I woke up this morning to the sun shining through the windows in my room, and illuminating the yellow and red leaves on the trees that we came out here to see. These trees surround Garik’s house, which we got to see for the first time in the light. The house and property are both beautiful, like some fairytale retreat in the middle of the forest.
After a quick breakfast, we threw on our coats and headed for the forest. Our mission: to pick all of the (non-poisonous) mushrooms we can find. Now to the average person that might not sound like a normal thing to do, but my parents have been looking forward to doing this very thing for ages now, and have often talked about their mushroom picking adventures back in the motherland.
Walking through the forest was an experience in and of itself, as the sound of twigs cracking beneath our feet was seemed like the only sound for miles. At first both Dina and I hesistated to participate in the mushroom picking, but we quickly overcame any remaining hesitation after my parents explained what we were looking for, how to do it, and, perhaps most importantly, what we wanted to avoid. So as we walked, we would come up on a patch of mushrooms which seemed to grow in large outcrops, and we dove right in, filling our woven baskets until they were overflowing with fungi (wow haven’t ever said that before). That didn’t stop us though, as we dropped our full baskets on the side of the dirt path and proceeded to fill plastic bags. Walking back to Garik’s house each with at least one basket and one bag, we couldn’t help but feel accomplished.
Back at the house, I came across a little rowboat laying beside Garik’s dock. Somehow (I don’t actually remember asking her) I got Dina to get in it, and I took her out on the beautiful treelined lake. With the water below us and the fall colors reflecting all around, it was quite a sight to see.
Once on land again (Dina seemed actually content with our little voyage) we began to begin the process of cleaning all of the mushrooms we had picked. I don’t think anyone realized the unbelievable amount we picked until we finished cleaning all of them, which took the better part of 2 hours (see the pictures below).
While the parents worked on cooking and preparing the mushrooms for dinner, pickling, and storage, Dina and I watched an old Russian movie. The movie is about Kiev in 1918, just as the Red Army, Germans, and Ukrainian Nationals were all closing in on the city. It was an interesting story, but since the three part movie was three and a half hours long, Dina and I found ourselves dozing off and taking several breaks just to get through it.
All in all, it was a relaxing day, and we’re all looking forward to starting our weeklong roadtrip tomorrow morning.
Other highlights:
- Taking Dina out on the lake was probably my favorite activity of the day, particularly in preparation for my sculling class when I get back
- Trying to code a little header for this travel journal website on my phone – it ain’t easy and I didn’t get very far (sorry about the hideousness)
