60 Daze of Airbnb Open Prep!

 

 

Two months ago we were with our oldest daughter Kelly surrounded by a sea of white crosses punctuated with Stars of David at the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach. Later that same day we stood amongst row after row of dark granite headstones memorializing the German soldiers who also lost their lives in France during WWII. We were nearing the end of almost a year of Senior Nomad travel and touring the memorial sites and museums in Normandy before returning to Seattle for a few weeks. I'll write more about our visit in the coming weeks.

Our new mentor and friend Chip Conely

For now I need to catch you up on a whirlwind of activity that has, amazingly brought us back to France! About six months ago we started a conversation with Chip Conely, Head of Global Hospitality & Strategy at Airbnb about the possibility of us speaking about our experiences at an event in Paris in November. The event is the Airbnb Open and it starts tomorrow when thousands of hosts from 110 countries will descend on Parc de le Villette for a big group hug. This morning we got up early in our 82nd Airbnb in Montmartre in the shadow of the famous  Sacre-Coeur Basilica to put the finishing touches on our presentations.

The big stage - our Keynote slides and our giant selves will be on the pink screen!

Not only will we step out on a stage blazing with lights, giant screens, teleprompters and cameras from all angles in front of 5,000 hosts, we will also be giving a half hour break-out sessions each day in front of 250 attendees about how great hosts made a difference in our journey.

My life for the last 6 weeks!

The system is the solution.

We've been scratching out scripts and trying to find the best way to co-present for about two months now. It was much easier spending 24 hours together for 850 days of travel than spending any single day trying to blend our two very different approaches and personalities into a cohesive presentation. Some days we were as synchronized as gold medal figure skaters, other times we were completely unraveled and wondered if we had been on the same journey. Often times we just had to walk away from it. We are nearly there, but barely married!

Michael remains calm in the face of public appearances, while I vacillate between confidence and terror on a minute to minute basis. Today we are going to practice on stage and will get a first look at what tomorrow and the next day will look like - and in the end, we both know it will be fine. And fun. We are surrounded by dozens of great people from Airbnb that truly love us and want us to succeed. Besides we are the only speakers talking about the guest experience so as they say, "We own the category". 

I would like this to be my future office at Airbnb headquarters in SF.

Presenting to the Portland Airbnb office staff.

We had a chance to present a variation on our break-out session at the Airbnb offices in Portland and in San Francisco while we were back in the States. We had great response at both places, mostly from audiences who, on average, were the same age as our adult children so it wasn't hard to getting standing ovations. We also presented our story to Seattle DowntownRotary - one of the largest in the world. Again we were surrounded by a room full of friendly faces. Michael has been a member of the club for 25 years and I had many friends in the audience. But we definitely saw some challenges in our hand-offs to each other and some fumbling with the slide flow. Arrgh. Can we do this?Yes we can!

We have been in Paris since November 4th and have had some very special time with our grandchildren. The balcony of our charming Airbnb looks directly down the street at Coco and Marcel's school, and we have picked them up most everyday for two hours of fun. Meanwhile, baby Jacques gets quality alone time with mom and dad after his day at creche then we all gather for a hectic dinner.

After school rendezvous and kid hand off in Paris

Yesterday we went shopping for a confidence building outfit for me to wear on stage. I was instructed to stay away from solid black or white, small prints or patterns, and anything reflective. Did you know that just about every garment in Paris is either, black, white, black and white or patterned? We finally found just the right look - another checked box on my list.

It's always fun to spend time at our home-away-from home with Carla and Tom.

Before I close I want to thank Carla and Tom Robinson for once again hosting us in the guest house while we were in Seattle for a few weeks. And also thanks to Billy Meyer a long time friend and speaking coach who was an enormous help in getting us prepared for this unexpected part of our journey as Senior Nomads.

Ready as we'll ever be! Wish us luck.

The only thing left to do before we head into the bright lights is decide who controls the PowerPoint clicker!

Thanks for following along!

Debbie and Michael
The Senior Nomads

Launching the Junior Nomads!

The Junior Nomads leaving Portland, Oregon - off to see the world!

Three years ago, Michael and I sat at our dining room table in Seattle and began scribbling notes on a sheet of paper that very soon became several sheets of paper, around the subject of what retirement might look like for us. We have a ten year age difference that has enriched and influenced our marriage over the past 37 years and now it was time, once again, to recalibrate and see what our next phase looked like. At the time Michael was 67 and I was and 57. One of us old enough to legitimately retire, the other eager to tag along! We'd had several life-changing experiences together - Michael even more so, including a successful stint as a professional race car driver before I met him. What might that next adventure be?

Not ready for rocking chairs quite yet!

