July, 2010 Special Day G Saturday, July 31st, 2010 Here we are, in Red Square, in Moscow. We can hardly believe it! The first thing we notice is not the giant statue of Lenin or the colorful oniony domes of St. Basil's Cathedral, however, but some ... Driving With Evgeniy R Saturday, July 31st, 2010 We're in the back seat of Evgeniy's car; he is giving us a ride to Moscow's Red Square, a straight shot, ten kilometers from his apartment. His wife, or as Evgeniy prefers, "pussycat", Svetlana, is ... Crazy Russians R Friday, July 30th, 2010 Traffic into Moscow is a non-event this afternoon. So is finding the home of our Russian contact, Evgeniy. What a relief! We've just pulled into the parking lot of his apartment complex; Tara is s... Wild West: Moscow Bound, Part Three G Thursday, July 29th, 2010 We're on the M10, the only major thoroughfare between St. Petersburg and Moscow. Night is slowly descending. We've decided to cover another hundred kilometers or so before stopping to find our firs... Breaking the Law: Moscow Bound, Part Two G Thursday, July 29th, 2010 Back at the car, a crushing front of heat pours from either side when we open its doors. Cringing a bit, we roll down the driver and passenger windows, crank open the moon roof, and crack the rear w... Palaces and Kremlins: Moscow Bound, Part One G Thursday, July 29th, 2010 It is another sunny, smoggy day in Russia. We pack up and leave Aleksandr's apartment in the morning as he's heading out for work. We shake hands and thank him for having us, and he wishes us all t... Morbid Curiosity R Wednesday, July 28th, 2010 Just a few days ago while staying with our friend Mia in Finland, she mentioned that someone she knew had seen a gruesome collection of dead babies in jars while on a trip to St. Petersburg. This se... Photos from St. Petersburg G Tuesday, July 27th, 2010 Tara and I are both grappling with a bit of Russian culture shock at the moment. Figuring out the most healthy manner in which to approach the shockingly overt misogyny and racism we've encountered ... Heat Wave G Monday, July 26th, 2010 St. Petersburg is currently setting all-time records for heat. We're not enthusiastic about going out this morning, but we need to get our visas registered. Though we have three business days to co... Into Saint Petersburg PG Sunday, July 25th, 2010 Tyler: We've just crossed the Russian border, and are now driving towards St Petersburg. As we cruise through the familiar scenery of birch and pine forests, I flip on the radio. A crackly voice co... Russian Border Crossing G Sunday, July 25th, 2010 I had butterflies in my stomach as we left our free-camp this morning. As Tyler drove, I made doubly sure that we had every thing in order. Passports, drivers licenses (international and US), car r... Long Time Coming G Saturday, July 24th, 2010 This afternoon, we cleaned and packed the car while Matias and Mia and prepared the family for a wedding. Once everyone was in their Sunday best, we bid them farewell. Yet again, we've made some grea... Hanging Out With the Hannus Family G Friday, July 23rd, 2010 Our host Matias has a habit of signing up completely unprepared for long distance races. He isn't in them to win, just to prove to himself that he can do it! A year or two ago, it was a lengthy cro... Working in Jakobstad PG Thursday, July 22nd, 2010 We spent most of the day distractedly working on journals and programming projects. It's a bit difficult to focus when you have a hilarious, heart-breakingly adorable child speaking cute, unintellig... To Matias and Mia's G Wednesday, July 21st, 2010 Two weeks ago, our our wallet was stolen in Estonia. In thinking about the experience now, I can't help but shake my head about the events which preceded it. Just a day prior, I had griped about ho... Wallet Update G Tuesday, July 20th, 2010 Not much happened today, since we spent most of it sitting at Hesburger planning for Russia and working. We did get some exciting news though. Our driver's licenses, debit cards, and credit card ar... Christmas in July G Monday, July 19th, 2010 Santa's Village in Roveniemi, Finland was our big attraction for the day. Apparently, it rests right on the line where the Arctic circle begins. Napapiiri Arctic Circle At first we were pretty di... Time Lapse G Sunday, July 18th, 2010 Last night, we taped our camera to the top of the car and set it up to take a time lapse series of the midnight sun. Around 4AM, I drifted just far enough into consciousness to remember our project.... Norwegian Countryside PG Saturday, July 17th, 2010 We woke up this chilly morning to the interminable call of seagulls and other goofy birds circling around the bay. While packing up camp, Tyler and I took turns photographing some of them. Here are... Coastal Drive to Norway G Friday, July 16th, 2010 In an effort to