Home from Russia!!!

My journey has finally ended! After a nearly 38 hour trip home, I arrived in Kansas City yesterday morning. The trip home was long!!!! Fortunately, it was a fairly smooth trip from Moscow to New York to Detroit (spent the night) to St. Louis to Kansas City! WOW!!! A lot of travel! Though it was a long trip to KC, I am glad to be home!!

Lawmakers, Leopards and Roads Swelter in July Heat Wave

During our time in Moscow, we have really had to deal with the heat that has blanketed Russia over the past month. It was reported today that this summer is the hottest in Moscow for 30 years. This article was in The Moscow Times today and we wanted to share it with our friends and families back home. I know we are definitely ready to return to more favorable temperatures in the US, or in my case (and several other Midwesterners), at least air conditioning!!! (Click on the post title to be forwarded to the article.)

Final Day in Moscow

I can't believe this day is here. It is our last day in Russia! How did we spend our day....just like any other tourist...shopping!!!! ;)

This morning we visited Izmailovsky Park. This is a special souvenir park in Moscow that has hundreds of stalls for people to sell different types of Russian souvenirs. Unfortunately for us, it is Friday. Most of the stalls were empty today because they only come on weekends. But we did just fine with the selection we had. There were thousands of matryoshka dolls, jewelry, magnets, painted wooden souvenirs, lacquer boxes, traditional Russian clothes, and much more. I think everyone had a great time shopping at the outdoor market!!

After our shopping spree, we had the afternoon free. On our way to the embassy yesterday, Will and I saw a Russian sports store that we wanted to check out. So we had some more join us to find it again. The store is Bosco Sport. It is the official store of the Russian Olympic Team. Everything in the store is clothing that the Olympic Team wears. Shirts, shorts, jackets, pants, socks, shoes, winter boots, coats, and more. It was really cool!!! They even had t-shirts for the Sochi Olympics. Boys and girls - Sochi is a town in Russia that will be hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics. They are really excited about the Olympics and are already selling things for it. I bought a t-shirt and one of their mascots for the Sochi games!!! He is cute!

In the evening, we walked to a local Georgian restaurant for our farewell dinner. It was fantastic! Of course, as with Russian meals, the Georgian meal was several courses and we were pleasantly full when we finished eating. As a surprise, Bonnie, Bridget, and Sean gave out special 'awards' to each of our group members as parting gifts.

Wendy - The Pioneer

Natalie - Goodwill Ambassador

Julie - Anthrapologist

Paul - The True Slavic Soul

Vinton - Cunning Linguist

Amy - True Soviet Olympian

Attalia - Best Cartographer

Will - Reconnaissance Man

Bridget - True Fashionista

Sean - True Star Pupil

Bonnie - Rough Guide Russia

Kelly - True Diplomat

Embassy Visit

We had an interesting day today. The day began at the US Embassy in Moscow. I was really excited to go to the embassy and see what it is like. Outside the buildings are not stunning, but once inside the complex, we were taken to the main embassy building which was very beautiful. All around the grounds were blooming flowers of red, white, and blue and it was nice to see an American flag hanging in the courtyard.

We spent our morning listening to different embassy officers describe what their departments do and how they help make connections between Russia and the US. We heard about political, human rights, cultural, economic, environmental, health, and consular issues. The officers were all positive in their outlook of our relationship with Russia. This has been changing toward the positive since President Obama and President Medvedev created a Bilateral Presidential Commission that includes 17 working groups, of various topics, that are working to improve our relations between the two countries. Our morning was extremely informative!

After a quick lunch, we went by metro to our next appointment. The afternoon was spent talking to Tim Stubbs. He is a University of Michigan alum and for the past 19 years, has worked in Moscow as a lawyer. Mr. Stubbs and one of the other partners of the firm, described for us how they help domestic and international companies move into the Russian system. It was interesting to hear how they view Russia and how it has changed since the fall of the Soviet Union.

The rest of the evening was free so Kelly, Vint, Julie, and I decided to go to Old Arbat, an area of Moscow that is a pedestrian street filled with cafes, art vendors, souvenirs, and live musicians. It was really nice to stroll the street and enjoy the hot Moscow evening.

