding office. I did this in English (with Nadia translating) and then in Russian on my own. I think that the best feature of my speech was that it was short: "I love you and we all love you very much and wish the best for you."

The Russian wedding tradition is very similar to American weddings, but there are some unique features. One such feature is that the groom has initially to ransom the bride before he can see her. This is done in a fun and light way. Part of the ransom is answering questions about the bride. Vitalik bravely did this as he went through a series of questions and exercises going up four flights of stairs to his mother's apartment where Katya awaited. I participated in this exercise my asking Vitalik to tell me my name and when I had first met Katya. He gave the correct answer: February, 1996. I had given him the answer the day before.

Here is Katya waiting for Vitalik. (Remember that you can left-click on any photo to view it in larger format.)

Here is Vitalik coming to ransom his bride.
The bridal couple together at last.

Although they did not have a church wedding (which they may have at a later date), the wedding did have a religious elememt. The mothers of the bride and groom gave them icons with a Christian blessing.

Family and friends ready to go the the wedding office.

The older lady is Katya's great aunt, Tonia.

The girl in the foreground is Julia, seventeen-year-old cousin of Katya.

More relatives: Vladimir is Katya's uncle (her mother's brother). His wife is Ludmila. Her father was Korean. Their daughter, Tatyana, on the left, is a 23-year old university student. I have a balalaika given to me by Vladimir in 1997 when I visited the family in Novgorod.

Entering the wedding office. It is more like a wedding hall and the ceremony is like our church weddings rather than our civil ceremonies. The recorded music playing as they entered was the familiar tune, "Here comes the bride..."

Here is the government official presiding over the wedding ceremony which consisted of her making a short speech, asking obligatory questions. "Will you have this man? Will you have this woman?" The couple signed a wedding registry in four places, had a ring exchange (to piped in music of Stevie Wonder "I love you just the way you are.") Later someone told me that the wedding office officials had understood that half the wedding party would be Americans so they provided their best wedding person for the ceremony. Perhaps they were disappointed to discover that there was only one American.

The entire wedding party

Immediate relatives and friends

After the ceremony there is the tradition of going through the city visiting verious historic sites. They visited the eternal flame, strolled across the pedestrian bridge with Vitalik carrying Katya the entire way, drove out of town about 20 miles to the General Suvorov museum (where we got to ring some old bells), and finally about 5 p.m. back to the restaurant at the Sports Complex. Here is Katya riding a horse to the bridge. The sign in back is a picture of the bridge. It says, "I love Borovichi."

Here is one of two long tables of people enjoying the wedding feast.

Katya's sister Masha with husband Dima (Dimitri). The sisters treated me by singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" which I had taught them when they were still young girls.

they sing beautifully together.

Tanya and Masha

The youngest and oldest of Katya's relatives: little Olga and aunt Tonia. I danced with both.

Aunt Tonia and three of her grandaughters

We danced and danced and danced some more until about 1:30 a.m.

More wedding guests. I didn't know these people, but they asked me to take their photo so I obliged.

There were lots of merry games and fun events. Here is a stand-in bridal party. There was a master of ceremonies, a very energetic woman. One game was questions to selected guests. I was asked, "How often do you need love?" The only phrase I could think of in Russian was "Every day". That brought approving laughter.

Another game I participated in was playing the role of a baby while a succession of young women put a bib on me, a bonnet, had me drink most of a baby bottle of water, and rock one of them on my lap. Here I am in a hat they put on me. I think everyone was happy to have an American participating in these fun games. Many people told me, "We love the American people."

Late at night we went outside for a fireworks display. I had seen one of the boxes of fireworks earlier. In large letters it was marked KGB.

I think this photo was taken about 1:00 a.m. I still felt good, but I look a little tired.

Nadia with some young friends at the conclusion of the day.

In my next blog entry I will show you photos of the big reception on the following day. As always, I apprciate your comments. Rather going through the cumbersom process of leaving a comment on the blog, you can e-mail me directly at wmgoff@cox.net.

