Sharin' my Rubles

This short intervention is dedicated to my families, both eternal and Russian. I love my mom (most of you know her as just mom)! She makes a lot of things possible in my life and has done so far the last ten years. As far as I am concerned there is no satisfying way of describing someone or something except through personal experience. I will let you know, however, that mom copes a magnificent amount of love and care. Take an epic journey through Sankt Petersburg with mom, Ashley and Me.

 Naval Cathedral of St. Nicholas

One of my beautiful sisters, Ashley.

The Anichkov Bridge is the first and most famous bridge across the Fontanka River in St. Petersburg. The horse sculptures welcome travelers on each end of the bridge.

Church of the Savior on Blood.

The church is dedicated to Tsar Alexander II and is built on the very spot where he was assassinated.

The inside of the church is adorned with mosaics from floor to ceiling. Yep, it is all made of those small, colorful, tile-like pieces of rock that are about half an inch square.

The gates that mom loves, and who wouldn't, right?

Looking good even in the rain! 

One of my first attempts at taking a picture of mom, in particular her face. Galina, on the left, is one of mom's dearest friends and happens to be one of the most Russian women under the yellow sun. 

The Stock Exchange and the Rostral Columns.

The famous Imperial Hermitage Museum. One of them quaint palaces of the Russian royalty.

St. Isaac's Cathedral.

On the colonnade on top of the cathedral.

Trinity Cathedral.

Each country has their own, but it is fun trying to figure out what the Russians want you to do, or not to do in this case.

This is where the real and un-Disney-like story of Anastasia begins... The Alexander Palace was the Romanovs' summer retreat. A beautiful and sad place (a lot of the Motherland is like that).

The nearby Catherine Palace. She liked her bling. What you see here is just a speck of the whole grand palace.

Then we arrived in Finland!

The sky seems to get bluer, the trees greener, and the people...

...well, you can't have everything.

No, Finns are great and a lot more homely than that.

The Turku Cathedral.

Mom is looking very happy. Smile if you like it, too.

The Finns enjoy this during their whopping 100 days of vacation per year. I would.

Myöhempien Aikojen Pyhien Jeesuksen Kristuksen Kirkko.

This is the new and first stake center in Finland. It was completed shortly after I finished my service as a missionary.

This has to be one of the greatest couple on planet earth, Mimmu and James Sloan. She is Finnish and he is American, and they sing in the Russian choir, but I am just scratching the surface. Like I said, you have to meet them.

The Finnish Temple in Espoo.

Another impressive holy place in Helsinki. Simply called the Church in the Rock. They interior is carved out of a large rock.

Umm, the more you look at them the more you want to swing. It was a 'no touchy' exhibit probably.

Another try, but mom won't look.

On one of our last nights in Finland we went to see Placido Domingo, and it ended up being the most enjoyable opera I have been to date.

Don't rest your face on the program if you don't want a moustache.

Regardless about how you may end up feeling about Russia and Finland, don't mix the two up. As unique and separate these two countries may be, your own experience will tweak the opinion you have found throughout this post. The places we visited could not be more different, and yet we love each with more enthusiasm than we tend to show. Love your life, your people, and your places.