Ярославл

Olga & I decided to get out of Moscow a few weeks ago over International Women's Day weekend (March 8th) and take a short trip to a Golden Ring city, Яарославл (Yaroslavl, in English).  For more information on Яарославл, follow this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaroslavl

For more information on the Golden Ring, follow this link: http://en.wiki.org/Golden_ring

Below are some pics from the trip.

Olga at the end of a pedestrian walkway. 

On the pedestrian walkway...what, no cars coming at me???

Walking along the Voga river.  Uh, not dressed properly for real snow.

On a bridge near one of the churches.

In front of a church and museum.

In front of the Soviet church.  Built in the 1700's I believe.

Does this really make sense??

Масленица Festival

One thing about Russia, there is almost always a festival somewhere, celebrating something. We went to one a few weekends ago, Масленица, that has a dual purpose in Russia. First, it has a religious tone in that it is celebrated the week prior to the beginning of Great Lent, so it is a time of feasting prior to the fasting. Secondarily, it is celebrated as the end of winter...YEAH! The primary food served at the festival is блини (pancakes) with just about any topping you could want....chocolate, condensed milk (I know, we in the west think this sounds gross, but it's really quite tasty!), fish (yuck), etc, etc. So, why serve блини, you may ask? Well, they look like the sun and anyone that has been to Russia in the winter knows that seeing the sun is a VERY rare occurrence. Here is a link if you would like to read up more on the meaning of the festival: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslenitsa







Jay at the festival..they are playing games in the background.









More games at the festival








A traditional Russian dance on the stage








Дама Масленица (Lady Maslenitsa) making her entrance








The traditional burning of Дама Масленица.

Baby Update

Things are progressing quite nicely on the baby-front here. Olga and the baby are both doing very well and both are growing on a daily basis (and this statement should be read in the most positive manner only!). We went for another check up a few weeks ago and everything continues to look great. We had our third ultrasound and our little girl continued to be a bit difficult. She always wants to be active when we are trying to take pics, but will sit very still when I'm trying to feel her kick. Go figure, I believe this may be a preview of what is to come.

From the picture we could see that she has 5 fingers on her left hand and very long legs. For those that know me and Olga, you all know that this comes from mommy, cuz daddy's legs are anything but long!

On the more serious side, I am extremely excited that the pregnancy has been so positive for Olga and I really hope that this continues. I believe the only complaint at this point is that Olga can no longer walk home and chat on the phone at the same time, as she tends to get winded. If that is the worst that she experiences, I believe we should consider this a very uneventful pregnancy.









This is a few weeks old, but doesn't she look great?!

Random Stuff

Just realized that I haven't been out here for a while, so I thought I would post some random pics that I have taken around Moscow over the past month or so. Hope you enjoy and find them interesting.






This should look somewhat familiar. Pic out our window as it snows...looks so peaceful.










Walking to the Embassy one day....you do realize these cars and tire tracks are on the sidewalk, right? Parking is a serious issue here.









Something we don't see much of in the US, a sign showing the exchange rate (Dollar rate on top and Euro on the bottom...obviously taken a while ago, as current exchange rate is about 36 on the dollar).









Another shot of an exchange rate sign...and that snow! Gotta love it when it snows here....and I'm serious, it makes the city look beautiful!












Side of the American Embassy. Destination achieved (needed more pages in my passport....FINALLY).










Heading down into the Metro. I'm not sure this shot does the escalator ride justice, as it is extremely steep and the escalators move at a pretty good clip.








Shot of Christ the Savior Cathedral. This building is massive, unfortunately my photo abilities are limited.











Looking toward the Kremlin from Christ the Savior Cathedral.













Shot from Christ the Savior Cathedral.