Sergiev Posad

It has been a little tough sitting down to blog. We were a bit depressed for a time about the earth quake in Christchurch but believe they will rebuild and rebound. All of the nearly 600 participants in the USAP were accounted for. Please keep NZ in your thoughts and prayers.

Now on to better things. A group of us decided to take a weekend to the country to Sergiev Posad. It was about a hour and a half drive NE of Moscow. We stayed at a Dacha (or vacation home), kinda of a bed and breakfast operated by a very nice lady named Sveta. It is a famous place for pancakes, www.pancake-hill.ru and several monasteries and one famous cave monastery. The house was very cozy and Sveta was a great host. She lost her husband in a fire at the house five years ago and has been slowly rebuilding. After arriving and having a pancake snack we left for the Troika ride and campfire. Lots of fun and lots of photos. We cooked hotdogs on the fire and drank a little vodka. It was cold but a very good time.

We spent the evening with a delicious Russian dinner, some cribbage and time in the bayna (sauna). Tradition is time in the bayna then a dip in the cold pool or a roll in the snow. Invigorating!

We visited 2 monasteries that were very beautiful and full of history. The Cave Monastery, Chernigovsky Skit, was really interesting and still under renovation. Many of these monasteries were closed or even destroyed during "the Soviet period of time" as Sveta would say.

All in all a great weekend away with a great group of friends and a wonderful host.