I was intimidated by navigating a Soviet-era Metro system in a foreign language, but I did it! Alone!

The first time I visited Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in November 2018, a friend had recommended seeing the Soviet-built Metro stations. I thought that an odd suggestion, and did not make time to do so. However, I trust her judgment and know what she likes, and have since regretted it.

This recent trip was filled with tour guides, cross-country train rides, plane trips, and came on the heels of 2 weeks of hosting 50 FBI agents and 6 of their spouses in Astana. It was an extension of the 2019 Symposium. Mike and I were EXhausted. So when the last full day of our trip came and Mike had a long day of meetings, I relished the idea of curling up on my fluffy duvet in my fancy hotel room to read….it was down to 50 degrees, and expected to rain all day. A perfect day of rest!

The Metro kept nagging me. ‘Come see how pretty!’ ‘you’re not going to leave our Art unseen, are you?’ I decided I was not going to let it beat me. I mean, really!-I have managed the NYC subway and the London Underground- I must try! (My brain still responds with: yah, but you can read English there…)

I read reviews and tips on lonely planet and trip advisor, studied the map and looked at points of interest nearby to plan a route. Several reviews indicated the Metro is easy to use and trains come frequently (as in every 5 minutes), so it wouldn’t be hard to get to a stop, take photos and get on the next train. I downloaded a map, made a plan with the hotel receptionists and set out in search of Mustakilik Maydoni.

When the first train arrived at Mustakilik, it was packed. I thought: Huh! So thats why the sidewalks are so empty- everyone is down below. At the same time, I was thinking….uuuuuuggghhhh….how many of these will I actually want to squeeze into?

It turned out there was never another packed train. The others were mostly empty and punctual. I did not wait more than 3 minutes for a train. I was impressed that my journey was surprisingly easy! Uzbek is written in the latin alphabet, so I could read the signs, of which there were many-over each side of the tracks, behind the tracks. Clocks were prominent, counting from the last train.

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The group of photos above are from Ming O’Rik station. Ming O’Rik translates to ‘a thousand apricot trees’. I thought that a sweet tribute to this desert land.

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The first group of photos, above, are from stations I have forgotten the names of. The last group is Amir Temur station- a name I know from 2 trips and several historical lessons while in Uzbekistan. He is an ancestor of Shah Jahon, who built the Taj Mahal. Amir Temur is a local hero for his great accomplishments as King in the 14th century. That day I knew it meant I was at my destination- my hotel was only 3 blocks away!

I DID IT! No calls for help, no panicking, no getting lost. It truly was as easy as I expected. After living in a post-Soviet world where things are so often more complicated than necessary, this felt like a real accomplishment! Next time I’ll see a few different stops. [The water table in northern Kazakhstan is too high for a subway system, so there is no Metro, and never will be, in Nur-Sultan/Astana (Name change is a topic for another day)]

I DID IT! And all for $.14…yes, total.

After we had been here a month, I had an urge to explore outside our city. We had already seen and done so much, but I was ready for more. By that point, we had borrowed a car from someone that walked to work. To drive from the city was not an option- there is literally no place to go. The steppe is a lot like Nebraska….fields and meadows for hundreds of miles with no stops. (Rest areas are a hole dug in the ground with a wall to block the view from the highway.) There are many villages, but no points of interest (many villages do not even have schools).

We took a day trip to Karaganda, the nearest city of 5,000 or more. We rode the new train (also known as the ‘sitting up train’, as opposed to the ‘sleeping train’…!), and managed it well, especially considering how little Russian we knew and that Mike was already back in DC, so was not with us!