We have four grown children and five young grandchildren and keeping involved in their lives is an adventure of it's own. Our oldest son Alistair and his family are a three hour drive down the road from Seattle to Portland, however, three of our grandchildren live in Paris. During our musings on retirement, our daughter Mary (mother of the Parisian children) suggested we might want to "travel full time... maybe, I don't know, in Europe?" We couldn't imagine we could afford to do that but she also asked if we had ever heard of Airbnb. At that time, we had not.

Airbnb became the ticket to living affordability in cities all over Europe and beyond.

Whether Mary had an ulterior motive to get us closer to France or not, we certainly thank her for the suggestion, because what seemed an impossible dream financially began to take shape. Once we looked into Airbnb  Michael began one of his favorite pass times, "Crunching the Numbers". The model would be to live in other peoples homes in Europe exclusively using Airbnb unless we were staying with friends. It turned out that if we sold most everything we owned, rented our house, put the remainder in a small storage unit and reduced our monthly expenses to the bare minimum, the travel dream was attainable and project Senior Nomads was launched. Since the day we padlocked the storage we have visited 45 countries, 125 cities and lived in 80 different Airbnbs. This past August we finished two years of almost continuous travel through Europe, Morocco, Israel, the Balkans, and most recently Russia.

We are still having fun, still learning, and still in love. I guess we'll keep going!

We left St. Petersburg on August 19th and headed to France to spend ten action packed days with most of our family. The gathering included our French family, our oldest daughter Kelly, who joined us from Seattle, Alistair, his wife Jenny and their two kids.We rented a large, rambling house in Quiberon, the village on the Brittany coast where Gregoire's parents live. Sadly our son Christopher and his wife Jamie couldn't make the trip, but at least all 5 cousins ranging in age from 15 months to ten years old could be together for the first time!

The big house we filled top to bottom in Quiberon. It was perfect - although not an Airbnb.

Heading out for a bike ride in the rain. The daily bakery run

Siblings at the Saturday market.

Grandpa had a great time reading to his many grandchildren.

Sisters on the move with Baby Jacques.

Cousins movie night!

Happy in the kitchen preparing a huge pot of local mussels

Everyone digging in at one of dozens of meals together. The best part!

We had great expectations of long, sun filled days at the beach, but for most of our stay we had steady rain. That didn't keep us from having a great time cooking, (over-eating), playing games, building blanket forts, watching movies, riding bikes in the wind and rain, reading, and when the sun did come out, rushing to the beach for a quick swim.

A quick trip to the beach on one of the rare sunny afternoons.

Who knew how many places you can find sand on a baby!

Here's the twist! About six months ago when we were in Prague, Alistair and Jenny sent a text asking for some advice and could we set up a call. Of course it's always nice when your children seek guidance, but these two are very accomplished on most every front, so we couldn't imagine what the situation might be. With a nine hour time difference, we'd just have to wait until the next day to find out what was up.

Hello world! Here come the Junior Nomads.

It turned out that our travels where so inspiring to them that they were planning to quit their successful jobs (at age 42), take Spencer (8) and Lucy (10) out of school and travel the world for a year. Pause. Double pause. And then we burst out in cheers and tears. How bold and amazing is that?
At that point they hadn't shared their vision with their kids so we had some fun strategizing around just how to do that. Of course hitting the road with two school age children was something we couldn't imagine - but were in that same place three years ago, and now we know anything is possible if you imagine it. 

It doesn't get much better than this!

Spencer and Lucy enjoying their "classroom" in Italy.

Both adults would be leaving successful careers, Jenny as a Senior Global Director of Nike + Member Services and Alistair as partner at The Great Society, a fast growing ad-agency, but when they gave their notice, both were asked to think of this as a leave-of-absence and they would have jobs waiting for them when they returned. They rented their house, sold a lot of stuff, made twenty trips to Goodwill and boned up on home-schooling with the world as your classroom! As they say, imitation is the greatest form of flattery...and we couldn't be happier with these copycats.

The Campbells on the road in Montenegro. We hope our paths cross along the way.

Since we waved goodbye in Quiberon on August 30th, they have been to the Netherlands, Germany, Croatia, Montengro, and are currently on the Amalfi coast in Italy. They've already had several adventures and of course, as we know well, that's what this is all about  You can keep up with them #campbellamble.

Michael and I enjoying time with daughter Kelly in Dinan, France.

As for us, we left Brittany with our oldest daughter Kelly and headed up the coast to Normandy to take in the the D-Day sights. I'll write a quick re-cap of that next.

Thanks for following along!

Debbie and Michael Campbell
The Senior Nomads

футбол Spells "Football" in Russian

Zenit celebrate their 2008 UEFA Cup final victory over Rangers

When we were in Russia recently, I got the chance to see my first ever match in the Russian Premier League. The match was on a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon in St. Petersburg featuring last year's League Champion, FC Zenit vs FC Krasnodar.

