123. Oktoberfest in Russia
One of my colleagues who was here on a one-year assignment from her home site in Germany recently concluded her stay in St. Petersburg. To celebrate, a bunch of us went out for dinner and drinks. Surprisingly (to me, anyway), she decided that she wanted a traditional German Oktoberfest celebration to mark her year in Russia - one week after she had been to Oktoberfest on a home leave visit to Germany, and several days prior to attending another Oktoberfest party in Germany upon her permanent return home. Perhaps she just wanted to expose some of our Russian colleagues to German culture? I expect when I am preparing to conclude my stay in St. Petersburg I will want to enjoy a celebration with food that I won't be able to find at home, but I guess that's not a sentiment shared by everyone.
We went to a massive German-style beer hall, complete with a windmill and plenty of seating for many hundreds of visitors. It is located at the western end of Krestovsky island, close to the FC Zenit stadium. The establishment has a small backyard zoo behind the building, which seemed somewhat depressing for the animals living there (several foxes and an ostrich). Inside, the ambience was decidedly more festive. My two German expat colleagues and I were the first to arrive, and they decided that we should order the "large meat assortment" platter. Four kinds of sausage, ribs, pork knuckle, and a chicken. My palate was overwhelmed by all the animal flesh, despite the sauerkraut, blaukraut, fried potatoes, and pretzels on the side. Granted, I eat plenty of meat now, but this just seemed excessive. I attempted to order a half liter of their special Oktoberfest brew, but in true German beer hall style I was served a liter, instead. One and done, then, on a weeknight.
When I started my new job here in May, there were approximately 10 other expats working at my company: five or six from Germany, and others from Poland, Iceland, Switzerland, and South Africa (I am the only American at the site). We've been losing expats left and right as they return to their home locations. My company has a temporary hiring freeze in place, so we're not bringing in any new employees from other sites in the global company network. By the end of October, I will be the only one left on a short term assignment. The other expats still in place are all on three-year assignments or local contracts. So, we won't be having any more farewell dinners for a while.
We went to a massive German-style beer hall, complete with a windmill and plenty of seating for many hundreds of visitors. It is located at the western end of Krestovsky island, close to the FC Zenit stadium. The establishment has a small backyard zoo behind the building, which seemed somewhat depressing for the animals living there (several foxes and an ostrich). Inside, the ambience was decidedly more festive. My two German expat colleagues and I were the first to arrive, and they decided that we should order the "large meat assortment" platter. Four kinds of sausage, ribs, pork knuckle, and a chicken. My palate was overwhelmed by all the animal flesh, despite the sauerkraut, blaukraut, fried potatoes, and pretzels on the side. Granted, I eat plenty of meat now, but this just seemed excessive. I attempted to order a half liter of their special Oktoberfest brew, but in true German beer hall style I was served a liter, instead. One and done, then, on a weeknight.
When I started my new job here in May, there were approximately 10 other expats working at my company: five or six from Germany, and others from Poland, Iceland, Switzerland, and South Africa (I am the only American at the site). We've been losing expats left and right as they return to their home locations. My company has a temporary hiring freeze in place, so we're not bringing in any new employees from other sites in the global company network. By the end of October, I will be the only one left on a short term assignment. The other expats still in place are all on three-year assignments or local contracts. So, we won't be having any more farewell dinners for a while.
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