Frode Gjerstad Trio in Concert

 

When I first saw that Frode Gjerstad should have concert in Moscow I said tm myself, we am going! And so we did. Moscow is a large city so evening like this has to be paned, this one was easy due to the concert was at a place between my wife work and home. 30 minute walk from the office a further 20 minute walk home across Red Square.

 

I remember Frode from the early days of mid 70’s when I moved to Stavanger as a student. The local Jazz club in Stavanger was at the same place the student kept dancing in weekends, but jazz day was Tuesday’s.

 

Unfortunately I do not have the pictures from those days with me to Moscow. All wrapped down in boxes back in Stavanger for future use.

 

First we headed for dinner at a local Ukrainian restaurant Korchma and had good traditional Russian food, than we talk about Borsch and Cabbage rolls. Time to go and find the place, I do use Google Earth so it will be easier to find. It can be a challenge at times to find what you look for, but this time my intuition was right. In an almost closed of street we did find this “underground” concert arena with seats for around 200 people. Compared to what we are used to it was different, it could have been an old industrial place with 3 meter celling height , chairs like we used to have them in the Houses of Worship in the 60’s in Norway. The audience was a mix of 68’rs and a few business suits.

 

All in all the setting was embracing the music. The place got filled up with few standing places left. It must have been both a popular visit and a popular place.

 

Frode’s music has developed from the mid 70’s until today. One thing is the same and that is his and the trio’s energy. I will not go in details about his music. Going to this concert was more to feel the local atmosphere and understand what is in the local culture today in Moscow have a Norwegian playing there.  After Moscow Frode told us he headed for Ljubljana. He enjoyed the visit to Moscow and to have the opportunity to look around. One thing he had noticed that we had not and that was the air quality. Looks like we have adapted the way of living here?

 

It was an interesting experience and I look forward to next time we are up for something new. The evening ended with a nice stroll home across the Red Square, still people enjoying the ice rink and the beauty of the city.

 

Social event Company Christmas Dinner

Get Ready

 

A tradition with Norwegian companies is that they have a Christmas Dinner. Parties where employees bring their spouse so they could this one time a year meet up with colleagues and other spouses.

Before the party start

 

Both the employees and the spouses are to feel that this is a special event so they together could lower they shoulders and have a good traditional Christmas dinner have fun and if lucky also dancing into the late night early morning.

Strawberry please

 

It is interesting join these Christmas Dinners as a spouse. I can “evaluate” the different parties from outside and not as an employee. Either or one have to behave, but for me it have been more interesting how it have been moving around in different countries to see how the tradition is kept and looked after.

Appetizers

 

With my wife I have joined Christmas dinner both in Stavanger and Bergen more than one time each place, and two times in Houston over the last 6 years. This year I am in Moscow and it exciting to see how the Norwegian tradition will be looked after.

It is  a New Year Party

 

Already before the dinner some differences is noted. The dinner is on a Friday and not a Saturday. A very important difference, on a Friday the employees have to go straight from work after a 8-10 hours working day and keep the dressing code business casual. In Norway and in Houston dress code is to dress up and give you a possibility to “look good” and prepare for a nice special event.

Entertainment was an excellent dancing show

 

Starting time is then 1 hour after normal working hour stop, just time to get to the dinner if you take the Metro, and spouses need to meet up at the place where dinner is held if they have a working hour that make them come.

And the “boss” had to participate in the show

 

Being in Moscow I have noticed that there a different culture, we have New Year party (even Christmas is all around). So even before the party start I have noticed a difference and curious to see if my expectations will be confirmed.

And the winner of the dancing competition was ??

 

I needed a couple of days to absorb it all. Not only the Vodka, but the surprise that this party in Moscow beat all other “Christmas Parties” I have been to. Irina did her job very well, she blamed there is room for improvement, but that is hard to see and if she manage to beat this one I will be pleased to participate. Hope I will remember my first lesson of Russian Vodka along with the dinner. Just one thing to say, stay away from the Vodka, head ok, but not my stomach and it will be easier for my wife to get me home.

The evenings Band

 

So it all ended up with great food, great master of the ceremony, great band and great entertainment. Thanks Irina !!!

Thanks to my wife I managed to get home after all the dancing…and… say no more

 

Vinitaly Moscow



Winetasting is fun. You learn a lot about production, reason for different grapes, and you get to taste.



This week it was the yearly Vinitaly wine fair. Behind it is the Italian organization Veronafiere, who bring Italian wine around the globe, like Moscow, New York, Hong Kong and other larger cities. Sponsored also by the Italian government to bring Italian agriculture out in the world and increase the sale of their so much loved wines.

 



I had one more mission. I try to assist some friends I have in the great town of Lucca in Tuscany to promote their wine. Can I do it in the USA I can do it in Russia. So my mission this time was to learn about the local trade. Every country has its own approach, and that is the reason ting takes time. In Russia more business is relationships and as a Business Developer I know this is more than important, it is a must in Russia.

 



Interesting to see the different approaches made by the different wineries present at this event. Some had already agreement with local importers and presented their wine along with other products from the same importer others were there to present their product to the importers and as well possible clients from around Moscow.

 



But let us go to the fun part. Did I taste some good wines? Oh yes, I did and some of the producers I will like to mention is first of all Ca’Botta. I got to know about this winery some weeks ago on another winetasting we were attending. Did not taste the wine at that time, but got interested in it and checked up their web page. No surprise, it is a story about a Russian with the name Yuri Kobatov. Just bring on your passion and make your dreams come through.



