We survived the 54 hour train ride. I know what you are thinking, how on earth are you able to not go insane living in such tight quarters for two days? It's easy when you do a flashback to the 1980s. I'm not even kidding you, if the guys aren't wearing Adidas tracksuits they are wearing clothes that were cool in the age of the Material Girl. The women are not exempt from this massive fashion faux pas. I'll just leave you with this image in your mind: leopard spandex, tight neon shirts and hooker heels.
We asked the local guide here in Yekaterinberg about some of the style choices. Here was the conversation:
Keri: What do you call this hairstyle?
Russian Guide: It's called "modern"
Keri: So a mullet is modern?
Russian Guide: Yes.
This conversation right there epitomizes Siberian fashion.
My birthday got surprisingly more interesting. First off, thank you for all you Happy Birthday emails. I get really excited when I get a new email that isn't spam or one of those gushy forwards that I am the bazillionth recipient-- so thank you :)
I have no idea how Leavitt did it, but she and Nat managed to sneak a birthday cake on to the train without me knowing. In fact, she was so sneaky that when we went to different cathedrals around Irtusk she bought a prayer candle. I thought, "Oh if Leavitt buys a prayer candle maybe I'll pick up some religious goodies." So I bought a card with a saint who was holding a book. I figured it could be the patron saint of Twilight, since Nat and Keri have desperately been looking for New Moon.
Little did I know Leavitt used the prayer candle for a birthday candle. As embarrassing as it was, the whole tour group sang Happy Bday to me and just when it came time to blow out my prayer candle-- SPLAT!-- Nat totally creamed me with a second cake right across the face. Oh that sticky goodness was a complete shock to me. The only thing I did was retaliate adn smeared some on her face and then Leavitt. It was the funniest thing ever! We were picking cream out of our hair over the next few days.
One of the more entertaining things we've started to do was write songs. The ukulele has been central to our songwriting and so we've been writing songs about different people in our tour group. We've insinuated (ok, flat out accused through song) that they are drug runners and fugitives from Australia. That was a big hit-- I foresee it going platinum. Then we wrote one about Quarantine Girl and it was just quotes from her. She makes Eerore and Grumpy Bear look like a picnic. Our musical writing is definitely keeping us busy on the long rides.
Our eating habits are all about snacking. We munch on cheese and crackers and I have been taking a liking to Pringles. Some how the chocolate gets eaten first and the fruit gets left on the train once we arrive, hmm... The babushkas (old ladies) are the coolest ever! They have these pre packaged meals that you can buy from them. One lady was limping around the train station on one of our 20 minute town stops. Then, like the majestic olympic torch in her hand, she held up fresh carrots from her garden. I have never seen Leavitt move that fast out of our cabin train. I think she scared the poor babushka once she caught up to her.
After all the lack of showering, long days in the train we arrived to our 4 star Yekaterinberg hotel. Leavitt and I bunked together and were amazed at such luxuries as heated bathroom floors, warm showers and the most comfortable imaginable. Leavitt was bouncing off one bed into another. Unfortunately, inertia plays a large roll in this and she went head first into the wall-- it was soooo funny! Of course I had to test out the beds as well and managed to splat myself on to the wall as well. I love Yekaterinberg!
I would write all about our day in Yekaterinberg-- it was very Romanov! But I'll save that for another day :)
We're all doing fine and well in Mother Russia and I'm surprised at how fast this trip is flying. This time next week we'll be heading back to Namerica. We leave tomorrow morning for a 24 hour train ride to Moscow where we will be for a few days. I'll make sure and post an update then.
Talk you all soon!
Czarina Emily
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