Our trip to Almaty

Back in August we took a trip down to Almaty. Almaty used to be the capital of Kazakhstan until it was moved to Astana a couple of decades ago. It is also located in the mountain region of Kazakhstan, in the south and thus has a completely different look than the Steppe around Astana. We haven't really been anywhere in Kazakhstan besides Astana and Korgalzhyn, and Spencer went to Karaganda once so we decided to take a quick trip down to Almaty with the girls before school started.

Of course one of the highlights of the trip for the girls was the fact that we took the train there and back. They have been on a train in Russia 3 years ago and loved it so much that they have been talking about it ever since. We took the fast “Spanish” train that goes there over night and takes about 12 hours instead of 18-21 hours on a regular train. The girls loved the bunk beds!

Nika and Lina loving their train bunk beds

Lexa is reading on top of her bunk

The areas we went through for a long time stayed pretty much the same as we see here around Astana (steppe and more steppe) but when we got closer to Almaty, things started to change. There were these areas that were so white that I thought they were covered in snow. Nope. It was salt! Then it was hills instead of flat steppe that we are used to seeing here. And then the beautiful Tian Shan mountains.

The picture isn't great but you can see those white spots which is salt.

We arrived early on a Friday morning and set off to find some place to eat. We bought a map and went on our adventure (that's how we roll wherever we go!). We saw on the map a mall called Mega and since we have Mega here in Astana, we knew it would have a food court and so we headed there. We also had a few hours to kill until we could check in into our hotel. We walked around the mall, and bought a few things for the kids and then surprised them with the tickets to the Minion movie which they really wanted to see and which was playing for the last time in the theaters that weekend. It happened to be a 3D movie. Spencer and I decided that we do not like 3D but the girls had fun.

A monument by the train station

Waiting for the Mega Mall to open

This cute camel is made entirely out of Lego bricks! 

Trying on the big shoes.

In the movie theater ready to see the Minion Movie

We walked to the train station where we stored our luggage and then took a taxi to our hotel that was located right across from another train station (yep, there are two of them in Almaty). Our Kuze hotel was very small and from outside didn't look that appealing at all but our two rooms that we booked were very spacious and nice. They also cooked simple fresh breakfast for us every morning and brought it right into our rooms. The staff was very nice too. That night we went to eat at the cafe right across from our hotel and then we took the kids to some playground we found near by.

Dinner at the cafe across from our hotel

Lexa really liked her cake that she decided to get completely covered in it!

Nika is trying to do some pull-ups at the playground

This is the outside of our hotel. It takes half of the bottom floor of an apartment building.

The next day we wanted to visit Koktobe which is a mountain and the highest point of Almaty and the famous outdoor speed skating rink Medeo where a lot of records were sat and which is located right in the mountains outside of Almaty. But the forecast for most of the day was rain, and so we decided to just visit Koktobe. We took a public bus to the bottom of the mountain and then hiked all the way up. They had a little zoo there, an entertainment park, the full size statue of all four Beetles (the only one in the world) and a beautiful view of Almaty and the mountains around.

The view of the city half way up to the Koktobe hill. At the bottom you can see the lift cars that are going to replace the old ones. The lift was under renovation when we were there but we heard the views from it are gorgeous.

The kids liked their 3D glasses so much that they were wearing them as their sun glasses for at least a month after our trip to Almaty.

Here are the original lift cars

The girls wanted to climb this climbing wall but it was so outrageously expensive.

We thought this was really funny. It shows what your minimum height has to be in order to participate in the climbing activities (140 cm), and then the arrow down points to lower heights and the words "Eat carrots!"

So instead of climbing we let the kids do the obstacle course.

Lina getting ready to jump over a hole in the rope bridge.

A view of the city from the top of Koktobe. The mountains unfortunately were barely visible because of the air pollution.

Enjoying the view from the viewing area.

This reminds me of Siberia, the area I am from.

It is rare when we get a picture of just a two of us. Usually we have some cute chipmunks around.

The life size statue of all 4 Beetles.

Nika is making friends with a goat at the little zoo.

They were herding turkeys from one fenced area to another. The girls thought it was cool.

Spencer and the crew with the TV tower in the back

We then hiked down and went to eat at another mall and then decided to walk all the way down to Panfilov park which is supposed to be a quiet and beautiful place. Well, it started to rain. We did make it to the Panfilov park but didn't stay there long since the rain started to come down really hard by then. That night we ate at another mall's food court not too far from our hotel.

Hiking down from Koktobe

On the streets of Almaty

Walking in the rain

We found this house with a picture of Lenin on the door. There was no more info offered, so we do not know if he stayed there once or what.

A nice little cathedral at the Panfilov park. It was raining really hard by then so we didn't stay long.

The next day was Sunday and our last day in Almaty. That evening we were going back home. We decided to go to church in the morning. On our way there the girls got super excited – after it rained all day and all night, a zillion of snails came out everywhere on the sidewalks. They right away sat on a snail rescue mission and spent the next 30 minutes saving snails. We think that it doesn’t matter what exotic places we take our kids to all they are interested in is rocks, stick, bugs and so forth!

Sunday was beautiful, and the air was so clear after the rain. You can kind of see the mountains in the top left cornet. Those are Tian Shan mountains.

A view of Koktobe hill where we went the day before.

Catching snails. They were the easiest catch ever!

Lina was so excited about the snails (she is our animal lover) that her glasses fell off!

