Tomorrow Morgan will start daycare at Riviera Child Care Center, and we've heard nothing but praise for infant caregiver May and her profesional team of baby ticklers.
Morgan clocked in at the doctor's at 21 pounds -- for the third month in a row. She has tried and failed three times to get a urinalysis going because the sticky plastic thingy just won't work on her, but the three stool samples Daddy had to collect left his head spinning. Still need an MRI, X-rays, blood tests, and more bologna than you could find in an elementary school lunch room.
Morgan sometimes won't open her mouth when we try to feed her now - she is asserting her detachment according to the books. She won't sleep on command either, which led to kvetching in the household until a book recommended by Uncle Doug helped Mommy win, and Daddy now lets Morgan scream and turn purple before he picks her up.
There are so many kids under five in the Riviera Church youth group - Dillan, Dustin, Kai, Liam, John, James, Aidan, Jae and Jakk (plus Morgan) - that Daddy is pretty sure he's going to need a larger vehicle to help get them all camping in 10 years.
And here's a BIG shout out to Nicholas Wolfe, who turned 1 yesterday. He's the brainy hunk with whom Morgan spent the first 8 months of her life sharing a crib, and smart money says they won't make it difficult to reunite frequently. Welcome to Boston, dude, be sure you try the microbrew beer someday, even if it really was better back in Kostanai. (Hi to Flo for helping sobbing Nan on the plane!)
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Morgan gets dunked
Morgan was baptized Sunday by Rev. Dr. Laurie Kraus with help from Leah, who represented the congregation in the ceremony.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Hi to my friends in Kostanai
Hi I just wanted to say "privet" to my friends in Kostanai at the Delphin. Mom and Dad just took me to the beach today and I had fun (that is, after I saw other kids having fun and figured out this complex concept). I've been very busy learning to crawl and learning to eat new foods. This week I also visited the Riviera Child Care Center where I'll be learning lots more with new friends starting June 3rd. -- Morgan Adams
Saturday, May 19, 2007
First week at home
Morgan has been feeling fine. Last night she slept from 8:30 pm all the way until 7 am without even asking for her pacifier once! She was out like a light. Morgan and I took Michele out to pizza at "Blu Pizzeria" in South Miami, where Morgan had pasta and sauce (a stage 3 jar) and some fruit mush.
Today (Saturday) we took her to Target and bought a new car seat because the one we had before is for children age 3 and up; it didn't fit her well at all. Now Michele has taken her to Homestead to Peggy's house, for a "ladies tea" lunch. I'm using the time to work on Knight work that has fallen behind this week. There's an important web deadline coming up and I have to finish by Monday.
Tomorrow, we'll be taking her to church with us for the first time. She'll meet some other children for the first time, who might grow up to be friends.
And Tuesday we'll be taking her back to Dr. Hector Trujillo (3rd visit), whom we like a lot so far. If her breathing has less crud in it, then he can finally make a proper physical exam of her. With that in mind, we're using the nebulizer regularly now to treat whatever virus is hiding in there.
This week she went out to Target many many times for various things - lots of food, and cute clothes. We found footy pajamas at The Children's Place that fit perfectly; thanks to Nan and her sister Florence for suggesting to shop there for such a hard to find thing.
Today (Saturday) we took her to Target and bought a new car seat because the one we had before is for children age 3 and up; it didn't fit her well at all. Now Michele has taken her to Homestead to Peggy's house, for a "ladies tea" lunch. I'm using the time to work on Knight work that has fallen behind this week. There's an important web deadline coming up and I have to finish by Monday.
Tomorrow, we'll be taking her to church with us for the first time. She'll meet some other children for the first time, who might grow up to be friends.
And Tuesday we'll be taking her back to Dr. Hector Trujillo (3rd visit), whom we like a lot so far. If her breathing has less crud in it, then he can finally make a proper physical exam of her. With that in mind, we're using the nebulizer regularly now to treat whatever virus is hiding in there.
