In
September of 2005 Lena went to Moscow and, as part of her trip, traveled
overnight on a train to Vilnius, Lithuania to visit some of her family.
This is Romas, husband of her cousin, Virginia.
Unfortunately,
Lena was not able to see as much of the surrounding area as she might
have liked. This is a church and park area in Vilnius.
This
'pedal-powered' bicycle vehicle is a technological upgrade to those used
by the Chinese to ferry passengers around town.
Obviously
President Bush made a hit with Lithuanians by his 2002 speech in which
he promised them to help ensure their continued independence. They mounted
a brass plaque on the building to commemorate the occasion.
Romas'
wife is Virginia (on the right). Lena's other cousin, Vladas, is 2nd from
the right in the photo. Virginia's son is to the left of Romas in the
photo. The young woman and man to the left of Vladas are his daughter
and son-in-law.
Lena
really liked Ivan, Virginia's 75-year old father who prepared and cooked
a special meal for Lena while she was there.
A
quaint and colorful street in downtown Vilnius.
Lena
had wanted to spend more time shopping for souvenirs unique to Lithuania,
but ended up having only a few hours to search for items she wanted to
bring back to the US.
These
stuffed animals were quite cute...
...and
she could not resist getting this pig!
Shopping
is HOT WORK and a huge glass of the local refreshing beverage took the
edge off the souvenir hunting adventure.
One
of her primary goals while in Vilnius was to buy herself a nice Baltic
Amber necklace. Lithuania is famous for their quality brown-orange resin
necklaces and Lena found one which she just loved before returning to
Moscow!
During
this trip to Moscow, Lena was able to go to the theater FOUR separate
times.
She
was also able to visit her favorite Moscow restaurant (which specializes
in Russian cuisine) a total of FOUR times.
Sonya
is a former co-worker of Lena when Lena was a mid-level engineer at the
Ministry of Energy in Moscow. (Sonya still works at the Ministry.)
Bella
is another co-worker of Lena's at the Ministry who is now retired and
working for another institute.
Dressed
for the THEATER in Moscow...
...and
enjoying herself!
Lena
tried some indoor photography...
...at
the theater and was impressed with the results she got using her 'pocket-sized'
Nikon 7900 digital camera.
This
is a street scene of the area near Lena's previous job at her Ministry
of Energy which was depicted in an oil painting we had purchased.
This
is another location of the chain of Lena's favorite Moscow restaurants
(that specialize in Russian cuisine) where she ate a total of 4 times
during this visit.
Sveta
is a friend of Lena who still lives in the same...
...Moscow
apartment complex where Lena had lived for many years before she sold
her unit and moved to the apartment complex where she now has her unit
rented to tenants.
After
dinner, Sveta's boyfriend joined them and took them to a popular (and
very expensive!) Moscow nightclub located near Red Square.
This
club had an entrance fee of more than $50 each....and Lena did not even
want to ask how much the drinks, champagne, and snacks cost!
Sveta's
boyfriend even gave both of them roses to celebrate the evening.
This
is "Lena Heater" (as Steve calls her to help differentiate between
his wife's FOUR friends who are all named "Lena") with whom
Lena stayed while in Moscow.
Lena
Heater's apartment is on the first floor in the complex behind Lena (Snider).
Lena,
of course, had to change dollars into rubles in order to go shopping,
to dinner, and to the theater.