Hey, little buddy!

On a mission to remove snails off the sidewalks where they can get smashed onto the lawns

Sisters!

Kids being kids - playing tag.

We saw our good friends, missionaries, that served in Astana before. Since we were traveling that day we weren't dressed in our church clothes but it was fine.

Some fountains at the park on our way to Mega Mall to eat.

The day before some of them were whining about a little drizzling of the rain. And here they are getting wet at the fountain and loving it. I don't understand them sometimes but I surely love them!

These type of flower beds are everywhere.

These are irrigation canals that go right through the city.

On the train again!

Overall it was a nice little trip and we were happy to learn more things about Almaty. We noticed that a lot more people smoke in Almaty than in Astana especially women. We saw a lot more Russians there - a lot more. It has beautiful nature all around but the air is a lot more polluted. It is an old city, very green with mature trees (something we rarely see in Astana), and the people are very nice.

Trip to Rome Part V - Coming Home!

Thursday morning we decided that we would go back to the Castle Saint Angelo to take the tour.  We didn't buy tickets in advance because it hadn't seemed too crowded the day before.  Once again, our instincts and our luck led us right.  We walked there from our hotel - about a twenty minute walk and arrived in time to be some of the first there.  We bought our tickets and went in.  As with all museums in Rome, this one had a lot of art.  Some of it was more modern, but some was quite old.  There is a program in Rome to buy up culturally significant art, and some of it was housed here.

Bridge between the Vatican and Castle St. Angelo (as seen in Angels and Demons). Look at all the motorcycles! A good mode of transportation on Rome's narrow streets.

Castle St. Angelo was originally built to be a tomb for Hadrian.  It was later made into a prison, and then a fortress.  The popes would use it to take refuge in times of war.  The castle itself was quite neat.  The girls liked seeing the defenses, including canons and canon balls that were on display.

Kids looking at the inner fortress walls.

More examining.

Inside the outer fortress walls.

Catapult.

Some of the cannons with cannon balls.

On the outer wall ramparts!

Sophie and Lexa in the Sentry booth.

All four girls in a recess in the wall.

A vew of the bridge with angels leading to the Castle St.. Angelo

Inside the inner fortress: Hadrian's tomb.

One of the angels at the courtyard inside the castle.

We found a bee on the mantle.  Roman houses have symbols for different families.  This one made us think of my dad, who kept bees for many years.

Looking into prison cells.

The Pope's chest inside the papal chamber.  We can't remember which pope, though...

The top of the fortress was quite impressive.  It had a wonderful view of St. Peter's from one side and Rome from the other.  We spent a couple of hours wandering around and looking at things and just enjoying it.  The castle never got too crowded, so it was also enjoyable.

A view of St. Peter's Basilica and Vatican

Another view from the top. The Tiber river with bridges.  There were four or five bridges very close to the castle. 

View of Rome from the top of the castle.

The angel at the top of the castle.  

The original corridor from the bottom to the tomb of Hadrian.  This was designed so the funeral procession could march into the tomb at Hadrian's burial. 

The Castle St. Angelo from the bridge.  This bridge had angels all across it.

We decided that we would go and try to see the Trevi fountain.  We knew that it was under construction, but it was the last really famous touristy thing that we had left to do in Rome, so we went.  We walked there - it was about a mile and a half.  When we got there we were able to get a good look at it.  It was neat because it was on a little square and came right out of a building.  We were sad we didn't get to see it with water in it, or to throw in a coin, since that means we would make it back to Rome.  We left right as a huge group of tourists (off a bus) came into the square.  Good luck again!

Walking along the river bank.

Taking a break on our walk through Rome. 

The Trevi fountain under construction.  See the worker in the middle for perspective...

Another view of the fountain.

On the streets of Rome.

We stopped by a Burger King to eat (bathrooms, plus less crowded than McDonald's).  After lunch we walked back to our hotel.  We had already gone five miles for the day when we got back.  We stopped by for more gelato to reward the kids for not complaining.  When we got to the hotel (it was about 2:00 p.m.) we had a message from Travelocity.  We called.  They were telling us that our flight had been cancelled and that we would have to wait to contact Transaero for a refund.  We told them that we knew - we had talked to them the day before.  They assured us that we would be contacted by a representative within 48 hours with a resolution.  Since we were supposed to fly out in 23 hours that was a problem.  This representative at least told us that she had found a flight back to Astana on Ukraine Airlines that left about the same time as our original flight the next day.  We booked that trip (it was fairly cheap) and so we knew we would be getting home.

In the evening we went to find a new restaurant, but got turned around.  We figured out where we were and found our little cafe from the night before and ate there again.

Friday morning we woke up and packed.  We ate breakfast and checked out of the hotel at 9:30.  Our driver (the same one who picked us up) took us back to the airport.  We checked in and got through security with no problems.  Ukraine airlines was pretty low cost and not our favorite airline, but it got us home.  We had a two and a half hour layover in Kiev.  We bought everyone a sandwich and drink from a food cart while we waited.

The airport was much different than I remembered from 1998 and 2000 when I arrived and left Ukraine.  I remember the shock of arriving and seeing concrete painted green and guards with AK47s.  I wondered what I had gotten myself into.  Now it's a normal, boring, international airport.

We had a wonderful time on our trip.  We had an adventure with travel - but were safe and sound and happy to get home.  We are looking forward to having more adventures soon!