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| The bridge was open for the day! People are dancing on the left. |
The first of May is the celebration of Spring and work. In Soviet times, this day was celebrated by making processions down the city streets while holding signs and singing songs. It's no longer Soviet times, but the tradition continues!
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| This lady was merely a bystander until old emotions, perhaps, got the better of her! |
It was a beautiful day, so afterwards people walked around the city, especially a the seafronts. Here we are taking a pause to marvel at the new submarine docked in the harbour!
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| The sun sets on the seafront. |
With holidays comes time off work, means I should be doing something... how about going back to the farm?
The couple feet of snow that they had had was thankfully all melted! But it was damp this time: here you can see a dense cloud of fog settling on top of the little hill that looks like a volcano. One day I will climb that hill!
Riding was a little bit more exciting than last time, I fell off! Everything was okay, except my little pinky.
So this a version of a Russian bath or "banya." It had been another cold damp day and one of the ladies offered to let me use it. They were surprised to hear me agree! Inside there is a small room at the back covered with wood. A stove heats a large old-fashioned water boiler. There's a big wooden bench with two aluminum bowls that you fill with water from the boiler. Then there's soap of course, handmade, and towels.
The worst part was trying to get the door open again to get out, but it was all very wonderful and refreshing!
Dina attempting to make friends with the pony, who's very cute but likes to kick and bite. I braided her mane in the morning and she allowed me to do it, everyone was fairly surprised. I just explained that I was a very strict teacher and had lots of practice keeping people in order...
Please, if you haven't noticed, take a look at Dina's footwear! Mind you, we were on our way out... Classy!
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| Vlad taking the calf for a run! |
