DEC 29, 18 .. SQUEALING HAPPY CHILDREN .. HERE IN ABAKAN, RUSSIAN SIBERIA

The flat that I am occupying here in Abakan is located at one corner of an enormous park named Montenegrin Park.

My first photos of ice sculptures being created were taken here in Montenegrin Park.

Below are photos (taken in the day and at night) of the main entrance to Montenegrin Park.

The above and below words .. С НОВЫМ ГОДОМ ..

say HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Below is a photo that I took during my very first photo shoot.

I had absolutely no idea (right up until today) of what it was going to become!

The below photo, taken today, looks pretty much the same as it looked above when under construction. Do you see the children in the lower right coming around it?

And up the steps they go.

I wonder just what is going on here? I guess I'll have to walk around and see for myself from the other side.

Below is a night photo of the above stairway.

Oh My we have an Ice Slide! 

It's no wonder I've been hearing squealing happy children! 

They are not stationary! They are either sliding side wise or spinning.

Now we are going to walk to the end of the Ice Slide.

Do you all see how long it is? I mean this is a major project to have been constructed out of ice.

And I mean the children slide all the way to the end!

"Let's run back and do it again!"

Now that you know what you're looking at, on the left side of the below photo, in the distance you can see how long the Ice Slide's runway is! 

Can you imagine! 

They even have a bunny-slope for the younger children.

Mom never did get him to take a slide down the very gentle bunny-slope.

There seemed to be more Ice Slides than I could visit.

By the way! You've all seen the above Ice Slide at night.

The other night I walked up the steps to the top. Looked down. Then gingerly and slowly crept back down the steps I'd come up.

Isn't it beautiful at night? You can actually see it better in these night time photos.

People ask me, "What do they think of us?"

I reply, "Quite honestly they don't think of us. They seem to have lives and activities they're happily enjoying"

And? 

Patti and I hope that you've enjoyed this peek into winter life here in Abakan, Russian Siberia.

DEC 28, 18 .. ABAKAN (АБАКАН ), RUSSIAN SIBERIA .. SPASO-PREOBRAZHENSKY CATHEDRAL

Below is a photo of the city limit sign as you enter the city of Abakan (АБАКАН) here in Russian Siberia.

To put it mildly, the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral is one magnificent edifice.

I have visited it twice and I wanted to share it here with you who may be interested in seeing and enjoying it.

THE SPASO-PREOBRAZHENSKY CATHEDRAL

As you may be able to ascertain from some of the above photos, the cathedral sits in the midst of an enormous park. 

The above (from a distance) photos were taken during my first visit to the cathedral.

The below (up close and very personal) photos were taken during my second visit.

Now I'm going to walk around the cathedral to the right.

Now we're looking at the rear of the cathedral.

Now I'm backing away from the cathedral to go out into its park.

I am not sure but I think that the monument below is in honor of St. Peter. Again I am not sure of this. Then too it could be a monument to a different St. Peter than to Peter the disciple of Jesus.

Further down I show a Monument to St. Peter and Favronia. So it could be that St. Peter.

The next four photos below will assist you to see the location of this monument in relation to the Cathedral. They give you some feeling of the size of the park.

A small and inviting Gazebo.

Again, the next two photos below help to orient you to the Gazebo and its relation to the Cathedral and also to the above (St. Peter?) monument.

THE MONUMENT TO ST. PETER AND FEVRONIA

I speak a truth here : This civilization, that I am so honored to be visiting, is many centuries older and seemingly is far ahead of us in some forms of maturity.

I had not heard of the above tale :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tale_of_Peter_and_Fevronia

A few photos of The Monument to St. Peter and Fevronia showing the Cathedral in the background.

I am so honored to be here and to be able so share some of the things that are touching the deepest levels of my spiritual soul.

Cap along with Patti who is helping me no end.

Post Script : The above photo shoot was not a 10 minute undertaking! Maybe 45 minutes. At -20°F, with the sun setting, the cold attacked my right hand. I have stopped removing my left mitten. Tomorrow, Saturday the 29th, I am going to attempt to find hand warmers!