Saturday in the park...

Well - more like Saturday on the mountain. After a very long night - very, very long night - we all got up around 8:30. Little man just did not want to sleep. Probably got way too over stimulated yesterday with all the running around and no proper naps. So today we got up - fed him and then got him down for an hour and 15 min. nap around 10:45am. Kurt was beat and is not feeling well (thinks he might have bronchitis or pneumonia - and anyone who knows him knows he has to really be feeling like crap to say something like that and be willing to take meds) so I bundled Serik up after lunch and loaded him into the stroller (the Brabsons have an extra one from their apt) and went to meet Linda and Scott for a ride up the mountain on a cable car. By the time I met up with them we had lost and found a boot - 2x and I was sweating from pushing him uphill with a backpack on. The mountain we went up was one of the smaller mountains but it provided a lovely view of the surrounding peaks of Almaty - where most of the mountains are about 4000 meters (not sure of the conversion to feet but thinking it's around 10,000 -11,000ft). The view of the city itself is blocked by a lovely layer of smog - just like LA. Can't see anything of the city - don't know if it would be different in the a.m instead of the afternoon but regardless you just had to look up not down to really enjoy the view. Also at the top they had a small animal zoo for kids, kids play ground (in summer), a grill, and a yurt where you could get tea etc. We checked out the animals - fallow deer (new to me), golden pheasant (again different than at home) and then peacocks. I know those are not indigenous and wonder how the heck they survive up there. We then went to the yurt and had tea - so good here with milk and sugar. The kids were pretty beat and after a small meltdown as we were leaving Serik slept all the way down the mountain, through the slush covered streets of Almaty and finally over some snow banks and up three flights of stairs to home. Yes I carried him asleep in the stroller over the snow bank and up the stairs - the whole shooting match -good for the biceps and the little man needs to sleep more. He slept for another hour at home still in the stroller all bundled up. Oh forgot to mention...

When we were waiting to get on the cable car on the way up these Kaz women started telling me that Serik needed to be bundled up more. Mind you he was in a snow suit, 2 hats plus a hood, boots, and had 2 blankets around him plus a scarf over his face. They said that I should wrap the blankets not just over his legs like I had done but also over his boots. I wasn't sure what they were getting at and their daughter tried to help translate but finally one of the women just did what she wanted to him so that he was appropriately bundled - that included me lifting him out of the stroller so she could arrange his blankets to her liking. Whatever. It was no skin off my back. Interesting though that she then asked where we were from (most people think England or France)and what we were doing in Almaty. We said we had been visiting friends in Astana - half truth right?! That we were just going to be in Almaty for a few days as a stopover on the way home. She then wanted to know what city we like better. Followed by questions about the babies. Were they boys or girls, how old, was Serik my son, where was my husband (doma speet - home sleeping)? You get the pic - but then it was the fingers to the eyes in the oh so not p.c. way - pulling them on herself as she was asking if my husband was Asian b/c obviously I wasn't and Serik is. I just nodded. She did the same to Scott and Linda and we weren't sure if she said that Katerina had Linda's eyes or that she didn't. Kat looks more Eurasian than Serik. Anyway - it was interesting.

Our apartment phone doesn't seem to want to let us call out with our i-cards so to our family excuse the lack of calls. Tomorrow we're planning on checking out some cathedrals, mosques, and shopping. Kurt may join if he's feeling up to it. He went to bed shortly after Serik. More later.

Above are the underground street crossings (the opposite of the skyways), looking down on Almaty and the view at the top looking up.
Golden pheasant at right heading into the hen house.