The person who runs the school I’m going to is a very thorough Dutchman, so he produced a set of notes to tell us all the local information, including what could go wrong.

One piece of advice was that each year someone is killed by falling icicles. Today I went out to have lunch and do some shopping, and a young woman came up and told me to keep away from the footpath near a building. She had put some barricades on the footpath.

It turned out that there were icicles on the edge of the roof, about 10 stories up, and a man was on the roof sweeping the snow and icicles off the roof. If you look closely at this photo, you can see some snow and ice coming down the side of the building.

I visited the Political history museum yesterday. To get there, go to gorskovaya metro

Turn right at the mosque

Past the wedding in the stretch limo

To the entrance of the museum

It is a very interesting museum of Russian politics, from attempts to liberate the serfs under the Romanov Tsars, to the revolution, Lenin, then Stalin, then to recent politics up to Putin.

Lots of letters, photos, videos and artefacts

The museum is in a palace, which became the office of Lenin. He used to address crowds from this balcony

Lots of history, which is still happening.

Just went to Mass at the church of Our Lady of Lourdes. (And there was also a statue of Our Lady of Fatima there..Ironic?).

The Mass was in Russian. I’m not sure, but I think the priest is Polish.

I’m now having a late breakfast in an American diner and there is a Novotel up the road, so this must be a district for foreigners.

And it’s snowing outside. Beautiful.

It is always fun blowing bubbles