Young Man's Chronicles

Trip to Istanbul - October 2011

2011-10-28T09:07:00.000+03:00

2011-10-26T15:16:00.001+03:00

Adventures in Istanbul, Turkey

2011-10-26T15:01:00.001+03:00

2011-10-26T14:53:00.001+03:00

2011-10-26T13:44:00.000+03:00

2011-10-26T13:29:00.001+03:00

Our Tour dates finalized)

2011-10-08T22:31:00.002+03:00

Woot-woot))) With the flight-tickets already bought we now know the dates and details of our upcoming trip to US:
26/11-New York
28/11-Chicago
29/11-Minneapolis
30/11-Rapid City, SD + Mount Rushmore National
01/12-Provo, UT + Bryce Canyon
02/12-Las Vegas
03/12-San Diego
05/12-Los Angeles
06/12-Miami
10/12-New York
Looking forward to lots of adventures, great interesting travels and meeting some old good friends))
Seems like this time we'll get to visit 10 states in 15 days, and experience rain, snow, mud, ocean, beaches and sand all in 2 weeks))))

Forthcoming Thanksgiving trip to US!

2011-10-04T12:42:00.004+03:00

I successfully got my American visa today, so next month me and my friend Kostya will be coming to US for a couple weeks to celebrate real American Thanksgiving and even witness real snow in America (hopefully). This will be the first time I'll see snow in the States)
As for interesting places that we'll be visiting, Hawaii is on the list along with Alaska, also - the famous Presidential monument in Dakota, as well as a few ghost towns.

Katy Perry "T.G.I.F."

2011-06-14T20:53:00.003+03:00

Check out the newest video by Katy Perry - genius, hilarious and summerish all the way around. You will love it!

2011-06-03T19:53:00.001+03:00

22 wishes for my 22nd birthday!

2011-06-01T04:23:00.002+03:00

I came up with a list of 22 things that I would like to see happening in my life in the next 365 days:

1. More fun and exciting travels around the world.
2. Enjoyable experience at a new job.
3. Meeting a lot of new people.
4. Meeting new friends.
5. Developing existing friendships.
6. Developing the creative side of myself.
7. My mom getting completely healed of her leg injury.
8. My family members finding more things in common and more understanding.
9. Developing my leadership qualities.
10. Another exciting road-trip around the USA.
11.Buying my own car.
12. Making steps towards getting a degree in art (or possibly fashion/style).
13. Participating in various TV- and other media-related projects.
14. Understanding where I stand with my view on God and the world.
15. Recovering some of the old friendships.
16. Reading more.
17. Less of spending money on the things that I don't really need.
18. Participating in an international volunteer project.
19. Making new important business-connections.
20. Learning how to get inspired by simple things around.
21. New computer.
22. New apartment with more natural light and a better design.

Wow, that was easy. I guess, there is never a limit to what we are wishing for))

New Job!

2011-06-01T04:07:00.002+03:00

It's been 2 months since I left my employer - International Exchange Center - great company that I've been a part of for the past 3 years. April and May were mostly dedicated to job search - hence, no blog updates lately, sorry to all those who've been checking on me) But I promise to revive the good old tradition of posting news and photos and updates here on the blog too.
[Though, really I have to admit lately the BLOGGER has really lost its positions in social-media worlds to such giants as Facebook, Twitter and several others].
Anyway, after 2 months of job-hunting I can now proudly announce that in 2 weeks I'll be starting a new job as a Travel and Lifestyle Counselor for American Express Travel and Lifestyle Department. This job has a lot in common with what I've been doing before - assisting those who are traveling abroad; only this time with a new twist - I will also be working with lifestyle management which mostly deals with the everyday needs of American Express clients.
Now, the really curious fact is that American Express was really my number 1 priority among all those many employers I've been contacting in the past few weeks, and in the end I got assigned with them. Praise the Lord! I prayed about getting this position right after my first interview (which was almost 2 months ago), and then when after 3 weeks of waiting I still hadn't heard back from American Express, I almost gave up hope. However, it just turned out that the head of the department was taking his time and deciding on the best fit for the job, and it turns out that I was the one. God is great and He knows, what we are willing and wishing for - that is one thing for sure. So through this I learnt that if we do trust something to Him, we should never lose hope and trust and just wait till the right moment comes around.
For those of you who know me well enough, you guys know how much I am into all different styles (that are sometimes somewhat crazy for an average observer) - well, guess what, new job also means a little different dress-code. Meaning, I will have to add a bit of a professional attire to my wardrobe, which is a new thing, but also very exciting as well. For once you will see me wearing trousers and shirts and maybe even suits.
With that in mind, I hope that my new job will as well open many other new doors to me and let me have some new experiences.

