Read Part 1 of my travel blog HERE.
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Kazan Mall & Photoshoot
It’s the beginning of our second week in Kazan, and we go to another mall. We eat at the most amazing restaurant again, which is called Milovita Organic Kitchen. We each order a pasta on the menu (spaghetti bollonnaise, lasagne, etc.).
We walk around the mall a bit, and my mom and I notice that the Rand is stronger than the Russian Rubbel. Or is it that everything in Russia is just much cheaper because they’re right next to China? Who knows? We walk into the first clothing store, and the quality of the clothes is so much better than in South Africa… We notice that the colors shapes and designs of the clothes cater to white persons, not black persons. I find two high-quality dresses that I absolutely love and are perfect for me, and it’s so cheap. We make a plan to come back later in the week and have a proper shopping spree.
In the afternoon, we get ready for the family photo shoot. We struggle to find taxis to take us there, and in the end, we are late… very late. The photographer, Ramilya Safina, tells us that we only have 30 minutes left to shoot. Hurriedly, we go into the Gorkyskaye forest, and off she starts taking photos. Two hours later, she is still busy. Judah begins to get fidgety, and it’s time to stop. I am curious to see how the photos are going to look, but I do wish that my father could’ve been part of the shoot as well.
The Library & Malabar Restaurant
Something big happens, a major breakthrough, and we are all there to witness it for the first time: Judah says his name for the first time ever! ‘Ju-dah, Ju-dah, Ju-dah,’ he says over and over as we clap hands and praise him. He is a darling little boy and brings so much life and joy to the family. It brings to remembrance the first time my other nephew, Johan, started walking for the first time. We were all in the living room, and he started walking around in a big circle and we clapped and celebrated him. He couldn’t stop laughing – much like Judah this morning. This is what family looks like – being there for each other in all the small moments.
We get ready and head off to the National Library of the Republic of Tatarstan, which is literally less than two blocks from where my sister lives. Because it’s so close, we don’t have to book taxis. (I find the taxis to be quite stressful; you don’t know what kind of driver or car you’re going to get.) The library is majestic extremely organized and well-kept. But wait, it’s not just a library… there’s a bookstore, coffee shop, art gallery, and auditorium. ‘They host book launches here as well,’ my sister tells me. I turn to my mom and say, ‘One day, if I do have enough money to leave behind, I would like to establish a place like this…’
Almost all the books are in Russian, except for a few corners where there are English books available. My sister recommends I read ‘The Girl With All The Gifts’. I’m not sure if I’ll find the time, but I’ll try nonetheless. Judah loves reading, and the library is one of his favorite spots.
In the afternoon, we go to the Indian restaurant, Malabar, just around the corner. I order the prawn curry – the same as Ryno – and it’s absolutely divine. Zoë & Ryno have indeed discovered and found all the special gems in Kazan, and they are showcasing the best to us. What a special treat.
Kazan Mall & Shopping
It’s ladies’ day today. The three girls are going shopping today, while Judah stays at home with his father. The morning starts with a bit of a sad note; while we wait for the mall to open, Zoë asks me if the cats are okay at home. I say, ‘Yes; Jolene is taking such good care of them.’ She then asks how old AllyCat is now, and is shocked when she hears he’s almost seventeen years old. All three of us start crying when we realize that his end might be near. My mom shares how cats like to go lie in their favorite spot when they know it’s time to go. ‘I hope he’s with me when that happens,’ I share. We cry even more.
Then it’s over and we start shopping. I buy a few more dresses; my mom buys nightgowns and two watches, and my sister buys a few smart shirts for work. It’s all so cheap but the quality of the fabrics is fantastic. We take a break and drink healthy smoothies and balance it out with unhealthy Cinnabon.
We head home in the taxi and my sister says, ‘I can’t remember the last time I went shopping with just girls; I enjoyed it so much.’ She also mentions that she loved the fact that we like to model and show off our clothes in the dressing room. ‘Ryno doesn’t like to do it, so it was fun that we did it.’
