I will tell you about one of the unusual and most memorable trips. In early April, a friend of our family invited us to join her to celebrate her birthday. Unfortunately, my wife did not feel well at that moment, so my daughter and I went. Gathered a great company of seasoned hikers and like-minded people.
The gathering place was chosen 70 km north of the city, near the Orekhovo railway station - a proven place with a pleasant pine forest. Using my own car would make things easier, but I don't own the car; we used the subway to get to the station, and two hours later - about one in the afternoon - we were there.
This is how the landscape looks in the area of Orekhovo station. it was warm, the snow was melting, but there was still enough snow in the forest for all our fun.
It would be necessary to say a few words about the equipment, but in fact, nothing special. There was no overnight stay, so just warm clothes, a camera with spare batteries, some dried apples and a chocolate bar as snacks for the child. I also carried in my backpack 2 liters of red wine and some selected spices for making mulled wine, but more on that below.
Important items of equipment (as well as food) were taken with them by other participants in our joint trip. After we met, we redistributed the load and went deeper into the forest in search of a suitable nice place. A heavy cauldron was added to my backpack with a camera and wine, so the "photo" option was temporarily unavailable :)
Soon we found the right place - on the shore of a small nameless lake, still frozen in ice. (The ice was strong, and allowed fearlessly to walk on it). This is what our camp looked like.
By the way! it certainly was not a virgin place - but a time-tested parking lot. Naturally, many people before us have already appreciated this place, and we found numerous traces of other tourists. There were also dry pine trees sawn into logs, and a forgotten thermometer for a bath (!) ...
... but the most remarkable sign was that one of the Christmas trees was decorated with New Year's toys, and I even found one New Year's ball covered with snow, apparently it was blown away by the wind. Definitely, someone came to the forest to celebrate the coming of the New Year 2022, in this very place. Nice!
It was already lunch time ... and before moving on to the main entertainment program, it was necessary to feed the team - especially its children's part. We had four children with us, including my daughter, and another teenager.
Accordingly, for the speedy preparation of lunch, it was necessary to: a) search for firewood, b) create a fire, c) cooperation of all participants in the campaign. Everyone took part, especially the children. My daughter loves to make fires and has long been accustomed to collecting firewood and "feeding" the fire ... but this is a topic for a separate post, another time.
Anyway, I also collected some firewood and now had time to take pictures.
We started making a fire.
One of the company brought in a cast-iron stove in his car... ehehe, I would not call it "portable", but sure thing we did move it from his car to the forest, it was possible... but without a car, carry such a stove from home right on your shoulders? nooooo way! I still cannot consider its a good idea to go into the forest carrying your stove. Although of course I admit it allows you to use the fire much more efficiently.
Another piece of equipment that you will definitely need if you are hiking with a dozen or more people is a large cauldron to prepare a lot of food for everyone at once.
We made a giant scrambled egg! In fact, it was not enough for all the participants...
... but most importantly, we fed all the kidz and now were ready for a more interesting part of the trip.
Oh sorry -- I have not yet introduced you the 'author' - the organizer of the event. This is a friend of our family and her children. And dont ask me how old is she, it's not that important, let's leave it behind the scenes. 😎
Why guns, you ask, and what do these wires mean? Ok, our main event was a team war game, and the bonfire and food and the winter forest (despite the month of April, hehe) were all just decorations for the game.
We rented laser tag guns. Without going into details, I will say that these guns do not shoot with paint balls, but with “light” - you need to hit the sensors mounted on the enemy’s head ... while the computer analyzes what is happening and reports the results of the shot through the speakers mounted on the gun (you may notice said speakers in the photo on the right -- its located near the gun's muzzle).
These are messages like "you or the enemy is wounded", "killed". If you are killed, you are out of the current game. There are different options for the game with reviving yourself ('extra lifes'), base defense, and so on.
I will not delve into unnecessary details, just note we played for several hours, tried different options, and of course we were happy & tired by the end. In between rounds, I put the gun down to take some pictures. I'm a little sorry that... should have taken more photos and shot less, hehe. Plus, I wasn't a very good shooter. I have a weak respiratory system and therefore low endurance.
