Relaxing Day!

Today we went to a lake outside the city. It was a great time of relaxing around the fire. Robbie and Jess tried to go swimming. They jumped in and then turned around and got out. The water was about 45 degrees! Brrr!! Hiking and roasted sandwiches rounded out the day. See you all soon. :)

Moscow

We took a train to Moscow on Monday evening. We had a whirl-wind tour of the city with Mike and Nastia.

The return train ride was interesting...especially our russian roomates. "Alexander justs wants to party allllllllllll the time!" :)

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The Flowers are Blooming!!!

WAKEY MANKEY

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Fountains, Fountains and more Fountains!!!!!!

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This picture is illegal.


Props.

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Church on acid?

St. Basil, Moscow

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Apperently, they let church architects due in Russia.

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Ready, Set, Squat!!!!


P.S. Cho anyone?

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They had a butterfly collection.

Flotsom and Jepsom Top Quote List

A Tribute to Our Most Eloquent Professors -

"ROB! MIKE! FLESH! WAKE UP!"
"Bridget! This is a state of emergency! The potatoes arent peeled."
"It's no big deal, just a stolen purse."
"Brian and Emily are making babies tonight everyone."
"Smells like skanky towel to me."
-Marty Evans

"This plane lands at 500 miles an hour guys."
"You're just hungry because your bio-chemistry is changing."
"Mike Lesslie, this is all your fault - you deal with it."
(Bryan and Mike: "Heather, we want to sleep in the window sill, too.")
"GO TO BED YOU FREAKING IDIOTS..."
"The last time I saw my mom this crazy was in the fall of '88."
-Heather O'Grady-Evans

Weather

So, just an update on the weather. By now you have seen the pictures of us at the beach. The weather has hovered around 80 degrees. It has been beautiful, but the tides have turned. Yesterday it dropped down to 30 degrees. As you probably have guessed, ITS COLD!!!!! I feel a snow shower coming on. I mean common folks, we came to Russia for the complete experience. 50 degree temperature drops are all part of the package! All doing well and having a wonderful experience - and a completely Russian one! Check out the photos and blog comments to the students. We would love to hear from you!
HLOE

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Cloth and linen domestic interiors? Anyone have a spare few thounsand hours without anything to do? Tackle these! :)O

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Traditional northwest territory attire. Look at that needle work! Wow!

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Typical Cossak attire. A crawler's dance anyone?

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20th Century Russian dwelling, Small but Cozy!

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Did you know that Shutter Bugs bit smurfs!? Just Kidding! Shannon and Robbie love taking photos in the Museums.

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This is the Hall of Ethnicity. The relief depicts all of the ethnicities of Russia.

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80 degrees, Sunny, Tanned, But its not the Bahamas!!!! What did the ICE give it away?

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Watch your feet! Brianne and Brian feel out the trenches of World War II.

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So, this is where they kept the fine china in the pill box! We were wondering about that :)

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No worries, No Bullets !!!

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Peter answering questions for Saima about World War II.

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Bryan queitly reflects at the grave of a fallen WWII soldier.

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This wall lists the names of the soldiers who fought in the war.

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This bunker was turned into a memorial of WWII. It sits above the graves of the soldiers who fought in the war.

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Peter was our guide as we explored the Pill Boxes of WWII

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No just for voting adults. Everyone of every age joins in the parading! Talk about learning your voting rights from a young age! :)

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Look at all the Red White and Blue! This is the United Russia political group waiting for the fun to start. Their mascot is the Polar Bear. No mules or elephants here!!!

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Did you think we came to march with the Russian Democrats!?

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Peasant Woman Harvesting. This is classified as modern art and is in the style of Leger. It is done in Industrial Form which is part of the Russian Realist Movement.

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This is a modern Russian Popculture Sculpture.

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Knight at a Crossroads. This painting reminded some of us of the song "One Tin Soldier"

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The Ninth Wave. This photo is on display in the Russian Art Museum.

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These are icons of the early Russian Orthadox Church. They are some of the oldest pieces in the Museum.

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This is the front of the Russian Art Museum. It was under restoration.

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Wow! What a wonderful day of sun in the Bahamas, Ooops! I mean the Gulf Finland, Russia

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After a long tour of Kronstadt we stopped for drinks and snacks before our picnic.

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This old church is undergoing extensive renovations. We were surprised when the surrounding fence had barbed-wire. We were able to go in and look around though. It was beautiful

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Kronstadt was a naval base for Russia. The ships here were beautiful.

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Hannah K. had a birthday while we were here. We decided to dress up and go celebrate.

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Nick and Heather near the Summer Garden.

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Jess programs the rocket to take off. Plug your ears!!!

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Hold your breath we're going under. Shanon stands in front of one of the single man Russian subs.

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One of the many ship models in the Russian Naval Museum.

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Jess standing in front of the Russian Seal in the Navy Museum.

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Shanon leads the way into the Naval Museum.

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Kunstkammer is sea green and can been seen on the Vasilevskiy Island. The building of George Mattarnoviy was constructed in 1718-34 to exhibit Peter the Great's infamous oddities of Anthropology and Anatomy.

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Tessa sits on the statue of Peter the Great, which was created by Mikhail Chemiakin in 1991. It's head was created from the death mask of Peter the Great. The rest of his body is out of proportion. This statue is located in Peter and Paul Fortress.

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This is the alter within the SS Peter and Paul Cathedral.

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These are some of the remains of the Tsars after Peter the Great reign.

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These are the remains of the Romanov monarchs reburied in 1998. The remains are in the SS Peter and Paul Cathedral with many other Tsars.

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Heather gave us a tour of the Grand Ducal burial vaul and the Cathedral of SS Peter and Paul.

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The Cathedral of SS Peter and Paul has marble columns, glittered chandeliers, and painted decor combined with Ivan Zarudnyy's carved and glided iconostasis to create a magnificent setting for the tombs of the Romanov monarchs.

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SS Peter and Paul Cathedral.