Photos: Family and friends at the dacha
Alla Nikolaevna’s birthday was Sunday, and we had a family gathering at Slava’s dacha, which is in the village of Mariinsk, about 1 ½ hour by car to the east of Ekaterinburg. We went by taxi because Slava sold his car after it sat without much use for years. Dima and his family went by car. Alla Nikolaevna and her husband Alexander Konstantinovich, the parents of Dima’s wife Julia, went by bus. As we went east from Ekaterinburg, we all crossed the line in the Ural Mountains that marks the border of Europe and Asia. Russia regards itself as largely a European country, however the greatest amount of territory is in Asia. Ekaterinburg is an Asian city.
It was Alla’s 60th birthday, and Slava and I weren’t prepared for such a major milestone. I had known before I left the U.S. that her birthday was coming up but had gotten only a modest present. Fortunately we had some gift items from the U.S. stashed in the flat, and once they were all wrapped in silver paper they looked nice.
Russian tradition is to present unwrapped presents. They are given one at a time publicly, when offering a toast to the honoree. My funny American habits are accepted when I don’t hew to Russian traditions, although I do try to follow local customs as much as I can.
The celebration dinner was served shortly after 1:00 pm, with several neighbor couples present. There were twelve of us all together, sitting at two tables. Alla had prepared all the food herself, most likely with some help from her daughter. The major part of the meal is “zakuska,” a table full of cold dishes served in this case with Russian champagne and cognac. Alla had platters of grilled eggplant, salted cucumbers, homemade pickles, and a half dozen other salads. In addition there was smoked forel or sea trout, and a meat gelee. While we were eating all this, Dima was cooking pork tender-loin “shashlik” or shish-kebabs.
The weather was gorgeous, with blue skies and lots of warmth. It was Alla’s special day, but we all enjoyed the day at the dacha.
1 comment:
Dearest Shirley,
Loved your account of Alla's 60th birthday party. Reminds me once again how we women are united accross the globe in our efforts to care and share. Can you imagine a man preparing such a feast for his own birthday? Only if food is his passion or career, and I bet Alla's life's work doesn't involve food.
I also didn't realize that Russia is more a part of Asia than it is Europe! We really must arrange for John and Slava to meet when you get back. I'll cook!
Thank you for letting me share in your journey through this blog. It's beautifully constructed and I love the photos. Looking forward to seeing and reading more!
Hugs and best to Slava,
Cora
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