Next stop on our itinerary was St. Petersburg, Russia. Out of all the stops, Cory and I were looking forward to this one the most. I mainly was anticipating the intricate, colorful churches and architecture. What I hadn't really expected were the emotions I felt seeing the aftermath of the communist era. What's even crazier is to think that Russia was part of the communist Soviet Union only 20 years ago.
I feel extremely fortunate to be an American. I have never lived in poverty. I am able to vote for the leaders of my country. I have freedom of religion. I am accountable for my successes and failures.
While Russia is no longer a communist nation people my age had lived through the experience. It wasn't something of the distant past, but something that most of the population had lived through. The rows and rows of tall, dilapidated housing that was provided by the government during the Communist era was a sad reminder of Russia's history. What made me even more sad is it looks like a majority of people still live in those apartments. No green space, no parks, no conveniences, just miles and miles of concrete.
On a more positive note, we did get to see the Church of the Sacred Blood and the Hermitage museum. Amazing sites and feel so lucky to get to experience these sites with my family.
Here are some other photos from the city.
Another random highlight of the day was my mom found a man with a baby brown bear. She thought this was the coolest thing and paid the man $5 to hold the bear. I told her she was absolutely nuts and reminded her about the lady with the pet monkey. I didn't get a picture of her on my camera, but I did get a shot of the man and the bear. I insisted that she use lots of Purell when she was done.
We were also able to pick up some matryoshka dolls.
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