This 'n That

I joined a group called Astana Outdoor Adventures.  Last week they went to Borovoye, which is north of Astana.  I did not go because I felt I should rest after my long journey, which I did by sleeping 12 hours a day all weekend.  This weekend the adventure was in Vishnevka.  Vishnevka is about 43 miles southeast from Astana.  I met the school director, Sandy and her husband at Mega supermarket.  We took the bus (first time for me) to the train station.  The train station is in the "Right Bank."  This is the older part of the city.  I'd been told this, but was still surprised to see how run down the buildings were.  The train left at 10:30 and we arrived at the station around 9:50.  We had to wait in line, people cut in front of us, and as it neared 10:15 we started to panic.  Sandy and Andy had bought their tickets online.  Finally Aigereem, Sandy's admin assistant, showed up, talked to the cashier and she gave me my ticket with 6 minutes before the train left.  We did an Amazing Race through the train station and made it on time. 
     Although it is March and therefore spring, it still snows most days and the temps are still low.  Also the wind blows.  Here are some views from the train window of the area leaving the city.

Vishnevka is a small town.  And bleak.  We crossed a frozen river a couple of times, snowshoed through the rushes and back into town.  There were 11 of us.  Three really fast snowshoers, 5 not really trying to impress anyones, and 3 cross country skiers.  In our company was the Czech ambassador, an American embassy worker and a Russian recently arrived in Astana.  The first picture below is of the river.

 

We took a taxi to a cafe to eat lunch.  The roads there were terrible.  The driver drove on the right side of the road, then the left side, weaving back and forth to avoid potholes and oncoming traffic.  After lunch we then had a fun filled return trip on the train.

 Today, Rose and I walked down to Khan Shatyr, the large shopping center.  It has a beach on the fifth floor.  You have to pay to use it or even look at it, so I had to content myself with taking a picture that is on the wall outside the entrance.

And, yes, there are dinosaurs in the shopping center, too.