Cybercasts

Greetings Comrades,

It’s hard to tour a city of over 12 million people in a single day, but we did our best and were able to hit many of Moscow’s highlights. We spent some time in Red Square (huge!) and admired the colorful St Basil’s Cathedral and the historic state department store called GUM.

We saw the Seven Sisters, the imposing skyscrapers commissioned by Stalin in the late 1940s; on a bridge behind the Church of Christ the Savior, we had a great view of the Moscow River and of Red October, a former chocolate factory converted into a trendy entertainment complex; we also got a Russian history lesson at Novodevichy Cemetery, where many famous Russian politicians and artists are buried. And all of this was before lunch, where the adventurous among us sampled bear dumplings.

We spent the afternoon touring the Kremlin complex. The take-away for most of us was that Moscow is a much cleaner, greener and more dynamic city than we had expected. A very nice surprise!

Tomorrow is a travel day, as we fly from Moscow down south to the base of Mount Elbrus in a town called Terskol. We’ll check back with you from there tomorrow night.

Thanks for following!

Carole

Priviet (that’s “hi” in Russian) Everyone,

Greetings from Moscow, where our first 2019 Elbrus Expedition kicked off today. Happy to report that everyone got here without a hitch and with no lost luggage!

We spent some time this afternoon getting to know one another and then had a brief orientation session about the trip.

After our meeting, we wasted no time immersing ourselves in Russian cuisine: “Russian salad” (that’s mainly potatoes), followed by the classic Beef Stroganoff and mashed potatoes, capped off with ice cream (no potatoes) for dessert. Some of us took an after-dinner stroll down the famous Arbat Street, a pedestrian street near our hotel, and soaked some local color. Now we’re off to bed to rest up for our tour of Moscow tomorrow.

Ben and I are excited to be here and will do our best (technology permitting) to keep you posted, so check back tomorrow for a team photo and a report of our day.

Thanks for following!

Carole Tejas

Comrades, Family & Loved Ones,

Gorgeous weather today for our tour of St Petersburg. We kept things moving and managed to see quite a lot of central St Pete.

Peter the Great, founder of this city, was a sailor and admired Amsterdam— hence the many canals, bridges and embankments that wind through town. Here we are with the Church of Saint Nicholas in the background. We stopped to check out the Rostrum Columns— lighthouses decorated with sculptures representing Russia’s great rivers- and we swung by the Church of Spilled Blood, built in traditional Russian style. We visited the Peter & Paul Fortress, where the city was founded in 1703. Here, we heard the Noon Cannon Shot, which people used to determine the official time of day, aiding in navigation.

The afternoon was spent touring the highlights of the massive Hermitage art museum, once the Winter Palace of generations of Russian Tsars.

For our last dinner as a team, we sampled the cuisine of Georgia, the former Soviet Republic. It was very tasty and a perfect way to conclude our time here in Russia.

Tomorrow, we’ll start to make our way home to you. Thanks so much for following our trip!

Carole & Vern Tejas

Priviet friends, family and loved ones,

We got up early and drove to the airport to catch an early flight to St Petersburg. Things went smoothly as we moved bodies and duffle bags across Russia . Afternoon was free for exploration of the city. Then we finished the day off with begets and brews. Everyone is excited to tour town tomorrow!

All our best,
Carole and Vern Tejas

Comrades, Family & Loved Ones,

Today was a day of relaxation, recuperation and alot of eating. After a delicious multi-course breakfast cooked by our hosts, the two Angelas, some of us went for a trail ride up the Terskol Valley and others of us soaked up the sun on the patio of our hotel. We all then went for a relaxed hike down to lunch. The trail is one of our favorites because it runs alongside the rushing Baksan River and has it all— berry bushes, beautiful forest and snow-capped mountain views. On the trail, we came across a camera crew filming a re-enactment of a World War I front line encampment.

The better part of the afternoon was spent having lunch— lake trout which we caught ourselves. We also presented summit certificates to the Team. After a couple- hour break and some last minute shopping we reconvened for dinner. The climb might be completed but our appetites are still in high gear.

Tomorrow is a travel day— we’re looking forward to St Petersburg!

Thanks for following,

Carole & Vern Tejas