This week she went out to Target many many times for various things - lots of food, and cute clothes. We found footy pajamas at The Children's Place that fit perfectly; thanks to Nan and her sister Florence for suggesting to shop there for such a hard to find thing.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
We're home at last
Since the last posting, we've flown from Almaty back through Frankfurt to New York, and Morgan has become a U.S. citizen. We spent Mother's Day weekend with Uncle Doug and Aunt Alexa in their apartment near Columbia University Teacher's College, and Uncle Jon and Aunt Karen at a brunch on upper Broadway at Le Monde cafe with cousins Benjamin and Jacob. Then, we flew home to Miami (exhausted and cranky!) to a reception hosted by Nana and Lee, with Grandpa Bob, Grandpa David, Grandma Carol and Aunt Phyllis. (The chocolate ice cream cake deserves recognition too, it was so yummy.)
Fortunately Morgan adjusted to her new surroundings almost immediately, and has been sleeping well and eating well, though she's not drinking as much formula as we'd hoped she would.
Parenting is going well. Morgan will not sleep when we want her to - so we have to use tricks like sugaring her up, taking her for a walk in the stroller, and letting her have a little sugar crash when we need her to be asleep. Hopefully this will eventually result in a sleep pattern we can live with. Last night she went down at 7:30 pm and woke up at 1 am; then had trouble sleeping until 4 am when I finally got her to sleep by letting her fall asleep on me. Michele rescued me at 6 for her breakfast and walk, so that I could finally sleep a little.
Developments we've noticed in just the last few days:
Morgan will have a baptism soon. It's Sunday, May 27th and if you're reading this and wish to come, it's at Riviera Presbyterian Church during regular worship at 11 am. Refreshments to follow.
Fortunately Morgan adjusted to her new surroundings almost immediately, and has been sleeping well and eating well, though she's not drinking as much formula as we'd hoped she would.
Parenting is going well. Morgan will not sleep when we want her to - so we have to use tricks like sugaring her up, taking her for a walk in the stroller, and letting her have a little sugar crash when we need her to be asleep. Hopefully this will eventually result in a sleep pattern we can live with. Last night she went down at 7:30 pm and woke up at 1 am; then had trouble sleeping until 4 am when I finally got her to sleep by letting her fall asleep on me. Michele rescued me at 6 for her breakfast and walk, so that I could finally sleep a little.
Developments we've noticed in just the last few days:
- She's making choices, such as pointing at the bottle or the yogurt cup, while eating so we know what she wants more of.
- She's picking up Cheerios with two fingers, but it's not a pincer grip - she licks her fingers and then adheres the cereal to her hand with spit to get it to her mouth.
- She's much more verbal every day - saying ma ma and da da, but randomly.
- More attached than ever to the two blue Gund 'Spunky' dogs that Cousin Kristie and Uncle Blair gave her.
Morgan will have a baptism soon. It's Sunday, May 27th and if you're reading this and wish to come, it's at Riviera Presbyterian Church during regular worship at 11 am. Refreshments to follow.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
First night in her new crib
Morgan slept soundly the first night in hew new crib. (It was the second night that she got up repeatedly and we discovered she had a high fever.)
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Friday, May 11, 2007
All done and ready to return to the U.S.
It’s Friday afternoon and our hotel room is darkened as Michele is catching up on sleep. She got very ill last night after eating something funny in a Korean restaurant – though I had exactly the same order as she, and didn’t get sick at all. Hopefully (likely) she’ll be feeling well enough before we have to fly early Saturday AM out of the Almaty Airport - about eight hours from now.
Morgan is lively and giggling, blowing raspberries and entertaining herself with gurgles in her crib. We haven’t quite found the right balance of fruit juice and sugary yogurt vs. starchy rice cereal and mush, so she’s either high and bouncing off the walls, or grumpy and sleepy much of the time. Naps are very hard to schedule between the important trips about town.
Yesterday, we went to the SOS Services medical clinic and Morgan got a checkup and HIV test required by the U.S. Embassy. She’s healthy of course, but it turns out that every possible medical problem on her original medical records was either self-contradictory or just fabricated (the incentive to fabricate medical problems stems from the way that baby houses are funded and the arcane rules by which babies are eligible to be put up for international adoption).