Russia, and Russian football has been in the news in the last year because of the upcoming 2018 World Cup and the corruption scandal within FIFA, the governing body who awarded the event to Russia, in what some are saying was "questionable circumstances." Setting the FIFA politics aside, I was really excited when I learned that Zenit was playing at home while we were in St. Petersburg and that Petrovsky Stadium was just a 45 minute walk from our Airbnb apartment.



Petrovsky Stadium seats 21,000 and is completely surrounded by water

Kick-off was scheduled for 4:30 pm but I set-out early to make sure I found the stadium and arrived in time to soak-up some of the pre-match activities. The walk was easy. The stadium is located on a tiny island and I mean really small, because the stadium takes up the whole place with 21,000 seats all on one level. The pitch is located inside a running track so the place lacks any sense of intimacy, especially at the end zones (curvas) where is sat.

In order to get onto the island, fans cross one of the two bridges and then run through a gauntlet of police and security forces, no worse than at other stadiums in Europe but somehow it felt a little scarier. The KGB is now called the FSB and I wondered if, or how many, agents were part of the security detail.



Before I got to my seat, my backpack was searched three different times.

When I arrived I spotted a group of young ladies who were face painting the Zenit logo and or team colors for just 150 rubles ($2.50). As you can see, I stepped right up just as I had done when we saw Barcelona play last year at Camp Nou.


Young lady who did my face painting



The finished product

With that done, I took a lap around the outside of the stadium to check things out before the match.  I stuck up a conversation with a group of policeman standing in front of this "paddy wagon" which looked like it was made in the 1950's. Turns out, it was made in 2006 and the driver pulled out the registration certificate to prove it. We all had a great laugh!



Paddy Wagon waiting for customers. What year do you think it was made?

I headed for my seat and had my backpack searched for the 3rd time before two very friendly young stewards showed me to my seat. I was surprised that the crowd seemed so laid back. There was no music, no cheer leading announcer, hardly a chant and even right up to game time you could almost hear a pin-drop in the stadium.

My seat was up high in the north end so I was looking into the sun the whole match and as you can see from the pictures, I was far away from the pitch. The ticket cost 800 rubles, which a year ago would have converted to $24 but because the value of the ruble has fallen dramatically I actually paid just  $12.
Not a soul around me spoke English so I for the first time ever I wasn't able to find a seat-mate who could answer my questions about their national sport. Before long, the match got underway and fans started to cheer but not like anything I've seen at matches across Europe. As the match progressed I got the impression that the crowd would have been more comfortable at a tennis match.

In the 25th minute FC Krasnodar scored to go up 1-0. Zenit stepped up their game but the Krasnodar goal keeper rose to the occasion and made some incredible saves and his offense managed to find the net again in the 49th minute so Zenit went into the locker room at the break down by two goals to none.


Just a beautiful day for football

As the second half unfolded I thought to myself that even the players seemed to be  playing without passion. On the plus side I didn't see any players faking injuries or diving hoping for a foul. On the other hand, none of the Zenit players seemed to be bothered by a ticking clock and a two goal shortfall. Even the few cheers from the Zenit Ultras seemed more like a group of high school students reciting a poem in unison. In the 72nd minute, their seemed to be a minor flare-up with some pushing and shoving  in the middle of the pitch but that was quickly squelched by the referee and before long the he blew his whistle. The home team lost. None of the fans seemed to mind and everyone filed out the stadium like good comrades.

Young Zenit fans had a great day out even though their team didn't appear to show up for the match.

I'm glad our schedule worked out so I could see a match in Russia so now I have a feel for just how popular (or not) football is in Russia in the build-up to the 2018 World Cup. I learned that the average attendance in the Russian Premiership last year was an unimpressive 12,500...in a country of 142 million.

Afterwards - I had read that Russia was building a new stadium in St. Petersburg for the World Cup and that made sense to me after seeing the match at Petrovsky Stadium. So two days after seeing the Zenit match I went to visit the new stadium in a huge park on Krestovsky Island. Turns out they started building Gazprom Arena 10 years ago, long before FIFA awarded Russia the World Cup which made me want to go see it even more. I wondered how could they be building a stadium for 10 years and still not have it finished.....even in Russia?

So off I went. I took the #6 trolley and then transferred to the Blue Metro Line and before long, found myself in this huge and beautiful park. At one end, about a mile from the Metro stop, I spotted the stadium - work-in-progress. It was a Monday morning and I saw actual workers and cranes at work. I've read that they expect to finish the stadium well before 2018. They say it might end-up being the most expensive stadium in the world. (With the falling value of the ruble, comparisons to US dollars is hard but I've seen estimates that it will cost in excess of $1.4 Billion which is probably on the low side.



