Friday Photo: In the air

My summer travels began on Tuesday afternoon with a 2:30 pick-up to go to the airport.  What followed has been a long journey (46 hours of travel time) punctuated by spontaneous airport friendships a brief pause in Durango, CO and lost luggage woes.  Today I am on my way (still sans bags) from Durango to the Philadelphia area where I will bask in the warmth (and stickiness) of all of my favorite places and all of my favorite friends (hi guys).

This photo was taken as I left Kazakhstan on Tuesday afternoon.  I should have got my camera out earlier as the view of the mountains as we left the city was absolutely spectacular.

Sunday story: Finding "Baum's Grove"

Earlier this spring when I was riding the train to Astana, I noticed a park beside the tracks in Almaty that seemed to be a forest riddled with walking trails.  When I returned from my trip I scoured google maps and finally decided that the park I saw must be the one labeled "Baum's Grove" on the map.  Today, I set out to find Baum's Grove.

I did my public transit research, so to be honest there isn't much of a story to go along with finding Baum's Grove.  I took a bus down Abay street and then transferred to the #2 bus going down Furmanova street.  Once I got to the bottom of town, I kept my eyes peeled for the park.  Sure enough, it appeared on the left hand side of the road so I crossed the street and went exploring.

"Baum's Grove" is actually the Almaty Canal Park.  The canal area (currently holding only a small layer of water that is home only to algae and frogs) has been developed for summer water fun.  a set of four water slides line the park and one side has a very shallow grade to allow for wading or even swimming.  The park also has an extensive, largely un-groomed, forest area to the north of the canal which is what I saw from the train window.  This forest has many walking (or biking) paths, some planned, others not so much.  It is the perfect place for a quite walk, or a long bike ride.

Tidbit Tuesday: Ice Hockey in Kazakhstan: 2012 Playoff follow-up

As the North American Hockey teams wind up their season with the Stanley Cup play-offs I feel like this is a good time to update those of you reading my blog just for the hockey on the outcome of the Kazakhstan hockey championship.  As you may (or may not - which is also fine) recall, Almaty was knocked out of the play-offs sometime ago (just as the snow was beginning to melt on the Almaty streets).  Ultimately it was the Atyrau team "Beybarys" who took home the Kazakhstan Ice Hockey Championship at the end of April. They won last year as well. This year they had to beat Pavlodar's "Ertis-Pavlodar" for the honor. The Beybarys won the series four games to two and won the last game 2-0.  A friend of mine who saw the Beybarys play earlier in the season described the team as "big, fast, and smart."  It is no wonder they keep winning. Any Kazakhstan Hockey fans out there feel free to add video and photos if you were at one of the championship games.


If you are looking for more information about Ice Hockey in Kazakhstan, go to http://www.icehockey.kz/

Saturday Story: Almaty Flower Festival

All spring Almaty has been a parade of blooming plants.  When the Tulips stopped blooming, the bushes and trees began, now those blooms have turned to thick green foliage and the roses have burst forth.  It makes sense that Almaty would have a festival dedicated to plants and flowers.

This morning, a colleague and I set off to "Astana Square" (commonly called the "Old Square" or "Old Republic Square" by locals) to see what was going on at the local flower festival.  We found the streets adjacent to the park blocked off and lined with tents containing exhibits and plants.  A large stage featuring singing and dancing (standard fare at any such celebration) was set up in front of the old government buildings.  There was also fun to be had in the form of a large labyrinth, horse drawn cart rides, and crafting tables in the park. Here are some pictures from the event.

Friday Photo: an "establishment"

Today's photo is of an establishment I first noticed back in August.  At first glance it look like a place some people in the United states might call a "liquor store" or if you are from Pennsylvania, a "state store" (don't ask why PA is different, it's a bit of a long story).

I noticed this place all year, but never really ventured in because there are many places closer to home for me to purchase "adult beverages" (I think I might be wearing out my """ key with this one).  A couple of weeks ago, though, a friend and colleague of mine ventured inside this place on a whim and discovered what this establishment REALLY is.  Have you guessed it yet?


How about now?

Take another look (and yes, that is Vodka in the window):

Give up?


It's a plain, ordinary, nothing special here grocery store.  The kind that sells bread, sugar, rice, and canned goods.  While an entire isle of vodka is fairly common here, the store where I buy most of my groceries puts it's vodka isle away from the windows and consequently it seems less "exotic" (if vodka can be considered "exotic" in a place where it is almost as cheap as water).  Happy Friday everyone!

