Forget or Not Forget?

I've watched the Victory parad on the Red Square. I had very special feeling. But only a day before I could not agree with some persons that said we have not to forget that war. Today I found these photos and, sincerely, think, I was not right yesterday.

I've seen incredibly quantity of the photos of happy German soldiers near their hanged victims. (the last one -exist different photos of smiling soldiers near that girl, she was a partisan)
More photos here: http://zakkusufair.livejournal.com/847510.html?view=4118166#t4118166

Great Lakes: Baikal

With this post I want to begin the discovery of the great lakes and the first of them had to be Baikal. It is my big dream to visit it. I even have relatives that live not too far from this lake, but I never had time to go there. I lived always in the European part of the SU and I needed too much time and money for such a journey. So, I think, it will remain only a dream for me, forever.

But they say, there are different reasons to visit those places.


«Байкальские сосны» на Яндекс.Фотках

First of all, the splendid nature. Than marvelous persons (the people in wild places are very good -something like this I just had in my life when I visited Karelia). Finally great food and mystic places. They tell about real shamans and healers. There are many interesting fishes and animals -there is even a seal there!

Unfortunatelly, my friends write me -and I partecipated at the action of protest too- the government of Russia wants to open a dangerous fabric. And to destroy the entire eco-system.


«Вид на Байкал и исток Ангары» на Яндекс.Фотках

What is Kizhi?

«Кижи» на Яндекс.Фотках

Some days ago I began to write about the antique Russian church architecture. You can remember these 2 posts The Golden Ring of Russia, Russian Churches Of XII Century
where I told about very interesting examples of wooden churches and wanted to write some posts about them.

The first place is entire island -national park, Kizhi, in Karelia Russia, in front of Finnland, where you can see not only churches but different types of houses too. The church on the photo is made without nails, the pieces were made so, that they take one other.

Unfortunatelly, the church is not every day open for tourist to protect precious icons. But the visit is interesting in any case for the walk you can make through the park. And you can visit houses of the population (with guide) too.

Interesting is that all that buildings are real. They were disassembled, taken on the island and assembled once more.


«Церковь во имя Покрова пресвятой Богородицы .» на Яндекс.Фотках

The Golden Ring of Russia

These are the "open air museums" not too far from Moscow. Some antique towns with unique architecture from XII century. The region is called Zalesye and the towns are Sergiyev Posad, Pereslavl-Zalesskiy, Rostov Velikiy, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Ivanovo, Gus-Khrustalny, Suzdal, Vladimir, Rybinsk, Uglich and Alexandrov. (Read Russian Churches Of XII Century too)

Unfortunatelly, I had never the possibility to visit these towns. It's sad, you kow. We travel around the world and do not visit the places of our country, our nation. I know, it's the same for everybody all over the world.

This is Rostov Velikiy (not Rostov -it's another city)


«Изображение 154» на Яндекс.Фотках

Here is Suzdal


«Покровский собор 1530г.Покровский женский монастырь.» на Яндекс.Фотках

Russian Churches Of XII Century

If we want to speak about Russian architecture that I love so much ( The Golden Ring of Russia ), we have to remember the churches of Velikij Novgorod. The pure beauty (inspired by Byzantine art, they say) impress your imagination. So, if you plan to "study" them, don't forget this destination.

The church "Spas At The Nerediza"


«...» на Яндекс.Фотках

To See In Russia

There were many virtual travels in Russia for me this week. In one of them I knew about "new russian style" in architecture and could confront 2 of the most important, I think, rapresentants of it. It can be that I'm not right in the definition. On the first photo is the original russian stile, on the second photo the "new" :-) On the first photo is the temple built in 1554 (the period was large but I give the rough date). This cathedral is situated in Moscow.

The second, in Sankt Petersburg, finished in 1907, wanted to imitate the first.


«...........» на Яндекс.Фотках


«Храм Воскресения Христова.» на Яндекс.Фотках

It's Time To Visit The Most Cold City In The World

«Дорога в Якутск» на Яндекс.Фотках

Yakutsk. If you want to visit the most cold city in the world you have to understand the peculiarities of the place. The tempersture can reach -50°C (-70°C seems to me was the record) there, but winter is the best time to make this journey. Why? Look at these photos:


«Дорога в Якутск» на Яндекс.Фотках


«Дорога в Якутск» на Яндекс.Фотках

But it's a normal modern city with many interesting places, people and things that you will never see elsewhere...


«см дальше..» на Яндекс.Фотках


«княжна» на Яндекс.Фотках

...and spectacular virgin nature


«Усть-Нера, Якутск-Магадан» на Яндекс.Фотках

Сascades Of Emerald Valley

This is the last post about my mountain-excursion in Emerald Valley in Sochi.
Caucasian Mountain-Tour, "Emerald Valley", first part
Caucasian Mountain-Tour, "Emerald Valley", second part
Dolmens Of The Emerald Valley, Sochi

As I said you, important points of this tour were cascades. In 2 different places. And than dolmens and a witches cave that was closed for visits in that period because dangerous.

I think there are few words to say in this post. The photos tell everthing about the beauty of the place. Incredible and unique beauty. Unfortunatelly I can not tell you the feelings you have there. It's like you are in a temple and the God is here, near you.

