We can see clearly now, the rain is gone.

The weather was very cooperative today. The forecast called for rain, but we never got any. Kate and Leonid picked us up at 10am and took us up into the mountains. It was about a 30-40 minute drive to get there (Max fell asleep) and it was nice and cool up among the clouds. We went to the Medeu Dam, which is on the southeastern edge of Almaty. From there, we could see down into the Medeo Skating Rink, which used to be a competitive speed skating rink from the 1950’s through the 1980’s. Apparently, the Soviet Olympians trained here. When Kazakhstan gained independence, the costs of keeping it in good shape had gotten to be too much, so it fell into disrepair. They are currently renovating it however, for the 2011 Winter Asian Olympic Games. It was very beautiful being up in the mountains. Kate said that the people of Almaty are very proud of this place. Here’s a photo of the rink as seen from the dam (we still do not have a USB cord to transfer our pictures to the computer, so I borrowed these from the internet).



After lunch, we met with Marina to fill out some forms for our Embassy appointment on Friday. She will be submitting our paperwork tomorrow, so we will be all set. Max took a nap right after she left and when he woke up, we went for a walk to the nearby Panfilov Park. The park is located just 4 or 5 blocks from our apartment and is very pretty. The park is named after General Major Panfilov and there is a statue of him on the south side of the park.

There is also a WWII Memorial on the eastern side which was quite a sight. Very impressive (and very Soviet-looking).

In the center of the park is the Zenkov Cathedral which I was very eager to see. It is the second tallest wooden building in the world and is one of only a few structures that were left standing after the earthquake in 1910. It is a gorgeous Russian Orthodox Church.

On our way back, we stopped for dinner at Mamma Mia’s. Who knew you could get such a good (and not too pricey) Italian meal in Kazakhstan? Jenny had the gnocchi and I had the penne arribiata. Max had mashed potatoes (as usual) and some of Jenny’s gnocchi. After dinner, we stopped by the market and came home. Max is sleeping now and we’ll be going to bed shortly. Our friends Melinda, Alan, and Marina will be arriving here tomorrow, so we are hoping to meet up with them in the evening tomorrow as well as possibly lunch or dinner on Friday (our last night in Kaz). Tomorrow, we are scheduled to visit the National Museum in the morning and we are free in the afternoon (I'm sure we'll go for a walk).