Христос воскрес Happy Easter

Easter is one of my favorite holidays. Ever since I can remember it always involved 3 key parts. 1st opening my door Easter morning to find my green bunny shaped basket filled to the brim with candy and surprises. 2nd A challenging Easter egg hunt followed by a classy egg decorating. 3rd a wonderful Easter message at church followed by some well appreciated family time, oh and don't forget about the delicious Easter feast. These things have always been essential parts of Easter, and I had no idea how much I took them for granted. Easter was quite different this year. I woke up to no green bunny, no smell of french toast down stairs and didn't find one Easter egg no matter how hard I looked. It was a typical Sunday. We went to church, Easter seemed to be rarely mentioned oddly enough. We came home to an empty kitchen and cooked a unique feast of macaroni noodles and mini hot dogs. Not the greatest, however, I did get some lovely family time in thanks to skype. I haven't gotten too bad of a case of homesickness yet, but in my mother's words, I was getting a bit trunky on that day. 

The following Sunday was a completely different story. We were on Easter, round two. Russians celebrate Easter a week later than we do. I woke up to cute Sarah coming to get us for a breakfast surprise. We climbed out of bed and followed her and her huge smile down three flights of stairs to the kitchen. There we found Rauni and Reagan with gleaming faces awaiting our arrival, behind them was a huge sign that says Христос воскрес. We enjoyed a delicious meal of scrambled eggs, toast and unique green hash browns. It was such a good surprise! After, Mindy and I (also having the Easter fever) ran upstairs to hide the candy we had bought the day before. The Easter egg hunt was on, it wasn't quite as good as the ones at home, but it's the thought that counts right? The candy was quickly found and we were off to our rooms to get ready. 

Our church was actually cancelled for the day for everyone to watch General Conference so we decided to go to a cathedral to see how the Russians do things for Easter. I chose to go to this beautiful brown cathedral that we always pass on our bus ride to Tushinskya. It conveniently stopped right in front of it and we quickly hopped off. There were people everywhere. We had to cover our heads with scarves before entering the gates, which we being guarded by the military. I have never seen that at a cathedral before so we must have picked a good one. We walked inside passing a windy black staircase and walked into a room filled with beautiful paintings all across the wall and ceiling. There were actually three churches inside this cathedral. They aren't really separate since it is in one giant room, but they have three different areas that you can go to pray I guess. We looked at the first two and watched men, women and children lighting prayer candles and kissing the saints. Then I walked towards the front of the cathedral to the third church which was the biggest ones. It was so gorgeous. The ceilings and walls were covered in mosaic art of the saints and the Savior. I still can't believe how long it would take to put all those tiny rocks in place to make such a beautiful image. 

On the way out we decided to take a gander up those windy stairs we passed. So we began our climb. We came to the end of the first set and there was a room filled with flowers, there was another set of long windy stairs and we hadn't been stopped yet so we continued on up. As we came to the top the view was incredible. You could see the city all around. We looked up to find a priest motioning us up one more flight of stairs. We climbed to the tip top and found ourselves in the bell tower. There here huge bells to my left and medium to tiny ones connected to all sorts of strings to my right. Then there was Micheal, a very friendly priest wearing a long red robe with golden designs all through it. He smiled and motioned to the bells. We took turns playing all of them, with the direction of Micheal. He didn't speak much English and laughed at the noise. I don't think our bell playing matches up to Quasimodo, but it was so fun. The big ones were played by a little foot pedal you stepped on. It was such a great experience. 

After we climbed back down all the stairs (seems to be a never ending occurrence here) we exited the huge wooden doors to find a line of people standing behind all sorts of baked goods just starring straight at us. We quickly moved to the side, thinking this was some sort of bake sale. Just as we were about to go ask how much a certain cake was, we saw some more priest in long black robes come out carrying a nice looking silver bucket with a cross on the front, and what looked like a big paint brush. They began flinging water at the people and the food, come to find out it's "holy water" so they were all waiting for their food to be blessed, I even got a sprinkle on my boot. Within minutes of the priest leaving the food, people and tables were gone. Micheal came down talk to us again and I guess we were talking loud enough for people to hear cause all of the sudden we were surrounded by a crowd of people. All of them so excited to speak English to the Americans, even if they could only say "hello". It was so great. They were so kind, I felt like a celebrity. Then they all broke out into a little choir singing us their Easter songs. By the end I was beaming with delight. 

These two women persuaded us to follow them back into the cathedral where they told us all about their beliefs and what all the symbols mean. They spoke in very broken English and would look at me every few words seeming to think if they starred at me hard enough and continued to repeat the word I would understand. It was so fun to talk to them. They were so proud of their cathedral. They even took us into the front of the big church with the mosaic paintings. It was blocked off, but they just opened the gate and walked on through. Nobody seemed to mind so we followed. Micheal offered to have us join him for a big Easter feast, but unfortunately we had made prior plans to go to the couple missionary's apartment for lunch and to watch the afternoon session of conference. We said our farewells and headed on our way, with memories of an Easter we will never forget. 

