Blooming Mother Russia

by Hanri van Tonder (South Africa)

I didn't expect to find Russia

A trip to Russia never really made my heart burst with excitement, the clichè cold weather and scary mafia men you see on the movies was certainly not my cup of tea. However, my cup of Russian tea on my desk, filling the room with delicious fragrances and my mind with sweet memories, tells the story of how all that changed when I visited this beautifully misunderstood country. I visited Russia in July and fell in love with its magnificence before the train from the airport even reached its station. Instead of the cold and grey skies I was expecting, I was welcomed by summer air and wildflowers all along the train tracks. The busy turmoil of life and my lack of reading or understanding Russian left me rather flustered and confused on the station, but luckily we had a lovely local guide that helped us make sense of all the madness. I would not recommend trying to conquer Russia without the help of a Russian, without our guide I would have been lost somewhere on the outskirts of Moscow unknowingly eating a fermented cabbage pastry. For this young, South African girl the train station looked like the halls of a palace with it's marvelous marble works and chandeliers hanging from the tall underground ceilings. I was awestruck by all the infrastructure, from the famous St Basil's cathedral in the Red Square to the Post Office building that looks like it was built for a queen. The thing that struck me most was not the incredible and impressive size of the cities or buildings though. It was all the flowers and pieces of nature in between it all. As an aspiring Botanist I was intrigued by all the natural beauty of Russia, the lush forests and lake in the middle of the charming town of Obninsk to the blankets of bright flowers outside and inside the famous Gum shopping mall in Moscow. To my surprise the cuisine of Russia was probably second on my long list of reasons for wanting to go back. My cravings for their cottage cheese dipped in chocolate haunts me. My favourite dish was Pelmeni, their version of dumplings filled with a mixture of ground meat. It is comfort food at its finest, especially topped with their organic mayonnaise made from avocados. Be careful of buying food from supermarkets by playing the guessing game, rather ask someone. I learnt that lesson the hard way when my "blueberry juice" turned out to be fruit starch jelly, and yes it was as bad as it sounds. Before I went to Russia I got a lot of invalid comments and generalizations of what the locals are like. The stereotypical ex-mafia members with scars on their faces and cheap Russian brides are really not what you find in the streets of Russia. They may not be the most expressive and excited people, especially with tourists, but they are certainly not heartless and cold. I was stunned by the beautiful, young Russian girls on their way to work looking like they walked off the cover of Cosmopolitan with their pretty heals and skirts on the Metro. I was also pleasantly surprised that chivalry is well and alive in a country full of supposedly careless men, I was always offered a seat on the train when they saw me struggling with my heavy backpack and an employee at the supermarket remembered my name and used Google Translate to tell me that I looked "very, very beautiful today". I was not expecting to find a treasure in Russia, but I went looking for it and sought beneath the surface of this country that has endured and suffered so much in its rather grey history. All great treasures are hidden, and for those not afraid to get their hands dirty and dig will find that this place is scattered with gems and seeds that are on the verge of blossoming.