Showing posts with label Fun. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fun. Show all posts

Monday, June 20, 2011

Traveling Update - Pit Stop in Moscow

The train from Novgorod to Moscow arrived here in Moscow at 4:30AM and we stored our luggage at the next train station because the next train doesn't leave until 2PM so we are hanging out in a McDonalds for a little bit longer till more of the shops and stuff open and I am confident that the only struggle we will have with occupying this extended lay over is finding the energy to put one foot in front of the other. We are extremely tired, good thing we will have 18 hours on the next train, pray we can get good rest. There is no internet on the train so the next update will be from Samara. I will fill in more of the details of our days so far on the last day when we get back to Moscow, I will have more time a solid wifi connection and will be better rested. We are keeping track of it all with pictures and notes. Most of you keep telling us to "stay safe," we are safe and healthy (other than allergies) so pray for rest on trains and planes more than anything.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

June 19 - Honorable Breakfast

So today was a very special day. Bradley and I were served a breakfast of kings. Apparently we are considered very special guests. Unfortunately not everything that is considered an honor to be served tastes very good. We had crepes with apple jelly that was made by our host Margarita from apples that grow in her garden, the crepes were fantastic. The special treat was what we were unsure about. It was a small pastry that kind of looked like a miniature basket of apples, but the texture looked a little off. Our host did not eat with us so Bradley and I flipped a coin to see who would take the first bite. I lost. I took a very small bite and it tasted like I bit into a cup of ammonia. Our pallets just were not ready for it. So Bradley grabbed a small piece off the top of his and decided against a bigger bite. Turns out this special treat was caviar, and it costs a lot of money here. So later in the day when we showed our translator the picture and she informed us of this honor. We asked that she would explain how much we appreciate the gesture to Margarita and that we were sorry we could not eat it.

As Always thanks for your time and giving this a read. If you enjoyed it share it with friends, you can do so easily with one of the buttons below. I pray that you will embrace life in the Love and Grace offered to you through Jesus Christ, and that you will always remember Jeremiah 29:11.  – For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, Plans to Proper You and not for harm, Plans with Hope for the Future.

June 17 - The Great Novgorod

Today we arrived in Novgorod really early in the morning. We began the day with breakfast in our family homes then met back together and took a tour of a Russian Orthodox Monastery,  Alex  is getting a new appreciation for the United States and the Methodist Church because of how differently women are treated and viewed. After touring the Monastery we toured a wooden history museum that showed life in the 1880s in Russia. We then had lunch in park at a very nice little restaurant. Things in Novgorod are much cheaper than in Moscow, for example a taxi in Moscow could cost 10x what a taxi cost in Novgorod. Once we had finished lunch we toured the Kremlin which we figured out basically means fort or castle and we led on the tour by a native who teaches English and History, she was full of wonderful information. Novgorod is the oldest city in Russia and was very important in the history or Russia itself, so the 1000 year monument to celebrate Russia's 1000th birthday was built here. It is a bell shaped piece with all the influential figures in Russian history. We learned many legends about Russian and specifically Novgorod history. After the tour we headed back to our host family homes and ate dinner. After eating we all met back at Natalia's flat (the pastor of the church here) and hung out with two Russian college students and played games, charades was interesting playing with different languages. Lots of fun was had by all of us.