Village Life Old and New

When I first met the Paschin family in February, 1996, in St. Petersburg, Nadia Paschin told me of the "village" where she and her husband, Sasha, were born and where they live each summer with their twin daughters, Masha and Katya. Since Sasha and Nadia are both school teachers they have the summer free. She was very enthusiastic telling me about how wonderful it was there with a nearby river, forests where one can pick edible mushrooms, many sorts of wild berries, old houses, and lots of fresh air. She made it sound so good that I asked if I might visit them in the village. They were happy to offer me hospitality. So in the summer of 1997 I made my first visit to Borovichi. I fell in love with the serenity of the place, the rustic homes, the nearby meandering river Msta (pronounced just like it looks), the friendliness of the people. I also enjoyed the semi-celebrity status of being the only American in town. This was the real Russia. I have been back to Borovichi many times and always enjoy my visit.
Borovichi (which means something like "piney") was officially designated as a city in 1770, but Sasha who is an historian and archaeologist tells me that there is evidence it has been continuously inhabited since Neolithic times. I got various replies when I asked about the size of the population: 60,000 - 75,000. So it is really a town, not difficult to find on the map about halfway between St. Petersburg and Moscow. I've seen many positive changes since my first visit - churches being restored, a new supermarket. But this year I was really impressed with the acceleration of change that has happened since my last visit two years ago. There is a sturdy new bridge linking the two sides of the town, there is a popular new Sports Complex which opened last January, and new buildings anb homes going up everywhere. The residents are clearly enjoying a new level of prosperity. Borovichi now attracts Russian visitors both winter and summer who enjoy escaping the stressful pace of city life and relaxing in "the village".
Here are some photos showing both the old and new in Borovichi. Since I am using my own computer at home, I have not reduced the size of the photos. If you left-click on them, they will be shown large. To return to the blog, click on the back arrow.
I traveled there by train on July 11th. Tanya decided to arrive on the 13th. Wanting to avoid the crowded "platzcard" class of travel, I purchased a ticket for a "kupe", a cabin seating four with four beds. I was alone in my cabin which gave me time to read and rest during the six and a half hour trip. I was told it is about a four hour drive by car. So here I am sitting alone and happy in my cabin.
My shirt says "Russia".

The train station in Borovichi. Notice the sign.

Nadia in her kitchen preparing Russian pancakes, "blini". She had a lot to do to get ready for the wedding, but took time to be an attentative hostess to me and made sure that I was well fed.

A stack hot blini

Masha and her husband, Dima (Dimitri). The baby (twice predicted by doctors to be a girl)

is due in early August.

A colorful old wooden house framed by birch trees. I prefer the old wooden houses
to the modern brick structures.

Nadia, Katya, Vitalik (the groom), and Vitalik's mother, Tatyana,

doing some last minute bridal shopping.

This is one of the supermarkets in town - very clean and well-stocked.

This is a photo inside the supermarket

showing the location of the market in the horse and buggy days.

Tatyana and Nadia shopping.

The new "Sportivni Komplex" called "OLIMP".

The adult pool and Jacuzzi. The lap pool is off to the right. I thought I might swim a few laps, but changed my mind when I discovered how cold the water was. There are also separate men's and women's saunas on the same floor. For about $8 you can enjoy the pools for an hour and a half. For $40 you can come to the pools for an hour and a half every day all summer.

The children's pool.

We arrived an hour too early for bowling. To pass the time, we first had a coffee and snack in the cafe and then took a stroll around the neighborhood. Sasha told me that this is his favorite shirt. I gave it to him several years ago.

An outdoor market close to the Sports Complex. Notice the yellow mushrooms at the right. One vender was using an abacus, but I didn't get a photo.

Old and new buildings stand side by side.

Old wooden houses like this were torn down to make room for the new Sports Complex and adjoining hotel still under construction.

The old bridge is for pedestrians only.

The new bridge over the River Msta.

Behind the bridge is the golden cupola of an old church being restored.

Sasha bowling. It was the first time either of had bowled in Russia.

Identical twins Anton and Artium are schoolmates of Masha and Katya. They came for Katya's wedding, but also were serious about fishing every day.

A little success.

Red faced American tourist emerges from steam room in a banya (bath) in Borovichi. Banyas are one of the things I most love in Russia and cannot find in America. In my left hand I'm holding "venik", a bouquet of birch tree leaves. In my right hand I am holding a sign that says, "Slokum parim" which in English would be "With light steam". It is a popular idiom said to people emerging from a banya or even a shower. It is really not translatable, but means something like, "I hope you had a good bath, or enjoyed the steam". The steam room of the banya (which is off to the left) can get very hot. This round felt pad is useful to place on the hot wood before lying face down. The wooden spoon I am holding is used to scoop water to pour on hot stones to make steam. The fragrance of birch leaves and water or steam is something wonderful. Yes, I know, I need to loose weight. A regular banya would help.