This teenager turned out, judging by his personal score, to be the best shooter ... due to him (to some extent) our team have lost it... and also due to me, as I was a weak shooter and besides that was distracted by the art of photography. But the score means nothing, and the fun means everything!
Oh, and this is my babygirl! It was her first outing with the Lazertag fun, needless to say she enjoyed this trip so much!
...and thats me. I am not a fan of selfies but asked my friend to capture this memorable stuff. Sadly she is worse photographer (at least with DSLR) than me as a sharpshooter ;)))
Already shared this photo in the blockchain but I guess there is no crime to add it again to a new post (we may consider it as a 'work in progress" -- I developed the story and added a new photos to illustrate it). I did not take any doubles of our camp, with this pile of guns stocked, as the folks are getting the dinner.
For lunch, the cauldron provided us a fried chicken wings - and here we really had to work hard, make 8 or 10 takes, as it was impossible to fry everything at once ...
Should I round up on this tasty note?... Hm.... actually, in the evening there was one even more teasing note....
Do you remember 2 liters of red wine and spices that I mentioned in the very beginning of my story? (actually, 2.5 liters to be precise). @millycf1976 probably would recognize my can with a stock of spices 😜 looks familiar, isnt it?
Receipe notes. Cheap ordinary dry red wine is a must component. Obviously. You may add pretty various spices, my usual set includes: cloves, ginger, orange peels, lemon, apple slices, cinnamon sticks (necessarily sticks! ground cinnamon will not work), cardamom, star anise and sugar. More different spices in the final bouqiet is the better! A spoonful or two of cognac added to the final product is also a good idea. NB. If possible, it is better to replace sugar with honey, but that is not always possible in the hiking conditions. And, depending on the situation, a little (or a lot!) of black pepper greatly improves the warming and healing properties of the drink, it is especially important when someone is freezing or not feeling well and needs to be warmed up. As you can see in the photo below, this edition of mulled wine had enough pepper.
De-li-ci-ous! I am a master of mulled wine brewing, can say it without any hesitation or boasting. Its just it's just a statement of fact!
Mulled wine at the end of such a busy and interesting day, in the forest, among the snow, is a wonderful and indispensable thing for tired people. It is much better than vodka or whiskey! However... one good thing have no objections about another good thing, right?... anyway, soon there was no spare wine left in the can, we consumed it all pretty momentarily!
Soon after that it was time to go back to the train station. Unfortunately, we had some restrictions due to the trains curriculum. Still, tremendous amount of fun! My babygirl was very impressed and very happy, and still cant stop talking about more travels in the future!
| location: | Karelia, Russia | April 2022 | natural light |
| camera/lens: | Canon 5D | 16-35mm 2.8L | raw-conv |
| f/2.8 | t 1/125 | ISO 125 | -- |
So... this was not our first trip together, and I really hope it will not be the last either, I am sure you will see her in my other blogs. Huge thank you for walking me, and all the nice comments you leave me -- next time!
PS. Join new 'Outdoors and more' community created by @galenkp -- here are the posting guides. (Btw this was going to be my post for the first contest, but I missed the deadline). Anyway, thanks to @meesterboom and @tarazkp for supporting this nice initiative -- and look forward for more.
Hey Qwerrie,
WOW!
Your photos are splendid!... and the story too:)
Yes, I remember your spice can very well.
Your photos made me hungry, thirsty, ... ahem horny...
In other words: It was an orgasmic delight reading your post.
Have a fantastic day 😁🙃😉
😍
..and smiling widely, and happy, I hope? 'happy' is a direct option here. all those kidz.... uh, I could not add all the kidz photos in the post, simply could not... but I did not forget to walk outdoors my spicey can 😜 ok, lets say 'and excited for outdoor trips'? and a hot !PIZZA for your coffee, please. 🍕🍕🙏
Yes, smiling widely and "happy" indeed!