New home for FC Zenit after 2018 World Cup will seat 67,000 fans. Wanted: More Fans to Fill Stadium!

Assuming Russia hosts the 2018 World Cup, assuming that the new stadium is completed and assuming that Zenit moves out of Petrovsky Stadium after the World Cup, I have to wonder what 21,000 dispassionate Russian football fans will look like sitting in a 67,000 stadium for decades to come.  As a Russian friend told me, we like big things in Russia. Some things in Russia are just hard to understand and this might be one of them.


Michael

Russian Around

It was time to behold Mighty Russia!

After touring every country ever run, or run-over by the Soviet Union we were ready to take on Russia. With only two weeks to spend in the two most most visited cities, I am not sure we got the real exposure we were looking for, but we got enough to take a way a few impressions.

The Golden Tickets - Russian Visas.

In order to visit Russia Americans need to get a visa. I told this story previously, so just to recap, you need to apply for the visa while in your country of origin. As it turns out, we were far, far away from the USA. A friend in Seattle told us about a travel agency in Seattle that could work miracles in case like ours, so we parked in Belgium for two weeks while we sent our precious passports via FedEx to Red Star Travel on Queen Anne Hill. With enough money in your checkbook and a little paperwork - you, too, can have a fancy Russian visa in just ten days. Thanks Red Star!

There were a couple of things that were confusing upon entering Moscow. One was the need to fill out an immigration card at the airport before going through passport control. If I hadn't seen a page about it in the very back of the in-flight magazine, we wouldn't have known. We were already a little jumpy about this process since we hadn't pre-registered where we would be staying and for how long (another requirement we'd read about). We found a table with the forms and scribbled what we could and approached the booth. One person at a time - no happy couples approaching the window together, thank you very much.

This was definitely not the stamp we received in our passports

After presenting my passport, and waiting what seemed like ten minutes while I was scrutinized and processed with a minimum of personal interaction (certainly no "Welcome to Russia, enjoy your stay!") there was a frenzy of rubber stamping and a green light indicated I could pass through to "the other side". During this process, another form was printed out, stamped and split in two parts - one half left in our passport, the other half filed who knows where. I am telling you this now, because it has repercussions later. Michael also got the green light and we headed to our Airbnb.

Our first rubles. There would be many more rubles needed along the way!

Michael's first Russian friends - made buying SIM cards at the airport of course.

In case you didn't know, this says SCRABBLE. Welcome the the Cyrillic alphabet!

After 45 countries and 125 cities we Senior Nomads felt we could navigate any metro system, anywhere. Having said that, we weren't prepared for the almost exclusive use of the Cyrillic alphabet and almost non-existent English translations in Moscow. This had to be the most challenging system we encountered during our travels. The good news is the metro stations are as beautiful as any travel guide will tell you - there are even guided tours of the most opulent stations, so if you had to be lost it wasn't all bad. The station names are not easy to see as you approach each stop because they are posted on the wall behind the train, not on the wall you can see from the windows facing the platform. Michael and I became obsessed with counting stops on our fingers as we traveled from point А то Б.

The Moscow metro system map - they say the brown circle line was based on a coffee stain made by Stalin on the original plans and no one was willing challenge him on it.

The actual maps had the stations spelled out in Latin letters. The best way to cope was to break down the name of a destination and form a familiar word you could spot quickly among 16 or more letters.  Like "Snop" inside of Krasnopresnekskaya or "Harvest" in Sukharvskaya. Our stop became "Napkin".  One day we took Napkin to Biblio and changed trains to Brat, returning via Moldy back to Napkin. The other fascinating part of this system is some of the lines are so deep in the ground it takes a full six minutes on an escalator to get to the platform - and there could be a several minute walk after that! Plan accordingly.

The ornate entrance to our nearby station - affectionately known as Napkin.

Not your average Metro passageway! There were so many like this.

beginning a six minute escalator ride!

 Our host and his young daughter met us at our apartment and showed us around. Once again, the exterior of the building was a little disappointing, but the apartment itself was very nice. We've become used to this ... so if you travel using Airbnb don't be discouraged by the front door of your building, it's what's on the inside that counts. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5747355

Home sweet home. We've learned it's whats on the inside that counts.

The kitchen and the living spaces were very modern and comfortable.

