Trip to Athens, Greece - Day 2

Our second day in Athens was a Sunday.  Normally we have been traveling or arriving at our destination on Sunday or in areas where there isn't a congregation of our church nearby.  In Athens, however, we were not traveling and there is an English-speaking branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, so we planned on attending.  We didn't pack regular church clothes, but figured that people wouldn't mind if we showed up - and we were right!

We took the subway (after purchasing a five-day pass for each of us) and were able to find the church building without too much problem.  There was a bit of an adventure because the walk from the metro station to the church building took us through a Roma encampment.  We walked through without causing any problems or having any sort of confrontations.  

The church building was recognizable and when we entered we were met by a couple of missionaries - they need to keep someone in the lobby because there have been some issues of theft because of the neighborhood.  We did introductions and then met the branch president.  He and his wife are from England and were on a mission in Greece.  The church service was nice - it was fast and testimony meeting - so there were a number of testimonies.  One was by a young woman who was traveling around Europe with a friend - so they were in the same visitation boat as us.  The best part of the meeting was a baby blessing for a family where the husband was African (I think from Ghana) and the wife was Greek.  The blessing was beautiful and sincere and the little girl was darling!

It was General Conference in Utah so everyone was buzzing about the announcement that church will change from 3 hours to 2 hours.  We were happy that the rest of the church would finally be doing what we've been doing here in Kazakhstan for the past 4.5 years!  We only needed to change the days when we have Sunday School.  After the meeting there was a little linger longer with the English branch and the Greek branch that also meets in the building.  We were given a few cookies and had a nice visit.  We met some people who knew some of our members here in Astana - they are both defense Attaches!  

Walking from our apartment to the metro station in Dafni. Beautiful citrus trees lined our quiet street.

Outside the church.

After church we got off at the Syntagma station and walked around the botanical gardens.  We loved the quiet walks.  Some places reminded us of the parks we visited in Barcelona.  It was a bit shabby - but just enough that it had a charm to it.  Our favorite part was seeing the large nests of parrots who were busy stealing nest materials from each other, the tortoise we found on the path, the pond full of turtles, and just the beautiful quiet, shady peaceful feeling.

Palm trees in the botanical gardens.

More beautiful trees in the garden.

In the park.

We always do a lot of walking on our vacations.

Parrot nests hanging from the trees.

Parrots everywhere!

This bowery was a nice touch!

A pond full of turtles!

Turtles just don't care how they get their sun!

Enjoying looking at the turtles.

Our wandering tortoise friend!  Our kids named him/her Bob.

After we had walked around the park, we came around the side of the parliament building just in time to see the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier.  We have seen similar ceremonies in Moscow and Prague, but the one in Greece was very unique.  They wear distinct uniforms and the way that they march is really very interesting.  The ceremony was very nice and we were glad that we were there to witness it.

Tomb of the unknown soldier at the Parliament Building.

Changing of the Guard

More of the ceremony

Checking that everything was right after the guard was changed.

Lina watching the change.

After the ceremony we walked around downtown a bit.  The stores were mostly closed on Sunday (which was unusual in Europe, but nice in a lot of ways) so we got back on the metro and headed back to "home".  We stopped at another little restaurant that served Gyros and Pitas and had a nice lupper (lunch and supper).  Afterward we went to the pastry shop next door and the kids all had an ice cream - and Yulia did too. 

After that we went back to our apartment and spent the rest of the evening reading and just resting.  It was a very nice day.  We were very glad we had found the church and that we had a nice quiet Sunday.  We knew that we would be going hard the next day, so a quiet day was just what we needed.

Getting ready for more walking!

Rewarding ourselves after another long day!

So many yummy pastries!

To be continued...

Summer Trip 2017: Day 13 - Moscow

Rain was promised on Friday, our last full day in Moscow, so on Thursday we planned the day so that we could do as much of the outdoor sightseeing as possible.  The first thing we did was to visit Kolomensky Park. This was somewhere that neither Yulia nor I had been before, and we really liked it.  We took the Metro there, and then it was about a 10 minute walk to the park.

The Park was a village, founded in the 12th Century, and which became the home to the royal family, specifically the Rurikovich dynasty, but also later the Romanovs as well. The park itself was free and had nice paths and facilities.  It also has wooden architecture and areas that show how people lived earlier.  We didn't pay to go into those demonstrations.  We just walked through and looked at the gardens and orchards and at the church buildings.  The most famous is the Church of the Ascension of the Lord which was built in the 16th century to celebrate the birth of Ivan Grozny (The Terrible) and is a UNESCO world heritage site.  The church overlooks the Moskva river and is white and very beautiful.

Looking at the beautiful primroses.

Gardens

Papa and the twins and roses.

Gate to the park.

One of the churches, early onion dome architecture.

Bell tower and water tower 

The family minus Mama the photographer.

Church of the Ascension

Observing the view across the river.

The View from the hill.

Lexa resting

Giant Samovar at the cafe within the park.

After we had seen the park, we took the metro to Red Square.  We arrived there at about 12:30 and set up to watch the changing of the guard at the eternal flame which burns for those who died during WWII.  It is my favorite place to go, and we wanted the kids to experience it with a good view.  The uniforms of the soldiers has changed since the last time we were there 5 years ago, but the ceremony was still very touching.

At the eternal flame.

Guards at their posts.

Reading the cities where more than a million people died (Hero Cities)

New guards marching down the  path

Relieved guards making their exit.

Marching

After the changing of the guard, we walked through Red Square and took lots of pictures and saw the sites. After that we went and looked at the fountains at the Okhotniy Ryad shopping center.  We then ate lunch (we had pizza and salads) and then got on the Metro again.

Entrance to Red Square

Family portrait on Red Square - a long tradition.

The renovated GUM department store.

Having Fun!

Lenin's Tomb - We still haven't been inside.

St. Basil's Cathedral.

Kremlin Tower

Past Red Square and toward the Moskva River

Red Square from St. Basil's

Fables in the fountain.

Posing for pictures at the fountain.

Our last stop of the day was to visit the Izmailovo Souvenir market.  We missed the station and had to go back one - something that's happened to us on that stop a couple of times, but got there at about 4:00 in the afternoon.  We gave each of the girls 600 Rubles (about $10 dollars) to buy souvenirs.  Lina and Nika had earned a bit of extra money by helping the Stice girls with their Russian on the trip.  The girls had a great time looking around and bargaining. Lina got the bargain of the day, buying a ceramic turtle that is also a jewelry box, by talking the seller down from 1800 Rubles to 1000.  She had enough to buy one of those infernal fidget spinners..... so we are not as pleased with the bargaining :)

Lexa bought herself a hat, and Sophie got a snow globe.  They both then bought little metal collapsible cups that had Soviet Military emblems on the base. Nika bought herself a laser engraved crystal.

After our shopping excursion.

Overall it was a fun day.  It started sprinkling as we were leaving, but we were in the Metro and home without getting too wet.  We found a little restaurant across from our hotel: Vareneshnaya.  It had great prices, good Russian food, and a fun atmosphere like an old Soviet apartment.  We liked it so much that we went back for dinner there the next evening.

Waiting for our food.

A lovely meal.

Great Atmosphere. 

On our way home.

Twins having the best time!

Our first day in Moscow was in the books.