A welcome bread

April 2013


 



A river cruise with dinner, but I didn't take this one,
Moscow, 2013

When I was in Moscow my guide arranged us to go on a river cruise that included dinner. 


 

Before I got onto the boat, the waiter asked me to wait at the pier.  He got back into the boat and then held out a dome shape load of bread about 15-inch diameter, decorated with floral patterns, there was a handful of salt on top.  It is an old custom in Russia for welcoming guests.

 



The welcome bread, Moscow, 2013

He pushed the bread towards me as a sign to take some.  I did not take any but smiled at him and took a picture of it.  He did not know what to do and offered me the bread again, and indicated I should take a piece of bread and dip it in the salt.  Since a lot of people were waiting to take a picture of him and the bread, I did not dare to touch it, I stepped aside and watched them.  The waiter smiled at us and spoke to the captain.  I do not know what they were talking about.  But I think they could not understand why we kept taking photos instead of eating some of the bread.

 

At last a man did what the waiter wanted and took a piece of bread, then everyone else did the same thing.  I had some too and felt the bread was still warm.  I told myself I should have had some when it was just baked.  It would have tasted so much better, I like hot food very much.



The tasty welcoming bread, Moscow, 2013

The most tasty food at the cruise,
except the side of the bun, Moscow, 2013

 

I thought we kept the bread waiting for so long, its feeling toward us was cooled.

Ballet, Swan Lake

April 2013

One of the sculptures in the theatre, St. Petersburg, 2013

Which country has the best ballet?  I do not know.  I was told that it was Russia, but I still do not believe it.

 

While I was in Russia, the local guide sold me a ticket for one of the great classical ballets, Swan Lake.  The price included transport to and from a historic theatre.  The story was about a prince who fall in love with a beautiful white swan at first sight.  Unfortunately, the devil want to marry his daughter, the black swan, to the prince.  Therefore, he imprisons the white swan and takes the black one to the prince's ball and pretends it was the white one.  For some reason, the prince cannot tell the difference between the black one and the white one.  In the end, the prince rescued the white swan and they lived happily ever after.

 

The hall at the theatre, St. Petersburg, 2013

The entrance to the theatre was well worn and narrow - more like a back door.  But the hall, the stage and the stalls were in good condition.  I was eager to see the show.  Maybe it was because it was the first time I had watched the balled, or maybe because Russia is famous for ballet, or maybe it was just because the ticket was very expensive.

 

However, I was very disappointed.  I felt only the prima ballerina was any good; some of the ballet dancers made mistakes, or could not follow the music, or get stage fright. 

 

When I got back to HK, I found out from the web that the theatre was a part of an educational institution.  So the dancers must have been students.  Also, the price of the ticket shown on the website was a third of the price I paid!

 

Our Russian guide had seemed very trustworthy, so I believed her when she said the ballet was worth watching, but she tricked us in to paying a lot of money to see drama students.  She must have swanned off home happily at the end of the evening.

This is a scale model of the theatre, St. Petersburg, 2013

The band at that night, St. Petersburg, 2013

There were many beautiful pictures hanging in the theatre.
This was one of my favourite, St. Petersburg, 2013

 

Tricks in a circus

April 2013



A lot of people were going to the circus, Moscow, 2013

I have seen a circus twice, but this was the first time I have seen one with animals.  Unfortunately my seat was next to the entrance, whether the performers and the animals come on the stage, so it blocked my view and I could only see half of the stage. 

 

The stage, Moscow, 2013

In the first act we saw tight-rope walkers, trapeze artistes and people jumping up and down through ladders.  Two clowns amused the audience with their tricks while they were setting up the next acts. 

 

This consisted the five or six dogs jumping on to the back of a horse one by one.  I was worried the horse would kick the dogs into the air.

 

In the final part there were four elephants - three large and one small.  They stood on one leg for around a minute, and then rolled onto their backs.  They also walked on their hind legs, and put their fore legs on the shoulders the ones in front.  I could see these were very difficult for them.  When I saw the small one crowing in between the legs of the others, I felt sorry for it.  It was difficult for it to bend its legs and it had to bear its body weight.  It did not have to crawl very far compared with its body length, but I was sure it would have been happier if the path had been shorter. 

 

On the other hand, they were running their daily bread and proving that they were not white elephants.  The elephants are one of the animals that can do tricks. 

A statue of the father of a circus, Moscow, 2013

You could take a picture with these animals, if you paid for it. 
Moscow, 2013

A corner of the circus, Moscow, 2013