We met a couple of interesting people at breakfast in the hotel. Austin is an adoptive father and lawyer from New Orleans and will be taking home baby Merina; Grove and Jennifer are from New Mexico and are taking home baby Pavel – and like me, they work for nonprofits; and JoAnne is returning Sunday to Buffalo with new son Nicholas. We also enjoyed meeting Chan Park, a professor from Ohio doing a 2-week educational exchange on the Korean diaspora that are in Kazakhstan – over 200,000 were relocated involuntarily from Russia in the 1950s to farm wheat.
Having accomplished the last major bit of business this afternoon – a trip to the heavily fortified and guarded U.S. Embassy to pick up Morgan’s Kazakh passport with U.S. visa stamps, medical records and an “instantly valid upon arrival” U.S. citizenship document – we are now about 12 hours from departure. We thought about registering her to vote liberal, too, but she’s too young – darn!
It’s a huge relief that there have been really no surprises on this trip, and we must again thank the fine work of Libby, Dina, and Zhanat of MAPS; Oleg in Almaty and Efrat at Lifelink in Miami.
Morgan can’t wait to come drool on her new family, and in about 36 hours from now we’ll get the first chance to do that!
Morgan is lively and giggling, blowing raspberries and entertaining herself with gurgles in her crib. We haven’t quite found the right balance of fruit juice and sugary yogurt vs. starchy rice cereal and mush, so she’s either high and bouncing off the walls, or grumpy and sleepy much of the time. Naps are very hard to schedule between the important trips about town.
Yesterday, we went to the SOS Services medical clinic and Morgan got a checkup and HIV test required by the U.S. Embassy. She’s healthy of course, but it turns out that every possible medical problem on her original medical records was either self-contradictory or just fabricated (the incentive to fabricate medical problems stems from the way that baby houses are funded and the arcane rules by which babies are eligible to be put up for international adoption).
We met a couple of interesting people at breakfast in the hotel. Austin is an adoptive father and lawyer from New Orleans and will be taking home baby Merina; Grove and Jennifer are from New Mexico and are taking home baby Pavel – and like me, they work for nonprofits; and JoAnne is returning Sunday to Buffalo with new son Nicholas. We also enjoyed meeting Chan Park, a professor from Ohio doing a 2-week educational exchange on the Korean diaspora that are in Kazakhstan – over 200,000 were relocated involuntarily from Russia in the 1950s to farm wheat.
Having accomplished the last major bit of business this afternoon – a trip to the heavily fortified and guarded U.S. Embassy to pick up Morgan’s Kazakh passport with U.S. visa stamps, medical records and an “instantly valid upon arrival” U.S. citizenship document – we are now about 12 hours from departure. We thought about registering her to vote liberal, too, but she’s too young – darn!
It’s a huge relief that there have been really no surprises on this trip, and we must again thank the fine work of Libby, Dina, and Zhanat of MAPS; Oleg in Almaty and Efrat at Lifelink in Miami.
Morgan can’t wait to come drool on her new family, and in about 36 hours from now we’ll get the first chance to do that!
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Reunited
Just a note to say all has gone well, and we have Morgan sleeping in a crib in the hotel room now. Photos are on http://www.flickr.com/photos/rga.
We've arrived! Zzzzzz zzzz zzzz.
After arrival at 11:30 pm it took us until 1 am to get to our room and sleep finally.
We're back in Kazakhstan! ... and still waiting.
Good afternoon, it’s Wednesday here in Almaty and we’re waiting to meet the head nurse from the Delphin Baby House at the airport around 5:45. We expect to receive our beautiful new daughter and bring her back to the Kazzhol Hotel, where we’ll be changing our first diaper, preparing our first bottle of formula – lots of firsts tonight. (Hopefully first full night of sleep? Ha ha ha.)
