Happy Snap Recap
Inbetween Novgorod and Kaliningrad I took time off from the net, so here are some pictures I never got around to posting.
Maybe Novgorod is more for history fans than funsters, but surely worth at least one of the regular excursions from St. Petersburg.
Sunday is the perfect day to visit the Kremlin. This babushka has probably just been to St Sophia’s church and is now on her way to Baskin Robbins.
Inside the Kremlin is the Millenium monument. In 1862 it was Russia’s coolest momument ever and comprises 129 different figures, including Gogol and Pushkin as well as assorted Tsars and generals.
Maybe it’s the influence of all the local churches and saints: Novgorod is nice to tourists. In the Kafe Na Cennoi (by the coach stop) my schnitzel was a steal and beautifully served.
The main square brings out everyone from balloon sellers to roller skaters. Note the fine Soviet Empire style architecture. Novgorod centre was rebuilt in the 1950s by German prisoners of war.
Though times change, there are several plaques around to remind you where things were. This one commemorates the site of a school which convened the first Novgorod Soviet.
On the south side of the Kremlin is . . . a beach! You can also take day trips on the Volkhov river to Staraya Russa. There seem to be onion domes on every skyline.
A pole ride at the Vitoslavitsa Museum of Wooden Architecture. Picture by Andrei Rozen.
As you’d expect in the provinces, there’s lots of hearty provincial cooking. If you can find a tame babushka, ask for the stuffed peppers.
Beautiful pictures. Thank you. I am curious. I had the idea that the birth rate in this part of the world was low, but you have pictures of several young folks. Are people still getting married and having children? I am interested in Mark Steyn’s idea that Chinese men will end up marrying Soviet women.
There was a sharp decline in the number of families under Yeltsin. I wrote about the noticeable ’shortage’ of children in Novgorod here:
http://www.thecopydude.com/?p=140
Now, however, prams and pushchairs are returning to the streets.
As far as I know, there is already quite some intermarriage in Russia’s Far East.
Thanks for pointing me to the other article. Very interesting. I am not sure if my numbers are accurate or not, but I thought that at the end of the war in Viet Nam, there were about 23 million people, and in 2005, about 82 million. It is very interesting. There are pretty girls and cute little kids everywhere. There is a larger city in SW Viet Nam on the Mekong called Can Tho. At the local parish the priest speaks good English, but he says he needs practice so I spent the morning with him one day. He told me that the government now will only allow them to have two children, unless they have a good excuse, like helping on the farm, and then they can have three. This is against the aims of the church. so when he counsels couples before marriage, he tells them they must have the intention to have at least 2. Seeing the way they are, I think, it must be hard to limit the number of children in their families. We talked about the one child policy in China, and I asked him if they intend to take over China, and he said yes. I think the age old anger at China is still very active in their minds.
The first picture is obviously russian first generation version of the Segway (you have to look very closely). Picture 4 is 2nd gen.
Aleks you are a sly devil!