RUSSIA & NEW YORK 2015: 3 Murmansk, Russia

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

We were picked up at the Pushka Inn at 7 AM and driven to the airport in balmy 2C warmth. Check in and security was easy. We sat at a table to eat the good breakfast prepared by the hotel. The Pushka Inn is excellent in all ways – highly recommended. Their email address is *pushka@pushkainn *,ru and website is *www.pushkainn.ru *, should beautiful St. Petersburg be in your travel plans.

It was a comfortable, on time 1 hr 40 minute flight on the Aeroflot Airbus 319-100. Complementary sandwiches, desert and a selection of beverages were served. At the airport we were met by Anastasia, a delightful school teacher who guided us for the day in a 24 passenger bus. The temperature was minus 24, cold enough to make snow squeak underfoot.

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More winter cloths were needed for Marilynn & Marianne, so a stop was made in a very upscale shopping mall and some smaller children's shops that Anastasia knew, then an included lunch in an excellent restaurant. Next we toured the first nuclear ice breaker, the Lenin, aided by a very knowledgeable naval officer. From there it was to the Oceanarium to watch a seal show, which ended with Marianne getting a kiss from a bushy moustached seal. On the way to the hotel we stopped at a viewpoint overlooking the city, walking to a lighthouse shaped memorial to sailors lost at sea in peacetime. It, motivated by the death of the crew of a nuclear submarine.

We had some daylight, as though the sun doesn't rise there is light mid day. We were not impressed with the Ogni Hotel. The receptionist was unfriendly, the room was up 3 flights of stairs with no elevator and no one to help with the luggage, although the restaurant manager finally helped out. There was no bed for me, so after we contacted Kola Travel they contacted the hotel and the restaurant manager brought a single bed mattress to lay on a kind of sofa bed.

We have a well appointed two room suite that is very nice, and a good bathroom – the problem is staff, or lack of staff. Dinner at the hotel restaurant, which has a view over Murmansk City, was also difficult both with language and general service. They were out of many things on the menu, but when we ordered something they didn't have no one told us it was unavailable, they just didn't come back. This happened a number of times.

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Marilynn mistakenly thought that on arrival in Murmansk a one hour time change was announced, so we changed our watches, which had us fully suited up in the lobby an hour before we were to be picked up. We found out when she phoned the tour company to see were the driver was, so took off half a dozen layers of cloths and went back to the room.

The driver, a pleasant fellow who spoke no English, expertly drove us over snowy roads for two hours to Arctic Land. Here we entered a log cabin with a large stone fire place in the centre where we were joined by three students from Malaysia. They will complete a 6 year program studying medicine at Moscow University in June. They were semi frozen and gratefully crowded around the fire. A delicious lunch of typical Sami food was served including a hearty fish chowder then reindeer meat with potatoes. There was hot tea or juice, plus cake, a delicious and filling meal. This is a family operation, with Alex, his brother and his wife doing most work.

We walked through snowy forest to the kennels where some of their 36 Siberian Huskeys are kept. Unlike the dogs we saw in Greenland and Northern Canada, these dogs were pets as well as working dogs, and they obviously loved Alex and very much enjoyed petting from visitors. They were very friendly and lively.

We walker to the area where reindeer are kept, being greeted by a little guy who was only 6 months old. Marianne fed him out of her hand, and he then followed us around like a puppy dog. After being introduced to some of the full grown reindeer we were taken for a sled ride pulled by three reindeer. I promptly fell off the sled when we started with a jerk, but next time I realized these spirited animals like to go for it, so hung on more tightly. Alex's brother then got on the sled to show what reindeer can do when not slowed down for tourists. When the reindeer were allowed given their head they ran at lightning speed, with the sled flying off to the side when they took the corners. Marilynn said she now understood why Santa could cover so much territory in one night! The reindeer loved the fast run, and weren't even panting when they came back to us.

Two teams of dogs were then hooked up to sleds. Marianne and Marilynn sat in one driven by Alex, and the other team was hooked to a sled which I was to drive. Alex gave me a good run down on what to expect, and how to control the sled, then I was on my own. His brother led the way on a snow mobile, out of sight in front, then Alex with his team and I brought up the rear. Mushing a team of dogs was something I didn't expect ever to have a chance to do, and it was exhilarating. The dogs move very fast, so I let the team with Alex get out of sight in the forest before heading after them. Being lighter, we were soon gaining on the others, with the sled skidding off to the side as we raced around corners. To control the empty sled I stood behind with a foot on each runner and hung onto a wooden arch built onto the back of the sled. There was a foot operated snow brake with which to slow the dogs. It was an incredibly exhilarating experience. We travelled 7 kilometres, stopping a couple of times to rest the dogs (and me).

Back at the cabin we gathered around the fire with hot drinks and cake to chat with Alex and to warm up. It was a slightly warmer minus 16 degrees today. For those of you looking for a real Arctic experience, I would strongly recommend a day with Alex and company. The only major cost is airfare, but once in the Murmansk area it makes for a very economical adventuresome holiday.

Our driver had waited for us to drive us back in the dark. The sun did not make it over the horizon, but it was still bright during the day with reflected light in a world covered in snow.

We had the driver drop us off at a restaurant recommended by Anastasia. At first they were reluctant to let us in, making it clear that no one spoke English and the menu was only in Russian, however once settled we had drinks and menus with tiny pictures each item. One of the staff came up with an old menu with English on it. Through hand gestures we understood that not all items were available and the prices were different. The menu was amazing – they specialize in game meat of all kinds, almost any northern game animal was on offer, along with a variety of fish and other seafood. This went with the decor in the restaurant of stuffed animals and birds.

The meal was superb and the staff friendly and helpful. They had good wines and beer, so we were pretty happy when we headed back into the cold for about a kilometre walk up the hill to the hotel. There were pauses for snowball fights, and Marilynn and Marianne flung themselves into undisturbed snow to make snow angels. Altogether a great day!