Crystall Vodka Factory Tour

This weekend, Jolene and I went on a tour of the Crystall Vodka factory.  This factory has been in business since 1901.  There is a small museum with lots of different glasses, bottles and other trinkets related to Vodka, its production and consumption :) 

 Inside this bottle is a devil, to remind you of the effects of drinking.  There were several other bottles with objects in them.  There was one with a rooster in it and another with a swan. 

During WWII, the company was bombed by the Germans because of the production of Molotov Cocktails.  The bomb was not a direct hit and the company continued to produce them.  The dark bottle in the middle is an actual Molotov Cocktail produced in WWII, with the instructions printed on the label.

Below is the couch that Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov got the news that the government was taking over all vodka production, putting him out of business.  The story goes that he had a heart attack and died upon receiving the news.

After the tour, we sat down and participated in a Vodka sampling.  With the table spread with different kinds of snacks from pickled herring to salami.  We sampled 10 different types of vodka and 3 different liqueurs.  We finished our tour with a stop by the gift shop where we picked up a few bottles for ourselves.  You can see the rest of the pictures at our online web album.  https://picasaweb.google.com/mwalls88 

Marine Ball

Today marks the 236th anniversary of the US Marine Corps.  Last weekend Jolene and I went to the ball here in Moscow.  We had a great time.  First of all Spaso House is just awesome.  You can see the photo's we took at https://picasaweb.google.com/113369402327770116567/MarineBall2011#.  It was nice to be able to finally wear my tuxedo.  The ceremony was very nice.  I'd like to thank all the fine service members out there, but especially the Marines on their birthday.

Staying in touch

I gotta say it's great being able to stay in touch with friends and loved ones.  Last night I was able to Skype with my mom for an hour and a half.  Video chat brings a bit more "closeness" than just talking on the phone.  After that I was able to talk with my grandparents and aunt in California.  Again it's so awesome to be able to stay in touch that way.  I think it's good to use different mediums to keep in touch, but you have to find a balance.  Right now we have this blog, Facebook, telephone, and Skype.  Those are our main methods of keeping in touch with friends and family.  Oh and now I'm using Picasa to post my pictures to the web.  (By the way here is the link to my Web Albums https://picasaweb.google.com/mwalls88).  I think I'll add it to the margin area to make it easier to get to. 

So whats new?  Tomorrow we should receive our HHE (House Hold Effects)  This is all the crap... I mean our belongings we shipped here from Iowa.  It's not everything, we put a lot in storage, but it is the rest of  our stuff we planned on having here.  It will be nice to have all our pots and pans and sheets and blankets and our Bed!  We haven't been going without, the Embassy actually furnishes the houses and we have what's called a welcome kit.  In the kit there is towels, sheets, dishes, pots and pans and a lot of the items you need.  It's almost like all the belonging you had in your very first apartment, you have pots and pans, but the quality is not quite the same.  So I get to take Monday off and show the movers where to put all the boxes, then we get to start the arduous process of unpacking.  It's gonna be a little like Christmas, because I don't remember everything we shipped here.  Once we figure out what we have we'll venture out to get what we forgot.  I do know we need to get a TV, our old ones went to storage.  Now we need to get a Multi-System TV that will work in the different parts of the world we could wind up in.  Right now we are using a borrowed TV, but we watch most of the shows we like online. 

Well enough chattering for now, I'll post some unboxing pix so you can share in the fun and excitement of unpacking.... I wish it was easier to convey sarcasm in writing.....

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