Pottery Class & Gorgy Park
It’s Thursday morning, and the two gents are staying at home once again. We three ladies have the honor of going to a pottery class. We are excited and a bit nervous because we’ve never done something like this before. After arriving, we check out the display of samples, and all three of us decide to make pencil holders. I ask the girl teaching us, to write out the word WRITER in Russian. I stencil it onto my pencil holder and finish it off with stars. My sister and my mom play around with leaves and flowers. In a few weeks, it will be painted, baked, and ready to be picked up. My mom and I will only get ours next year when Zoë brings it back to South Africa.
After Judah’s nap, we head off to Gorgy Park. This park is massive and it feels like a forest. There are different sections with playgrounds for different ages, all designed for kids. Walking to the edge of the park brings us to Judah’s favorite playground, which is also designed just for his age. Before we got here, we visited other parks as well, and we had to help him go off the slide every time. But this park is perfect just for him; he manages to go off the slide all by himself. Judah does a long victory dance and it is so cute we applaud him and video the whole thing. We are proud of him, but we are even more proud of the fact that he is proud of himself.
There are restaurants and coffee shops at the entrance of the park, and we each order a lavender cocoa. It’s delicious. Oh, and we also go back to Zoë’s school to pick up our passports. The end is drawing near, but I don’t want to think about it just yet.
Bauman Street & Kremlin
We have breakfast at Avocado Queen, and then we ladies & Judah head off to St. Paul’s Cathedral. It looks like a colorful castle from the outside. Inside, we each light a candle. The church is massive and the ceiling reaches into heaven. ‘I read somewhere that in the Dark Ages, the priests would tell the masses that the higher the ceiling went, the closer you would get to God,’ I share with my mom & Zoë.
Afterward, we head off to Bauman Street, which is just down the road. Finally, we see the yak-yak treats I’ve been looking for everywhere. The last time my mom was here, my sister bought these yak yaks for me and sent them home with my mom. Yak-yaks (pronounced chuck-chucks) is similar to Rice Crispies treats, except it’s made with honey. You can find yak-yaks everywhere in Russia, but I was looking for these specific ones that are dipped in yogurt. Finally, we found it! We buy a few cases to give back to friends in South Africa.
In the afternoon, we visit the famous Kremlin. My sister and I go inside the mosque, as well as the Orthodox church. We are fascinated by these religions and their history and culture.
Outside, we notice that there’s a jazz performance that’s set to take place at 19:30. My mom and I ask if we can stay behind and attend it. We find seats and take in the arts and culture. The band is excellent, and the quality of the sound is crystal clear. My mom and I are astonished by the Russian heritage and culture. At first, I thought it was a negative thing that Russia has no English influence. But now I understand. The penny drops, and I realize it’s all about originality and identity. Russia has not allowed the British and US to influence their way of life, and that’s why they’ve remained so unique. I now have a new grasp of why the Afrikaners are working and fighting so hard to preserve their culture. It’s so important to fully understand this principle.
Tartare Village & Skateboarding
It’s Saturday, and sadly, our second last day in Russia. I can’t believe how quickly it has come to an end. An absolute highlight has been Judah, as well as spending quality time with Zoë and Ryno. It’s amazing how easy it is to get along when you have the same values and outlook on life. I’ve forgotten what it’s like to actually enjoy spending time with family. No stress, no fights, and no hassles.
We head off to the Tartare Village, which looks like something out of a fairy tale book. There’s an extremely scary statue of Shurali, a demon that’s been part of the Russian folk tale history for many years. We have our brunch there, another classic Russian delicacy – echpockmak – which is like vetkoeke filled with potatoes, apricot jam, ice cream, and/or condensed milk.
In the afternoon, Zoë takes us to The Waterfront again, this time the sports area, which includes a massive skateboarding park, a few basketball courts, and numerous soccer fields. We marvel at the skateboarding park, especially where they ride scooters and do tricks with it. Judah brought along his own scooter, and I can see in his eyes that he wants to skate like those big boys. One day, he will.
