Dacha aka Our Home in the Countryside

Just when you thought my adventures were done, I'm back after a little break and am going to finish up writing about my time in Russia. Still some fun and exciting happenings to write about, and then I'll begin occasionally writing about my life back home in America. 

So, welcome back!

This post is about a trip that took place on May 2nd - around the time of the Russian May holidays, which are dedicated to relaxing, time off, celebrating the beginning of summer, and enjoying the warm weather. 

My mom, grandma, and I took the train to visit our countryside home, just an hour outside of Moscow. 

Turns out that May Day is the single most popular day for people to go to their dachas, because the train was jam-packed and we had to stand for most of the journey. But it was worth it!

Russian dachas are situated in the more rural part of the country, surrounded by fields and forests. 

The train stop for our dacha is called Portnovskaya, and it overlooks a small lake that we used to swim in as kids when we would visit during the summer. 

 This is it! Our Dacha - a cottage of sorts that my grandfather built by hand a near fifty years ago. Though old and squeaky in places, it is wonderfully preserved and holds many childhood memories of past summer visits.

That top open window is the room where my sister and I would sleep!

And we have a small garden and orchard that needs to be taken care of from time to time. So here my mom is hard at work, picking away all the old, rotten apples that fell last year and now have begun decomposing into apple vinegar - a stench that was inescapable in any corner of the dacha. 

Luckily, in May the mosquitoes are not out yet like they are in the summer. (Lots of "great" memories with those nuisances...)










And then, after working hard, we took some time to relax on the hammock!

My grandma enjoyed the hammock very much, too.

 The water hadn't been turned on yet (turn-on day was May 3rd...the following day), so my mom and I went to the well and brought back a bucket of water. 

Look how cute that well is! For those folk who have never used a well before, it works like this:
You open the side door and inside you'll find a bucket hanging on a chain. Crank the handle to lower the bucket into the well until it fills with water and crank back up. Pour that water into your own bucket, and you're good to go - fresh water for you and your family!

And of course, how could I not take pictures of the multitude of flowers growing on our property?

This is the panoramic view of our dacha from the hammock. Notice the campfire on the right, which I took care of myself and even chopped some wood for with a real hatchet! There's an embarrassing video of my (eventually successful) attempts, but I won't include that here...

And finally it was time to leave, since we decided not to stay the night because the house hadn't been cleaned or prepared after the entire winter of idleness.

We walked out of our side gate, which exits into the neighboring forest, and made our way through the field, across the road, past the lake, and to the platform, all accompanied by this breath-taking farewell sunset. 

And the most mystical view of all was the wall of fog/clouds/mist that hung over the tracks and through which the train looked like it had to break through to get to the platform. I had never seen such direct and obvious contact with mist before - it was incredible.

A great May Day trip to the Dacha, and I'm glad that finally after all those years of visiting, it was documented. 





Stay tuned for more posts about Russia, including some discussion-based "looking back" posts. Hope you enjoy!