Backs&Blacks@ChaletMargaritka

I’m sure you all saw the pictures on the news of the smoke or ‘Smog’ in Moscow from forest fires all over central Russia as the temperatures hit 40C plus during the day. Yes we came to Moscow for the Summer and it just happened to be the hottest one on record. It’s no fun being in the centre of a big city experiencing such temperatures. Sometimes we could escape to Rita’s family Dacha but in the end the smoke made that impossible.

Yes, the hot temperatures and the ‘Smog’ finally got to us so we decamped to the Bulgarian, Black Sea coast for 10 days for a well earned rest. It’s less than a two hour flight from Moscow to Burgas on the Black Sea. Bulgarian people are extremely friendly and it is an area rich in cultural diversity and history.

Trying to keep with the theme of  ‘Blacks and Backs’ here are some photos of our adventure off the beaten track rather than in the back country, in the Balkans down on the Black Sea:

Alex and I’s latest wild adventure! We recently attended Moscow’s biggest Derby at the Luzhniki Olympic stadium. There are 5 big Moscow teams in the Russian Super League but Spartak vs CSKA is the one that gets the blood boiling and catches the imagination. Spartak have traditionally been the team of the people and are backed by Luzkov the ‘all important’ Mayor of Moscow. CSKA are the team of the army and hence, also have a huge following given the importance of that institition even in post Soviet Russia (just about everyone still does 3 years national service).

It was a hugely exciting game watched by 60,000 ardent and enthusiastic fans. CSKA edged 2-1 with virtually the last kick of the game; scored by Wagner Love a Brazilian which was apt given the game was played in 30C plus temperatures even though the game kicked off at 7 pm. Some of the pictures telling the story are below………………………

Hope your all having a great Summer. Chalet Margaritka has decamped itself to Mockba in the wild east, well off the beaten track for a few months. The positives, the weather has been absolutely fantastic. Since we arrived at the beginning of May the temperatures have consistenly been in the late 20’s and early 30’s. The downside – we missed the Tour De France climbing it’s way to Morzine-Avoriaz today. The closest we got was watching it on Eurosport as I wrote this entry for the blog.

The pictures below should give you a good feel of what is an absolutely fantastic city these days. It is much changed from when Glyn first arrived in early 1996. His greatest shock always was the warmth and Mosquitos in Summer rather than the cold and snow in the depth of Winter. You should be able to feel the warmth and sunshine radiating through your screens as you look at these pictures.

Enjoy. We hope to see you soon.