My very own pair of VALENKI'S ! Nothing can freeze my foot now .... blekkk..cold..ngehngehngeh
The begining of a long long long long walk through the snow into the forest The first part was easier, as we got deeper into the forest it was very hard ... trust me.. really really hard
finally, at location... with yummy pancakes for my tummy ( evil grin ** ) See the man ( with the-army-looking-winter-coat), in front of the 2 pans on the left, he is Uncle Le-o-sha.
Marina with the pancakes
The SAMOVAR . I was on duty to make tea that day, with water boiled from SAMOVAR. Chopped Fire-wood was used.
1st Game - Group fist fight (?) WINTER vs SPRING. Let the fight begin.. That's team WINTER or maybe team SPRING, I'm not sure which. CHARRRRRRRRGGGEE !!!
YAY ! SPRING WINS... BYE BYE WINTER ;P
OOHH, looks like WINTER'S not giving up...time for another battle
GO GO SPRING WILL PREVAIL !!
i wonder if there were any fractures, torn ligaments, sprained muscles... ok, i should stop being a medic. The view from below
And the battle continues
ah, stilt walker on ice ;))
Russian Folk Music - Instruments: the flute ( I think ) and something else..if somebody knows, pls don't hesitate to let me know
Our costumes -- unique, right?
russian beauties ;P
The ' old russian oven ' , excellent view from atop, judging from the crowd ;P
Cute little kids dressed in traditional garb
Pretty young ladies. Notice the scarf, skirt, string of barankas - yep, those are truly Russian
MyMy My Waking up a hibernating bear is definitely hard...only chastooshkas ( gaily songs ) can achieve it. Your alarm clock- is useless
The ladies on left sang chastooshkas to wake the bear up
ohh....he's getting up
YAY ..hibernation's over... SPRING is HERE !!!
Her Highness , The Lady Maslennitsa a.k.a Kostroma to her fort
THE SNOW FORT
Brave men guarding the fort
prepared for battle
papparazi
The crowd waiting to attack the snow fort
Matryoshka ^^
see the man with BIG white hair , he's The CAPTAIN - when he say's CHARRRRRGE!!!!!..we CHARRRRRGE !!!!!
there he is...OUR CAPTAIN
Part of the army, ready to attack the snow fort
Get Ready ....
CHAAAAARRRRRRRRRGE !!!
AND WAR BEGINS
men on top - get away from the fort u #$%@*&, nobody can get to Lady Maslennitsa.
men from below - YOU are WRONG ...AARRRRGHHH.. hah ambik kau
people start flying (?), snow storm-man-made on the right..good strategy by the way... snow-balls by the crowd below aimed to hit Lady Maslennitsa's army
owooow -- things are getting messy now....yikes
ooookaay....we are almost there...hang on people
WE ARE THERE ....WOOOHOOO....YAAAAYYY
snow-ball in the making
bringing-down the fort with snowballs..that's the spirit
help us up !!
VICTORY !!!! WE SEIZED THE FORT !!!!
happy happy happy
BYEE LADY Maslennitsa !! Burn WELL ;P Adios to bitterly freezing cold winter !
tarik-tali ala russe
even brave boys like me take part in tarik tali - impressed ?
tarik-tali - this is how it ends on the losing side "OUCH"
another interesting game
the other style of playing the game, on all fours (?)
Folk song, chastooshkas. Very unique. lallaaaalalalaaaala...u..ouuuu...
more music ^^
and more singing ^^ makes me a very happy person ;))))
this cute little baby who is 4 months old came to maslennitsa & survived the cold. Ain't you proud of me, mummy?
more singing...tumtumda..da.dee.dumm..a.a..a...a... ( see the old russian costumes? )
eh, pakcik....furry hat, to prevent frozen-brain ;) pendek kata, prevent otak beku ;P
in the mood for love..sorry..singing they sing full of passion ;))
muzika
see, how passionate he is ?
the great artist making his mark
and drinking from a carved-wooden-swan-like-cup (?)
tulskaya accordian, a handsome young Russian gentleman with an empty Vodka bottle ;) who cares about juice when there's vodka ;P
orange blossoms ;P
flower fairy ;P
SAUSAGES ! I'M HUNGRY !!!!
yet another interesting game - 1st, blinfolded & 2nd, hit as hard as you can.
take it, sister...duush!
a submarine?
a totem pole belonging to the Great Master Ali Indiana Jones
here he is ;)) jz joking sir ;P
Something like fencing/sword fight
the guys are PRO
A snow labyrinth, easy to get lost..so be very careful. You don't want to be trapped in the snow without heat, food & ur loved ones.
going.going. gone.
a monster??? in the labyrinth..
in the labyrinth
finally! daylight !!!!
The Brave young man who conquered the labyrinth
Kseniya& friends, Thank you for the great honey-lemon tea....made me warm inside out
sliding-on-ice
another young pretty matryoshka
my colleague, a neurologist
oh, don't mess with me...you will be squashed like a cicak ;P
A sweet girl with the totem pole
Another sweet girl. Once, it seemed rare for foreigners to get a warm welcoming smile from a Russian..today, I'm getting it abundantly ;)))
ooh.....pouty pouty star...
hop hop hop over the rope
I'll bring you DOWN !!!! DOWN DOWN DOWN...dowwwnn !!!
DOWN DOWN DOWN
yesss...fall *&%#@
hahah....U R DOWN NOW !!! bluekkkk
another one going DOWN
here's how it's done
another pillow-fight-look-alike
At first, I thought the man in red was doing Jackie Chan's Drunken Master act
No.1 - Stand on a slippery(icy) log
No.2 - ....
balancing is tough
here we go
pretty, ain't she?
in malaysia, we call it mak ayam & musang
a boat made from snow & boys attacking their friend on the boat
an important startegy, stuff baronkas into opponents mouth
hungry? look no more...time to grab a bite
more bright & warm smiles to chase away the bitter coldness
aaw..that's a very big snow-ball for a little girl like you, sweetie
Game No.X, it's like trying to get a very troublesome fishballs with chopsticks. People on the left & right link hands & become the chopsticks, while those running in between the chopstick to reach the ends of the chopsticks become the fishballs.The chopsticks will sing songs & try to clamp the fishball. That's how I interpret it.
Bright & cheerful ^^
me & the CAPTAIN
here's another pretty Russian maiden
Game Y..form a ring
get a girl & a scarf
the ladies will sing chastooshkas, when the song ends, the girl places her scarf between 2 guys. the guys run around the ring & try to get the scarf.& the girl.
go guys...run run faster... begi kak ogun...run like fire
VIP of the event
look how pretty she is? my camera died with jealousy right at that moment & I couldn't take pics anymore
Privyet ;)))
See you at the next Maslennitsa !