The flight in was smooth – the Germans love their cigarettes too much so the Frankfurt Airport was a difficult place to find 4 hours of rest during a 6-hour layover. We eventually settled on some padded benches at a colossal McDonald’s food court in terminal 2. Highly recommended if you, too, wish to avoid the $240 day rate at the Sheraton.
Our flight from Frankfurt went by surprisingly quickly, and we got in at 11:30, were picked up by driver Nicholai and coordinator Oleg – and whisked to the Kazzhol Hotel (we expected to be in the Hotel Kazakhstan but this place is just fine, and cheaper). They’ve put a crib in our room and we went to a large supermarket that had everything we could possibly want – baby food and juice in all flavors and sizes.
It’s a national holiday – I think it’s Victory Day – so many people are wearing green military hats with red stars on them and there are many icons of national and civic pride around. In Almaty (Alma Ata) this includes apples, because it’s the home of the world’s first wild apples. (Benjamin and Jacob, that’s for show and tell on Monday
For the last 4 weeks in Miami, I have had to pinch myself to believe that we ever left town and spent more than a month in Kostanai, or that we spoke Russian, or saw tractors and belly dancers. But today it feels oddly natural to be speaking Russian again, and reading Kazakh signs. It means I wasn't hallucinating about the first trip, and it seems we're actually in a far-away land doing fun things like adopting a princess.
The city is beautiful with lots of trees and parks (as leafy as Gainesville, Fla. perhaps) – I would be eager to spend a month here. But compared with Kostanai, it’s very urban. Many more cars. More vendors on the street. Expensive prices for things. Fancy international designer perfume and clothing shops. And a few times people in the grocery store seemed to intentionally shove or at least bump me in a hurry to pass by (the aisle was plenty wide, but they needed my space). Our hotel TV gets both CNN Europe and BBC World channels and the buffet for breakfast had coffee, omelets and sausage included in the price of stay, so we’ll not lose weight as we did on the first trip May 3-April 8.
After walking around Almaty for just an hour this morning and getting some groceries, we’ve taken a long nap and are just in waiting mode now. Sleep was much needed but we have a new family member to go look after.
The flight in was smooth – the Germans love their cigarettes too much so the Frankfurt Airport was a difficult place to find 4 hours of rest during a 6-hour layover. We eventually settled on some padded benches at a colossal McDonald’s food court in terminal 2. Highly recommended if you, too, wish to avoid the $240 day rate at the Sheraton.
Our flight from Frankfurt went by surprisingly quickly, and we got in at 11:30, were picked up by driver Nicholai and coordinator Oleg – and whisked to the Kazzhol Hotel (we expected to be in the Hotel Kazakhstan but this place is just fine, and cheaper). They’ve put a crib in our room and we went to a large supermarket that had everything we could possibly want – baby food and juice in all flavors and sizes.
It’s a national holiday – I think it’s Victory Day – so many people are wearing green military hats with red stars on them and there are many icons of national and civic pride around. In Almaty (Alma Ata) this includes apples, because it’s the home of the world’s first wild apples. (Benjamin and Jacob, that’s for show and tell on Monday
For the last 4 weeks in Miami, I have had to pinch myself to believe that we ever left town and spent more than a month in Kostanai, or that we spoke Russian, or saw tractors and belly dancers. But today it feels oddly natural to be speaking Russian again, and reading Kazakh signs. It means I wasn't hallucinating about the first trip, and it seems we're actually in a far-away land doing fun things like adopting a princess.
The city is beautiful with lots of trees and parks (as leafy as Gainesville, Fla. perhaps) – I would be eager to spend a month here. But compared with Kostanai, it’s very urban. Many more cars. More vendors on the street. Expensive prices for things. Fancy international designer perfume and clothing shops. And a few times people in the grocery store seemed to intentionally shove or at least bump me in a hurry to pass by (the aisle was plenty wide, but they needed my space). Our hotel TV gets both CNN Europe and BBC World channels and the buffet for breakfast had coffee, omelets and sausage included in the price of stay, so we’ll not lose weight as we did on the first trip May 3-April 8.