When he returned from DC, he had a few days of meetings in Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan, so suggested we all join him. As one of the hotels offering government rates was the Ritz-Carlton, I agreed it was a good idea! 🙂

The Ritz is a 30-story building, at the base of the Tian-Shen mountain range. The mountains reach up to 17,000 feet, with many 16,000-ft peaks. They are STUNNING. We were amazed after landing to discover they were snow-topped, even though it was 97F in the city. The hotel is positioned on the top 10 floors of the building, so the lobby is on the 30th floor (rooms are 20-27). I will never forget walking into the lounge/breakfast room and seeing the panorama of the Tian Shen mountains….WOW! Of course the rooms and hotel were great, the food was outstanding, but the view captured us. This was KAZAKHSTAN….!?! To that point, we had only known the flat, open steppe of northern Kz. Fortunately, the hotel had english-speaking guides to recommend, so we took a day trip up into the mountains. After about an hour drive, we stopped at one of the most beautiful sights any of us will ever see….Big Almaty Lake. At 8200+ feet, this mountain lake is crystal clear. Reflecting the clear blue sky, and surrounded by peaks well past 13,000 feet, all 6 of us were speechless (a real challenge). Michael’s first reaction was, “I’m going to live here when I grow up. I could stay here my whole life.” Wow! That’s a ‘Legit’ compliment coming from a 15-year old boy! I was thrilled to have found something we equally adored.

The lake is the main water source for the city, and is therefore guarded by police to prevent swimming or fishing. (Our guide did let us know we weren’t missing out, as there are no fish; it’s too cold for any wildlife and we would not enjoy it. I don’t know if thats true, but didn’t care, as I wasn’t planning to get in.) The police patrol is a deterrent to hiking too close to the lake, too. We stayed up on the rocks to get the best photos…of which we took hundreds.

We were not able to drive any higher since it was a weekend day and so many locals had driven up for picnics, the roads were muddy from rain, and clogged with cars. We knew enough not to argue with the driver’s assessment, so made our way back down to the city, to see First President’s Park.

We spent several more days exploring Almaty, but once you have been in the mountains of Ile Alatau National Park, it is hard to find anything nearing that spectacular beauty.

We were not quite ready to leave Kazakhstan for the other Central Asian countries that were a part of Mike’s region, but were fascinated that the Kyrgyz Republic was directly behind the peak at the backdrop of our photos. Actually, the border is on the backside of the snow-covered peak in these photos. The mountainous region of the Kyrgyz Republic covers 80% of the country. It is known as the Switzerland of Central Asia.

Trips to the other ‘stans’ eventually happened, and we have loved the varying landscapes and cultural differences we have witnessed. We just weren’t there yet, in Month 2. But our trip to Almaty helped us love our new home country so much more, now that we understood the diverse resources and natural beauty of Kazakhstan!

A very dear friend has taught me to look for -and take!- unique opportunities that will enrich our lives…this is how that looks for the Malsch family.

Mike had traveled a bit, and recommended that we try to stay awake until local bedtime to help us acclimate to the time difference. We knew we were arriving on June 21, but had not thought about that being the summer solstice! On the 51st parallel, in Astana, there are 17+ hours of daylight that day! There was no way we could wait until darkness….so, for the first time since we were children, we went to bed while it was still light out.

In the first 6 months, I was often told that I seemed to have acclimated really well to Astana, or to overseas life. We received compliments about the kids’ transitions as well. I attribute some of that to Landing Well. We arrived in summer, when Astana is at its prettiest: flowers are planted on every corner, along the medians, in designs along the highways. It was a beautiful place to explore and we were enticed to visit the parks and plazas. We were eager to see more! I see many first-timers arriving in winter, which is severe in Astana. It can be hard to be motivated to see much of it outside the malls.

Other than Mike, none of the rest of us had ever been overseas. I had been to Jamaica and Mexico, but had never crossed the ocean. Kazakhstan was an interesting place to start -a post for another day!

I am grateful for the many differences from the US- landing in Europe for our first post would not have challenged us much, nor seemed like such an adventure. Having promoted an adventure spirit in our children, we were all yearning to learn and be fascinated. Kazakhstan did not disappoint!

I am grateful for our reception- friends here had taught, explained and prepared us well for life in KZ. We were ready to see with our own eyes.

I am grateful we were assigned to start in June. Landing in summer gave us ample opportunities to explore- especially when we had such long days!

I am grateful that the Lord went ahead of us. He clearly reminded me of this when I walked out the door with 13 suitcases to A New Day Dawning…in Kazakhstan. Turns out the sun- and the Lord- have heard of Kazakhstan and were already here, waiting. Thank You Lord!