Государственный Исторический музей

State Historical Museum, Moscow Russia

The State Historical Museum (Государственный Исторический музей) is my second favorite building on Red Square. My favorite, of course, is St. Basil's. The museum was built between 1875-1881, and opened in 1894. While this building was not demolished during the Soviet regime, like the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour was, its beautiful interior was painted and plastered over. The building went through major restoration in the late 1990s,
and is now restored to its original state. The interior is as beautiful as the exterior.
What I love the most about the exterior is how it looks as if it's covered in snow -
even in August, when this photo was taken!

Olympia Eissport Zentrum

Ice Skating Rink in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, hosted the 1936 Winter Olympics.
This rink is still used for skating and hockey events, and many future Olympic hopefuls train there as well. I think that the building fits so well into the beautiful mountain landscape with its weathered exterior. It must look fantastic when the mountains are covered in snow!

Кунцево

Kunstevo Train Station

Кунцево (Kuntsevo) is a train stop that I would pass on the way to my Metro station.
I love the building - it certainly stands out!

Храм Христа Спасителя

Храм Христа Спасителя, Moscow Russia

The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour was the first church I saw in Moscow.
It's huge, and beautiful! The original church was completed 1860, but unfortunately it didn't even stand to be 100 years old. Stalin had it demolished in 1931 so that he could build a monument honoring Communism. That was never built, but the site sat empty until it was turned into the world's largest swimming pool. Luckily, it was decided that a church was much more important than a swimming pool! This new church was completed in 2000.
The bridge I'm standing on while taking this picture is a new addition, and quite an excellent one, I might add! It allows for people to be able to take photos like this one :)

Think Pink! October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

Please take a minute to check out Pennies in Action
It only takes a penny to make a difference!

This charity supports research for more than just a cure -
we're supporting a program that is working to develop a vaccine to prevent breast cancer!

New York City

I know, I know - this isn't Europe! But I was sorting through all of the photos on my computer today and came across this one of New York City, and I like it so much that I decided to post it! I took this from my car (don't worry, traffic was terrible so I wasn't actually moving) and I love how it turned out slanted. Completely unintentional - but I think that sometimes accidental pictures turn out better than planned ones!

Gmunden

lovely houses on the shore of the Traunsee Lake

This picture was taken in Gmunden, Austria. We spent the day at the Traunsee Lake. It was beautiful there. The lake was surrounded by houses like these. My favorite house in this picture is the yellow one on the bottom left.

St. Basil's

looking up at St. Basil's Cathedral

I absolutely adore this church! This is taken from the side facing GUM, the huge shopping mall that spans almost one whole side of Red Square. I like this picture because it shows the differences in each tower. I also love how blue the sky was that day, and how the sun was shining so brightly. It highlighted the church beautifully!

West Chester, Pennsylvania

old firehouse in West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA

Here's a bonus shot from America! West Chester is a fun little town, lots of little shops and restaurants, and some interesting buildings too! This is the old firehouse, which has now been turned into a restaurant. Below is a picture of the door that caught my eye.

This is such a beautiful door!

Vienna from the Riesenrad

just a pretty view of Vienna :)

Vienna's Prater, in the 2nd district just outside of the city center, is a wonderful park.
We stopped to take a ride on the Riesenrad (ferris wheel). It's the one that was shown in the 1987 Bond movie The Living Daylights :)

The views from the wheel are simply amazing! The gondolas are quite spacious, and we were lucky to only share ours with 2 other people! I think I took 50 photos just from this one time around on the ferris wheel! This is a shot taken on our descent, about halfway, if I remember correctly. Click on the picture to make it larger so you can truly see the beauty of this scene!