After walking around Almaty for just an hour this morning and getting some groceries, we’ve taken a long nap and are just in waiting mode now. Sleep was much needed but we have a new family member to go look after.
Back in Kazakhstan!
Good afternoon, it’s Wednesday here in Almaty and we’re waiting to meet the head nurse from the Delphin Baby House at the airport around 5:45. We expect to receive our beautiful new daughter and bring her back to the Kazzhol Hotel, where we’ll be changing our first diaper, preparing our first bottle of formula – lots of firsts tonight. (Hopefully first full night of sleep? Ha ha ha.)
The flight in was smooth – the Germans love their cigarettes too much so the Frankfurt Airport was a difficult place to find 4 hours of rest during a 6-hour layover. We eventually settled on some padded benches at a colossal McDonald’s food court in terminal 2. Highly recommended if you, too, wish to avoid the $240 day rate at the Sheraton.
Our flight from Frankfurt went by surprisingly quickly, and we got in at 11:30, were picked up by driver Nicholai and coordinator Oleg – and whisked to the Kazzhol Hotel (we expected to be in the Hotel Kazakhstan but this place is just fine, and cheaper). They’ve put a crib in our room and we went to a large supermarket that had everything we could possibly want – baby food and juice in all flavors and sizes.
It’s a national holiday – I think it’s Victory Day – so many people are wearing green military hats with red stars on them and there are many icons of national and civic pride around. In Almaty (Alma Ata) this includes apples, because it’s the home of the world’s first wild apples. (Benjamin and Jacob, that’s for show and tell on Monday
For the last 4 weeks in Miami, I have had to pinch myself to believe that we ever left town and spent more than a month in Kostanai, or that we spoke Russian, or saw tractors and belly dancers. But today it feels oddly natural to be speaking Russian again, and reading Kazakh signs. It means I wasn't hallucinating about the first trip, and it seems we're actually in a far-away land doing fun things like adopting a princess.
The city is beautiful with lots of trees and parks (as leafy as Gainesville, Fla. perhaps) – I would be eager to spend a month here. But compared with Kostanai, it’s very urban. Many more cars. More vendors on the street. Expensive prices for things. Fancy international designer perfume and clothing shops. And a few times people in the grocery store seemed to intentionally shove or at least bump me in a hurry to pass by (the aisle was plenty wide, but they needed my space). Our hotel TV gets both CNN Europe and BBC World channels and the buffet for breakfast had coffee, omelets and sausage included in the price of stay, so we’ll not lose weight as we did on the first trip May 3-April 8.
After walking around Almaty for just an hour this morning and getting some groceries, we’ve taken a long nap and are just in waiting mode now. Sleep was much needed but we have a new family member to go look after.
The flight in was smooth – the Germans love their cigarettes too much so the Frankfurt Airport was a difficult place to find 4 hours of rest during a 6-hour layover. We eventually settled on some padded benches at a colossal McDonald’s food court in terminal 2. Highly recommended if you, too, wish to avoid the $240 day rate at the Sheraton.
Our flight from Frankfurt went by surprisingly quickly, and we got in at 11:30, were picked up by driver Nicholai and coordinator Oleg – and whisked to the Kazzhol Hotel (we expected to be in the Hotel Kazakhstan but this place is just fine, and cheaper). They’ve put a crib in our room and we went to a large supermarket that had everything we could possibly want – baby food and juice in all flavors and sizes.
It’s a national holiday – I think it’s Victory Day – so many people are wearing green military hats with red stars on them and there are many icons of national and civic pride around. In Almaty (Alma Ata) this includes apples, because it’s the home of the world’s first wild apples. (Benjamin and Jacob, that’s for show and tell on Monday
For the last 4 weeks in Miami, I have had to pinch myself to believe that we ever left town and spent more than a month in Kostanai, or that we spoke Russian, or saw tractors and belly dancers. But today it feels oddly natural to be speaking Russian again, and reading Kazakh signs. It means I wasn't hallucinating about the first trip, and it seems we're actually in a far-away land doing fun things like adopting a princess.
