Before I get started on this post Iwant to wish you all a Happy World Down Syndrome Day!! :)) March 21st is a special day to honor those who carry 3 copies of the 21st chromosome- get it, 3/21? ;) Before Evan was born I never knew such a special day existed, but my life is all the better for it and we will celebrate every year here on out!! And when we get Lina home, twice the reason. :)) I blogged about World Down Syndrome Day on our family blog found HERE, including lots of pics. ;)
And now, back to our Eastern Europe Adventure!!
So to catch you up- we departed from Dulles Saturday night- arrived in country late Sunday morning with the 10.5 hour flight and 8 hour time difference... and it was about 2:00 or 2:30 by the time we made it to our hotel. Monday was medicals, and Tuesday we head out for Lina's region. But our train doesn't depart until 6:30 PM, so we had a whole day to ourselves. We relaxed a bit and then took a stroll through the city to pick up a few more souvenirs.
You may recall on our first trip I shared photos of the underground walkways to cross busy streets:
Upon first approach, I was a little nervous of what we would find inside these tunnels but I was pleasantly surprised, and on this second trip I was brave enough to whip out my camera and take a photo.
I couldn't believe it- little shops lined the wall- they looked like vending machines barely big enough to squeeze a person inside. I don't know how those people can work inside them- literally room for the width of one person to stand (I don't even know if they had room to sit!) and sell their wares... hats, scarves, jewelry, matryoshka dolls. Not for the claustrophobic!
We get to the street with all the little souvenir shops and find this sight:
A walking bouquet of flowers... playing a recording of a musical advertisement. No head, no arms, just a bunch of flowers with legs. There was another at the other end of the street as well.
A view down the street
An interesting building- we didn't get close enough to figure out what it was...
This is just a small selection of what we saw.... and pretty much the only souvenir you will find. We had to laugh at these:
Barack Obama on a matryoshka doll. Who woulda thought?
I did find a beautiful souvenir for Lina- we had already bought her a matryoshka doll on our first trip, but I couldn't resist this beautiful traditional headdress.
After our shopping was complete we headed back to the hotel and hung out in the lobby until our driver came to take us to the train.
We were excited that it was actually still light out when we boarded the train this time- back in November it was already dark at 6:00 so we couldn't enjoy the view... it was also still dark when we arrived in Lina's region at 7:00 the next morning.
Our cozy train compartment
When we arrive Thursday morning- it's straight to the hotel to check in, and then off to the orphanage to see Lina!!
And now, back to our Eastern Europe Adventure!!
So to catch you up- we departed from Dulles Saturday night- arrived in country late Sunday morning with the 10.5 hour flight and 8 hour time difference... and it was about 2:00 or 2:30 by the time we made it to our hotel. Monday was medicals, and Tuesday we head out for Lina's region. But our train doesn't depart until 6:30 PM, so we had a whole day to ourselves. We relaxed a bit and then took a stroll through the city to pick up a few more souvenirs.
You may recall on our first trip I shared photos of the underground walkways to cross busy streets:
Upon first approach, I was a little nervous of what we would find inside these tunnels but I was pleasantly surprised, and on this second trip I was brave enough to whip out my camera and take a photo.
I couldn't believe it- little shops lined the wall- they looked like vending machines barely big enough to squeeze a person inside. I don't know how those people can work inside them- literally room for the width of one person to stand (I don't even know if they had room to sit!) and sell their wares... hats, scarves, jewelry, matryoshka dolls. Not for the claustrophobic!
We get to the street with all the little souvenir shops and find this sight:
A walking bouquet of flowers... playing a recording of a musical advertisement. No head, no arms, just a bunch of flowers with legs. There was another at the other end of the street as well.
A view down the street
An interesting building- we didn't get close enough to figure out what it was...
Matryoshka dolls, anyone?
Barack Obama on a matryoshka doll. Who woulda thought?
I did find a beautiful souvenir for Lina- we had already bought her a matryoshka doll on our first trip, but I couldn't resist this beautiful traditional headdress.
After our shopping was complete we headed back to the hotel and hung out in the lobby until our driver came to take us to the train.
We were excited that it was actually still light out when we boarded the train this time- back in November it was already dark at 6:00 so we couldn't enjoy the view... it was also still dark when we arrived in Lina's region at 7:00 the next morning.
Our cozy train compartment
(yes, that's a mirror on the door)
Home sweet home for the next 12.5 hours!
Leaving the big capitol city
some apartment buildings
Pretty sunset (through a dirty train window)
I can't wait to see how much she's grown since the last trip. :)
ReplyDeleteOmgosh we could not believe how much bigger she looked this trip! I commented about that on the next post. :)
DeleteDid you know that above the mirrored door on the train is a space for you to store your luggage? Wasn't sure if you knew that or not, but it will be helpful when Lina is sleeping in the compartment with you! Ahhhh....the memories!!
ReplyDeleteYes, we were just too lazy to throw anything up there this time. LOL We were on a newer train car this time and the space up there seemed a lot higher and smaller than the last time... not sure how much we will be able to hoist up there. LOL We also noticed the benches lift up so we could probably fit the smaller carry-on bags in there to free some space as well. I'm SO nervous about the trip home with her!
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