Time for exploring...

Well with my Exam and studies finally over for another year, yesterday Sonja and I decided to explore a part of the city we hadn't been to before. It's a little funny though, because this part of the city is actually one of the first parts you see when coming from the Airport. So we've been meaning to visit it for a while. The place is called the monument to the heroic defenders of Leningrad. It's located on a round-a-bout in the middle of the main road to the Airport, but really needs a visit to appreciate the monument. St Petersburg in World War II was surrounded for 900 days by the Germans, and nearly a third of the population died from the war or starvation. The museum was rather interesting and a nice break from the weather on this gray dreary day. As you can see from the photos...

Bratwurst, lederhosen and the wrong train!

I (Sonja) traveled to Germany, Kandern and Giessen, for training in my new position at work. The town of Kandern (pronounced Kon-dern) is so charming and quaint that I want to bottle it up and take it home with me. Kandern is the birthplace of John Sutter who later moved to California and was one of the first to strike it rich and find gold. Everything about Kandern is clean, all the houses are clean and freshly painted, the streets, the cars, even the kids faces are clean. Some buildings are hundreds of years old yet hold a classic modern charm that only well-kept buildings could possess.

When I was leaving from Giessen (pronounced Gee-son) to catch the plane in Frankfurt I traveled by train. I had to make a transfer and I got onto the wrong train! It was going in the direction that I wanted to go but it by-passed the Frankfurt airport that I was headed for! I ended up in some town and had to wait 30 minutes for another train going back to the main station and then had to get another train to the airport. I arrived only an hour before my plane left and had to wait 45 minutes in line at the security check; I made it to the gate right when the plane was supposed to leave and found out that the plane was delayed a few minutes. I made it home just fine!

Babushka in training

This is Sonja dressing up as a "babushka" or Russian grandma; in the stairwell of Sally and Sean's apartment. A lot of old ladies dress like this, and carry buckets, NO KIDDING!

Octobrrrrrrr!

October 07 – Brrrrr, it’s getting cold. Cam’s been studying for his Masters degree for a couple of months now and that means that every weekend has been full of books and studying and not to much of adventure. We finally had a free Saturday to do whatever we wanted and so we went to a park called Pavlosk. We took a local train out to the town on Pavlosk. The park was for the Tsar (empirical) family in Russia but was taken over by the Germans in World War II. It’s a very naturally landscaped park with hills and lots of trees and lakes and small palaces and hermitages around every corner. It was rainy when we were there but we didn’t care. On the way home we took a taxi-van called a “mashrutka” and got stuck in a traffic jam. Luckily for us our driver got his license while working on a safari and decided to take all 20 standing and sitting occupants off-road on the side of the highway to get around the back-up. This happens quite often and unlucky for you if you’re a pedestrian and the taxi driver decides to go on the sidewalk (Australian: footpath) to get around the traffic jam. In the end we got home and had a cup of hot cocoa and rested for the rest of the day. We plan on going back out there when it’s snowy.

Let's go to Moscow

September 07 – Cam’s parents, John and Trish Gibbons, came and visited us for three weeks from the end of August to the first part of September. We had a great time. We were cramped in our tiny one bedroom apartment, but it worked out okay. John and Trish were real troupers, they went out by themselves and walked and explored and walked some more all around the city while Cam and Sonja went to work. We did go to Moscow one weekend and it happened to be Moscow’s birthday, 860 years! Would you believe that they control the weather here? They put silver nitrate in planes and fly around and drop it on the clouds and they go away. Yeah, they actually do this. So everyday in the morning it was cloudy and cold but by 11AM it was blue skies the rest of the day! We’re not sure of the effects of the nitrate so the next time you see us we might each have an extra arm or something. Anyway, we all had a great time and took the train to and from Moscow. We went to all kinds of yummy restaurants while they were here so they could try some local cuisine. We were sad to see them go; but they were able to meet up with my aunt in Norway while they were there and they traveled through Europe on their way back to Australia. Trip of a lifetime!

Make a Wish and blow out the candles!

August 07 – 1 Aug was Sonja’s 25 birthday! Very low key this year. Cam knows better now and will make up for it next year :o) About a week after Sonja’s b’day we went with friends to a beach in St. Pete (don’t get too excited, when we say beach we mean a bit of sand by the water with trash all over it), and had Russian “shashlik” which is meat on a stick like shish kabobs (for Australians: kebabs). It was so good! At the end of the meal a old lady came up asking us for help with money and we sent her home with all the left-overs, even a piece of cake. That really made her day.