Last moments of spring

2011-05-31T23:52:00.000+03:00

Party Time!

2011-05-10T16:06:00.001+03:00

Look what I've found!

2011-05-08T01:07:00.003+03:00

This video is back from September 2007, when I had long blond hair)) Can you imagine?

City Hall, Hannover

2011-05-05T21:34:00.001+03:00

More Fun from Hannover

2011-05-05T20:38:00.001+03:00

2011-05-05T18:31:00.001+03:00

First few pictures from Hannover, Germany

2011-04-30T16:59:00.000+03:00

Off to Hannover

2011-04-21T10:08:00.003+03:00

I am off to Hannover (Germany) for the next 2 weeks to participate in the international Euro Union conference dedicated to the problems of contemporary cultural integration. It's +20C there - can't wait to land in warm Germany and enjoy the real spring in just 3 hours)))

Spring Edition - Part 1

2011-04-18T14:33:00.001+03:00

Spring Edition - part 2

2011-04-18T14:03:00.001+03:00

Spring Edition - part 3

2011-04-18T13:44:00.000+03:00

Happy Birthday, Anya!

2011-04-18T13:24:00.000+03:00

That's why DENTISTS are paid so much)

2011-04-16T19:26:00.001+03:00

They make us happy, and they make us show how happy we are with a big smile!

Brothers

2011-03-27T01:39:00.002+02:00

Me and my friend Pavel in IKEA - taking some breathtaking pictures))) haha))
Notice my glasses, aren't they fun?? I bought them couple weeks ago in Amsterdam. BTW, more pics from that trip coming soon. I've just been too lazy to upload any pics on here.

Upcoming trip to Germany

2011-03-13T19:03:00.003+02:00

I still haven't had enough time to upload all the pics from the winter road-trip to Europe and share all the stories from my recent trip to Amsterdam and Dusseldorf, and another trip to Europe is already on the way)
In April me and my friend Sam are going to be participating in a 2-week international youth project in Hannover, Germany, organized and sponsored by EU. The main theme of the project will be all about how to turn your passions into smth useful, exciting and creative. 4 teams from 4 different countries [Russia, Germany, Bosnia and Spain] will be competing in creativity and completing all sorts of different tasks, most of those including outreaching to the public with certain social challenges.
Below are pics of our Russian team - we had our first preparation meeting this weekend.
Tanya, Yulia, Sam, Natasha, Valentina and me

This is where I stayed in Amsterdam

2011-03-13T18:38:00.002+02:00

Part of the cultural experience during my trip to Amsterdam and Dusseldorf last week was staying at a real Dutch apatment with a real Dutch host - my new friend Erwin. He has a unique taste in interior design and has furnished his place all by himself - ended up being a very cozy and tasteful apartment.
An advice for future travelers - whenever traveling, it is always better and more interesting to arrange accomodation with a local, rather than just booking a hotel for a couple days. You feel like you really belong and not just visiting, plus as a bonus you get to hear a lot of amazing stories from your host about how people live and their cultural habits.

Trip to Amsterdam and Dusseldorf [March 4-8,2011] - first pics

2011-03-13T17:47:00.007+02:00

Last week it was time for yet another trip to Europe - this time I hit Netherlands and Germany. Lots of fun and great moments.
Me, Lena and Sergey on the train from Germany to Amsterdam

Stopover in Oberhausen, Germany

Sergey

Sergey and Lena

First night in Amsterdam

With Sergey

With Lena

My Hair undone

2011-03-01T22:22:00.001+02:00

Maybe I will switch to this look for a while

just goofing around

2011-02-28T22:06:00.001+02:00

@ Red Espresso Bar with Diana

2011-02-28T00:24:00.001+02:00

Diana

2011-02-28T00:01:00.001+02:00

J&B in Town

2011-02-27T23:31:00.001+02:00

My friends J&B are in Moscow this week - on their way from USA - so we had a fun dinner tonight)
On the picture with Jesse, Matthew and Julie

Katya

2011-02-27T01:24:00.001+02:00

Art Mol Project with Katya

2011-02-27T01:15:00.000+02:00

Ferma Dance Party @ FERMA BAR

2011-02-21T01:27:00.002+02:00

Pictures from Friday Night - Party @ Ferma Bar

with Katya

Mila, Katya, Olya and me

Ferma Dance Party [Part 3]

2011-02-21T01:14:00.001+02:00

Ferma Dance Party [Part 2]

2011-02-21T00:37:00.000+02:00

Ferma Dance Party [Part 1]

2011-02-21T00:17:00.001+02:00

Mila, Olya, Sergey, Me and Katya

Katya

Hello!