The city is beautiful with lots of trees and parks (as leafy as Gainesville, Fla. perhaps) – I would be eager to spend a month here. But compared with Kostanai, it’s very urban. Many more cars. More vendors on the street. Expensive prices for things. Fancy international designer perfume and clothing shops. And a few times people in the grocery store seemed to intentionally shove or at least bump me in a hurry to pass by (the aisle was plenty wide, but they needed my space). Our hotel TV gets both CNN Europe and BBC World channels and the buffet for breakfast had coffee, omelets and sausage included in the price of stay, so we’ll not lose weight as we did on the first trip May 3-April 8.
After walking around Almaty for just an hour this morning and getting some groceries, we’ve taken a long nap and are just in waiting mode now. Sleep was much needed but we have a new family member to go look after.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
It's official now
We got word from MAPS that the appeals period is now safely behind us, and our coordinator Zhanat (make that, "fabulous and charming coordinator") is in possession of Morgan's birth certificate, adoption certificate and the final, official court decree. Next on the adventure - she will apply for passport documents and travel stamps so that we can bring her (drum roll)... HOME!
Monday, April 16, 2007
Three weeks to Trip II and counting...
We've been back, amazingly, for one week already. We've had receptions with many friends and it's great to be back home in Miami, but we miss our daughter Morgan very much. We're counting down three weeks remaining until we can return to Kazakhstan and pick her up in Almaty.
I've also been fighting a sore throat for almost four weeks now and I plan to go treat it with some antibiotics finally.
Our trip to Kaz was fantastic in many ways and was much better than we had imagined it could be before departure. Of course we would prefer never again to see the shower we suffered with for five weeks. But the food was awesome, and I will seek out Karaganda beer wherever it might be found in the U.S. We miss our fantastic coordinator, Zhanat, who was 50% new family member and 50% lifeline for survival and adoption process.
We're happy for Nan and Jim, who successfully cleared court last week and for Kelly, who should by now have Sabina safely back in Manhattan or thereabouts. Here's a shout out to Ryan, Chris, and Jenn; and to Bruce and Marci - we hope we see you all at the Aul sometime.
I've also been fighting a sore throat for almost four weeks now and I plan to go treat it with some antibiotics finally.
Our trip to Kaz was fantastic in many ways and was much better than we had imagined it could be before departure. Of course we would prefer never again to see the shower we suffered with for five weeks. But the food was awesome, and I will seek out Karaganda beer wherever it might be found in the U.S. We miss our fantastic coordinator, Zhanat, who was 50% new family member and 50% lifeline for survival and adoption process.
We're happy for Nan and Jim, who successfully cleared court last week and for Kelly, who should by now have Sabina safely back in Manhattan or thereabouts. Here's a shout out to Ryan, Chris, and Jenn; and to Bruce and Marci - we hope we see you all at the Aul sometime.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Wednesday Morgan Pic
Thanks to Nan Wolfe for snapping this pic of Morgan today even though she and Jim were in court. Their blog describes a tough day in court today. We are hoping that all goes well for them and that they can clear up the bureaucratic glitch.
Monday, April 9, 2007
Back in Miami now
We made it back to Miami Monday afternoon following a pleasant but long Lufthansa flight via Frankfurt. We miss Morgan a LOT already (boo-hoo, boo-hoo) and thanks to Nan and Jim for taking a pic recently to show that she seems to have gotten (surprise) even bigger yet, already.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Happy Easter!
Morgan got just a bunny nibble of chocolate-chip banana bread when caregivers weren't lookin'.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Food, glorious food
We are within a couple days of returning home so I thought it would be nice to adore the food we've enjoyed for the last 5 weeks. It's amazing how little fast food a city needs. People here are slim, healthy and live to be old old old, even though they smoke and drink heavily.
Fahn Shan (the Chinese Place) - as close to downtown as you can get in Kostanai, the Chinese place has an English menu and the gent who served us on two occasions spoke basic English too. The best menu items are spicy pork and sweet-and-sour chicken. Atmosphere is authentic, and it's clearly popular with the locals.
