Travel Journal - Vladivostok Russia

Oh how wonderful it is to be home in Blueberry Barn once again. Our trip to Russia was a whirlwind, and now that we're back it seems like it was a dream and didn't really happen at all. Isn't it funny how things work out like that?

As I write this - two days after we've gotten home - Quinn and I are both sick, probably from the combined 33 hours of travel to get home and the fact that we sang six days in a row with hardly a break in between. But what an experience, I know I wouldn't trade it for anything.

The week prior to leaving was filled with last-minute practices and packing. Lupin and Greta knew what was up since they are very smart dogs, and Lupin did not want to see us leave. She even climbed into the big truck once we started putting suitcases in as if to say "I know you're going and you have to take me with you!" Poor thing, if only we could tell her we wouldn't be away for long...

We flew from Juneau to Seattle, and then from Seattle to Seoul that first day. I have never been out of North America and I was so thrilled to be seeing more of this wide world!

We didn't make it into the city of Seoul because of time constraints, but we did enjoy walking around the airport and around our hotel (my goodness was it hot and muggy there for us Alaskans!).

The next morning we flew into Vladivostok, Russia, where we were picked up from the airport and taken to our hotel and then we were off to our first show. We would only be in Russia for six days, and each day was filled with two or three shows (though more usually three) which had us quite busy as I'm sure you can imagine.

We played at a collection of children's camps, English schools, Veteran hospitals, restaurants, and even a church! I have never been to a country where English was not the main language, and it was both hard and fun to try to speak to people and kids at the places we went.

After most of our concerts everyone would want to come up and take photos with us. How wonderful to know that even though we couldn't speak to each other with words, music cut through the language barrier!

Because we were so busy with our performances each day there was very little time to look around and explore. That made little trips out of our way to things such as this glass beach all the more special!

It was an entire beach made out of beach glass! Even when you dug down it was all lovely beach glass in a rainbow of colors. I would have liked to bring some home but it was against the rules. Oh well, the beach was lovely and I got some very pretty pictures while we were there!

It rained about the whole time we were in Vladivostok, and the locals told us their summer is usually in August and that we would just have to come back then, haha! We told everyone that the rain made us feel right at home (though back at home in Juneau it was sunny and over 70 degrees!).

Vladivostok itself is a lovely city, but I think the best thing about it is its friendly people. Every place we went we were always greeted with smiles, and everyone always cheered for us whenever we played.

I brought home a Russian shawl as a souvenir, but I think the best souvenir is the many friendships I made with the lovely people I met everyday. That I will treasure for a lifetime.

So tell me, Dear Reader, have you ever been to Russia? I do hope to go back someday and spend more time seeing the sights. I hope you enjoyed seeing a little glimpse into my time over the ocean in the Far East!

P.S. - To my mermaid loving friends - there are mermaids in Russia! Abigail and I were so happy to see a mermaid sister while we were there!