2011-02-20T14:06:00.001+02:00

RADIO live

2011-02-20T13:36:00.002+02:00

Pics from our radio open-air that we had this week. Me and my friend Sam talked about love, dates, and other love-related affairs.

Sam

Mood Portraits

2011-02-20T03:56:00.001+02:00

Last few days

2011-02-14T14:41:00.003+02:00

Sorry, folks, it's taking me ages to upload all the pictures from the Euro Trip. Just a few pics left, I promise to finish with those by the end of this week.
Tomorrow I am going to be on TV, recording for one of the youth TV-shows. Should be fun, I am taking my mom and some friends with me, so we'll all enjoy some good time there.
Meanwhile, here are couple pics from last few days, since I am too lazy now to upload any of the Euro Trip pics.
Have a good day, guys)
Cheers

With my friend Artem

Eiffel Tower

2011-02-13T13:38:00.002+02:00

Leg #7 of Euro Tour - FRANCE

2011-02-09T22:07:00.001+02:00

French Food...YUCK!

2011-02-09T21:53:00.004+02:00

While we were waiting for the car to be repaired we went to a local French restaurant to try some of the traditional French cuisine - pumpkin soup and omelette with spoilt cheese. Both were expensive, and at the same time tasted very weird and were far from being nutritious. On top of that, the menu was only available in French so there was not even an option of choice for us really. We literally had to order meals with a blindfold.
In fact, an hour after that "tremendous" meal we had to go visit McDonalds for some fresh calories))

Adventures in Paris and on the way there

2011-02-09T21:06:00.005+02:00

Remember, how I mentioned couple posts ago that upon leaving Brusseles, we started worrying a bit about one of our tires. Well, that worry was not in vain after all.
As we were on the highway to Paris, it first started raining hard, and then all of a sudden the tire got flat.
So we got stranded on the side of the highway with the rain dripping, wind blowing and freezing. This was not the best situation. Add numerous trucks that were passing by really fast - I was just hoping that no one would lose control of the car while driving)
Thanks God, Kostya knows how to change tires - otherwise, it would be horrible.
As we got the tire fixed, we continued on the highway, but of course the story didn't end there - a few minutes later we realized that we were really low on gas and we had just passed one of the gas stations, and no one knew, where the next one would be.
So we stopped on the side of the highway and sent poor Kostya off to walk back through the rain to the gas station with a huge empty canister - little did we know that walking to a gas station with a canister in hands would immediately alarm everyone around (somehow in Paris they think that this might be the sign of a potential terrorist attack).
The gas station attendant immediately called the police on Kostya, so Kostya had to explain to the French police officer what the whole deal was. Seemingly easy task turned into a disaster - as no one, including the police officer, spoke any proper English.
Well, the gesture language really helped in the end, so we finally got the gas and continued on the way to Paris.
By the time we got to the suburbs of the city it was around 1 am. Everyone was half asleep by then, so I got the steering wheel to myself and it was my task to find the way to the hotel.
Now if you know Paris - it's all about one-way streets that are super-narrow, so if you ever miss the right turn, it might take hours before you find your way back. Exactly what happened to us. Took me 2,5 hours to find the right hotel (of course, the receptionist didn't even want to let us in, as it was 3:30 am by the time we checked-in and we obviously woke him up), and by that time I think I was cursing everything that came to my mind for ever letting me drive into Paris on the car.
As the next day started, instead of going straight to the Eiffel tower (which was the original plan), we had to run around frantically looking for an auto-mechanic to help us get new tires for the back wheels ( as we still had to make our way back to Russia on that car). We ended up leaving our car for couple hours with a mechanic, who provided us with 2 tires (that were previously used) for 160 euros - which is an enormous price if you compare it to how much you would pay for the same service in Russia.
In the pics below our car is undergoing the tire-switching "surgery" in downtown Paris))

2011-02-09T20:56:00.003+02:00

Party Time!