It looked like a truly fun family bonding day.
You do have some great stories and experiences, that enrich your life.
Always fun to see you.
ooh, PIZZA and coffee! My world feels brighter 😁 😍
Laser tag!! Oh how I used to love that. I was awesome back in the day but never did it in a forest!
Oh and nice clicks... 😜
Wow, you are a fan?! nice coincidence! my 1st time doing it.
I cant get -- could it be possible to handle not in the forest, without hiding?!! our master told a bit about possible 'hacks and tricks' (no, he was not educating us to do that!)
a !BEER for you, and thanks for such a surprising comment! 🙏
And a !BEER right back atcha!!
Yeah, I have only done it indoors in warehouse kind of setups. Used to be in a team!
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I have never had mulled wine made from scratch like that - perhaps this Christmas I will give it a go. Here, it is all (Glögi) pre-made and bought in shops.
pre-made?... never tried doing it yourself?!! Taraz, shame on you :)))))) it is so easy and so much fun!!! just get the ingredients, put it onto the fire and leave to languish under the lid for some time with a low heat on, it is not good for the wine to boil at all. you do not need to stir it either. this is a simple, quick and lazy recipe! the main wine additive is cloves, cinnamon and sugar/honey, everything else is more or less optional. I really wish you to try the recipe for yourself. cheers! and a !PIZZA
I am definitely going to do it this winter - it seems easy enough that even I can manage :)
definitely!
btw, may I ask, how much does cost a bottle of said pre-made Glögi in a shop? (comparing to a cheap ordinary red wine)
It depends - there are many. The non-alcoholic ones start from about 1€ - the alcoholic about 5€ and can go up to 12ish or a bit more, depending on brand.
But, alcohol is expensive here. a cheap bottle of red wine is around 10€
10 euro for a bottle is indeed a bit more expense than we can get here... and that is one of the reasons Finnish tourists love to come to St.Petersburg, by the way!
not sure if I understand it correctly: alcoholic Glögi is 5€ and red wine is 10€?.. something is not right it this schema... if that depends on the taxes or other policy... I'd rather go for pre-made edition, of course if it has a decent content inside, which I am not sure.
btw, traditionally, mulled wine was a way to make poor cheap wine to be bearable, make it a bit less ugly with all those spices. I easily can imagine some 'plain stuff' just labelled with a catchy label. When you make it yourself you can be sure what's inside !LOLZ
PS. in case you are curious, here, in Russia, depending on the brand the price can vary from 3€ (artificial shit) to 4-5€ (ordinary good wine, including cheap import) to 8-10€. I never spend 10€ on a bottle of wine, as I can obtain ordinary cognac or gin for said price.
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Hey, @qwerrie, that sounds like a cool trip. I have never tried such guns nor paintball guns, but I can imagine it's a lot of fun, and the laser guns don't even hurt 😁
I know this mulled wine very well - we call it "Glühwein" and it's a popular drink in Winter 🍷
!WINE makes a delicious dinner with !PIZZA :)
!invest_vote
yes, that's a bonus.... on one hand. on another hand (if you're curious) the system is not perfect, and it gives to un-honest users a huge field of nasty tricks to use... 'hack the game', as they say -- in comparison with paintball, where a ball of paint is a hard fact, hit or miss, and you can’t erase it anynow. let me share a !PIZZA with you, too.
I have no doubts you are in the know about the Glühwein, it is not a secret recipe... it is something that Russians got from Europe, absolutely no questions here at all. thank you for the visit, I hope you enjoyed the visuals. 🙏 🍀 🙏
Oh yes, I enjoyed your post a lot, my friend, and I didn't know that you got the idea for this dangerous drink from us. Why dangerous? Because there were times when I drank that much of it that I couldn't find my way back home anymore 🤣 !LOLZ
Have another !PIZZA from me 😊
!invest_vote
ha! its no problem because I never could do this technically. I prepare it myself, and buying more than 2 bottles of wine is ridiculous... or out of the budget. then, those 1-2 bottles are bought for some intention, a joint meeting with a friend, with a company, etc. - so no one will let me drink such a good mulled wine alone. it's completely impossible, out of question. usually I, the author, am being left with one, rarely 2 full mugs of it. and never had a headache from it, imagine: never! 🤣🤣🙏
Well, I also never had a headache of it, apart from the headaches my wife gave me when I came home 🤣 !LOLZ
!invest_vote
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I was litteraly beside myself.