Nautilus - Cool décor and good food, if you can figure out the menu. It's challenging to read because it's not just Cyrillic - it's italic, which makes it difficult. Myaso (grilled meat) is the word to know when ordering - it comes out as satay-style beef cubes on sticks, rather than shashlik, but it's tasty and fresh. Avoid the salads at all costs - we got food poisoning from one of those "prawns" or the soggy lettuce it came with.
Dolce Vita - The pizza cafe popular with kids of all ages seems to be managed by Miss Lena and her boyfriend Dennis. Their pizza is excellent and we've eaten Pizza Romana almost every other day while here - that's a LOT of pizza. Their tomato soup is hearty; ravioli stuffed with mushrooms was terrific; chicken with ham on rigatoni was salty and garlicky, which was good for us but might be strong for some. Location: 72 Al Farabi near the university.
Traktir (The Russian Pub) - is another hit with us. We love their chicken dishes and mashed potatoes. Service is attentive and the other customers make for interesting people-watching. Salads are safe to eat and worth trying, as long as you like mayonnaise.
"Assol" - The restaurant named for a character in a romantic children's fairy tale, has a handwritten menu and is open for lunch only. It's the cheapest, best food we had in Kostanai at 500 tenge for two. Goulash was tangy and hearty. Plov (pilaf) had plenty of lamb in it, and was hearty and filling. Be prepared to read handwritten Russian with no English spoken here. We think it's a company lunch room so the atmosphere is kind of institutional but clean.
Kostanai Tourist Hotel Restaurant - Has an English menu, good service and a decent selection of wines. Our food was excellent and we had a nice view of the park - not many other restaurants actually view the Central Park from a window. Inexpensive with very good service.
Bavarian Cafe - Is a little bit West on Al Farabi street, and has terrific interior design, very attentive service and great food, with an English menu. But prices are high enough that we've only been once, though we plan to go again tonight. Beef covered with ground nuts and spices was very good. Nice wine list.
Mango Cafe - At the West end of Al Farabi near the train station, Mango Cafe has good food and a nice cafe atmosphere. Excellent people watching, so don't be in a hurry. Our favorite dishes are the lamb again - "Kazbek" lamb is grilled with pomegranate seeds, and other dishes are similarly creative and filling. Not expensive.
The Korean Restaurant - Other than the condiments and the owner's family, there was not much authentically Korean about this restaurant, but our lamb and chicken dishes were good. Actually the grilled lamb was excellent. The pork chop was weirdly covered in cheese and mayonnaise, but underneath it was a good cut of meat. The decor is new and bright and clean, and service very attentive.
Goldfish Cafe - it's close to the Aidana Plaza Hotel, and has an English menu, but no staff understands English. Their plov (pilaf) is good, and their chicken was good too. They offer breakfast - with pancakes - but we didn't have a chance to try it.
Knights Castle - One of a handful of actual Restaurants we went to - with higher prices but there's a floor show (dancers). They have an English menu and many items were appealing, but they got our order wrong and the lamb dish was mostly fat, not lean. The decor inside is unbelievable, it feels like a Disney attraction. The dancers were interesting but not amazing.
Baron Munchausen - We expected a more Germanic cuisine, but it was generally Russian pub food at this interesting theme restaurant. The English menu is an interesting read - each menu item is named with a little lie or joke of some kind. Salads were tasty and creative. Our entrees were really delicious and attractively presented.
444 - In the remote countryside East of town, this ranchero had a live band and dance show. The shashlik (kebabs) were the main attraction, and were delicous. I would suggest ordering a few extra skewers because the portions weren't much. The salads were fresh and tasty and the service very attentive. The show was fun and well choreographed, considering where we were.
What there's not - No McDonald's or Burger King, or Wendy's or any Western franchises at all, for that matter. No Starbucks or 7-Eleven. And we haven't missed them at all.