While our delightful host Stas was showing Michael how the wifi worked, his proud 8 year old daughter showed me how to turn on and dim the lights in every room. As we were finishing up, Stas mentioned that during the summer in Moscow there can be challenges with hot water. He just needed a minute (and a lot of packing tape) to rig up an alternative heater for the shower. He stuck a portable electric heater onto the bathtub with the tape and ran the cord over the bathroom floor to an outlet. This was supposedly going to bypass the hot water issue by heating the shower water separately. It looked like a sure path to electrocution to me. We did suffer a lack of hot water during the week, along with no water at all at one point, but there wasn't much to be done about it unless you know Mr. Putin. Here's the apartment: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5747355 

I am sure the President has unlimited hot water in his house - wherever that might be.

Speaking of Putin. Michael truly dislikes the man so he was discouraged to see so much positive "Putinabilia" everywhere. Dozens of tee-shirt designs, phone covers, action figures, playing cards and even nesting Matryoshka dolls that revealed ever smaller Putins. Most often he was portrayed like as a macho playboy or James Bond character. In the end Michael decided the best route to world peace is to encourage people to Pray for Putin. Could be a T-shirt... 

Obama and I had similar feelings about our experience in Moscow.

 After much anticipation, I found Moscow to be big, bold and ... well, sort of boring. Of course we had a full weeks worth of must-see sights and they were all very impressive, but there was a haunting, antiseptic feel to the city. For one thing, considering it's size and population it is "Disneyland clean". Hardly a scrap of paper, a cigarette butt or graffiti could be found anywhere near the city center. As we traveled further out of the tourist zone things became a bit more disheveled, but not by much.

We had an excellent guide for our free walking tour on the second day that helped us put the city in perspective and explain Russian culture - especially why people here rarely smile. Apparently a smile is as special as a kiss and should not be given lightly. I'd say it's because they live in Russia.

The Iconic St. Basil's Cathedral. It was as beautiful as expected.

One of Stalin's Seven Sisters skyscrapers. This one, the Department of Foreign Affairs was in our neighborhood.

A visit to St. Basil's cathedral with it's multi-colored domes and intricate passages along with live music performances was a highlight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9CT2y6XfyM

We also toured the Kremlin - did you know that the location of Putin's residence is top secret? And we stood in an very, very long line with tight security to visit Lenin's Tomb. The many guards on duty kept us moving at a quick pace and had a special talent for whispering "Shhhhhhhh!" The man has been embalmed and left to look like he's napping for almost 90 years, so I doubt he's going to wake up because of a little whispering! It was a bit creepy. Speaking of creepy... later in the day we were working on the blog and a few other things and I Googled "Grumpy Putin" for an image. I went from 'full bars' to the dreaded rainbow spin and finally got a message that basically said the Internet was unavailable and to try again later. Michael got a similar message when searching for the break-away republic of Transnistria. Coincidence?

You can count on finding an Airbnb and Starbucks in just about every city.

Michael walked over the the bridge to where Boris Nemstov, a vocal Putin opponent was tragically shot this past February. There was an impressive memorial of flowers, photos and letters that were guarded 24 hours a day by volunteers to keep them from being swept away by the police. Meanwhile I dropped into the famous GUM department store - the only place in Moscow during the cold war where the privileged few with US Dollars could purchase high-end goods. Some things haven't changed in that only the privileged of any nationality, regardless of the currency can shop there now. The famous GUM ice-cream cones and foil wrapped ice-cream bars, however are still delicious and a steal at a buck each.

Michael at the Memorial site for Boris Nemstov.

I became rather attached to a particular brand of Russian ice-cream bar. Anytime became the right time for ice-cream!

On our last night in Moscow we had dinner with our host Stas and his wife Svetlana. They were interesting. Russian food is not. Svetlana was one of Moscow's first Airbnb hosts and as such has become a liaison for new hosts and is the Moscow contact for Airbnb. She started with one apartment and now has five. She has an interesting eye for decor. A couple of years ago she hosted Airbnb's CEO, Brian Chesky in one of her flats! Here's the link: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/2445855?s=Nt6eTrAR

Dinner with our hosts Stas and Svetlana.

After our week in Moscow we headed to St. Petersburg by train. It was a pleasant four hour journey on the high-speed Sapsen train. What a lovely, romantic city! For me, it was everything that Moscow was not. It was more approachable, and while still being equally important in Russian history it didn't seem to take itself so seriously. Our experience there felt more like a attending a glamorous dinner party as opposed to a stern lecture. Even the metro system seemed to breath easier.

The artwork and the opulence of the Hermitage did not disappoint!

Our apartment had a serious lack of charm in such a romantic city. Our host's friend met us and he was great, and we even met his mother. And on our last day, the owner of the flat, Vladimir drove us all the way to the airport! But even with all that love, we felt like we were ready to head home. It also happened to start pouring rain shortly after we arrived and that always adds a level of dreariness to any situation. We needed our rally caps so To Bed! Tomorrow is a brand new day. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/4851244

At the front entrance to our apartment complex. "Let me out!"