duplicate Swedish Pancakes from one of my favorite breakfast places in Champaign, I made crepes this morning, served with Lingonberries. My results were much smaller than the restaur... Saami Museum G Thursday, July 15th, 2010 We stayed at our hotel late into the morning, sleeping restfully in the novel darkness afforded by closed curtains. When we finally roused ourselves around 10AM, our overpriced, stingy hotel redeeme... Sick in Lapland PG Wednesday, July 14th, 2010 It must have been the questionably old chicken I had on my sandwich. Or I suppose it could have been the sweet, tangy addition of lingonberry sauce (like cranberry sauce). Either way, not long afte... Amethyst Mining G Wednesday, July 14th, 2010 We're falling into a nice routine with Finland. It goes something like this: swim in the morning, tear down camp, drive through beautiful pine forests, swim before lakeside lunch, enjoy said lunch, ... Roadside Oddities G Tuesday, July 13th, 2010 Here we are, just drivin' through Finland, when we come to an abrupt halt because we've officially reached reindeer territory. There are loads of them, just milling about on the highway. Here they ... Up at the Cabin G Monday, July 12th, 2010 The sun is intense in Finland this time of year. The flaming orb never leaves the sky, even at night. At our current latitude, sunset sort of occurs around 12AM, but it never actually gets dark. T... Lake Hopping G Sunday, July 11th, 2010 Today, we are making ourselves at home in Finland. We've ditched the itineraries we found online, and are simply winging it as we head north towards the Arctic Circle. Feeling as free as we did on ... Sandcastles and Lakes G Saturday, July 10th, 2010 Today, we left Helsinki and headed into the Finnish countryside. It was a relief to leave the expensive city behind, watching metallic cityscapes transition into woods and forest. For our route, Ty... Picnic by the Lake G Friday, July 9th, 2010 We'd planned on spending some time exploring downtown Helsinki today. Mostly, we wanted to sift through the flea markets Tara had discovered during her research last night. We had no intention of b... Back in Business G Thursday, July 8th, 2010 …continued from Where is the Wallet!? By now, the worst is over. Thanks to all of our parents, what could have been a massive ordeal has become just a small bump in the road. We pack up our ... Where is the Wallet!? G Thursday, July 8th, 2010 Why, do you think someone is going to leap in through our window while we sleep? That was Tyler's response to my concern about opening our street-level hostel window last night. I eyed the two-foot-... Into Estonia PG Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 Tyler: As I checked us out of our campsite this morning, I sheepishly handed a note to the woman working in the office. Before packing our tent, I had torn a piece of paper from one of our notebooks... Exaggerated for Effect G Tuesday, July 6th, 2010 This morning, we left our quiet beach-side haven and hit the road north towards Cape Kolka. We'd read that violent storms of "biblical proportions" in 2007 had uprooted numerous giant trees and sent... Pāvilosta G Monday, July 5th, 2010 I can think of few better places to spend a holiday than Pāvilosta, Latvia. It is quiet. There are only about eight blocks of houses in town, and most of them dead-end right into the sea. While T... Working in Latvia G Sunday, July 4th, 2010 Most of today we spent working and writing. Once we got caught up (woo hoo!), we went for a walk on the beach. Right as we were leaving, my parents called. It was so nice talking to you guys! A... Baltic Amber Road G Saturday, July 3rd, 2010 I wake up at 7:00 AM to stifling sun, blaring techno, and a very grumpy Tyler. Hoo boy, is he cranky after a night of no sleep. We get to work packing immediately. Thankfully there is little but t... Up All Night PG-13 Saturday, July 3rd, 2010 Normally, I can sleep through just about anything. For some reason, last night was a miserable exception to this rule. With Tara enviably dead to the world next to me, I tossed and turned, unable t... Hill of Crosses G Friday, July 2nd, 2010 When we arrived at Tomas and Jurgita's two days ago, one of the first things we inquired about was if there were any distinctly Lithuanian sites we shouldn't miss during our stay. After much hmmmm-i... Another Adventure G Friday, July 2nd, 2010 This morning, Jurgita didn't go to work. Tomorrow, her husband Tomas will finish the last day at his forestry job. Why? Next week, they will pedal out of their driveway, heading south from their h... Heaven on Earth G Thursday, July 1st, 2010 After a day of working, our hosts Jurgita and Tomas pack their car with food, bottled water and picnic supplies. Then, we all ride together, fourteen kilometers down the road to Tomas' parents' week...