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ha! ha! haaaaaa!!!!!!!! that made me smiling so widely.
lets see if I have a proper !LOLZ token to show you... ah, anyway. thank you! this laugh definitely must have extended my life by a few minutes =)
And I think you know exactly what kind of headache I mean because you're married yourself 🤣 !LOLZ
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damn, I forgot to add a little !BEER to my previous comment (cause I know its a little extra bit of happiness and good mood for you) 😊
You can't use the !BEER together with other bots anymore anyway, so forgetting it was good 😉
Actually... I know this circumstance, and I did not forget, but did it on purpose, and saying this was just my "figure of speech" ;)))
and same thing with !PIZZA, as far as I know.
So, the courier will have to knock to your crypto-door twice: delivered pizza, said goodbye, than knock again and say hi, this is your beer. strange but true! 🤪
Oh, I thought not everyone knows about this circumstance yet, just as I didn't know that pizza can also only called alone.
So I will have to change my footers, I believe, but I want to keep the
!invest_vote 😀
Our mutual friend Zac educated me a while ago --thanx, @papilloncharity
Now we are just pushed to use more purified products at once
more !BEER then 🍻 😜 🤪
Talking about me behind my back? It seems that the wine muti that you drink confuses you a bit as I cannot even educate myself !LOL
Btw. You have told us a great story here my friend and I enjoyed the game. One thing though, you guys must try to get one of those lightweight, fold up camping burners as they work great on trips into the bushes or forests.
Cheers and !PIZZA
Zac was faster than me again 🤣 !LOLZ
Oops, forgot the !BEER 🍻
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Wow such a great captures @qwerrie 😁
What a fun… so cool to see all the smiles and people enjoying so much.
Love to make mulled wine. My recipe is slightly different but I see all things I add there too, you add a bit more. This one does look pretty good.
Thanks for the recipe. Will try this one in the winter ❄️
Have a great evening further 👋🏻😁
do tell me what is yours? I think the more is better, but easily can use what I have at hands... tho clover and cinnamon and sugar I consider a must ingredients...
by the way, it goes so well with !PIZZA -- proved it many times
🙏
Those are indeed must have ingredients. It is different without.
My recipe:
I have a cheap red wine and add freshly pressed orange juice. About 25% of the wine volume.
The Sugar goes in quite a bit… until it taste better not sour anymore. Than slices of a fresh orange, cloves, cinnamon sticks, 1 bay leave , fresh ginger slices, star anis, and some good rum.
Let that stand on the stove but never cook, just warming up. I never measured the amounts as I cook intuitively and taste what I add. Until I like it.
This is my favourite combo so far. But I’m happy to try other ingredients too.
Will try next time (when it is cold again) to add the apple and cardamom.
It sure goes well with
!PIZZA
good morning to you @qwerrie 👋🏻☀️☕️
one bay leaf?.. -- that was a surprise ingredient! all in all, sounds intresting, I definitely will try it, next time or one day. thanks one more time, this was a cross-fertilization case, I guess. 😍 👍
Yep, try it… it is interesting. 😉
You are welcome @qwerrie always!
Have a great Thursday 👋🏻☀️
It’s great when that happens 😉
thanks for good wishes, Jackie. 🙏 everything is fine so far 🤸♂️
You are welcome 😁👋🏻
Good to hear!
Now that looks like a really wild and outdoor activity in the real sense of the word! Even if the guns are just laser ones 😁
ha, not at all! we had a lot of technology in our pockets. I easily can imagine something even more wild, like -- creating a bow from the scratch, without any tools at all! that would be fascinating, but extremely hard. and that would be totally another story, another level. 😊
Wow. Looks like an amazing day out. Great post @qwerrie, I thouroughly enjoyed reading it. Brought back many childhood memories of family camping events, enjoying the great outdoors, and the smell of fire.