A look into the courtyard from our landing window.

Inside the flat. At one point after the war three families lived in this space.

We knew that we were supposed to register with the Russian authorities with details on our whereabouts during our stay, but our Moscow host told us we didn't have to do that until we started our second full week so we could wait until we reached St. Petersburg to file. Since we were not staying in a hotel, the workaround was to find a nearby hostel and pay them a fee to register us as their guests. Our host went with us to the front desk of a hostel on our street. It was then that we discovered it was very important to have our halves of the form that had been stamped on entry and slipped into our passports. Since we weren't really sure what they were, Michael kept mine as a memento for our daily journal and tossed his. Uh-oh. Our hostel owner told us he would not be able to register Michael without it and explained this could cause some serious trouble at departure from the country that might result in a hefty fine at best, or if things went really awry, perhaps some time in a Gulag! I got my registration paperwork approved and became a legal, temporary citizen of Russia, but poor Michael spent the week in St. Petersburg paperless in a land that reveres paperwork.

The church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood was a highlight.

Meanwhile we set about exploring one of our new favorite cities. I whipped through an excellent biography of Catherine the Great and her creation of the Hermitage collection. It made walking the halls of that magnificent palace come to life. The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood was one of the most incredible buildings I've even been inside. I am a huge fan of mosaics and there wasn't an inch other than the equally beautiful inlaid marble floors that wasn't covered in shimmering images made from tiny peices of tile. During our stay here Michael and I headed separate directions one day. That in itself was a treat - even though our days together may be numbered. He attended a Premier Russian League football match with FC Zenit which he will write about shortly. I found my way to a Saturday afternoon performance of the Russian State Circus! It was a great experience with outstanding acrobats, tumbling clowns magnificent horses and dancing tabby cats. The next night we experienced Swan Lake as performed by the Russian  State Ballet Company - a beautiful production with twice the swans of any other performance we've seen!

Michael having a good day out at a Zenit match in St. Petersburg.

Tigers, bears and elephants have been replaced with pigs, cats, monkeys and spectacular horses.

An evening at the ballet was a beautiful way to celebrate Michael's 70th birthday.

St. Petersburg was recently named the top destination in Europe by the World Travel Awards and this article does a great job of showing off the highlights of the city. http://news360.com/article/311450503#

Michael said he was happy to be leaving Russia  - a feeling similar to the one he'd had back in 1974. There was just one small hitch between him and an airplane seat - the dreaded lack of registration paperwork. I could go on my merry way since I had my passport, my registration, my boarding pass, and of course the coveted stamped half of my entrance form. I approached the Passport Control window and found the uniformed matron to be up-to-speed on the no-smiling policy. She collected my papers, stamped my passport with authority and buzzed me through the gate. All I could do was watch from the other side as Michael squared his shoulders and approached the window. It could have been worse - she did ask for the paperwork and Michael confessed to his sins. There was a moment of silence followed by a short reprimand and finally the thump, thump and THUMP of her rubber stamp. Free at last.

Yes or no? YES! Michael could leave the country!

We learned more than we ever expected about 20th century history during our travels through Eastern Europe, and saw the powerful influence of the former Soviet Union first hand on the places we visited. This quick glimpse of The Motherland was a perfect ending. Our next stop takes us to a large family gathering back in France with a surprise twist! See you there.

Thank you for following along!

Debbie and Michael
The Senior Nomads

Blazing through the Balkans Part II

Targeting the Balkans as we near the end of Year 2 of our Senior Nomad travels.

 Welcome back! Here is part two of our Blaze through the Balkans.

Bucharest, Romania: At the Sofia train station we made the mistake of looking a bit confused and that led to a dervish of a man who asked if we needed help, and without waiting for the answer grabbed our heavy bags and took off. He turned and impatiently waved for us to follow him and there wasn't really an option. Actually, he was helpful since the station was under-going renovation and indeed, we might have gotten lost trying to find our platform. He found our train, hauled our bags on board and lifted them up onto the overhead racks. It appeared by his body language that we needed to tip him. We gave him around $5. and he became very agitated and angry because he saw I had more money in my wallet and yelled we had given him our "Toilet money!" Apparently just enough to use the toilet. We dug deep a bit deeper and gave him all our remaining Romanian cash which apparently topped up the toilet money. He was still put out, but we thanked him profusely and then encouraged him (firmly) to get off the train. Wow. Rough start to a long, hot journey.

The train ride to Bucharest was long and hot - but we enjoyed meeting other intrepid travelers on board.