2011-02-08T21:11:00.001+02:00

And then it was time for a party with Mila and Katya

2011-02-08T20:32:00.001+02:00

Julie's Birthday Party

2011-02-08T00:41:00.001+02:00

Celebrating the happy birthday of our friend Julie

Julie - birthday girl

Few pics from the past parties

2011-02-06T22:17:00.000+02:00

Leg #6 of Euro Tour - BELGIUM

2011-01-31T23:29:00.003+02:00

Another major stopover on our trip was Brusseles (while we were on the way from Amsterdam to Paris). And let me tell you - it was quite a big disappointment. To start with, no one really speaks English. At some point I had to go to a bus stop and literally cry out loud asking strangers if anyone new any English - only one lady stepped out, and her accent was...well, just blah, barely recognizable.
One girl in our party was dead set to get some Belgian chocolate - we ended up spending about 2 hours looking for a specific brand (which I know for sure is Belgian), and no one has even heard of it there. That's ridiculous. In the end we just had to get ourselves Belgian waffles as a compromise - and I didn't even take pictures of those, as by that time we were exhausted of walking around.
Also, Brusseles was the first city on our tour that didn't really look like Europe - or rather didn't match up with my expectations of the European capital. Most of the stores we were entering looked really poor and cheap, a lot of places were closed or abandoned, most of the people on the streets were Arabic-African crowd - so overall, it looked like a cheap town somewhere in Eastern Europe right after the end of USSR, and nothing like EU capital.
To top the story, we spent about 2 hours driving around and trying to find our way out of Brusseles, as the road signs were extremely complicated and at times were showing the wrong directions!!!
As we were leaving Brusseles, we also noticed that one of our tires was once again showing the signs of getting flat. We didn't think much of it then, and later that turned out to be a major mistake on our part. More on that in the next post about our time in Paris!

Night Brusseles

2011-01-31T23:02:00.001+02:00

+6C in January!

2011-01-31T22:38:00.002+02:00

+6C on the first week of January feels really nice! Once we drove out of Amsterdam and were on the way to Brusseles, it was all sunny and warm and felt like spring - April-May or smth like that. We even saw sheeps hanging out and eating grass on the green fields!

My favorite city on Tour

2011-01-31T22:11:00.002+02:00

Amsterdam was really my favorite city on tour, besides Stockholm in Sweden. I even decided to go back there on the first week of March, so hopefully in just 5 weeks I'll be back in Amsterdam!

Adventures of our car in Amsterdam

2011-01-31T01:02:00.001+02:00

More of Amsterdam

2011-01-30T22:53:00.001+02:00

Leg #5 of Euro Tour - Holland

2011-01-26T23:34:00.000+02:00

Hotel where we stayed in Amsterdam

2011-01-26T23:26:00.000+02:00

Night Amsterdam

2011-01-26T23:15:00.005+02:00

By the time we got to Amsterdam, it was late night, so we settled in the hotel and it was just the right time to go out and explore the noted Red Light district.
We immediately sucked in the liberal air of Amsterdam.
Literally))
Every street in the downtown smelt of marijuana, and within minutes I was approached by a guy, who without hesitation asked me if I wanted to buy some cocaine from him.
Once in Red Light district I started wondering why the girls in the windows were pointing fingers at me and gesturing in a very upset manner. Little did I know that taking pictures there was prohibited. Well, I still got some, so enjoy))

Leg #4 of Euro Tour - Germany

2011-01-26T22:25:00.003+02:00

If you've been wondering why there is the same clothing on us in the past few posts, it's only because we were visiting a number of cities on the same day. This was our 3-hour stopover in Hamburg (on the way to Amsterdam), and the first time (out of three times) that we were passing Germany on our tour.

Bears, pig and marijuana

2011-01-26T16:31:00.003+02:00

I'll continue posting more pics from Euro Trip tonight. It's taking me a long time)
But before that you have to watch the video below - poor news lady just couldn't hold it together. When you get bears, pig and marijuana all mixed together, it is too hard to not burst out laughing.

Hamburg, Germany

2011-01-25T02:42:00.001+02:00

On the ferry from Denmark to Germany

2011-01-23T21:25:00.001+02:00

Roads of Pleasure

2011-01-23T21:00:00.002+02:00

Well, one thing I should give Denmark credit for - is their roads. They are in ideal conditions, and once you get out of the city, there are almost no speed limits, so you go as fast as you want. My max was 145 km/hour, and it felt awesome, the road are a pleasure.

Leg #3 of Euro Tour. Denmark. Country of Fog

2011-01-23T20:41:00.005+02:00

Denmark was the most expensive country on our tour, so we decided to visit it briefly without ever having to buy anything to eat - food IS expensive there too! I am not even talking about gas - you have to pay 1,60 euros per liter (about 2,5$ per liter). It feels ridiculous, because they originally buy it from us (Russia) for a very low price, and then sell it to us for a huge price.
The night that we spent in Kopenhagen was hands down the worst on the tour duration - we stayed in a downtown hostel, that looked extremely nice on the outside, but once we paid for the room and got the keys, we realized that the room we got had 12 (!) beds in it, it stinked and had no fresh air. On top of that they had no bed linen, and worst of all - there was no normal shower or even restroom. So we didn't really get any good rest before the new day began.
Kopenhagen itself was really nothing significant, just very expensive and a lot of fog and dirt, and it looked very gloomy - kind of gives you a very gothic impression when you are there. So none of us really fell in love with Denmark. Well, at least now we know where not to go again any time soon))))
While in Kopenhagen, I also started to realise more and more that barely anyone in Europe speaks good (or any) English. Came across as a wild sensation.

