Miss Swan Goes to Russia: Part I

"Russia . . . is a riddle wrapped up in an enigma, inside a mystery" - Winston Churchill

He's right. If you ever want to give your brain a good racking, just start reading up on Russian history. Riddle me this: how does a country's influence go from looking like this

to this

to this . . . all in one sitting?

It spans 16 time zones - literally, the sun never sets on Russia. Think of the bragging rights to say that you border Poland, the USA, and China? With that heaping chunk of world to rule, it's no wonder the country's been juggled from tsars to communism to a semi-presidential system. Welcome to my latest obsession: Russian history (it's a lot less embarassing than my previous fads of Harry Potter and collecting bandaids. . .) 

I was lucky to be under the wing of an old mission buddy whose family has been living in Moscow for the last 8 years (thank you, big oil). Were it not for her Russian skills and street smarts, I probably would have ended up begging for borscht in Siberia - or worse.  Lauren picked me up from the airport, and we had 8 days to cover 24 tsars, 3 revolutions, 1 chilly war, and 12 Soviet premiers. Buckle up!

After all the red tape and long lines to get a visa, I finally made it!

The tower behind us is one of 7 'sisters' Stalin erected for himself, of which no one is too fond.

So, my blog was getting tons of Russian hits when it had the name "drop of wild honey". Turns out, honey is Russia's favorite treat, and to those viewers' dismay, they had to read about my dating life instead of honey recipes. This was my favorite honey treat, chak chak. mmmm 

Boat cruise with our new photographer friends

The Kremlin! The Kremlin!

Wait, you don't have a space shuttle in your park?

Going to the Russian Circus to see the dancing bears. Creepiest. Thing. Ever.

Auditioning for the monkey act

And we are just getting started, party people. More to come!