We shared our cabin with two teenagers from Turkey who had just graduated from high school and were traveling for the summer. Not only were they happy to practice their English with "actual Americans" they were enjoyable to spend time with. We made friends with several other passengers from a variety of countries as we slowly chugged our way to Bucharest - Michael meeting most of them in the passageway of the train where he could find a breeze if he stood on his toes near a partially opened window. For miles we passed field after field of brilliant sunflowers with their heads turned to the rising sun. In between there were abandoned factories and desolate villages. This is a part of Europe that is truly struggling to find it's place in the new free market economy and the EU.

Michael catching a breeze in the passageway.

An abandoned train station along our route.

Sunflower fields stretched for miles and brightened an otherwise bleak landscape.

We had been forewarned that the taxi drivers in Bucharest were the worst as far as taking advantage of tourists. We'd heard harrowing tales of unsuspecting passengers being driven far outside their destinations, of having their luggage held hostage, meters (if you found a cab that had one) that were set to run at twice the legal rate, etc. Fortunately for us, one of Michael's new train buddies was Romanian and he was willing to help us get a cab. Unfortunately, driver after driver said no because we weren't going far enough or they didn't want to take the amount our host had suggested we pay. Our friend had to catch up with his family, so in the end we were left on our own. We walked across the street to the Vodafone store to get SIM-cards so we could call our host and figure out a new plan. While in line a very nice woman heard us discussing our plight and offered to call a taxi for us and even waited with us until it arrived and made sure the rate was fair. Whenever we've needed assistance no matter the city or the circumstance, we have always found helpful strangers - it gives us continued faith in humanity.

As we got deeper into this part of Europe, the Airbnb apartments begin to get more "interesting". That is the word our daughter Kelly uses when she doesn't want to offend. Like "Mom, this new soup you made tonight is interesting. Meaning you don't need to make it again". In the case of our next apartment "interesting" began at the door. When the taxi pulled up we thought there must be a mistake since we were in front of an" Erotic Shopping Mall". But no, the address was correct. Our host popped out the entrance door next to a sex shop to welcome us and help carry our luggage.

Front doors can be deceiving - the apartment was actually quite nice.

The location actually turned out to be good and the apartment itself wasn't too bad either - however, just outside our window we were treated to all-night Karaoke caterwauling from one of many nearby  bars. And trust us, the later it got, the worse it got...I still have "Big Mary Keep on Rollin', Rollin' Rollin' on the River...boop, boop, boop, boop, boop." in my head. Here's a link to the apartment: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/4202554

Bucharest was a jumble of neo-classic, Bauhaus, art deco, and Soviet-era monoliths. This was a bright spot in our neighborhood that was part of a rejuvinization of the old town.

The first day we took our usual free walking tour of the city and our guide informed us the confusion between Bucharest and Budapest is one of the top 5 Geographical mistakes in the world. Here's a link to a website that confirms his story: http://www.bucharestnotbudapest.com/gallery.

The history of this country is a violent from one century to the next - the last century being no exception. Everywhere you looked you saw the heavy hand of Romania's ruthless dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu influence on this city. Not only did he terrorize his citizens, he blighted Bucharest by tearing down historical buildings to construct massive housing blocks and bureaucratic monoliths in the name of systematization - and, to glorify himself he began construction of the "Peoples Palace", the second largest structure in the world. In 1991 as fledgling independence for Romania became a reality, the much despised Ceausescu and his wife were executed by firing squad on Christmas day. He did not live to see his palace finished.

The Palace of the Parliament, also known as the "People's Palace" is finally being used for all the right reasons.

One of 1,000 elaborate rooms inside the palace. Ceausescu died before he lived out this particular fantasy.

Note: During these past few weeks we were managing the sale of our house from the road.
The house sold easily, but there were challenges along the way in getting documents signed and sent back to Seattle. Often e-mail correspondence was fine, but we needed to get a Limited Power of Attorney notarized and sent back as soon as possible so our friend George could sign the closing documents for us. The only solution was to visit the US Embassy in Bucharest where they perform this service (for a fee of course) for US citizens. We made an appointment online and took a lengthy bus ride out to the fortress that is our embassy. I think the "no photos" signs and the sweeping cameras started about 100 yards from the first fence. 

The mighty US Embassy in Bucharest opened in 2011

No photos. No phones. No electronics (including Kindles), No backpacks. No kidding.

This imposing marble structure was built in 2011 and it wasn't designed around the casual visit. Once we showed the guard (one of many) our appointment confirmation, we were checked against a list and then put through rigorous security checks that included taking just about everything out of my purse. Note to self: clean purse! They also took our Kindles and cell phones for "safe keeping" since no electronics were allowed past the entrance. The actual notary process was easy. Next we had to find a FedEx office and get the paperwork back to Seattle. Not as easy, but we managed.

The bus from Bucharest to Chisinau was a tight fit!