Tretyakov Gallery

Our afternoon today was spent at the Tretyakov Gallery. In the 19th century, a Moscow merchant Pavel Tretyakov opened a gallery of Russian artwork. Today the gallery contains about 150,000 works of art from the 11th through the 20th centuries. The gallery has paintings, drawings, scultures, and icons. Below is a picture of the front of the Tretyakov Gallery, as well as a statue of Pavel Tretyakov.

We followed a guide that took us to the masterpieces of the gallery. She took us to the paintings of the 18th and 19th centuries. I saw artwork by Rokotov, Borovikovsky, Kiprensky, Perov, and Vrubel. A special collection that we viewed was by Ivanov. Moscow wanted to build a special church in the early 19th century. For this church they held a competition to see who would decorate the inside of the cathedral. Ivanov won the competition so he began working on his painting. For 25 years, he worked on his masterpiece and he painted close to 500 sketches to make his composition. Another special piece that we saw was a portrait of Tretyakov himself. He commissioned (or asked) Repin, a very famous artist in the 1800s, to complete his portrait.

My favorite part was the collection of icons. The gallery has icons dating back to the 1100s or the 12th century. It is amazing!!! To be looking at a piece of artwork that has been preserved for over 900 years is incredible. The icons in this collection are very beautiful!

Following our tour of the gallery, we walked to the Kolomenskoye Park. This is a special area of Moscow that in the 16th and 17th centuries was a summer getaway for the Russian czars. At that time, this was a place to vacation and relax outside of Moscow. Now, it is a great place to relax by the Moskva River, read in the park, or just enjoy the view!

We decided to enjoy the river again and took another boat ride. It was so nice to relax and enjoy the beautiful view. It was hard to believe we were in Moscow because it is so peaceful in the park. There are trees everywhere and people are enjoying nature. It was a wonderful way to finish our day!

Kremlin and Armory

Our morning was very productive today. We had a lecture about Russian oil and gasoline and discussed how it impacts the country. The presenter was very funny and helped make the information understandable. Russia is ranked second in the world of barrels of oil pumped per day with the US in the third place. It was very interesting to hear different statistics about Russian oil companies and how they operate in Russia.

After a quick lunch, we rode the metro to downtown Russia. Our afternoon was spent inside the Kremlin. Boys and girls - Kremlin in Russian means 'fortress.' This is a place of protection. Once inside, we toured the many sites of the Kremlin. We saw the building were President Medvedev works, the Czar bell and Czar cannon, the Grand Palace, and Cathedral Square.

Below are pictures of the Czar bell and Czar cannon. They are really big!!! The barrel of the cannon (the green part) weighs 40 tons (or 18 elephants)!!! It is so big that it has never been fired! The Czar bell is even bigger! It weighs 200 tons. When it was being built, a part of the bell broke off and the bell never rang! It is neat to look at though!!!

After our tour, we walked to Armory. This is a special museum that has artifacts that date back to the 12th century - the beginning of Moscow's history. I saw carriages used by Russian czars (rulers), armor and equipment used in battles, dresses, jewelry, gifts from other countries, and my favorites, Faberge eggs. These eggs are very special in Russia. Every Easter, the czar would have a special egg made for his/her family. They are beautiful and very unique designs!!!

When we had toured the armory, we went for a boat ride on the Moskva River. It was wonderful to sit back and enjoy seeing Moscow from the river! It was an amazing way to finish another awesome day in Moscow!!!

Moscow City Tour

We had our first day of lectures and activities in Moscow today. We met the director of the universities high school and discussed how this school is connected with the university. Also, we met with the rector of the university. He told us all about the university and the programs that are offered here. Our lecture was over the Cold War today. It was interesting.

My favorite part of the day was our tour of downtown Moscow. Our guide took us to Red Square, St. Basil's Cathedral, the Christ Savior Cathedral, GUM shopping center, metro, overlook of Moscow, and more. I love Moscow and am excited to get back to several of the landmarks and learn more about them in the next few days.

I had to take a picture of this matryoshka (stacking doll). I couldn't believe it when I saw it. A matryoshka of a Kansas State football player!!! Go Cats!!!