I am really starting to fall in love with the Amirsoy Resort. Well, maybe not in love, but at least a warm fondness. They now offer snowshoeing and that was my opportunity to get Nadia out in the fresh mountain air. Yesterday, we hired a guide from the resort to show us the best trails and it was a glorious day. Our friend Liz who is a strong hiker helped Nadia through the steep parts. That is one aspect of mountain hiking, there are a lot of inclines and declines. This is much different from my home in Michigan, with its relatively flat landscapes, thick forests with the occasional hill. We walked up to over 1700 meters above sea level while the highest point in Michigan is just over 500 meters. We stayed on the resort’s property which extends several kilometers to the west of the groomed ski runs. It is an area free of livestock grazing so there are more trees than in other sections of the mountain range. After watching the Olympic Nordic skiing star Ivo Niskenan and the rest of the field go all out in the races, I was inspired to push through the snow. I miss cross country skiing and snowshoeing is the closest thing I’ve found. I would definitely do this again and might even buy a pair of shoes for next winter. We had a nice hot tea after the 4-hour, 8-kilometer walk while waiting for the kids to get off the slopes. It was an ideal day with the family and going to Amirsoy feels like you are on holiday.
Sunday was shopping day and Nadia and I went to the various markets and supermarkets around the city. I also had to take Oliver to his dentist appointment and then cook and tidy up the house. A highlight was making breakfast for Oliver and his friends after they slept over on Saturday night.
I love the Russian influence on Tashkent and spotted bottles of European Badger fat/oil in the Olay market. It is an old Siberian tradition to massage the oil to heal aching muscles, etc. On the box, it claimed to cure bronchitis, pulmonary tuberculosis, lung inflammation, atherosclerosis, colds, some types of asthma , gastric and duodenal ulcers, and total exhaustion of the body. Wow! I am surprised it didn’t mention COVID. I didn’t buy any but am curious about the smell.
I end this blog post with a of an apartment building of the Soviet-era architecture you find in Tashkent. This one is quite nice, much better than the pre-fabricated Khrushchyovka blocks you often see. You don’t often see cylindrical-shaped apartment buildings in the west. I would love to go inside these apartments to see what it is like to live in them.
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