Victory Day Part II (Our 1st Dacha Outing!) - 9 May 2013

~~ Masha, Dasha, and Boscha at the Dacha ~~

So, as I described in my earlier Victory Day post, we attended the big Tverskaya parade of tanks. That was in the morning and very entertaining/interesting.

Equally entertaining and interesting in the afternoon, we all -- me, Scott, and even Siena! -- were invited to one of Scott's coworker D's dacha (aka summer house) for a Victory Day celebration/dinner. They invited one other family who had a son and a dog as well (D has a small dog and the friends have a chihuahua). We've decided that dachas are the method by which Muscovites survive the city. In other words, they put up with living in small, tight quarters on the weekdays in the city by also owning a tranquil escape outside of the city where they can spread out and relax.

The closest thing I'm familiar with in the US is the Hamptons, as a retreat for Manhattanites, but I believe in general dachas are a bit more "rustic" than most NYer's Hampton estates. Likewise, the type of Manhattanites who can afford to own a house in the Hamptons usually have slightly more spacious apartments in the city. But the larger concept is similar, especially in the summer: everyone spends hours and hours on Friday afternoons driving out of the city, grumbling about the traffic and the city literally empties out. Then they do the same on Sunday night in reverse.

Anyway we were very flattered to be invited, since Victory Day is truly one of Russia's biggest holidays and most people spend it with their families. D's house was a mix of contemporary and traditional styles. It was 2 stories, built on a hill, with lots of wood inside with stone and wood accents on the outside. In the backyard, there was a deck and then some very steep steps down the hill that led to a large above-ground cement pool and sloped yard. Inside, I believe there may have been just one bathroom; for sure there was only one on the first floor. Perhaps there was another one upstairs but it looked more like a loft than a full second story. Overall, the words I can use to describe their house are natural, humble and modest. This may be the main point of differentiation between Hamptons houses and Dachas, although I've heard there are some really "pimped out" dachas as well.

Before I forget, I should probably explain the subtitle of this post. When Scott and I arrived,  we were introduced to everyone: there was Scott's coworker's wife, Maria, who went by "Masha," his daughter, "Dasha" and then his dog, "Boscha." And we were all hanging out at their "Dacha!" Heehee. Scott and I had a nice chuckle. Changing a name to end in "--sha" is actually very common as a Russian nickname so it really wasn't a big deal to them but we enjoyed it between ourselves. :)

From what I understand, the meal we had was quite traditional for a Victory Day feast; most Russians all over the country were eating similar meals that day too. D and his family certainly spoiled us with all sorts of delicious dishes.

We didn't get too many photos of the experience because we didn't want to be "those people" and it felt sort of rude. But, we managed to grab a few.

First we started out with lots of fresh, colorful veggies and salads. The plate in the foreground is ALL pickled items, a serious staple in the Russian diet (helps the vodka go down easier!). Behind the pickles was sliced tomatoes with basil, and to the left was "Russian Salad" (mayo-based egg/potato/carrot-type salad).

More salads further down the table. Masha's mother's special marinated mushroom salad (made from wild mushrooms that she picks herself; Masha assured us they were safe to eat) in the front (yellow dish). The red dish contained a salad made with fish, beets, and green onions; I didn't feel adventurous enough to try it. Then there was a "regular" salad and a plate of cold cuts.

Here's a better view of the full table, along with Masha and Dasha. It really was a huge feast.

Then, as if all those salads weren't enough, there was the BBQ portion of the feast, with marinated lamb Shashlik (skewers). These were so good!

Complementing the Shashlik was an Uzbek-style Pilaf (pronounced "Ploff") with dark rice, sausage, chicken, peppers, dried fruit, pomegranate seeds, and roasted garlic, cooked on a wood-fire grill. Scott now wants this type of setup (regular grill + wood-fire grill) whenever the time comes that we have a backyard/grill setup again. This was delicious as well.

The grill-master himself, D, chilling with a glass of wine. This is Scott's coworker. Boscha the dog is behind D (he's a mix between a Yorkie and a German Shepherd, of all things!).

Last but not least, here's a parting shot of one really tired pooch getting loved on by D's daughter Dasha. This little girl was really so sweet with Siena throughout our entire visit. They ran around, played fetch, played tug, did lots of snuggling and belly-rubbing. You name it, Siena got a LOT of attention that day!

Speaking of dogs, I should mention that our hosts very graciously offered Siena and their dog each a fresh lamb bone from the Shashlik scraps. Both dogs happily chewed away on their respective bones at opposite ends of the house/yard. When Boscha finished his bone, he tried to hide it under one of the cars in the driveway. Siena chewed on hers for a while and then did something she's NEVER done before: she dug a hole in the yard and buried it!

Then she immediately went sniffing around and found Boscha's bone and took THAT one and proceeded to chew IT as well. And when she was done with his bone, she dug a hole and buried that one too! Then she went back to the first bone, dug it up to check on it, and moved it to a new spot. She kept on doing this for a while, instinctively, like it was her job to keep the bone(s) safe. It was the funniest thing for us to watch, considering she's had raw bones before but never behaved in this way. But, come to think of it, we never gave her the bones outside where she could dig in the dirt and we also always take them away before she gets too far along...this just goes to show you, she really is a DOG after all!

We decided that this day was probably the best day of Siena's life so far. :)