Danish Bikers

2011-01-19T23:50:00.002+02:00

Bikes are extremely popular in Denmark. Even in January.
I always wonder how the bikers don't get dirty and messy when it's snowing and raining.

Kopenhagen [Kobenhavn]

2011-01-16T22:19:00.001+02:00

Country of 7/11 stores and Volvos

2011-01-16T21:46:00.002+02:00

Our car totally fit in with the rest of the Volvos, while we were in Sweden. Roads in Sweden, however, are far from being as good as their cars.

Gamla Stan - Historic downtown of Stockholm

2011-01-16T21:37:00.000+02:00

This is where we stayed in Sweden...

2011-01-15T01:35:00.002+02:00

Just kidding)
While in Stockholm we visited the local Swedish IKEA. It is probably twice as big as the one in Moscow and looking much nicer). However, we managed to get lost in it. It is probably TOO big))

The narrowest street in Stockholm

2011-01-13T01:17:00.002+02:00

Leg #2 of Euro Tour - SWEDEN

2011-01-13T01:00:00.003+02:00

We arrived in Stockholm early in the morning and immediately noticed one thing in common between Finland and Sweden - they clean the city roads extremely poorly (even in the downtown!). You end up hitting the snow piles with the bottom of the car all the time, plus a lot of cars get stuck on the streets while trying to drive on the frozen ice. It's kind of scary to drive around with a car full of people and stuff.

On the ferry to Stockholm

2011-01-13T00:12:00.001+02:00

Lots and lots of caviar!

2011-01-12T23:44:00.002+02:00

Back to pictures from Euro Tour.
After Turku we got on the 9-hour ferry to Stockholm (Sweden). We had our own room for the night and also got to enjoy a fabulous dinner on board. Each one of us paid just 28 euros and got a 2-hour unlimited access to the most delicious foods - caviar, salmon, meats, cakes, desserts, beer and wine. Needless to say, this was most definitely our best meal during the whole trip!

Plate full of caviar

Getting drunk on beers in Prague (Czech Republic)

2011-01-08T01:13:00.005+02:00

Sorry, last few days were exremely busy with traveling, so I hadn't had any time to update the blog and post new pictures. Since Finland we have visited Stockholm (Sweden), Kopenhagen (Denmark), Hamburg (Germany), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Brussels (Belgium), Paris (France) and today we are already in Prague (Czech Republic). So far we drove over 3,500 kilometres.
Czech is of coure famous for its beers, so we are taking a total advantage of it.
Tomorrow we'll be heading to Pirna, Germany - that's where I was born - then we'll visit Dresden and Berlin (Germany). After that we'll also hit Warsaw in Poland and Minsk in Belarus.
Once back in Moscow, I'll post more about all the adventures that happened to our gang since Finalnd and will update a lot more on the picture part)))
Meanwhile, I'll just keep drinking lots of Czech beer!
Cheers, everyone!

Turku, Finland

2011-01-03T00:31:00.004+02:00

Today we spent the day in Turku, Finland. I drove us there in the morning, and let me tell you - driving in Europe is one huge pleasure. Roads are in a great condition.
Later on in the evening we came to the Turku port to board a ferry-ship to Stockholm. The word "ferry" doesn't really describe this ship properly. It's probably the size of Titanic, and it's extremely great. We just had a great dinner with caviar, shrimps, wine and other tasty pleasures and now are spending the night here on the ship. This is by the way the first time I am ever traveling on the ship the size of a 10-store building and with a separate room of mine.
If you want to see the ship, go check it out at www.vikingline.fi website.
Tomorrow we'll be touring Stockholm and then we'll be making our way to Kopenhagen. Meanwhile, enjoy some pics from Turku.

Dinner in Stockmann - Turku downtown

Watching New Year speech by Russian president

Christmas Spirit in Finland

2011-01-02T00:25:00.001+02:00

You can probably recognize Zhenya, Kostya and me behind these

Our hostel in downtown Helsinki

2011-01-02T00:18:00.003+02:00

This is where me, Kostya, Zhenya and Yana are staying while in Helsinki

More of Helsinki

2011-01-02T00:11:00.002+02:00

Helsinki Subway

Around Helsinki

2011-01-02T00:04:00.003+02:00