Russian Circus

So today we were able to go to the circus. I guess here in Russia the circus is world renowned. But the funny thing is I have never heard of it. At first I didn’t want to go to a circus because I’m not a fan of them and I didn’t think we would go. But then when Gulya asked us a few weeks ago we said sure and I still wasn’t up to going but then when this morning came I was excited. 
Once we got inside we didn’t know where to start. There was little food stands and animals to take pictures with and it smelled like popcorn! The first picture booth we came to was that of a monkey. I about dyed, I have always wanted to hold a monkey and to get a picture with one would have been cool to. But the more I looked at the monkey the creepier it looked. They had him dressed in a shirt and jeans and it just didn’t look right. So I told myself I would think on it and if I really wanted to I would go back and get one taken. Well I never did which I am ok about but it still would have been cool to say I’ve held a monkey. Maybe next time!! So then we went and I was able to get some cotton candy!!! I was so excited it tasted like it does in America.
 So the first act started right out with these really pretty fluffy white dogs and then all of a sudden the bears came out! Yes that’s right they had bears and to make it even cooler the bears were walking on their hind legs just like a human. It was actually a little creepy to see because it just looked so unnatural and the other girls were convinced it was a human inside a bear suit! They were awesome to see, they would walk, and then it was rolling on a drum type thing on its hind legs and then the dog would run in and out of it.

I was having a blast and just laughing and cheering and I think we were having more fun than all the little kids in front of us. This one little boy just would not stop crying. And I was like, kid get over it, you’re at the circus what could be better?! 

Russian Folk Dance

I was excited because this was our chance to see real Russian dancers and to see the traditional Russian dance where they squat so far to the ground then jump up and kick one leg to the side then go back down and jump up again and kick the other leg out. And they do it several times in a row. Other than that dance I didn’t know what they would have. 

We went to the coat check and started to hand them our jackets and they were trying to tell us to go upstairs and check them in. on to the next floor we went but they told us to keep going upstairs so third floor we went but nope keep going, finally we got to basically the last floor and checked our coats in then the usher lady told us to go up one more flight of stairs and we would find our seats. I was like holy cow we are in like the very tippy top, the nose bleed sections! They even asked if we wanted to purchase some binoculars. Oh man how far up were we sitting?! But once we found our seats i actually really liked them. Yeah they were high up and in the “nose bleed” section but where my seat was it was perfect to see the entire stage and to see all the performers at once. we weren’t allowed to take pictures but we were sitting so far away from everyone and I had such a good angle to get pictures I thought heck yeah I’m taking pictures, I’m only here once so what.

The dancers were amazing and so talented. It was really such a neat experience to watch them perform. It seemed like they were doing a lot of dances from other cultures and to. Like they had what looked like an Asian dance and a Jewish dance and Greek, Spaniards, Russian and so all different sorts. This was nice to break it up every once in awhile.

All in all it was a really good performance and I had a really good time. I was happy to get out and do something cultural!

Lithuania

So Lithuania was our last stop on our adventure. And too bad it was raining that day but we still hit the streets and did what we could. We went to this museum of Genocide Victims from the Soviet times. It was pretty sad to  read and see everything they had to go through. Usually you just hear about what happened with the the Nazi's and Jews but the same thing happened to people here. They were sent to Siberia and forced to work on labor camps or they were put to death. So it was defiantly interesting to find out some history of Russia. Then it was just some more walking and looking at anything and everything we could see. All in all it was a wonderful "vacation" not much relaxing time! I was defiantly sore and tired by the time we got home and the blisters on the bottoms of my feet proved it, but to look back and go through all my pictures makes all the pain I went through worth it. I still can't believe that I saw 6 countries in 8 days!!

Latvia

Latvia was fun as well. Just a lot of cool buildings and just a very old feel to it. By this point in the trip I think we were all so tired things just started to look the same. And for me all I could think about was how bad my foot hurt because of my blisters. I knew we would be walking a lot but I guess I didn't figure on walking 10 miles a day in winter boots. But I made it and still had a lot of fun!

Estonia

Here are some pictures of Estonia. Basically we did the same thing in each of the countries. We only had a day so we just walked and walked and walked looking at all the amazing old buildings and cathedrals. I loved looking at all the old style architecture these little countries had to offer. Of the Baltic countries Estonia was my favorite. It was an old Medieval town and it was like you could feel the presence of the people of that time.