By the way, in summer these cascads are full of persons. They come to bath there, in the "plates" that are under every cascade.

Caucasian Mountain-Tour, "Emerald Valley", second part

After the bee's farm we had to stay in our minibus about an hour or two else till we reached the last aul and had to change vehicle.

There are not roads there, so the locals use these military cars, off-roads, to cross their land. We have seen them near every house that were there. I think, every family earns money transporting tourists. Our guide said, there are incredible quantities of persons that want to make a bath in the cascades we had to visit that day.

It was not so far till the house where we had to eat and to rest a little, but ... to reach it we had an other "extreem". Nothing terrible, but it is not very normal, this bridge.

In the house where we had to rest there was an other presentation of local foods. This time they were mostly wines. The daughter of the owner told us about the wines her father makes and we could taste them all. After that "second breackfast" with "chebureki" (puff pastry with meat inside -mmmmm.....) and we were ready to continue. After that good wine and 4 hours of the car I did not want other as sleep, sincerely, ...





I have to say you with all sincerity: when I came home and looked at my arm and side, I was afraid to see all that parts of my body black from bruises. Thanks God I did not look at my butt...

Caucasian Mountain-Tour, "Emerald Valley", first part

As promised in my previous posts, I wanted to tell you about a mountain-tour with light extreme I participate when I was in Sochi.

For me, the greatest extreme in that tour were tight deep-lunged torques that continued every 50-100 meters all the 4-5 hours that we needed to reach the place and than -to turn back from there, after the visit. Imagine that we were only about 70-90 km from center of Sochi but we needed 4-5 hours for one way.

I remember when I came in Sochi for the first time, it was in 80-th. There was the same torques way from Adler (where there is airport) till Sochi. They built a new highway from Adler some years ago, and you need only about 40 minutes to come in the center now. But in this, opposite, side of the region, you can admire the original mountain-roads. As you see on my photo.

Somebody told me once that it was a simple method to build ways in the mountains: to follow the steps of an ass. Because the asses knew where and how to go.

We were in a minibus with guide Golubkova Elena and driver Ruslan. They went with us till the last point of the tour. And it was hard enough, you will see it in my next posts. Here I want to show you only some photos from the road to taste the first beauties of the mountains of Caucasus.

This first is a general look on a mountain river how it is near the sea. It is river Shakhe, I think.

This other photo -to show you the mountain-road. Do you see that line in the middle of the photo? With rocks over and rocks under? Nice, no? It's a canyon of the river Ashe.

The first stop on our way was in a bee's farm. The owners built this pavilion where they have an exhibition hall of all products they have to sell. As you see on the second photo, there are many different products and they are really superb while produced in this zone. The team told us many interesting things about honey and it's derivative, we could taste some different honeys. Than we could buy everything we saw there.

We were at the beginning of our way and bought only glasses of "medovukha" -honey-wine. Mmmm... Great!!!



Continue next time...

Autumn Morning In Krasnodar

As I told you in some of my posts before, I went in Russia this autumn to try to receive Russian citizenship. I had some bureaucratic problems and tryed to resolve them one day in the capital of the krai (region that Sochi makes part of). I had to go with train there, and it was one night journey. I came in Krasnodar at 5:30 in the morning and had to wait half a day because the office opened at 16:30.

I never was in this town before and decided to combine "useful with pleasant". Here I discover my personal way to visit new places.

First of all I go to the newsstand (or in other stand) where I can buy a map of the place I want to visit.
Than I read about sightseeings of the place (or corners of interest)
Finally I decide the way I'll go to visit everything I want to see.

Here on the map you can see (not very clear but I hope you can) a point in the center on the railway where I began my walk. If I can I always prefere to walk. From that point I maped my way. Later I counted how many km I did that mornig, they were 11 (it is not my record: sometimes I go to Salerno at feet and those are 12 km-s from my house).

The first what I've seen was this church. I came to it from the back side and could not understand how could I find the entrance. After some attempts I found it finally. The photo is not very clear because it is first morning. But the architecture is interesting. So red...

I'm not a believer, so I rarely visit curches. Mostly for my personal interest (art, history, architecture...). So I was surprized to see this construction (photo lower). If you don't read in Russian, I'll explain you: this is a source of holy water.

I had clothes not good to visit this church (said some persons sitting nearby), so I wanted not risk to enter inside. Who knows, maybe they will beat me...

About a km later I found an other church. This time the building was in the best traditions of Russian white stone architecture.
By the way, I did not know that white stone churches (IX-XIII cent) were not white originally. They were picted all round the wall as those catolic of the same period (in Salerno for example). Rains and other bad weather conditions washed the colors and remained only white.

The other interesting thing I found were very different historical characters as main figure of numerous memorials.

I lived many years in Mariupol and was surprized incredibly to find buildings of the XIX, I think, cent. absolutely identical with those of Mariupol. I had the impression to walk in Mariupol in some places.

Very special is the location of this part of Krasnodar. There is a river and the lakes there. Unfortunatelly I had not time to delight the water but it was really nice to walk there.