Day 3 - Getting a tour of the Russian Medical System

Meet up bright and early with Alex and Kate to start our meetings with the Russian Medical System.  Alex explained that we needed to get 17 stamps from a large variety of doctors. As we progressed through the day, I can't imagine trying to do this without the help of an expert like Alex!   He was able to get us in and out and to acquire the stamps that we needed.



Stamps we had collected by noon.   A few more to go!



We started with a blood test, pscyh evaluation, finger prick (and no they do not use modern new equipment...will leave it at that.)  On to chest x-rays and to pee in a bottle.  Wow.  Each one in a different building on a different part of town.    A bit overwhelming, but we made it through!  Was really good to have Kate helping us translate!



One of the buildings we went to was surrounded in fog.  It was quite pretty.

Apple Trees next to the medical building

We were able to finish up around 1pm.  We came back rested for a bit, and then decided to explore the City of Stavropol.

We are in the heart of the city near the main cultural area.   We have a big plaza and a walking blvd right near our hotel.   We walked to the central Square where they have a huge monument to WWII and next to that a new Russian Orthodox Cathedral that is being built slowly with funds only from individuals (no government help)  it was very beautiful.




Monument to the soliders of the 1918 Revolution and Civil war.





This is the portion of the cathedral that is finished on the outside

The 2nd building is still in the process of being built.

Looking down over the city from the top of the hill by the cathedral

Stunning monument to WWII soliders.

 As we walked around, and as we talked to Kate, it really hits home what a huge impact WWII had on Russia.  The town we are in, suffered greatly from the German soldiers and we are at least 1,000 miles from Germany.   It's a bit staggering to realize how big this war was in terms of people and miles.

Approximately 1 in 7 Russian's were killed during the  war, and EVERY family lost at least one family member.   Every child studies it, and knows all the major battles from the war.   They have numerous days where they remember certain battles or heros that died during the war.   There is another celebration coming up on Saturday.

As we walked back up the mall, we did some window shopping, trying to guess what various stores where selling.   They have a number of small stores here, no big department stores or large box retailers.

We finished up the night at a Russian Pizza, Sushi, Hookah bar.   We thought about trying a hookah, but as I have managed to catch a bit of a cold (Lynne) decided to forgo that pleasure.



Looking up the street towards our hotel - the walking mall/park is in the middle of the road.