Russian Cathedral

The cathedrals in Russia are amazing - they don't look real! This one is in the city called Kizhy and has arrived courtesy of Elvendream. Isn't it magnificant?

It is about 37m tall and a UNESCO world heritage site. I can understand why!

I adore this image, which is heading for Lithuania today. It shows the Church of the Good Shepherd, a tiny church on the shores of Lake Tekapo. Around it, the rolling golden hills, bare now of vegetation, thanks to the early slash-and-burn agriculture. The lake, a vivid contrast against the gold of late summer. The green in the background are pine trees, planted by the settlers. Perhaps once this was native forest or grasses, now it is stark but still splendid.

Christchurch Cathedral

Our Cathedral and the "lovely" Chalice (Aka the giant bong)

This one is off to Finland tomorrow.

Christchurch Landmarks

Probably the most distinct single landmark of Christchurch is our cathedral. This was completed in 1904 after over 30 years of hard work. It is situated in the centre of the city, surrounded by a sea of concrete and dwarved by the hotels. Beside it now is a monstrosity named "the Chalice" although given its leafy decoration it has been often compared with a giant marijuana bong. It is conveniently out of this photo.

The problem with this postcard is that large section of dead space in the top right. It needs to be there, because you ahve to see the whole belltower, but seriously, couldn't they have chosen one with some interesting cloud formations or something? I kinda wanna stick a picture in there of something - anything!

And this is the Peacock fountain, situated in the Botanical Gardens, near the museum (which you can see in the background. It is a beautiful example of Edwardian design. There are no peacocks on the Peacock fountain - those are herons and dolphins (the mediaeval kind) and it is considered by some to be a bit of an eye-sore. Alledgely, it was sinking into the Avon river and had to be restored.

I like it, even if it is a little overly-garish.

From Poland!

This is the largest church made of brick EVER, apparently. Not sure if that's just in Poland or the whole world, but gosh, it's massive!