The Cathedral of the Blood, built on the site of the execution of the Tsar and his family. There is a memorial to them on the first floor---the sanctuary is on the second floor.
Large photos of the family were up all around the church, as the 90th anniversary of the execution had just passed.
Another of the photos of the Romanov family.
The "Black Tulip" memorial for the soldiers killed in the war with Afghanistan. We visited at least one war memorial in every town, though most were for WWII.
I think this was the only IKEA we saw.
I took this photo because it was typical of what we saw in Yekaterinburg and Kazan; there are 5 men working on this building. (Can you see them--one guy is straddling the scaffolding?!) There were repairs/construction like this everywhere!
Martin and the guard who boarded our bus and gave us a little scare. :-)
Professor David Holloway and his wife Irene, on the border between Europe and Asia.
And then it was my turn!
The Russians have a tradition of tying ribbons at places they visit and hope to return to someday. This was the scene at the Europe/Asia border--the most ribbons we saw in any one place!
This post was along the path from the parking lot to the border. I always like how words translate: "May peace prevail..." What a nice way to put it!
Natalia performing in the "bar car." She usually sang with her guitar, but I think was singing something from an opera when I took this. She was always so dressed up and really just delightful. A good singer too!
