Non-Dating Trip Report

[SteveM]

Hey folks,

Don't know whether non-dating trip reports are of interest, but I thought I would post a few observations from our recent two-week trip back to Vladimir, complete with 3 days in St. Petersburg.  Would be happy to write more, if it is of interest.

First off, about the usual days in Vladimir:

1.  Don't know what the cause or how consistent it is across the country, but I noticed a definite upgrade in the quality of the roads and of the vehicles (particularly the trucks) on them.

2.  You can still get some great deals on things, but the price differences for everyday stuff--food, beer, household items--have definitely grown smaller in the past two years.

3.  There were more slightly chubby younger women in Vladimir than I ever remember seeing before.  Don't know whether it is because Western standards are spreading, or because almost three years of marriage to a beautiful woman has dulled my roving eye.

4.  It is truly wonderful to have a crystal factory near to where you are staying, and while it is very unfortunate that the people there do not always get paid regularly, it does result in some spectacular pieces being sold at road side stands for really impressive prices.

Finally, this time I tried mostly lighter beers, without the same rate of success as in previous trips.  Of the new ones:

Good -- Baltika #5 (gold), Nevskoe (in Peter)

OK -- Klinskoe, Severskoye Corona

Don't Bother -- Volga, Tolstyak (the latter a shame, since I would really like a beer called "fat guy" to be good).

[Zink]

... in response to Non-Dating Trip Report, posted by SteveM on Jul 26, 2003

Still not enough time to write a real report of my latest trip but I wanted to make a comment on beer. I always try different beers every time I'm in Russia. I usually bring a bottle or two of the best(by my opinion) back for my friend here. A lot of people are surprised when I tell them about the good quality of Russian beer. I usually stick to svetloe because I like them better than the krepkoe beers I've tried.

Tolstyak is okay if you can find the right one. They have many flavours and I can never remember which is which. I like their commercials on tv.

Baltika 0 is terrible. Hey what can you expect it's non-alcoholic! My wife talked me into trying it.

Czech Budweiser was also bad. Sad because Canadian and American Bud are some of my favourites.

I like Klinskoe, Baltika 3, Ctudenoe.

Boatsman was okay and had a big kick. I think it was 14% alcohol.

Primorsky Ritser, Tri Bogatari and Piva Peet were all okay too. Can't say that I'm crazy about any of the beer from 2 liter plastic bottles or cans but some are drinkable.

[SteveM]

... in response to Beer Report, posted by Zink on Jul 26, 2003

FYI, my friend who no longer drinks likes Baltika 0 better than any of the German non-alcoholic beers that were previously at the top of his favorites list.  Can't get it in the U.S. yet, at least as far as we can find.

On the bright side, he has found a store that stocks some combination of Baltika #'s 1, 3, 4, 6 and 9 -- a case of 20 bottle goes for $30.

[wilmc]

... in response to Beer Report, posted by Zink on Jul 26, 2003

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3086435.stm