Charlottesville After the Violence

There are many statues in Charlottesville.  It is sad to think many people will only know about the statue of  Robert E. Lee but not one  to a more famous person: Thomas Jefferson . 

Jefferson's statue outside the Rotunda at the University of Virginia

Jefferson asked that these three accomplishment be on his tombstone: Author of the Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom and  Father of the University of Virginia



 

This is the statue that has been in the news.  Someone left a sign below "Heather Heyer Park"




Below is one of the non Civil War statues here.

The statue stands in the center of Charlottesville 

This is a statue of Lewis and Clark and their Indian guide Sacajawea.  They traveled 7000 miles over two years to explore the land Jefferson bought in the Louisiana Purchase, doubling the size of the U.S.

This is the other statue to be removed, one of Gen. Stonewall Jackson. It is right outside the county court house.

 The fate of this statue erected to the common soldier is unknown.

The George Rogers Clark  statue stands along the center of Main Street in Charlottesville.

 Meriwether Lewis,  Jefferson's personal secretary, said he would accept the assignment to explore only if his former captain, George Clark,  was made co-leader.

 Charlottesville's favorite sons. Four of the first five presidents came from Virginia.  George Washington was the first, John Adams of Massachusetts the second  and then these three men followed.



And of course there are the more recent memorials

This is the street where Heather Heyer was killed. 

This lady told me she was a friend of Heather's and has come by each day to light a candle in her memory.

There are many expressions of love and forgiveness ,

I thought this tribute to the two police officers who were killed when their helicopter crashed was touching.

Hopefully Charlottesville can return to being a quaint, welcoming town. 

Viking Cruise Russia: in Moscow and Places in Between

On the way to Moscow aboard our Viking River cruise, we stoped at  a third port , one with a famous history,

Kizuno is the home of the Kirillo-Belorozersky Monastery.



KIZUNO

The monastery was founded in 1397 on the bank of Lake Siverskoye  Its founder, St. Cyril first dug a cave here, then built a wooden Dormition chapel and a loghouse for other monks. 

   In the 16th century, the monastery was the second largest landowner in Russia.




SCHOOL TOUR

One of my unexpected pleasures of the trip was a visit to a Russian school.  Students study  English beginning in grade two, Our fourteen year old guide spoke fluently.

What is there to say?

                         
                             This student sang Russian folk songs for us.

 
 I am fascinated by how current or real World War ll remains in the  Russia  psyche . This photo display of war heroes is one of many that hung on the walls of the elementary school.




YAROSLAVL

Another unexpected favorite was a stop at the home of a typical Russian. We met Natasha , a retired engineer, who grows vegetables  for the winter on her one acre plot of land.

Our guide, Olga, on the left and our host, Natasha, on the right.

Lovely table setting for us. The brown jar in the middle contained "moonshine".  No vodka here.

Medi loved the garden,   reminding her of home in the Philippines.




YAROSLAVL

                        The churches of Yaroslavl

THE  WORLD WAR ll MEMORIAL

The soldier on the left represents the 9.7 million Russian soldiers who were killed. The peasant woman on the right represents the 13 million Russian civilans who died in the war.  Of the more than fifty countries who fought in the war,  one third of all casualties were Russian.

It is beyond comprehension.



MOSCOW

The elegance of the Moscow subway station.

Some of the stations have sculptures honoring those who fought in WW ll

Kazan Cathedral inside Red Square. Destroyed in 1936 on the orders of Stalin, it was rebuilt in 1993 after the fall of the Soviet Union.

I'm standing inside the Kremlin.  It does not look so threatening after all.

    Medi in  Red Square  It does not look so threatening after all .

 Hare Krishna members chanting and dancing  do look threatening.   Who knew Moscow would be so open.

Viking Cruise in Russia: St. Petersburg and Places In Between - July 2017

We sailed from St Petersburg to Moscow down the Volga River stopping in five places along the way. It was magical . Even now, looking at my pictures , I wonder if it was a dream.
We were with dear friends, with lots of nice people , with a attentive, caring crew.  We had so many wonderful interactions with Russian people.


OUR SHIP

Outside our ship

Dining in style with our dear friends, Doug and Sara Sheldon

The Russian Crew (there were also many Filipinos)

ST. PETERSBURG

I had always heard so much about St. Petersburg and I can say it did not disappoint.

THE BOLSHOI

 Saint Petersburg Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre built 1860 

Swan Lake

The Bolshoi Ballet founded in 1776.

The Peppers 

THE HERMITAGE

   

The Hermitage was founded in 1754 by Catherine the Great.

    

   The Hermitage has six main buildings. It is the oldest and largest museum in the world.

Exhibit

Exhibit

AROUND TOWN

   

    Castle of Count Stroganoff, a man now famous for his taste in food. 

       

      Every district of the 26 districts in St. Petersburg has a similar church.

    

    St. Petersburg is on the water front and  there are many scenes like this.

PEOPLE

    

     Medi enjoyed checking out the sidewalk shopping.

  

 Our guide, Anastasia, holds the St. Petersburg franchise for Urban Adventures. This young                     capitalist now has six guides working for her.

  

 These shopkeepers are not happy . They expected gullible tourists not international bargainers.

AND OTHER PLACES ALONG THE WAY 

Mandrogy

First stop was basically a tourist spot with rides, entertainment and local cuisine like difeent types of vodka, four kinds for five dollars.

    

A typical building

    

    Cossack music and dancing .

Kizhi

It is billed as an open air museum with all the buildings brought there from other places in Russia. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Transfiguration Church . It was first mentioned in 1563 as a 22 domed church but it was reconstructed in 1769 as a nine domed church