Love these moments…

I love finding places like this around the city. Beautiful, isn’t it?

P

Valentine’s Day City Excursion

Love, love, love.
Love, love, love.

Love was certainly in the air this Valentine’s Day. We found traces of it all over the city.

Our Russian “mama” Svetlana planned a day excursion for us on Saturday. We got to see some great sights around Vladivostok.

Our journey started at the top of the hill at an observation platform, with the Кирилл (Cyril) and Мефодий (Methodious) statue. Кирилл and Мефодий were Byzantine Greek brothers and missionaries born in the early 9th century . In preparation to introduce Orthodoxy to the Slavic people, Cyril and Methodius created an alphabet which would allow them to transcribe the Holy Scriptures and other religious texts into something understandable to the people of the region. This was the beginning of Old Church Slavonic, which later developed into the Cyrillic alphabet, which is still used by many Slavic languages today.

There is also a tradition here where couples leave locks here in order to ensure lasting love; an enchanting concept. As you can clearly see, there is much love EVERYWHERE! Here at the observation platform, we encountered our first Russian bride. After getting married, Russian couples traverse the city having their pictures taken around the city and this particular couple was being photographed on top of the hill.

After some souvenir shopping (Yasha found Chuboryashkas, he was so excited!!), we got to take the Фуникулер (Funicular–a.k.a. “The Funny Color”) down the hill. This is a very cool way to travel, a little on the slow side, but with great views. For only 10r a ride, we took this cable car to the bottom, walked around a bit, then it was back to the van for a drive to the sea.

Yasha and his hat.

Our new friend Alina! She is adorable!

Polya, her red lipstick, and her Valentine!

Our new friend Rufina! Love this girl!

“The Funny Color”

Our Russian “Mama”

Look how bundled up she is! Isn’t she adorable?!

OH! I have been waiting for so long to get back to the water, I missed it so much. We walked along the water’s edge, taking in the Zolotoy Bridge and the military boats parked along the sea way. We met another bride, as well as the cutest little person, a 2, maybe 3-year-old little girl, all wrapped up against the cold. This little person was so well insulated, she reminded me of Ralphie’s brother in A Christmas Story. In fact, we passed a playground and that was how I found most of the children…wrapped up tight in snow pants, hats, fluffy jackets, and gloves. They seemed very content to be outside in the cold running around.  We made our way to a sculpture of sorts, “The Bed of Peace.” Pretty cool, it is a wooden bed on a metal frame with I love you carved into the wood in 30 different languages. How many languages can you name?!

Congratulations!! желаю вам счастья!!

“The Bed of Peace”

Back to the bus, we ended up at the Vladivostok Fortress Museum on the other side city. Yet another fascinating place, this is a testament to the ingenuity of Russian fortifications. Found (naturally) on the edge of the sea, the Fortress Museum is located just above the Vladivostok Aquarium. The city of Vladivostok was (and still is) a vital port to Russia, and was established as Russia’s outpost on the Pacific very early on in its history. Construction on the fort began in 1889. We had a great time, wandering around, climbing up and down, and exploring. There was an indoor museum, which we also had a chance to check out. It houses pictures, weapons, military collectables, and other interesting memorabilia. The views from the summit were outstanding!

All those little people are out, walking on water. The sea is frozen and they are enjoying the benefits.

Svetlana

No rails, be careful, Yash!

Hmmm, very similar looking…

Spinning wheel

Samovar

I have no idea what this is, but it is certainly cool looking.

Everybody meet Ryan.

Awwwhhh! See? Love everywhere!

Afterward, we had lunch at a new restaurant near the Фуникулер. More on that in Olivia’s Kitchen. Overall, it was a great day with new friends, and a well needed distraction from missing loved ones at home.