A Traveling Day

Today is a traveling day. This afternoon at about 2:00 p.m. I will board the train to Borovichi and arrive there about five hours later. This morning I was able to pack all my things into my Rick Steves backpack including my CPAP (continuous positive air pressure – the amazing device that helps me breathe at night due to my sleep apnea), video camera with battery charger, digital camera with battery charger, regular camera, digital album (onto which I can download my digital photos), extra backpack, umbrella, clothes and toiletries. It weighs about 15 kilograms (= 33 pounds). I think even Rick Steves would be impressed with my packing job.
We didn’t do anything very exciting yesterday. Tanya and her mother washed lots of clothes while I added the photos to my blog. In the evening Tanya and I took the metro into the center and strolled around for a couple of hours. We had a fast food dinner at a kiosk that makes big blini (Russian thin pancakes) with many choices for fillers. She had fish and I had grilled chicken. The evening was very sunny and pleasant and once more many people were out on the street. At Gostiniy dvor, the hugh old department store, I bought 40 little pocket calendars of year 2006 with nice pictures of St. Petersburg to give to friends and colleagues.
This will be my last blog entry until July 7th. The home where I will be staying does not have a telephone or inside running water let alone a computer. But I look forward to being there with my friends to enjoy the village atmosphere and to celebrate the 4th of July and, on July 6th, Night of Ivan the Swimmer.