Q: Why is that man climbing a telephone pole and wearing nothing but his underwear while it's snowing out?

A: For starters, it's not actually a telephone pole; it's just a really smooth, tall, wooden pole. Also there are prizes (supposedly) in the bags at the tops of the pole, which is why he's trying to climb it. As to why he decided to attempt it while wearing nothing but his skivvies, I don't really know. Maybe it was because it was at a festival to celebrate the end of Winter and beginning of Spring and he was hoping the snow would quit coming down if he stripped down. Maybe he thought he'd get better traction without clothes on. Maybe he just likes climbing poles naked. I guess some questions will never be fully answered; prehaps it's best that way.

We went to the blini/ Spring celebration a week ago. It was a nice- and much needed- little trip to the Russian countryside. Other than seeing a bunch of men (the rest of which were wearing at least a bit more clothing) try to climb a pole, we saw:

Folk dancers...

An aged Russian woman (aka- babushka) randomly dancing...

... I truly admire someone who can still dance for joy at a Spring festival as it's snowing outside..

The burning of a figure of winter...

Beginning...

Middle...

And End... HOORAY!

Personally, I think burning a giant figure of Winter and then rubbing its ashes on your faces is a glorious way to celebrate the start of Spring.

Signs with strange English translations...

This one says Pit-Stop, only Pit is written in Cyrllic

Here, Dima and Jeff remind us to heed the:

And, of course, lots of convents and cathedrals...

This cathedral was probably my favorite, partially because we had to cross a frozen river and then spend twenty minutes walking out through a snow-covered field in order to get to it. Sometimes you need such open spaces and blue skies.

Basically, that weekend was huge breath of fresh air and by far the best I've had since getting to Russia.