Back Home

Yesterday evening, after countless screenings, scannings, body and baggage checks and two flights (one lasting over twelve hours), I made it from St. Petersburg, Russia, to Laguna Niguel, California. I never saw the sun set yesterday during over twenty-five hours of travel.
I will spare you all the gory details. Enough to say that I arrived home safely with all my stuff - except for a .25 liter bottle of Armenian cognac (5 star, the best) that my dear mother-in-law had given me and which I had foolishly stuffed in my backpack at the last minute. I had forgotten that the American Government has decided that liquids such as cognac can be deadly weapons, so I had to give it up. (Apparently liquids are allowed going to Russia from America, but not to America from Russia.) I was not happy with myself or the woman who first went through all my things and didn't notice or warn me about this prohibited liquid which I could have easly stuffed in my checked-in baggage. Sorry, I promised not to go into gory details.
I'm presently too jet-lagged out to update my blog with my impressions of Borovichi and the marvelous wedding I attended. However something dawned on my jet-lagged brain today: I realized that I've spoken more English back home today than in all four previous weeks of my vacation. I think many Russians thought I was a very wise and attentative conversationalist. When people asked me if I spoke Russian, I would say in Russian, "A little, but unfortunately I do not speak Russian fluently", whereby they would always assure me that I did speak Russian very well and continue to speak to me at length. And I was in fact attentative, trying hard to figure out when it was was appropriate to say Da or Nyet or simply nod my head. People always seemed to be impressed with my level of comprehension even when I didn't understand half of what they were saying. I bet I could even do the same thing with the Chinese language: simply learn the words for yes and no, smile and nod my head a lot. The Chinese would think that I was a brillant linguist!

Wonderful Wedding in the town of Borovichi

Late this evening Tanya and I returned to St. Petersburg from the town of Borovichi. Saturday we attended a marvelous wedding followed by a big "reception" Sunday. I was honored to be the stand-in father of the groom and addressed the wedding party and guests at the civil ceremony attended by about 60 people. I took lots of photos and will receive many more from the newlyweds. I have much to write about. Beside the wedding I went several times to a new "Sportivny Complex" for swiming, Jacuzzi, sauna, down a water slide for the first time in my life, and even bowling. We also enjoyed a marvelous Russian banya. We saw lots of positive changes in this small town (population about 75,000). I even picked up a few Russian readers for my blog. Everyone was very friendly and open with me. They assured me that they love Americans, but are not fond of our current President.
Most likely I will not have time to sort through all my impressions and photos before returning to the States. So check back on my blog in a week or two for my report.

"The Best Seats Are Free"

Travel writer Rick Steves says, "The best seats are free." This came to mind today as Tanya, Anastasia, and I had a five hour slow stroll through St. Petersburg. On this relaxing Sunday afternoon and evening we had a little rain and lots of sunshine. We enjoyed several concerts. There were bridal couples, pensioners dancing, and birds flying. Here are some of the things we saw along the way:

A fisherman pulled this catch out of the Fontanka (Fountain) Canal

just as we walked by.

This is the famous "Cheezhik Peezhik", a little bronze bird on the Fontanka Canal onto which people drop coins hoping they will stay around the bird. There is a well known rhyme in Russian. It sounds like this: "Cheezhik Peezhik gaday tee buill?

Na Fontanka vodka puill."

My translation:

"Cheezhik Peezhik, where have you been?

On the Fontanka drinking vodka."

Just as I snapped a photo of two swans in a pond in the Summer Garden, a few pigeons flew by. I call this place Swan Lake.

Anastasia and me in the Summer Garden

another happy groom and bride

In the future, whenever anyone asks me to recall a peaceful scene, this will be it: sitting in the shade of the trees in St. Petersburg's Summer Garden listening to a talented musician play the vibraphone and enjoying the fragrance of jasmine in the air.

We enjoyed the sweet fragrance of jasmine blooms

in Summer Park.

pensioners dancing in Summer Park

to live orchestra music

flowing champagne

"Spas Na Krovi" Church

Dessert at a coffee house after the stroll