"Sale" Is an International Word

Gilda and I normally rent a car and drive through foreign countries. We’ve motored through France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, England, Mexico, Canada, Israel and The Czech Republic. But there was no way I was going to drive in Russia. Not that Russian drivers are any worse than their counterparts in other countries. It’s that the Cyrillic language is too difficult to decipher at 60 mph.

There are virtually no English language signs with one major exception—”Sale” is a universal word. Without peering into a shop window it would be impossible to know what goods were offered inside, but it would be easy to recognize when a discount was on tap. “Sale” signs abound, in English. Here’s what it would look like if only advertised in Cyrillic: Продажа.

Russian fashions tended to work the extremes. Women’s clothing was either doughty or very chic. For that matter, Russian women tended to fit the extremes, as well, with Moscovites being more fashionable than their St. Petersburg cousins. Throughout Russia one constant—stiletto heels. Whether wearing a dress, skirt, shorts or jeans, women favored skinny six inch heels. The more daring the shoe design, the better. Usually they coordinated the color and pattern with another part of their ensemble. One memorable young lady in northern Moscow wore open-toed turquoise heels that revealed turquoise painted toe nails. She carried a matching turquoise handbag. Her hair was held back to one side with a tri-colored pin that included a turquoise layer. Gilda’s favorite stiletto featured a wavy zebra-striped pattern with a shocking red heel. The stiletto craze so captivated Gilda and other female passengers that they initiated stiletto alerts and took countless pictures of the daring footwear.

No trip to Russia would be complete without a vodka tasting. Vodka, which means “little water,” was first distilled about 1,000 years ago. Rye or another grain is the source of Russian vodka (in Poland vodka is made from potatoes). Eighty-proof vodka (40% alcohol) is the standard. Anything higher can be detrimental to your health, an unfortunate frequent occurrence during Gorbachev’s time when state-run vodka stores restricted sales to one bottle a month, prompting the populace to distill their own which often exceeded the appropriate safe level.

Best to drink vodka ice cold in chilled glasses. While Americans might imbibe vodka in mixed drinks, Russians prefer it straight. In bars and restaurants they buy it by weight: 50 grams or 100 grams. That’s about six or 12 ounces, I figure. Russians chug their vodka after making a toast. Then they eat either bread or food such as pickles, cheese or smoked fish. They drink sparkling water between rounds to keep them sober longer. It works. After seven shots in a little more than an hour I was still upright with no hangover the next morning.

To pick a good vodka, it’s recommended you hold the bottle upside down and shake it violently to create a funnel effect. The whiter and stronger the tornado inside, the better the quality of the vodka.