Also, those guns are so cool! What a fun invention!
glad you enjoyed it, that is 1 of the reasons I am into photography -- it helps to click our memories. ps. its better go out, than read about it in other blogs! wish you well 😊
That looks like such a fun time. That's awesome that you rented laser guns to play in the forest. Such a cool idea. I bet everybidy had a... blast...lol
The food and mulled wine cooked over the fire is pretty cool as well.
Yes, happy memories!... We were extremely lucky with the weather and the temperature was ideal - warm, no wind, good snow without any dirt. Perfect! Probably next year my friend will celebrate her birthday in the same way, I hope we will join it again. Thats an old company of friends, and having good time with old friends -- it just adds a lot to it. The kidz are growing right at your eyes...
That wine punch looks really inviting. Warm mulled wine?
yes, it is! cooked right on a camp fire. I hope you can smell it 😊 inviting and teasing
except of the visuals, I can treat you with Hive !BEER 🍻
Funny you say that because when I saw the pic I actually have a particular smell from one party that had mulled wine. Good drinking session.
Cheers for the beer.
My pleasure! (a nice coincidence, love them to happen) and thanks for a visit 🍀
Thanks for sharing.
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I can see that the kids really have fun of yout activity.
Ohw! Yhe snow 😍 the snow which we don't have im our country amd I wanna touch it😁
fun? no, it was more than fun, it was euphoria! extazy! orgazm! 😜😜😜😛
as for the snow... it can be very different.
it can be dirty and pretty unbearable.
but in this case, it was all good, perfect for our purposes, no freeze and no dirt... not sure if I should advise you to travel north to get acquainted with it. no, I am not doing that!!! have a nice day, stay healthy, you and your kidz 🙏
Ой как классно!!!!
И фото супер!
🤗
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@johannpiber denkt du hast ein Vote durch @investinthefutur verdient!
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@apnigrich, @chanych85, @bambuka - you are the ones I cannot but think of momentarily - a new community is established, maybe you'd be intrestead to head some of your posts there. check the Guides post about the subjects to write about there 🙏 my best wishes
Oh, only English.
And the theme is cool - drinking in nature and firearms. :)
yes, there are some specific and very reasonable guides that one should take into consideration... but nothing beyond the reason, and I am sure its no problem. and the subject: fishing, camping, woods... thats what you are up to, isnt it? exactly "what the doctor have said!" 👍
💪
Oh, yes
Will have to learn the rules :) Thank you :)
Новый Новый Год захотелось? ;)
неа, вот ни разу. но архивчик-то вот он! и фоточки ждут, когда я ими поделюсь :))
👍👍👍😂😂😂
Looks like fun! The mulled wine is something I'll try here, we have the weather for it now
oh! the passage about the weather doesnt sounds too inspiring. 🍕 let me add some Hive !PIZZA as a little consolation. (goes well with a mulled wine!)
this was a very happy day, my baby (and ofc the rest of the company) still remember it with smile and happiness, and dream now about doing more travels - even to another cities. she is growing...
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хорошо покутили в апрельском лесу)))
А вот про это "оружие" впервые слышу, забавная вещь, и от краски отмываться не надо.
Отличный репортаж:)
Cheers and !BEER
!invest_vote
да, счастливый день. и с погодой повезло, и снег был просто идеальный. жаль только что я много участвовал и мало фотографировал :) вот бы пропорцию изменить... по меньшей мере вдвое! и тогда у меня еще не было 70-200mm. впрочем, из-за веса я его скорее всего и не взял бы. в общем, надо будет обязательно повторить через годик.
!BEER конечно же.
надо было камеру закрепить на стволе трахтомата ))))
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That was fun and everything you you did and photos so splinded! I absolutely love it!🤩
thanks a lot, I warmly accept your compliment ☺️
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