Moscow and Khanty-Mansiysk

Our last day in Moscow was quite exciting and interesting.

We headed off to the Kremlin, which was quite amazing and beautiful. We headed through the Armoury and Diamond Fund, both of which were extraordinary. Seeing 800+ year old weaponry and armor from Russian history was amazing, as were the 12.2 pounds of diamonds we saw in the Diamond Fund, along with massive bricks of gold, silver, and other precious metals and gems.

After a short lunch, we went to the airport to fly to where we are now, Khanty-Mansiysk. The flight was a little shaky, and unnerving for some of our group, but we arrived safely, and were greeted by local students.

We finally made it to our hotel around 2:30 AM, went to bed, and got up bright and early to tour the cities famous areas and museums. These sites include the Geology, Oil, and Gas Museum, Nature and Man Museum, Yugra Research Institute of Information Technologies, Picture Gallery, and the Oil, Gas and Mineral Resources Department of the Autonomous Okrug.

After our long day, we went up into the woods for the opening ceremonies of the Eco-Forum, which were very interesting, and quite good. Events included dancing and singing by native groups, and meeting people from all over Russia and the world.

I'm out of time, and must get going immediately, so hopefully I'll be able to update later and get some photos up!

Russia Day #2

Day two in Russia was quite an exciting one, filled with fun and adventure.

After our amazing buffet breakfast in the hotel, we finally started our 5 hour bus/walking tour of the city. We first headed around the outer areas of Moscow, leaning about the history of the country, then moved in towards the places that everyone goes - such as Red Square.

We spent a good hour there, seeing Lenin's grave and St. Basil's Cathedral. We walked around, enjoyed the area, and had lunch at this point.

Next we headed about the city, stopping to look at various churches, markets, and places of interest, before the group split up to go our separate ways.

Some of us went to see a photo exhibit in a museum in town, while the rest decided to get tickets to the National Russia Dance Show.