The Naegle's have to be one of the cutest couples that I know. We hiked up their apartment (I try to avoid using any elevators in Russia, you never know if you will come back out) and found Sister Naegle and the other ILP girls all gathered around the television. President Monson was about to give his talk from the Sunday morning session. Another one of my favorite traditions is General Conference. I really took it for granted when I was younger, but I greatly missed veggin out all day, wearing my p.j.'s and watching with the family. This was quite a treat to be gathered watching it, even if it was a couple weeks late. We had a delicious lunch filled with homemade rolls and we even got a slice, nope not a scoop, of ice cream. So great. It ended up being a not normal, unforgettable Easter. 

Trains, planes, busses and whitey tighties.

April showers bring May flowers right? I guess this is only true in America, because it definitely was a blizzard today or maybe Russian flowers prefer snow over rain. The past two weeks have been quite the adventure. We had our big holiday and I got to go on a true excursion by train, bus, ferry, and the best mode of transportation, my feet. I tried to stick to the highlights, but it ended up a novel none the less...

Purchasing a backpacking backpack, might have been one of the best decisions I have made. Packing was a joke. Two shirts, leggings, a jacket, a skirt and what I was wearing was my wardrobe for the next week and a half. The rest of the space in my bag was dedicated to food. First time I put my pack on I might have almost tipped over, but caught myself before I tipped too much. We had to bring all of our things to class so we could hop on the bus right after. I crossed my fingers I didn't forget anything as we headed into the city. We met the rest of our group at the metro and headed for the train station. Gulia, our fearless leader with her bright red coat, proceeded to lead us. I swear she should enter a speed walking competition, cause she is always a mile ahead, even with a bad leg and a travel bag. 

As we entered the platform I was amazed. Yep, call me a child but I couldn't help those butterflies from coming. I handed my ticket to the lady, hoping for a cool design like you see on the Polar Express, but she quickly handed it back with some gibberish which I am sure was very useful information. We headed down the long hall way to our cabin. It was just the greatest thing you would ever see. The interior of the train was just like the Hogwart's Express. We sat and chatted with a Russian girl that was in the room next to us as the lady came with a treat basket, not a trolley, but just as great. 

With some Russian words and a flick of the light, we knew it was time to get up. The night was quick. I looked at my clock, 3:50 a.m. Hate that I had just gone to bed less than three hours ago. So of course I turned over and slept a little more. Then the whistle of the train came and I knew we were close. We arrived just before five. St. Petersburg was surprisingly warm, I am beginning to think everywhere is warmer than Moscow. We said goodbye to the rest of the group and set up camp for the next three hours inside the train station. Finally, it was late enough that we could start venturing out into the city. 

The first glimpse of Nevsky Prospect was breath taking. The sun was just rising and the streets were very quiet. We walked and walked up and down. Seeing many cathedrals and glorious shops. We sat inside a bookstore and read while eating breakfast. Nothing opened until ten o'clock. We went to the cathedral of spilled blood which was so beautiful. It looks a lot like St. Basil's Cathedral, but almost even more spectacular. After we headed to the Winter Palace. This was nothing but amazing. I couldn't believe how enormous it was. There were so many things to see from original Picasso paintings to Egyptian mummies. We had to get to our ferry by four and had one more stop to hit before. We were all famished and the thought of American food from the City Grill made our packs feel a little lighter. It was the best food we have had in quite some time, chicken burger and fries, and it was super cheap! 

Our ferry was, well not a ferry at all, it was a full on cruise ship! We settled into our rooms and went upstairs to enjoy live music and read some more. We even got to watch a play. Definitely one of the creepiest play I have ever seen, but still great. It was a surprisingly a pleasant night sleep, but with another early arrival in Helsinki. We walked off the ferry with so much excitement which slowly dwindled as we walked off the pier. It wasn't such a great sight, very gloomy and everything was closed. We took a trolley to the center of the city and our moods were immediately changed. It was a lot more beautiful than I thought and the sun was coming out so that made it even better. 

Within hours the city was booming. We ventured all around, seeing lots of shops, live bands and a little chocolate factory. I even found my backpack twin. One of the greatest finds was oddly in the bathroom... You will know when you see the picture. We walked every inch of the city center and it turned out to be quite a cute one. It reminded me a lot of Salt Lake City. We headed to another pier to catch our ferry to Stockholm.

 This ferry was not as great as the first, but still had its perks. We watched karoake all night long, but it was a lot different than I was used to. Everyone was very serious about their singing and it was 92% slow songs, very odd. Mindy and I climbed to the top of the ship as we entered into the harbor. The sights were incredible. It was so green, filled with trees and the houses were just adorable. Pretty sure Stockholm is now on my list of places I would love to live. When we got off of the ferry, it didn't get any less beautiful. The city was very busy, yet it was oddly peaceful and very homey. Only downfall I can think of is that it must be one of the most expensive places I have ever been. 

