Our Living Conditions

This is a little guide to our apartment, which is slightly larger than our Montana house minus the yard and basement, of course. Upon entering all Russian apartment's there is a hall for removing your shoes and coats.  You then put on your tapichky, or house slippers.  We are slowly stocking up on extras since you typically provide them for your guests.  We can only accommodate two guests at this point, but that has as much to do with the number of plates, silverware and glasses we have.

In the photos you see that there is a long hall leading to the stair well/elevator.  There are 36 apartments that use our stairwell.  The door at the end leads directly to the stairs.  There is also a door to the right of the end door that leads to the neighbors apartment.  Russians typically double or triple up on security.  In our case there is a magnet door opener (more later in another blog) at the entrance to the building, then each floor has four apartments; two to one side and two to the other.  From the stairs you enter a steel door and proceed to a second steel door and finally you close your own inside door.

Entry 

Steel Door closed

The kitchen is a model of efficiency.  We actually have a lot of counter space compared to most apartments. Often times they have no counters, just a table to prep form and eat off of.  All appliances are 24" wide.  Our appliances are Bosch and these models are not sold in the US.  Ironically, in the US we get Bosch dishwashers, but we don't have a dishwasher (or we have three dishwashers by the name of Jones).  I love the refrigerator!  It is 6'-6" tall and has plenty of space, especially in the lower freezer section (3 bins).  Why don't we have these tall refrigerators in the US?  There is so much wasted space above a frig!

Refrigerator - Clothes Washer - Sink - Stove  Note the cabinet above the sink doubles as a drying rack with a removable pan below it to catch water.  This is the most efficient dish washing scenario I've ever used, besides having a  dishwasher, of course.  Why not throw in a double bowl sink as well?

The living room has the only carpet, the only soft surface and sound absorbing qualities in the house. A whisper get's the attention of the someone in the back room!  Just think what the bathroom does.  We call them the megaphones.  Aside from that, our concrete box does a great job of drowning out the neighbors, the only true way to stop sound is with mass.  Even the windows are sound proof (triple pane glass, double sealing weather stripping and vinyl) I guarantee they don't sell these in the US.  If they did they would put all other window companies out of business.  Our flimsy vinyl in the US is designed for temperate climates such as Florida and sold to cold climates in the North.  Maybe these are actually composites here?  I'll do more research and open up a window store upon my return.  These things are bullet proof!

The comfort couch that all psychiatrists should invest in

Danielle's office

Living Room

This is our porch outside the living room.  This is good for extra storage and acts as a cool room for our vegetable collection acquired from the locals.  Most Russians use this as a smoking porch.

The bedrooms...

Lika's bedroom and Kreg's office - She moved  from a closet sized bedroom in Montana to sharing a room with her Dad.  Contrary to what one might guess, she loves this configuration because we can sit side by side and draw for hours!

The megaphones...

Big Bathroom. Note the towel warmer/towel bar.

Kreg's bathroom with the efficiency of a Yacth.  I love this space!

Curtains are always some shear material that lets light in and minimally obscures vision.  On moonlit nights it is hard to sleep, but our shortened days are fast approaching.  We are losing about 5.5 minutes of day light per day (40 minutes per week). This will happen until about December 1st when we are down to about 5 1/2 hours of daylight.  We are on the same latitude as Anchorage, Alaska.

K&D's Bedroom - bathrooms are between the bedrooms.