Sunday Story: Small Adventures on the Steppe, or "Camels for Stephanie"

The Steppe

A herd of horses outside Almaty

 Yesterday I went with friends on a day trip to Steppe just north of Almaty.  My friends were looking for some of the wild poppy fields which bloom around this time and for some kind of monument.  I was simply looking for an excursion out of the city.

Our route took us north on the road to Astana for about one hundred kilometers before turning on a road that followed the Kurty river.  As we drove we saw herds of horses, herds of camels, herds of sheep, and even a llama or two.  The road we were following gradually transformed from a road to a pothole riddled obstacle course before finally disintegrating entirely into dirt track.  I have heard that this is true of many roads in Kazakhstan, that as you get farther from the city, they deteriorate until there is barely anything left.

A herd of Camels for Steph

We drove and drove but failed to find the poppies or the monument.  Eventually my friends decided to turn around and we found a spot by a bridge in the village of Akshiy to eat lunch.  Fifteen minutes later we were forced to flee our lunch spot just before it was overrun by a large herd of sheep.  So  we continued on our way back to Almaty.

A herd of sheep near Akshiy

Our outing turned to adventure when our car wouldn't start after a brief stop by a picturesque bend in the river.  After a few minutes of trying every trick we knew to start a car, we began walking toward a farmhouse that we had seen a few hundred meters down the road.

As we approached the farmhouse two big sheep dogs greeted us with menacing sounding barks.  Two men and a young boy were outside the house.  I asked if the older one spoke Russian and to my relief, he said he did.  I explained that our car wouldn't start and asked if they knew a mechanic nearby.  He said that there wasn't but then asked where the car was. and I said that it wasn't far.  He went inside for a few minutes and then came back out with the younger man and indicated that we were all to get into his car.

A picturesque bend in the Kurty River

Working on the car

I attempted to make small talk as we drove back along the river to our car.  After fiddling around under the hood, they decided to tow the car to a start.  It worked and the man told me that the starter didn't work and so to make sure to park the car pointing down a hill.  We thanked the two farmers profusely and then resumed our journey back to Almaty with no poppies or monuments to show but with our very tiny adventure ending happily thanks to two helpful Kazakh sheep farmers.

Movie Monday: Kok Tobe

If you ever attend an event with mixed expat and local company, people inevitably ask you which of Almaty's attractions you have been to see.  Have you been to Medeu?  Have you been to the Green Bazaar and Panfilov Park?  The one place I had not been (until today) was Kok Tobe.

My reason for delaying my visit to the enormous television tower on the green hill overlooking downtown was purely aesthetic.  I really wanted to go up there on a clear day, and we have not had many clear days here since last October.  This morning, though, I woke up to a brilliant blue sky and wonderful fresh air that still smelled like last night's rain.  So I took the metro down to the end of Abay, bought my 2000 tg round trip ticket for the gondola, and went up to see the view.  Here is a short video of the trip.  Enjoy.

Friday Photo: The huddle

This is probably my favorite piece of public art in the city.  It is located near TSUM (not far from the green bazaar).  I have always admired it because it raises so many questions.  Every time I walk by I wonder what these people are doing. Are they looking at something? Are they waiting for something? Are they praying? Perhaps they are keeping warm around a fire or discussing the train schedule. Maybe they are straining to hear the outcome of a sports event on the radio.  What are they doing?


p.s.  I know I haven't posted in a while.  I have a couple of stories in the works and am really just waiting on some pictures to go with them.  I also have had neither time nor energy to do much romping about town...a circumstance I hope will change in the near future.

Movie Monday: Easter Sunday at Zenkov's Cathedral

Happy Movie Monday on Tuesday! It doesn't happen often, so savor it!

Sunday was Easter as celebrated by the Russian Orthodox churches here in Kazakhstan.  If you are wondering why the orthodox church celebrated the resurrection of Christ on a different day than western churches this year, it is explained quite well at factmonster.com (click here).

Since all of the Christian holidays are celebrated best at Zenkov's Cathedral in Panfilov Park, I took a trip down town yesterday morning to see what was going on.  I arrived at the church just as the bells were ringing to mark the beginning of the service.  Here is a little video to give you an idea of the experience.  The sound (except the bells) was all recorded inside.

Happy Easter!

I have heard that the Midnight services on major holidays are not to be missed.  Unfortunately, I am still feeling a little under the weather from a mishap I had a couple of weeks ago so I wasn't able to make the midnight service last night.  I'll save that for next year.

Friday Photo: A truck

I found this fantastic monument on my wanderings during spring break.  It is about one block west of the last metro stop on Raimbek.  The inscription below this truck reads something like: Automobile GAZ-AA, symbol of labor and glory of the automobile veterans.  I am not entirely sure who these veterans are, but I thought the truck was pretty fantastic so it won a spot on photo Friday.