Hamburgers & Photo Booth
Sadly, it’s our very last day with the Trauts family. We head off to another mall, this time to eat hamburgers at Farm Restaurant. Eating hamburgers is always a messy story, but this place has a wonderful solution– we each get gloves that we can wear while eating! What a brilliant plan, and it works perfectly. The Russians also like eating pickles, so we each get a pickle, but none of us end up eating it.
We then go to a photo booth to take photos with Judah. Zoë is inside the booth with us to help with Judah, and we have a roaring laugh. Everything with Judah is spelled F.U.N.
In the afternoon, Judah takes a nap and the four adults play online games together. We laugh so much, and it’s a perfect way to end the vacation. ‘I wish we could live closer; I’m reminded how valuable family really is,’ Zoë says.
My mom and I start packing our bags, and we each take a shower to prepare for the long flight home. Our flight is at midnight the next day, but Judah already needs to be in bed by 8:00 p.m. We let Judah help us pack, and we explain that we have to get on a plane and ‘go home to the three cats’. I show him photos of the cats so that it’s not a shock to his system when he wakes up tomorrow morning and we’re not there anymore. We also pretend to leave with our bags and say goodbye to Judah before he goes to bed. We think he understands, or maybe he doesn’t. We hope he’ll be okay when we’re not there anymore; he enjoyed having us there, and we enjoyed being there even more. As Zoë says, my mom and I were the main characters in Judah’s life these past two weeks, and Zoë and Ryno were simply the supporting cast.
Judah then goes to bed, and we hang around till 21:00. We say goodbye to my sister, and Ryno helps us carry the bags down four flights of stairs. He books our taxis and makes sure that we get in with our bags, and says goodbye to us. And it’s off to the airport.
Airports & Home
We get on the plane and sleep soundly for the next five hours till we get to Dubai. At the Dubai airport, we each buy a coffee for R1,000 in total and pay R600 for one cookie and a croissant. It’s insanely expensive at that airport, especially because our Rand is weak against the Dollar.
My mom and I can’t stop talking about our trip to Russia. We especially loved the fact that we were able to respect each others’ boundaries and space, which is so important when family gets together for long periods.
We wander around for 7 hours, reading, sleeping, and sharing a falafel wrap. We board our flight to South Africa, and off we go for the next 8 hours. I watch Joika on the plane, which I feel is a fitting end to my trip to Russia.
We land in Johannesburg, South Africa and it’s extremely cold. Everywhere, it’s people of colour and it takes some time to get used to. In the van taking us to the Holiday Inn Hotel, I notice that I can read all the signs everywhere.
Early Tuesday morning, we get up and head off to the airport again. We eat breakfast at the restaurant and wander around Exclusive Books. There’s still plenty of time left till we have to board our flight at 11:00. When we go to our boarding gate, it is as if an ice bucket is thrown at us: We have just missed our flight. Turns out, the plane leaves at 11:00, it doesn’t board at 11:00. In between all the jet lag, time zone differences, and extreme tiredness, we had intercepted the information incorrectly. Now we had to get our bags, rebook new flights, check in again, and board our new flight at 14:00. We couldn’t believe what had just happened.
We make sure that we don’t miss this flight as well; we board as soon as the gate opens. I sleep on the plane while my mom reads a book. We land in PE, and the wind is blowing strongly. I’ve forgotten about the wind. We get our car and head off to Jeffrey’s Bay.
Our cats are extremely glad to see us, and I start crying because I can’t believe it is over. I loved Russia so much, and I loved spending time with the Trauts. Judah was an absolute highlight, and I can’t believe it’s all over and I have to go back to my life, and start focusing on my Honours studies again. Everything in my life is still the same, but I’m not the same anymore. I’ve been changed by this trip, forever. Spasiba, Russia.
