A day in Vladivostok, Russia

We started the day conversing with a very nice guy who is in training to be the hotel operations director at our hotel...named Ruslan Kior, who was enjoying practicing his english skills with us.  He is a member of an english club here and also belongs to the local Toastmaster's club.  We were trying to arrange a guided walking tour of the city but  since we are out of tourist season, none were available. But, he pointed out some interesting attractions for us to see so we headed out on our own.  The first stop along the way however, was to get proof of the hotel that we originally booked.  We still couldn't believe our eyes and wanted to make sure it was as horrific as we thought.  Yep, it was. We were told that it USED to be a 5 star but now a 3 star hotel. Look at this piece of crap....

We walked along the pedestrian path down to the sea.  Many stops along the way with great opportunities for picture taking.

These guys were doing a photo shoot for a coffee machine. 

Obviously this place is hopping in the summer.  There are plenty of food and knick-knack vendors, this one was selling Russian Nesting dolls. 

Russian Nesting Doll   Want to know the heritage of these dolls? Click here.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matryoshka_doll

There is also a beach but from the looks of the lifeguard chair not sure we would be jumping in for a swim anytime soon.  Most of the area was closed today but we enjoyed the walk nonetheless.  One of the most unique cafes was the Coffee Bus.  We think every town should have one these! 

Pictures from the Harbor Walk

Next stop on our walking tour was the Vladivostok Fortress. This battery was constructed in 1880. Being the eastern seaport for the whole of Russia, this city was strategically important for incoming shipments from other countries. If it ever fell into enemy hands, it could choke off the entire country. Thus, Russia has always seen the need to defend it and that's why this fort was originally built.  Of course it is non operational today. This city was actually closed to tourists up until 1991 because it was the home port for the Russian navy's pacific fleet.  

While we were scoping out where we were going to eat dinner, we came across this beautiful  Russian orthodox church. It is the Temple St. Blessed Prince Igor of Chernigov.  There was a young woman inside praying and she was actually weeping.  Andrea just wanted to give her a hug. 😥

Not too far from the church was a long shopping promenade.  Lots of clothing boutiques, electronics, beauty supplies, some pubs and...............a 

Panda out for a stroll.

We came back to the hotel to rest up before dinner and found this note on our desk.  

This requires an explanation:

The Trans-Siberian railroad that we are catching tomorrow, operates throughout the system on Moscow time. Problem is, there are SEVEN time zones that the train travels through so that wherever  one is, the station clock time, all arrival times and all departure times will be expressed in Moscow time regardless of the local, real time. During the planning of this trip, Bill had a hell of a time synchronizing the times for hotel stays, transfer pickups, etc. between the "real" time and Moscow time but was pretty confident he had it nailed down. Knowing that our train left at 7:10 p.m. Vladivostok time tomorrow evening, we just wanted to be triple-sure that we had the departure time correct so we asked our buddy Ruslan at the front desk to confirm the time. His response: Train leaves at 12:10 p.m. Thus ensued a debate on when, amongst a span of seven hours, does this train actually leave. Finally, he suggested we go on our walk and he'd make some inquiries and let us know. When we returned to our room later on, this letter was there. Bill was pretty proud that all along...he'd out-analyzed the locals on the matter and that indeed...the train left at 7:10 p.m.

We ended the evening with one of our best dinner meals yet.  Well, to be honest, its been our only dinner since Sunday when we ate on the plane.  After a brief beer stop at the Russian version of the Munich Hofbrauhaus, 

We headed over to a recommended restaurant called Supra for typical Georgian style fare.   We ordered a lot of items that mostly involved bread and lamb.  Here is one of the first breads we ordered. It looked like a weapon!

 

The second bread which we think was desert,  involved stirring a raw egg with some cheese; it made a paste that you dipped the bread  into.  

Of course all of this went well with a good red wine pairing! 

Overall, it was the best DINNER yet!  Tomorrow: Prepare for the Trans-Siberian!