Fahn Shan (the Chinese Place) - as close to downtown as you can get in Kostanai, the Chinese place has an English menu and the gent who served us on two occasions spoke basic English too. The best menu items are spicy pork and sweet-and-sour chicken. Atmosphere is authentic, and it's clearly popular with the locals.
Nautilus - Cool décor and good food, if you can figure out the menu. It's challenging to read because it's not just Cyrillic - it's italic, which makes it difficult. Myaso (grilled meat) is the word to know when ordering - it comes out as satay-style beef cubes on sticks, rather than shashlik, but it's tasty and fresh. Avoid the salads at all costs - we got food poisoning from one of those "prawns" or the soggy lettuce it came with.
Dolce Vita - The pizza cafe popular with kids of all ages seems to be managed by Miss Lena and her boyfriend Dennis. Their pizza is excellent and we've eaten Pizza Romana almost every other day while here - that's a LOT of pizza. Their tomato soup is hearty; ravioli stuffed with mushrooms was terrific; chicken with ham on rigatoni was salty and garlicky, which was good for us but might be strong for some. Location: 72 Al Farabi near the university.
Traktir (The Russian Pub) - is another hit with us. We love their chicken dishes and mashed potatoes. Service is attentive and the other customers make for interesting people-watching. Salads are safe to eat and worth trying, as long as you like mayonnaise.
"Assol" - The restaurant named for a character in a romantic children's fairy tale, has a handwritten menu and is open for lunch only. It's the cheapest, best food we had in Kostanai at 500 tenge for two. Goulash was tangy and hearty. Plov (pilaf) had plenty of lamb in it, and was hearty and filling. Be prepared to read handwritten Russian with no English spoken here. We think it's a company lunch room so the atmosphere is kind of institutional but clean.
Kostanai Tourist Hotel Restaurant - Has an English menu, good service and a decent selection of wines. Our food was excellent and we had a nice view of the park - not many other restaurants actually view the Central Park from a window. Inexpensive with very good service.
Bavarian Cafe - Is a little bit West on Al Farabi street, and has terrific interior design, very attentive service and great food, with an English menu. But prices are high enough that we've only been once, though we plan to go again tonight. Beef covered with ground nuts and spices was very good. Nice wine list.
Mango Cafe - At the West end of Al Farabi near the train station, Mango Cafe has good food and a nice cafe atmosphere. Excellent people watching, so don't be in a hurry. Our favorite dishes are the lamb again - "Kazbek" lamb is grilled with pomegranate seeds, and other dishes are similarly creative and filling. Not expensive.
The Korean Restaurant - Other than the condiments and the owner's family, there was not much authentically Korean about this restaurant, but our lamb and chicken dishes were good. Actually the grilled lamb was excellent. The pork chop was weirdly covered in cheese and mayonnaise, but underneath it was a good cut of meat. The decor is new and bright and clean, and service very attentive.
Goldfish Cafe - it's close to the Aidana Plaza Hotel, and has an English menu, but no staff understands English. Their plov (pilaf) is good, and their chicken was good too. They offer breakfast - with pancakes - but we didn't have a chance to try it.
Knights Castle - One of a handful of actual Restaurants we went to - with higher prices but there's a floor show (dancers). They have an English menu and many items were appealing, but they got our order wrong and the lamb dish was mostly fat, not lean. The decor inside is unbelievable, it feels like a Disney attraction. The dancers were interesting but not amazing.
Baron Munchausen - We expected a more Germanic cuisine, but it was generally Russian pub food at this interesting theme restaurant. The English menu is an interesting read - each menu item is named with a little lie or joke of some kind. Salads were tasty and creative. Our entrees were really delicious and attractively presented.
444 - In the remote countryside East of town, this ranchero had a live band and dance show. The shashlik (kebabs) were the main attraction, and were delicous. I would suggest ordering a few extra skewers because the portions weren't much. The salads were fresh and tasty and the service very attentive. The show was fun and well choreographed, considering where we were.
What there's not - No McDonald's or Burger King, or Wendy's or any Western franchises at all, for that matter. No Starbucks or 7-Eleven. And we haven't missed them at all.
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