Chapter 12

I slept very well that night. When I awoke, I went downstairs for some breakfast. I was rather hungry. I hadn't eaten much the night before. I guess I may have been too keyed up and excited about the upcoming reunion.

While strolling around the waterways and fountains near the Kremlin, I had paused to purchase a couple of tacos from a Taco Bell. That quick bite was long gone and I needed new fuel for the day ahead.

After looking over the menu, I made my selection. I ordered sausage, several boiled eggs, yogurt, and some bread. For my drink, I ordered some chai. The sausage was very good. The yogurt was amazing. I don't exactly know why it was better than at home, but I savored every spoonful. The bread was also very tasty. I suspected it was freshly baked. It was a good breakfast and I knew that it would keep me going for most of the day.

After breakfast, I called my driver, collected my travel bag, and headed out of the city. I was very impressed by the statues that we passed along the way. Russians definitely don't do things in a small way. The statues were huge.

We headed north on what I would describe as a freeway. Occasionally we would encounter a situation where the traffic had completely come to a stop. At this point, a good majority of the drivers would exit their cars to get a better view or just to vent their frustration. When the traffic would begin to move again, we would all need to wait while the drivers climbed back in and started up their vehicles.

Eventually the road turned into four lanes, with two going in each direction. Along this stretch of road I was able to get a much better idea of the lay of the countryside. Onion domed churches could be seen in every city. Many of the homes contained gardens from which the owners could be assured of a food supply. It was not unusual to see some entrepreneurs selling items from the front of their property bordering the highway.

One item I found rather amusing, was a large bag of what looked like cheese balls. Bag after bag of these treats would be suspended from wires in front of the homes, just waiting for some passerby to stop and purchase a bag. I had to give the folks credit for coming up with interesting ways to supplement their income.

Many of the houses were older structures made out of wood. Some were log homes, while others were wood framed. I was surprised to see what we would call developments back home. In these communities, the streets were laid out and the homes were designed similar to what you would find in the states. I took it as another sign that the financial system was getting better for at least some of the people in Russia.

The road narrowed once again until it was one lane going in each direction. It was at this point when the driving became a much more harrowing experience.

My first experience at Russian style driving was when my driver passed a slower moving car. I could not believe my eyes when I spotted someone in another car passing us on the side shoulder to our left. Right before my eyes, two cars were passing at the same time, on a two lane road. Gravel sprayed in every direction.

My next surprise came when my driver came up behind a huge truck. I bet there was not more than a foot between the truck's bumper and the front of our car. My driver would occasionally swerve out to see if he would be able to pass. How he was able to keep from getting creamed, when he swerved, was beyond me. There was no possible way that he could see what was coming.

We eventually arrived at the city which was located very close to the village where Anna lived. As you can guess, my excitement level was off the charts.

My driver brought me to my hotel. Once there, I was again asked for my passport. I began to wonder how much of the itinerary of my travels was being watched by government officials.

After placing my bags in my room, my driver, (whose name I learned was Ivan), asked me where I wanted to go. It wasn't a hard decision by any means. I told him that I wanted him to take me to the village of Peske.

I suppose I could have gone directly to the birch wood plant, but I knew I would have plenty of time to do that in the upcoming days. I knew that Peske contained some large tracts of wooded land, so I could always use that as an excuse if anyone questioned why I was there.

At one point, I told the driver I had to use the rest room. He stopped in front of a wooden building and waited while I completed my task. Once in the door, I encountered a woman standing behind a barred window. I soon figured out I would need to give her several kopeks (much less than pennies) if I wanted to purchase some toilet paper. She would count the money and give me the corresponding pieces of toilet paper. From the seriousness of the transaction, I figured toilet paper must be a very valuable item.

Once we arrived in Peske, I informed the driver that I wanted to find Anna the doctor. He told me to wait in the car while he went in the village store to ask where her house might be.

Ivan thought it would be better if I kept a low profile. He figured the less people that knew an American was in town, the better off I would be.

It was not long before Ivan came out with the directions to Anna's house. From what I could see, the village may have once been the site of a communal farm. What appeared to be well-built stone houses lined one side of the road. It was evident that they were falling into decline. From the size of the buildings, I would guess that it was once a government operation.

Ivan stopped in front of a small house and again asked me to wait. It was a very difficult thing for me to do, but I figured it might be a good idea to defer to his knowledge of the villagers.

I eagerly waited for Anna to come rushing through the door. I wasn't sure how I would react. All I knew was that I wanted to hold her tight. I wanted to smell her hair and feel the warmth of her breath. Oh how I wanted to get lost gazing into those eyes. It seemed like a long time before Ivan emerged from the house alone. He informed me that Anna worked in the city where I would be staying, but had been called to work in a larger hospital in a city a few hours away. I was told I would need to wait for several days before she returned home.

I was crushed. The fact that she would be returning shortly was the only thing that kept me going. At least I now knew where she lived and that I should be able to see her in a couple of days. I asked Ivan to take me by the medical facility where she worked. After seeing that, we drove around and looked at the rest of the city. At one point, I asked Ivan to pull over at a park like area. There I got out of the vehicle to look around and explore.

The spot where I stopped was on a very high hill. The land slopped steeply away until it joined with the river below.

The hill was located on one of the bends in the river. The waterway wound its way north as far as the eye could see. To my right, the river ran for short distance before disappearing around a bend. In front of me I saw forests and fields that stretched off into the horizon. I later learned that it was a massive wilderness area where men would go to hunt for game.

I found a place to sit and contemplate my situation. I would not be seeing Anna that day, but I should be able to see her soon. It would probably be a good idea to visit the birch company in the morning. I would try my best to make arrangements so that I could be free to see Anna when she arrived.