Novgorod

First an update on the process of getting Lydia into a Russian preschool, for those who are interested. A lady that works at our office called some of the individual preschools for me, and the directors all said that it is fine for Lydia to only come 2 or 3 days a week. So we went ahead with registering for the one closest to us. Last week I got a call from a preschool, and they told me to bring Lydia's documents. The only problem was that it was not the one we wanted. I went and tried to figure out what was going on. They didn't really know, so I left the documents there, and in the meantime they called the preschool we wanted. This week I called them, and they said there is a spot for Lydia at the one we want, and I should come pick up my documents. Now we need to contact the preschool we want and see what they want us to do. Sound confusing? Yup, when you only know basic Russian it's hard to figure out what's going on! Thankfully one of the Russian ladies at our organization's office is helping me with the next steps. I do know that Lydia has to have lots of medical tests done soon to be able to enter preschool.

Now for the pictures from Novgorod! We took a bus there and back (a little over 3 hours one way) on March 31st and April 1st. This was during Aaron's spring break from school. We invited our good friends along, which made it lots more fun! The weather wasn't the greatest, as you'll see in the pictures, but we survived the wet feet and cold hands and still had a good time. (Some warm cappucinos in the cafes helped!)

The Novgorod Kremlin, dating from the 15th century. The original walls were erected in 1000 AD.

Danielle beside one of the large bells inside the Kremlin.

St. Sophia's Cathedral, inside the Kremlin- completed in the mid-11th century.

St. Sophia's from the other side, the only place where you can see a faded fresco that was part of the original decorative walls.

The Millenium Monument, showing figures from Russian history. It was unveiled in 1862, which was the 1000th anniversary of Prince Rurik's founding of Novgorod.

Our friends Thomas, Cristy, and Isaiah, enjoying the warmth of a cafe after walking around all day.

Our hotel room at "Intourist Hotel."

Our huge all-you-can-eat breakfast at the hotel. Maybe something got lost in translation, but our waitress thought we wanted about 5 big plates of sausages! Do we look stuffed yet?

At the museum of wooden architecture, looking at souveniers. We couldn't believe how long this heavy wet snow kept up!

The museum has a collection of wooden buildings from the surrounding area, including churches and peasant houses. The oldest ones date from 16th century.

Inside one of the houses- Lydia liked the baby swing/cradle. Pulling the rope makes it bounce up and down.

The famouse old-style Russian stove, seen from the side. The grandparents would sleep on top of it- the warmest spot in the house!

A basket and lapti (shoes) made out of birch bark.

With one of the museum guides.

Walking from the museum to the Yurev Monastery.

In front of the Monastery.

The Cathedral of St. George, inside the monastery complex. There are frescos inside the cathedral dating from the 12th century!

Can you see why we had wet feet? There weren't boardwalks like this everywhere!

Waiting at the bus station to head back to St. Petersburg. Guess what? The sun started shining brightly while we waited! Oh well, in northern Russia you just need to get used to being out in damp, grey weather.