Simply Sweden

July 07 – We had a church conference in Sweden for the Nordic vineyard churches. We drove from Russia through Finland and then took an overnight ferry to Sweden. We had a full day in Stockholm and the weather was fantastic. We roamed around the city and wanted to see a movie in English, but they weren’t playing at the time. We were actually trying to beat the heat; it was really sunny and warm that day. The church conference was great. We camped outside at the conference, which was held at a small college. It rained so hard one day that people’s tents started to float away. It was so beautiful and peaceful. This was my (Sonja) first time in Sweden and I met a lot of people from Norway so I wasn’t shy to speak Norwegian with them even though it’s been 7 years since I spoke it.

Viva Latvia baby!

June 07 - We went with 40 other colleages to Riga, Latvia for a conference. Riga is a gorgeous city in the EU. The old buildings and small alleyways were so quaint. And they had the restaurant T.G.I.Friday's! The conference center that we stayed at was outside the city; it was a refurbished community farm. The rooms were actually where the horse stables used to be. Our team went to a ropes course; it was scary but so much fun!

Up Up and Away........

Well our 80 days in Oz are up, Our visa's arrived this morning (there's nothing like living life on the edge) and tonight we fly out to Bangkok and on to Russia. Thanks to all who have been supporting us and blessing us during this time, we look forward to writing next time from our home in Russia!!!

On the road again

Well our time in Oz has gone quickly and is over halfway gone. Sonja and I have found it busy but exciting - as honeymooners do. We've been able to mix up some business with leisure in getting around and for Sonja to discover more of Australia - or the state of Victoria at least. In between meeting with small groups, schools and churches, we managed to take 3 days out to travel the great ocean road, a section of coastline that is one of the most scenic in the world. Here we also trekked through rain forests and visited waterfalls.






This week we are off to the country again (as we are for the next 3 weeks). This week Wangaratta, then Wodonga, then Mt Beauty. With less than 6 weeks to go in Australia, we'll be back on the plane in no time.





- Sonja with the giant statue of Ned Kelly -

Bintan and Beyond

It's more than a month after the wedding, and we are now catching up with communications. Lots of travel, 2 weddings and lots of getting ready for our trip back to Russia have kept us busy over the past month.
Some of the highlights in among the errands include:
1. Honeymoon in Bintan - Our best holiday yet!!! Tropical Island, lots of wildlife and HOT!!! Comforted by a swimming pool.



2. Our Aussie wedding celebration - Another great time of celebration with friends and family, thanks to all of you who helped put this together - most of all Mum and Dad who helped out so much.




3. Day on the green, My brother Mike gave us tickets to a concert down the coast to one of our favorite artists. It was HOT!!! No Pool!!! The report said 46 degrees C in the crowd, Sonja was sweating like a fountain. It has started off quite hot so far for our stay in Oz, but now seems to be cooling a bit. Sonja is pleased to say the least.

First pics from the day...

Ok, so we are still at the hotel in Seattle (A beautiful room with a view over Elliot Bay and the Olympic Peninsula that is covered in snow) but we do have some initial pics from the day for all of you eager to see us at our best.
The day was just perfect, low stress, and Sonja and I had a real peace right the way through the day. Our advice to those who follow - "Keep it Simple!!!"
Anyway here are some pics I'm sure there will be heaps to come. You can find more at my flickr page - just click on one of the photos.



The Cake(s) and more fun!!!

The Big Day

Well it is finally here, the big day, we had the rehersal yesterday and every seemed to go well.
With only 4 hours to go, all things are in order. We want to send out a very big Thanks to all who have been praying, helping and supporting us through this big event. We are so grateful for all of your help in this time, I've had a bad back this week that is still recovering, but we are just amazed at the fact we are finally here!!! Stay tuned for Photos and exciting stories of our adventures.
- Cam (and Sonja)

Bucks party Яussian style

Ok, so we are 10 days out from the wedding and I still have 4 countries to stop in before I get to the wedding. I should be there by Sunday. Its been a hectic past 6 weeks, trying to finish up all my roles here in St Pete, but I have finally finished work (yesterday), Packed up our house (last weekend) and even found time for a bucks party in between.
So what does an Aussie in St Pete do for a Bucks Party?
Eat lots of meat - We went out to a restaurant called Sphinx for dinner where John and I split the pharaohs feast - a 1.1kg plates of ribs, burger, steak and of course Shashlick.
This was followed by the traditional Russian banya - a group of guys getting naked and beating each other with birch branches in a steam room.
This is slightly more enjoyable than it sounds to most of you, anyway as I finish up here in St Pete, Sonja is working hard to get things ready in Seattle. Please be praying for us as we travel and workout this thing called marriage. we've been working on both marriage prep and wedding prep for months, but lately - particularly because of the distance - it seems like its all wedding. I'm sure we'll get to the end of this soon, only 10 more days to go.