What A Difference The Sun Makes. January 4, 2008

The sun is shining today!  I actually felt like getting out of bed this morning.  I felt so energized I decided to walk to the Embassy for lunch.  -12 Celsius, who cares!  I have my new down coat and the sun is shining.  I even remembered to take my camera with me and snap some long overdue pictures of Minsk.

 So here they are: 

  

This is taken as my walk is just getting underway, I’m a little way from my apartment, but not very far in to my walk.

I don’t know much about this memorial – CTELLA (pronounced Stella) Memorial, but it is a few blocks from our apartment.  There is a great park surrounding it.  This is a memorial monument for WW2 soliders.  There is a plaque there, but of course, I cannot read it (note to self, ask someone what the plaque says).

 

I sometimes pass this billboard.  It used to say Happy Birthday Minsk, now it says something along the lines of Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

There are a couple of bridges to cross and I love to look at the ducks.  I can’t imagine being in the water this time of year. 

These planters are scatter throughout the park.  They change each season from what I’ve seen.  In the fall there were mums, now there is pine greenery.  They are really pretty.

Here’s another view of the river looking down toward the Island of Tears.  I don’t have a picture of that today, but will make sure to take one for a future post.

Every once in a while I stop to look around and behind me.  It’s that kind of town.  There’s no one there today.  I guess they don’t like the cold either.  I decided to snap a picture showing the distance I’d covered.  If you look off in the distance behind the building in the middle you can see the monument.

So that’s it.  Finally some good pictures of Minsk on a sunny day.  I had to put the camera away though because it was so windy that my cheeks were burning.  I still had about a 15 minute walk and was desperate for a latte to warm me up.