Chișinău, Moldova: We finally reached a city even we couldn't pronounce (Quiche-en-ow) in a country few people can find on a map. Moldova is Europe's poorest country, and one of the most corrupt - quite possibly, those two things go hand-in-hand. We arrived by bus. It was a ten hour journey in a 20 passenger Mercedes mini-bus with leg room designed for those without legs. Once again, Michael became friendly with our fellow sardines. We especially enjoyed chatting with the man sitting next to us who didn't have an actual seat - he sat on a stool in the aisle. His name was Roman and he was heading home for a month's leave from his off-shore drilling job in Algeria. He was beyond helpful when we arrived in Chișinău and used his cell-phone to wrangle a taxi that we shared and got us to our next Airbnb.

Roman was our hero - he helped us get a cab, rode with us to our Airbnb and wouldn't let us pay.

Michael is such a gregarious traveler. If not for his curiosity and willingness to strike up conversations around politics and football (soccer) with just about anyone, and his dedication to using Google Translate, we would not have met so many people willing to help us in countless situations, let alone share their pride and concerns about their country.

Our apartment turned out to be large and luxurious! And albeit Russian style, nicely decorated. We had air conditioning, a huge TV, fast Internet, a lovely big bed, and a shower that did tricks. We didn't explore it much further than music and mood lighting, but apparently it can fire water at you from 20 different nozzles and be turned into a steam room. Maybe next time. Here's the link: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1514277

Our host helped arrange three private tours while we were here. That isn't our usual style, but there is very little in the way of tourism here and we wanted to get the most from our short stay. We booked a day trip to Transnistria, a place that is far off the radar, a city tour and a winery visit. 

Michael and I and our tour guide in Chișinău.

Day Trip to Transnistria: The first day we were picked up by Laurencia, our delightful guide for a trip to Transnistria. Where? It is a small strip of land wedged in between Moldova and the Ukraine that calls itself a country. Not a single country recognizes them, not even the Soviet Union. Who, by the way, runs the place. It has a president, a currency, a national anthem, a border crossing and ... that's about it. No other country will exchange their currency, and citizens carry either Romanian or Russian passports. Here's a link if you want to know more: https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Transnistria

The hammer and sickle are proudly displayed at every opportunity in Transnistria!

Michael had read a lot about Transnistria and just had to see it for himself. In short, when the Soviet Union broke-up in 1991 Moldova became an independent country but a small group of people (about 500,000) didn't want to go that way so there was a short war between Moldova and the people who lived east of the Dniester River. As we learned, Russia sent "peace keepers" there in 1992 and never left - a bad habit of theirs. The war ended in a classic stand-off. Undeterred, the citizens of Transnistria declared themselves a country and are sticking to their story.

Lenin looming large in front of the Parliament buildings of the dubious country, Transnistria.

 We had heard that visiting Transnistria is like going back in time 40 years to the U.S.S.R. As it turns out, we saw only one very large Lenin statue in front of the Parliament building, an old soviet-era tank on a granite pedestal in a park, and hammer and sickles in abundance, but that was about all the "throw back" we could document. If anything, a new hypermarket that just opened two months ago was far more interesting. Inside, it was similar to Costco, as in a huge warehouse space filled to the brim with food, clothing, household goods and vodka - lots of vodka.

Just a glimpse of the vodka aisle! This store was a big as the Russian ego.

Just a few of over a hundred garish garden ornaments on offer at the Sheriff Hypermarket.

The only thing lacking was customers. The parking lot was nearly empty and inside the employees outnumbered customers 20 to 1. To me it felt like a cover for storing provisions for a huge influx of Russians in the not too distant future. Maybe I was looking for a conspiracy theory to make the trip worthwhile - but there was a sprawling complex of military housing being built nearby, and with the ambiguity of who runs this place, it looks like a great staging ground for any kind of Russian mischief. So... think about it.

Michael and I with our tour guide Irena in Chișinău

We finished our last day in Moldova with a tour of the city. There isn't that much to see, but we certainly saw the influence of communism in the square-jawed architecture and massive statues of war heroes. Michael took a tour of Cricova, Moldova's largest winery - he enjoyed the experience except for the fact there wasn't a tasting included in the tour. In fact it didn't look like tastings were offered at all. A wine tour with no tasting is a sad day out. But Michael was able to see Putin's own stash of wine in the deep underground cellar and sit in the Board Room where Putin celebrated his 50th birthday.

The tour of Cricova winery was interesting ... until there wasn't a tasting.

Michael had a Putin sighting at the winery. He has his own stash deep in the cellars.

That's a wrap on the Balkans and we thank you for following along! See you in Moscow and St. Petersburg!

Debbie and Michael
The Senior Nomads