162:Pivpack!

Three quite unrelated items for today's blog:
1.  I bought a bottle of beer yesterday evening on my way home after lessons. The assistant opened it for me and put it in a dinky little bag which, when I looked at it properly, encourages people to "drink in a more cultured way" by putting your bottle in this bag!!

2.   An amazing article in the Moscow Times by Marilyn Murray (she is an educator specializing in the treatment of trauma, abuse and deprivation, with more than 2,000 people attending her classes in Russia and other countries from the Commonwealth of Independent States over the past 10 years).
Read more:http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/choosing-joy-over-sorrow-triumph-over-fear/458927.html#ixzz1vbEd5DWr

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Choosing Joy Over Sorrow, Triumph Over Fear When riding the metro or walking the streets in Moscow, one sees a variety of faces: stern and harsh, young and cocky, elegant and beautiful, stoic and resigned. Most are masks that cover a vast array of emotions. This reality becomes apparent during our Level I class concerning the treatment of trauma, abuse, neglect and addictions.

3.  The Copenhagen Philharmonic playing "The Morning Suite" by Peer Gynt in the Copenhagen metro.

B161:In hot water again

I don't mean that really. In English "to be in hot water" means to have done something wrong and to be in trouble with somebody - maybe the law, maybe the wife!
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/in+hot+water
What I wanted to say was that the hot water for the block of flats where I live has been turned on again after the annual cleaning/repair of the pipes. It's quite an inconvenience having no hot water for a shower for 10 days but better than losing it in the middle of a Russian Winter. (I remember a really old joke from a David Frost show in the 60s about a masochist who used to like cold showers - so he took hot ones! Think about it.)
Anyway, I went to visit a friend outside Moscow so that I could experience the luxury of a hot shower. Here our some pictures of the commuter train that brought me back to town. People selling almost anything appear regularly at either end of the coach. Sometimes there are buskers like those shown in picture 4. It was interesting that they brought their own amp and mikes with them, tied to a little trolley with a bungee/elasticator. It worked, as lots of people were giving them money as they passed down the carriage.

B160:British Armed Forces in parade and flypast

I have no idea where we managed to find so many uncommitted military personnel (2,500) and aircraft (78) but find them we obviously did. This link is to the BBC video showing our troops, from all three Services, marching past Her Majesty as part of her Diamond Jubilee celebrations. We are still extremely good at Pomp and Ceremony. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18123991

B159:Back from Berlin

Just back from a great weekend in Berlin with friends and family. Met some old friends I hadn't seen for over 25 years and had a mostly good nostalgic trip on the 21st anniversary journey of the old British Military Train, despite a breakdown in communications meaning the General ended up with no Russian interpreter! Never mind, he told me later that the Russians didn't turn up anyway! 
Here is the BBC video of the event and then a few of my photos from the weekend.

Above: The business end of the old Checkpoint Charlie border crossing point. Right: The preserved (or reconstructed) U.S. military checkpoint where they would check documents were in order before allowing military personnel to enter the crossing point.

N.B.1 - these are not real U.S. soldiers, just guys dressed up to make a fast buck being photographed with tourists.

N.B.2 - McDonalds! Ubiquitous! That wasn't there before!

The Brandenburg Gate. In my day the gate was sealed. What a difference today.

Brunch at the Hotel Adlow Kempinski  99 Euros!!! Can you imagine!

The pipes and drums of the Black Kilts Pipe Band. http://www.blackkilts.de/

Berlin Tegel airport - about to be decommissioned as the new Berlin Brandenburg airport comes on stream.

Transport

B158:ни пуха ни пера - Good Luck

Very quickly tonight as I have an early start tomorrow for my flight to Berlin. I noticed on my way to today's lesson that the pookh has started to fall. This word (пух) has two meanings - the down, or fluff, on a young bird, or the seeds of the poplar tree. In the second meaning, Moscow will soon endure the annual fall of poplar seeds - in places and at times it will almost look like snow as the white stuff blows about all over the city. It would be quite easy to collect a handful of the stuff, should one be so inclined.

In the first meaning there is a very old hunting idiom ни пуха ни пера which literally means neither feather nor down. It is used nowadays to mean "good luck" in a forthcoming endeavour.
My second photo is just something that took my fancy as I was going round the city. 

B157:To Berlin

I have seen "на Берлин" (to Berlin) on several cars over the last few days. It is yet another allusion to the victory over the fascists in 1945. 
But today I have a different scenario in mind. On Friday I will fly to Berlin to take part in the 21st anniversary journey of the former British Military Train. During the Cold War this train ran every day (except Christmas day) from West Berlin through East Germany to Braunschweig in West Germany (arriving back in Berlin in the evening). Once the train pulled out of Charlottenburg station in West Berlin the doors were chained on the inside to stop anybody boarding the train illegally. Between 1984 and 1986 I worked on the train as a Russian interpreter. (The British government did not recognise the government of East Germany so we dealt with Soviet officers). On both outward and return journeys the train stopped at Marienborn, close to the border between West/East Germany, and the documents of everybody on the train were checked. I was there to interpret in case any problems arose. Often on the way back we would share a beer with our Soviet counterparts. All in the cause of fostering international relations you understand. 

B156:Serendipity

A nice touch of serendipity today. I was walking in park Dubki because the weather forecast said rain and storms and I didn't want to stray too far from home. There I came across a Victory Day concert which was just about to start. Russian people are so patriotic and every year, on Victory Day, from their hearts, they thank the veterans for their actions in saving the country and securing victory over the fascists during the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945). You must remember that Russia lost millions and millions of people during this war. Here are some photos of the concert, and two short video clips.