Волгоград:Volgograd

This was my first city in the mission. It is one of the longest cities in the world, stretching over 50 miles long and only 1-2 miles wide, all built upon the West bank of the mighty Volga River. Volgograd, which was called Stalingrad in soviet times, was completed destroyed during the German invasion of World War II. It currently has a population of just over 1 million.

The "Mother of Russia" statue stands at the highest point in the city. She is looking back to call the Russian armies on, as they battled the Germans to defend their city. This is the main statue of an entire complex of memorials, all dedicated to the Battle of Stalingrad. As with every good Russian monument, it's GIGANTIC!

 Margo and I with Sister Luba

Margo and I with Brother Kamo and Sister Nadezhda

Here is what's left of the last building standing in Volgograd after World War II.

You can guess that Russians really don't like Germans.

On the banks of the Volga River

I really haven't been the best at staying up with people since I left the mission, 

but it was great that even with all the time that has passed we were able to see 

so many people and catch up on each others lives.

I lived in Volgograd for 6 months and hadn't been back for 6 years. Not much had really changed.
I had a great time seeing the same places and walking the same roads I did as missionary. I was surprised at how many memories came flowing back that were triggered by seeing a particular street, house, or building. I did have a great beginning to my mission in Volgograd. One of my favorite parts of the whole trip was being able to show all of these things to Margo.

Margo sitting where the babushkas usually sat outside my first apartment

Москва:Moscow

Moscow is a bustling urban center of over 10 million people. While it is all things Russian, it is by far the most modern and "touristy" city on our journey. It is built of the banks of the Moscow River and dotted with dozens of Russian Orthodox Churches, all bearing the signature "onion" dome.

MAIN ATTRACTIONS

Red Square
Look at a road map of Russia and you'll see that all highways truly lead to Moscow. Red Square is where all the roads converge. As the center of this 900-year-old city, this square has seen the evolution of Russia, including the rise and fall of communism.

St. Basil's Cathedral 
This is an iconic signature piece of Russian architecture. Built by Ivan the Terrible in 1561, it has withstood the test of time and narrowly escaped communist plans of demolition. Each tower is its own church, dedicated to a particular Saint.

Lenin's Tomb

Russians look at Vladimir Lenin as the one who put Russia on the map. There are still dozens of statues to Lenin throughout Russia. Even though the faults of communism have been exposed and Russia has embraced a new government, they continue to pay respect to their past leader who, in their minds, was one of their greatest. Lenin died in 1924 and his body has been on permanent display in a mausoleum on Red Square ever since. During communism, Russian citizens would stand in lines for hours to see him. Good thing he has a glass case around him because if he didn't and someone sneezed, there probably wouldn't be any Lenin left.

Note from Margo: I knew Lenin's actual body was there. I don't know when I heard about it, but I've known for a long time and always thought it was maybe a bit strange.  Okay, as weird as it is when you think about Lenin's ACTUAL body being on disply, it is a billion times more weird/ creepy when you see it (or at least it was for me)... and I won't lie I had to laugh a little that he is still hanging around, hence my slightly unsure expression in the picture below.

Cathedral of Christ the Savior

This church was completed in the 1860's in gratitude to God for saving Russia from Napoleon's armies. In the 1930's, Stalin ordered that the church be demolished to make room for a Soviet Palace, which was never built. The church was rebuilt to it's original specifications in 2001. It's a good example of Soviet disregard for religion/cultural history and their pompous thinking that they were all powerful. I love that Russia's Christian roots survived well through decades of communism. This church is gigantic: 344 feet tall! In comparison, the Salt Lake Temple is 222 feet tall and the Washington DC Temple is 288 feet tall.

"The Children- Victims of Adult Vices"

This probably wouldn't make the list if you Googled "top 10 sights in Moscow," but Margo and I stumbled upon it in a city park and thought that it is actually very powerful. This is a series of statues by Mikhail Shemyakin. Thirteen figures portraying various adult and societal vices are closing in on a young boy and girl playing. It reminds us of the true innocence of children and how without proper teaching and guidance, children can become tainted and corrupted by the evils of this world. The sculptor said this monument is a call "to fight for the salvation of today and future generations." The thirteen depicted vices are drug addiction, prostitution, theft, alcoholism, ignorance, irresponsible science, indifference, propaganda, sadism, for those without memory, exploitation of child labor, poverty, and war.