Presented with a taste of their Grand Classico Chiaretto DOC Rosè made me feel confident!  He have a passion in making good wine.  Located in the Verona area, producing 300.000 bottles and have 16 different wines make me curries to find out more about the other 15 I have not tasted yet. Good to know I got the guys business card so I can locate it in Moscow.

 

I also joined a wine tasting by Villa Almè from Mansuè – Veneto had. They presented 3 different sparkling wines that I did not enjoy, even I am a great fan of sparkling wine. 2 Red wines, Raboso Piave “El Rasego” DOC 2005 had a touch of the Amarone, felt the smell of forest and berries. After a couple of zips it could be something I could enjoy. But not as much as I did with the Raboso Passito 2006  the perfect dolce for me. I am a Port lover, and this was a great dessert wine for me. 

 

I look forward to next year event already. It will be interesting if I manage to bring along some wine producers from Lucca at that time.

Christmas preparation in Moscow

 

Moscow is getting closer to the holiday season and so are we. Like in Houston I am into holiday season and not Christmas. It is one of those things with respect for the culture you live in.

 

In Norway, yes we are into Christmas and New Year. Two distinctive vacations that tumbled into one by use of some vacation days, yes a nice two week vacation. In Moscow we have to accept that the last week of the year is not focused on the Christmas part but on the New Year part and the vacation is the first week of the New Year.

 

 

Looking around in the city Centre area it looks like the preparation is the same, just a bit delayed compare to Norway and US. It is all acceptable the way it is here. This week we do not feel the buying pressure, but nice to see the decoration in the shop windows and anxious to see some of the more famous stores what they will come up with.

 

I had one of these culture crashes when I walked down to Red Square yesterday. The picture in my head of a Moscow street is a street with Lada, Volga and Moskovitz. When I see a red Ferrari in the street, I get a disturbance like a Salvador Dali painting. So yesterday looking to the Red Square a Luis Vuitton suitcase took a large space of it, and it was not a suitcase to carry with you. No, it was an extra shop design like a suitcase with the company logo’s as you all know them from their hand bags.

 

It once again a reminder that Russia is not as it used to be, even you just a 100 meter away in a backyard find the small local sales person with her bread and old buildings you expect to fall down anytime. It’s like the facade tells you one thing and the backyard something else.

 

 

Next to Red Square is the shopping mall GUM, a 120 year old Magazine with many shops individual laid out. It is possible to spend a day here if you are up to it, and have nice small café’s to have a break. Some days I just walk down to this magazine to walk around and do some of my grocery shopping.

 

 

Most of the time they also have exhibitions related to Russian or international history, and they do like their Old Russian cars on display.



 

So Moscow is partly ready for the holiday season and so are we. Just back from a week in Norway with our most wanted Christmas food, “Pinnekjøtt” from Idsø in Stavanger in the fridge. I have not found rutabaga in Moscow yet so as a substitute a package of TORO mashed rutabaga is with us like the porridge “Risengrøt” that we will add some whipped cream into and have a clean almond in one of the plates. The person who gets the almond gets a marzipan pig. The Norwegian traditions are taken well care of.

 

 

 

Moscow is getting ready for Christmas.

4 Days in Ekaterinburg

 



We are lucky that have family in Ekaterinburg. It gives us an opportunity to see more of Russia than just Moscow with a good reason.

 

To have family and friends to show us around make us see more than just the hotel and closest park at 8 March Street. March is Marta in Russian, so another world into my brain in the easiest way.



Our family had put their heads together to gives us an experience we had not expected. We had never been thinking that Tsar Nikolai II Romanov had been burned and buried just outside Ekaterinburg with his wife and 5 children.

 

So after an enjoyable Friday evening at the local pub Dubliners we were ready on Saturday morning to experience The Tsars place and some of the museums that Ekaterinburg has built up for interested people to see.

 

A former Russian president from Ekaterinburg made all this happen, and as we can see it benefits the city’s reputation as a tourist attraction. I guess we will dig more into the tsar family history as months goes to learn more what now become more important for the locals.

 

The Russian Orthodox churches are also impressive to have a look into, and it was not a few we managed to see.  Dumping into the priests made their singing rituals can at times be breath taking.

 

Ekaterinburg once was a closed city. One of the reasons was that a lot of the weapons for the army were made here. So what else could one of the local wealthy persons do other than to have a passion for motorized army units? With help from local factory the collection is quite amazing, and with it a touch up with Old Russian cars and some old aircrafts it was fun on a rainy Sunday afternoon to look around.

 

 

 

When you are in the country side, why not get to see some of the real Russian tradition. I am thinking of a dacha. Many are used to have cottage either at the sea or in the mountain. The dachas were handed over in a different way from the state to the people than what we are used to. It is used for other purposes, like growing some vegetables and fruits, to cut down on spending and grow yourselves. Living in a big city and no space, it is good to get out on the dacha on the weekends to have some fresh air, and hope getting some energy for next week.

 

Ekaterinburg was very different city compared to Moscow. It may to be expected with 10% of the population. Understandable that just a few kilometers into Asia where, you find the city across the Ural Mountains, people will live. We will be back and have some more pictures and experiences, but we will wait until we have warmer weather and sun. It is just 2 hours flight away and with the nice new airplanes Aeroflot has it is no challenge.