Nordic Pride

Where the Helsinki does Santa Clause live?
Well according to many people in Europe, Russia and other regions, he lives in the north of Finland. Hearing this I can only guess that he has a small modern house completely outfitted in boxy IKEA style furniture, talks on a Nokia phone and has a sauna in his back yard. His kids are probably all tow headed hockey players and Mrs. Clause is a beautiful Nordic Model. Lastly, I thank all that is good that the Russians never took Finland or the communists would have burned Santa or sent him to Siberia.
Well, if he really lives in Finland he sure chose beautiful surroundings to live in and he must be filthy rich with the cost of feeding a thousand elves and the price of the euro...

We thought Moscow was expensive, but Helsinki is outrageous. Brendan and I needed something sweet after dinner (which consisted of a loaf of bread and cheese from the grocery store) one night. Something fruity like a jamba juice sounded good. We finally found a place that sold smoothies.

We were very disappointed with the small portion we downed in 60 seconds. $8 later, we were still in need of something sweet. We decided to go somewhere we could depend on.

McDonald's sundaes hit the spot for only $1.50 each. Brendan and I can't even remember the last time we went to McDonald's in the states, but we have been three times on our trip already.

We took a ferry to Suomenlinna island and fortress. Brendan is standing next to the submarine we toured.


Every city we went to on our trip had outdoor markets with fresh fruits and vegetables. You could smell the sweet strawberries from a distance away.


While we were in Senate square, the national defense band played and did a parade downtown.

(Although we were being a bit sarcastic, we did love Helsinki. It was just very expensive.)

The Charming States

Sandwiched between western Europe and Russia are the beautiful Baltic States. Thousand year old castles, rolling green hills and thick forests make up most of these small countries. Hundreds of years of wars, divisions in power, oppression and history have shaped theses countries and this land into what it is today. Beautiful languages vary from areas just 100 miles apart, though cultures and architecture seem a lot alike. However, even though there may be a common feel in the culture between theses three countries, each and every one has its own special charm and individual feel.

Formally controlled by the USSR, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, recently gained their independence in the early nineties. Since this time they have grown and maintained their cultures. In the times of communism and control by the USSR, schools taught Russian as the main language. All of the Baltic States have since joined the European Union.

We fell in love with the treasures which we discovered in the Baltic states. Although not commonly visited by tourists to Europe, we consider it a must see.

The first Baltic state we visited was Vilnius, Lithuania. We hiked up to the hill of three crosses to get a great overlook of the city.

Musicians played as we walked down the cute cobble stone streets lined with shops and restaurants.

We took a 30 minute bus from Vilnius to Trakai. We learned that the Trakai castle is the only castle in Europe built on an island. The water seemed a little scary to me, but we rented a paddle boat and Brendan and Christopher went swimming.

Our next stop was Riga, Latvia. Behind us is one of the squares in old town.

The weather wasn't the greatest in Riga. It rained on and off throughout the day. We stayed right down the street from where I'm at. It was a great location in the heart of old town.

Our walk home from church.


The last Baltic state we visited was Estonia.



We hiked up 350 stairs to the top of St. Olaf's Cathedral (tallest cathedral in Tallinn) dating back to the 11th century.

The cliffs at Paldiski on the Baltic Sea. It is about an hour long train ride from Tallinn.

Kaliningrad

The last city we visited in Russia was Kaliningrad. It actually isn't connected to Russia. It is on the Baltic sea and borders Poland, Belarus, and Lithuania. Kaliningrad is an old German town originally called Konigsburg. After losing World War II, Germany gave up Kinigsburg to Russia so there are German buildings that have been restored and also blown up buildings from the war. To get there, we took a two hour flight from St. Petersburg. We went on a Russian airline and the airport was kind of interesting. To board the plane everyone gets on a big shuttle bus that takes you to the plane. When it was time to board, everyone just crammed their way through the doors. There was no lining up by numbers in an organized way. When we got on the plane someone was in my assigned seat and it was kind of like tough luck find an open seat.

In Kaliningrad we visited with the Tyazhlova family. They were helpful in finding an apartment for us to rent for the night. We went to Svetlagorsk, which is a town on the coast of the Baltic Sea. We planned on swimming, but it was a little overcast and it rained on and off throughout the day. We went with Anya Tyazhlova and Anya Olyampiav.

Brendan and I in the Renok (market).

The beach town of Svetlagorsk on the Baltic Sea.

A cute restored German house.

Konigsburg was the birthplace of philopher Immanuel Kant. His tomb was the reason an eleventh century German palace was not destroyed by the communists.