 We hiked around for a little while trying to find our hostel. It was so nice being able to ask anyone on the street for directions and they would actually understand you. No charades! It was incredible. Forgot how nice English is. We finally found our hostel, which ironically was owned by all these Russians. We had quite the group of interesting people sharing our room. We dropped our things off and headed to explore. First on the list, Hunger Games. Our hostel couldn't have been placed in a better spot. The main market and all the stores were just down the road. We found a huge market right in front of the movie theater, where we purchased some delicious fresh strawberries. 

There were so many things to see. We went to old town which is like stepping into Italy. The streets there were full of surprises and everything was so old. The views of the water were gorgeous. EVERYTHING was beautiful. Even the men. The next day we went to the temple, which was surprisingly quite easy to find. I met one of the cutest old men there. He is from Finland and loved to tell us about his life. His hair would stick straight up, probably from when he got electrocuted and he drives a little scooter with safety goggles. It was such a lucky experience to go to the temple. I love the feelings that I get there. 

Sweden has got to be one of the most beautiful places on earth, but sadly our journey there had come to an end. We took a long bus ride to the airport where we boarded the plane for Estonia. It was a short flight, but the city was still by the time we got there. For being the "party" city I had heard so much about, it was quite quiet. That was until we entered into the old town. We crossed the street and entered into these old castle walls. The streets were filled with bars, pubs, dance clubs, restaurants, and stores. We walked down a tiny alleyway on the hunt for our hostel. We turned the corner and were told to go down the street and click on the button to get in. Easier said than done, but we finally found it. We headed up these old stairs to this building that looked like it was about to fall apart. We got our keys and headed for our room. It was quite the scene. The bunk beds were handmade wood, but quite sturdy. Besides the wall that was falling apart in the corner it wasn't too bad. Then the partying began outside and it didn't go quiet until about 4 in the morning. 

Going through the town the next day was great. We headed to the store first. It was called Rimi and is now known as my favorite grocery store in Europe. It was unbelievably cheap, especially since we just left Stockholm, and it was filled with the best pastries I have ever tried. Ended up going there four times in the day and a half I was there. Tallinn is known for it's partying scene, but I will remember it for it's food. If you go there you will know what I mean. We walked around the whole city. First we saw the old castle walls and visited this well that they used to throw cats in to feed the devil. Kind of creepy. Then we went to this little restaurant that was right in the city center. You walk into this tiny room and it felt like I walked straight into the medieval times. We had elk soup and a pastry (the only things on the menu). It was simply delicious. 

After we went through the underground tunnels which were long and old. It was interesting to see what they were used for throughout the decades. They had been used all the way up until just a few years prior by homeless people. The night was finished with plenty more adventuring, a trip to the Sushi Cat, and finished up with a drunk old lady on the run from the cops trying to get us to translate for her in Russian. That night was a sleepless one. They weren't kidding when they said it was a town for those who like to club. The next day we were off to Latvia. Our final destination. 

Latvia was an interesting city to say the least. It was very small and quaint. Everyone was very lax and not quite friendly. Ever since we began planning this trip, I have been so excited to stay in Friendly Fun Franks hostel. It was no disappointment. We hiked up the twisty, steep stairs that were slanted slightly to the left. Immediately we were shaking hands with the receptionist who then offered us a beer, which we kindly declined and ended up with some water. (The astonishment on people's face once they hear we don't drink never gets old) We were shown all the best places to visit and showed to our room. Of course there is always a downfall, and as we walked in our room there it was, sitting on the bottom bunk in the corner. Our new Swede friend. Quite the interesting character, I won't say much, but the stench and the whitey tidies were enough to put him in the creeper category quite early. 

I had no idea how much all the countries in eastern Europe went through during the second world war all the way up to the 90's. Our last day was spent at a museum on the occupation of Latvia. These people had been through a lot. Riga was also home to the biggest open market in the world. Sadly, we did not have too much time to shop before our train was leaving and of course the snow came as soon as we got started so we ended up just eating lunch there. It was still delicious though and it was extremely inexpensive there too! 

The train ride home was a little less exciting than our first one. It was in open compartments which meant there were no doors, which meant the creeper in the car next to us had no problem staring. Our room was conveniently located next to the bathroom, that unfortunately had a very loud flusher. The smoking room was also just around the corner, which contributed greatly to the awful stench that seemed to be even worse due to the heat. My bed was moderately comfortable minus the breeze from the window that wouldn't close and I guess I am a little taller than most people that ride the train because my feet would dangle off the end and whenever someone needed to use the restroom they would run into them. 

Needless to say when we finally arrived back in Moscow, we blended right in with the deodorantless folk. It was good to be back in a familiar place. It was such an amazing week! I can't believe all the things we were able to see. 


These end photos are dedicated to my mom, she has a slight fancy for doors and I promised I would find some great ones.