Day In Moscow – June 16th

We had a wonderful breakfast in the hotel. We discovered that what they call pancakes us and the French would call crepes. It was buffet style breakfast with plenty to eat including lots of fruit. The front desk of the hotel allowed us to store our luggage with them for the day and we walked about 15 minutes to take the Metro. We got all day passes and headed off to Red Square. The Kremlin building was closed when we arrived because there was going to be a ceremony in front of the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We just happened to be walking by the perfect spot to witness that when we began to notice a crowd start gathering, so we took it all in. After watching the ceremony we visited the underground mall and had lunch at Sbarro. After lunch we continued into the actual square and walked past Lennon’s Tomb, and took many pictures of St. Basil’s Cathedral.  We took a tour of the inside of the cathedral and were amazed by such a wonderful church. We got to see a room of relics including a bible that was printed in 1682, and heard a men’s choir singing in the main worship space. As we were leaving St. Basil’s we noticed there was a movie being filmed right next to us. We guessed it to be an old war movie based on how people were dressed.  There is a very large Russian Orthodox church nearby called Christ Church which is where current Russian leader Vladimir Putin attends worship. We decided to go and check it out, however Alex and Anastasia did not have head covers and Bradley and I were wearing shorts so we were not allowed in. From there we took the metro to the Methodist Theological Seminary of Russia in Moscow. They were very glad to have us visit and showed us around the facility including the office of the Bishop. After the tour they invited us in to the dining room for some tea and cookies. Thanks to our wonderful translator we had some excellent conversations. Before we knew it, it was time for dinner so we went with our new friends to “MY-MY” pronounced Moo Moo. It is a cafeteria style restaurant with a big dairy cow statue out front. It was our first experience with actual Russian food. As soon as we finished dinner  it was time to get back to the hotel quickly to collect our luggage and get to the train station. We finally found a minivan taxi once we had gotten within a block of the hotel, there was plenty of room for all of us and our luggage and we made it to the train station in plenty of time.
The train ride was an adventure itself described best by the pictures that will be uploaded, it was basically a car full of bunk beds. The train itself didn’t go very fast but was surprisingly smooth which for me made it easy to sleep. We arrived in Novgorod at 6AM on the 17th and were greeted by Natalia, Sasha, and Margarita, they would be our hosts for the next several days. We are now in our host homes and getting ready for breakfast.

ADDED:
This is Lenin's Library, we did not go in, it was just there when we came up from the subway.
 The kids are confused again because they don't know where they are, they can't read the signs and are starting to believe the joke they started that we were trying to sell them.

This is the history building that makes up part of Red Square
 This is Lenin's Tomb, Bradley was confused as to why one of the Beatles was so highly honored among the Communist leaders.
 We were there on some sort of military holiday and they had a celebration at the "Eternal Flame" which is essentially the same as the tomb of the unknown soldier.
 St. Basil's Cathedral
 This is a former government building that even housed offices of Communist officials, During the Communist Era the churches were forced to stop preaching the gospel and to take down their crosses, yet if you notice this building this specific entrance which is right across from Lenin's Tomb has an Icon of Christ above the entrance that remained in place the entire time. On another note the building now serves as an upscale shopping mall.
 Is this what the sky looked like when Jesus got Baptized?
 The other side of the History building, could you have guessed that its part of Red Square?
 This is a statue of Alexander the Great right across from the Christ Church.
 This is Christ Church, the Russian Orthodox Church that Vladimir Putin Currently attends
 Another Picture of the church
 And another... I think I just really liked the way the sky looked
 Alex was tired of walking, and was not very happy with the Russian Orthodox Church because they wouldn't let her in without covering her head.
 These two Babushkas were singing about God while begging for money for food, not to far from the Russian United Methodist Seminary. We gave to them, but they touched our hearts.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Russia Update - A night on the town - Moscow

Tonight (Wednesday night for us Wednesday day for y'all) we went around Moscow and had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. Our waitress Olga spoke great English and gave great service, we will be eating more frugally for the duration of the trip but from now on our wonderful youth will be able to tell their friends "I had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe in Moscow." After dinner we walked the city center and were entertained by the various shops we walked by and the street performers. We are back at the hotel now and about to sleep for the night most of us are exhausted. Tomorrow will be more touring of Moscow followed by an overnight train to Novgorod. Our next update will probably be Friday in Novgorod unless we are able to find a hot spot. The weather here is absolutely prefect by the way.

ADDED:

This is a picture of Arbot Street it is the main tourist street in Moscow, only foot traffic and a lot of street performers. This is also the street that the Hard Rock Cafe was on. In case you were wondering, this picture was taken at like 9:45 PM


This is a picture of the view from my window at the Bega Hotel in Moscow, we were on the 11th floor. This building that you can see is one of 7 identical buildings throughout the city that are reffed to7 Sisters (if you Google it search "seven sisters Moscow")

In an effort to try and figure out the Russian Alphabet, I took this picture of a Russian blackberry with a full keyboard. Unfortunately I still haven't figured it out

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Russia - at the airport

So we are at the airport now we are checked in and thru security. Singapore airlines greated our group with a gift. We have had amazing customer service so far and we haven't even gotten on the plane yet! Next time we will be able to update will be tomorrow. We land in Moscow at 2pm which will be about 5am here in Texas!!! Keep us in your prayers
We are on the road to Houston then straight to Moscow!!!