The Venice of Russia

St. Petersburg is often compared to Venice because of its beautiful winding waterways throughout the city. I was surprised at how different it was from Moscow because it is a lot more European and not as busy. While we were there we stayed with the Ananich family. They were some of the first members of the church in St. Petersburg and it was Brendan's grandparents who introduced them to the gospel. On Sunday we were able to attend church in St. Petersburg, and Brendan was surprised at how much it had grown.

On Monday we went to the Summer Palace. It is a HUGE palace with fountains everywhere. The grounds are filled with flower gardens and guest houses. From the summer palace we took a cruise boat into the city. As you come into the port you are greeted by the Winter Palace. It is also known as The Hermitage. It is a beautiful art gallery, but unfortunately we couldn't go inside because it was closed for cleaning.

Later, we were able to meet up with Alex. He was a foreign exchange student that lived with Brendan's family when he was 16. When Brendan went on his mission he happened to serve in Alex's hometown and baptized him. We spent some time with him throughout the day and went to dinner.

I'm finally getting used to the time schedule here. It was a little hard adjusting to the time difference, and the white nights didn't help. White nights are when it is light out until 11 p.m. In the morning the sun would be shining in through the window and I would wake up and think it was around 8 a.m., but when I looked at my watch it was 4:30 a.m.

Behind us is the Summer Palace called Peterhoff. It is about 20 minutes from St. Petersburg on the coast of the Finnish Bay.

This building is across from the Hermatage. It is the General Staff Building.

These are the arches also attached to the General Staff building, opposite the Hermatage. I'm at the bottom.

Christopher and I are with Kirrel on one of the bridges that goes across a canal running through St Petersburg.

Brendan and I.


Behind us is the church of spilled blood.


Me, Alex, Christopher, and Brendan at the Peter Paul Fortress.

From the City to the Country

After three days of the big city we were ready to move on to our next destination. We took a twelve hour train ride with Daniil (our Russian friend) and Christopher (Brendan's brother) to Pskov. It was an all night ride, and we were able to sleep through the night in our cabin. Our first stop was to Daniil's family's house. They were kind enough to make us breakfast and let us wash up. They live in a house with a huge garden and lots of animals, which isn't very common. Most people live in apartment buildings. We hired a driver to take us around for the day. One of the places we visited was a monastery in Pechori. We also visited a castle in Ivborsk and took a boat ride around the lake. It was really green everywhere.

Christopher, Brendan, and I leaving on the train from Moscow to Pskov.

This is outside the monastery in Pechori.

This is also outside the monastery.




This is a medieval castle in Ivborsk.




This is our view of the castle from the lake.

We took a boat ride around the lake.

Brendan and Daniil on the street in Pskov.

The Most Expensive City in the World

After spending four fabulous days in California with my family and 20 hours of travel time towards our destination, we finally arrived in Moscow. Moscow is a bustling city with people everywhere. If you think New York city is a crazy place to drive, Moscow is ten times worse. With three days in Moscow, I was impressed with all we were able to see. There are beautiful parts of the city with wonderful architecture and also parts that are run down and completely the opposite.


Brendan and I in front of our hotel in Moscow. We had to pack light so we could get around easily.




St. Basil's Cathedral in Red Square.


Brendan and I in Red Square. Lennon's tomb and the Kremlin are to the left of us.



This was the main church in Moscow for the Russian Orthodox, which was burnt down and destroyed by the Bolshaviks. The communists built a swimming pool in its place and it stayed that way for 40 years. When communism fell, the first thing the people of Moscow did was bring together money to rebuild it exactly how it was before it was destroyed.

We took a river boat cruise on the Russian River. Behind Brendan is Moscow University. It is also one of the seven sisters. The seven sisters are seven buildings that Stalin had built to show his power.

In all of the monasteries the women have to have their head covered and wear a skirt. They provide them at the front gate if needed.

Best Ticket In Town

If you don't have season passes to the SCERA shell this summer, you're missing out.  You can't beat the price of a student season pass for only $45.  This year's musicals include The King and I, Footloose, and Pride and Prejudice.  Be entertained with musical performances by Jordin Sparks, ABBA Live, Boyz II Men, Utah Symphony, and Three Dog Night.  

The King and I was was a great production and we actually ended up knowing quite a few of the actors, including one of my old bosses from BYU laundry.  I thought he was a shy guy, but he was singing and dancing in front of a huge audience.  Jordin Sparks also put on a great show last week, even though we were surrounded by screaming teeny boppers.  I even saw a few of my fourth grade students from last year.

Speaking of great performances.......

I was the winner of the 2nd Annual Teacher Idol at Noah Webster Academy in May.  Check it out!