Moscow Metro

The Moscow Metro is awesome. Each station has unique architecture, trains come every 1-2 minutes, and you pay a flat rate to travel as far as you want. It's also very deep, hence the ginormous escalators.

Bolshoi Theater

The famous performing arts venue for Russia. The largest of the theaters has the unique name "big" theater. Unfortunately, it was closed for remodeling.

And.... a few more pictures just for fun:

Another cool church

Monument to Peter the Great

Pinocchio!

That's a lot of locks

A funny world peace monument

20 rubles per use

Our hostel was great

Mapping the trek

6 cities, 14 days 

Looking at this map makes it look like we were playing "Ticket to Ride" aka "The Train Game." 

Still getting there...

I tried to prep Margo for some differences that she'd see in Russia. So when we found a really good deal on tickets from JFK to Moscow with the Russian airline Aeroflot, I thought it might be good for her to see what she was getting herself into:

And I'm sure that Margo, being the positive person that she is, thought, "Well, at least I can pet the puppy for 9.5 hours."

Fortunately for us, Aeroflot has really stepped it up a notch from what you can see in the photograph above and from what I remember as a missionary. Our plane was very nice, complete with good service, free movies, and food that was actually not too bad.

Something I didn't prep Margo for were lines. If you value your personal space and are standing in line, pray there aren't a lot of Russians around because you'll soon find yourself squeezed to the back. Getting on our flight in New York was absolute mayhem because they don't call out row numbers for boarding! Everyone just boards at once! I just laughed and Margo adapted as we found ourselves getting more and more up close and personal with our fellow travelers.

Another note on lines: You really do have to be aggressive to maintain your place. People will jump and bud in line like no other. My favorite was in Kyiv when an old man totally just stepped right in front of us at an ice-cream cone stand. I guess he really couldn't wait any longer for his ice cream cone. I'm thinking if it's this intense at an ice cream cone stand, what's it like at the DMV?..... I don't want to know.

There and Back Again: Our Russian Tale

Dear Family, Friends, and Strangers-

I hope you enjoy excerpts from our adventure.  I'll to share as much detail as possible while keeping it interesting and, despite how fun it would be to add scenes of mafia encounters or getting caught up in some foreign spy action, I'll keep it real.  Some times it might turn into more of a "picture book."  (We had to share the pictures somewhere! Seeing that I haven't scrap booked any of our marriage yet, it might be a while before these pictures make it!)

There and Back Again: Our Russian Tale

 PART ONE: GETTING THERE 

 

 I was just thinking where to even start with sharing our epic journey.. well...

Let's start at the very beginning

A very good place to start.

When you read you begin with 

 A B C

We'll begin with going to

NYC

 We double checked that the lights were off.  Tim took out the garbage and I said another prayer in my heart that no ants would make their uniform trails again.  We navigated our way to BART (yes, we were first timers...) We BARTed to SFO (note on the airport: can you say nice-  it was much nicer than we expected.)  There we took our red eye flight and eventually got to NYC.

Our 8 hour layover provided time for us to leave the airport and catch the best of the best- the NYC Temple.

New York Plan:
1. Go to the temple.
2. Enjoy a classic NYC dog- provided by Gray's Papya
    (The papya juice was rockin! I would skip the pineapple juice next time.)
3. Treat ourselves to some awesome cookies!  Levain's did not disappoint... 
     SO good, but milk is a must with these babies!
4. Stop by Central Park. A nap wasn't in the official plan, but it was definitely welcomed!
5. Just enjoy life.

It worked out flawlessly!

The how and where for our plan was perfected by a friend who recently lived in New York.  She told us the best way to get to and from JFK and where to grab the best bites. Thanks Ruth!