Outside and In

The other day, I took some photos while we were walking back from the orphanage.  I thought it would be fun for our kids to see what we see everyday, as well as for Jonathan to learn about his city when he gets old enough to understand. This city is very industrial - lots of factories I'm told. The train yard is very, very large, so that makes sense. Just today, I said to Pat that we don't see a single house on our daily walks. Not a one. I don't remember if there was any on our taxi ride from the train station to the apt or not.  It appears this city had a very strong Soviet presence, and thus many, many high rise apt buildings. That can be seen in this photo especially. If you look closely in the top right corner of the building, you can see the Soviet symbol of a hammer and sickle made with dark bricks, as well as many stars. (You can click on the photo to enlarge it.)

Know of any city workers that think they need new trucks? This one might be from the 60s or 70s.
And oh ya, there is NO such thing as OHSA here. :-)

Much of our one mile walk to the orphanage looks like this. We feel very, very safe here. We see lots of families, lots of strollers, lots of "babushkas" - all of which make me feel safe.

This little Orthodox church is just done from our apt. I can't tell if they are building it new or renovating it.

We are also right by a very modern grocery store, and right across the street from a very, very large outside market. (Summer, it is about the same size as the huge one in Sim City by the huge round-about, only it's better organized.) We've gone there several times to pick such things as a blower dryer (YAY!!!), a new outlet for our apt that Pat and Vanya successfully swapped out, electrical tape to fix the fan, yarn, and a crochet hook. Everything you need can be found there...you just have to look. It's a very cultural experience, one that I really do enjoy. Oh, and don't ask how the women try on clothes in the little shops...

So, moving inside. As I've said, we are very pleased with our apt. A GREAT deal, good location, and fast internet. Here's a little video tour of our apt. Again, I thought our kids would enjoy this, so don't feel obligated to watch. :-) Ok, never mind. It won't load! :-( Maybe it's too big. I'll show them we get home.

But this is my favorite part of the apartment. (These trees are tall! We're on the 5th floor.)

This is my view out the kitchen window. Isn't it lovely? I'm sitting at the kitchen table right now, listening to the birds, and enjoying the wafts of delicious food being cooked (by someone who knows how to cook much better than me).  We haven't had hardly any problems with bugs in the apt with the windows wide open with no screens. At night, we need to be a bit more careful though, but still it's nothing like at home w/ the number of insects.

Thanks for taking the tour! TTFN! :-)