We attended meetings in Yaroslavl while we were there and former Branch President Chernikov was there with his darling family. Maxie wanted to be like the missionaries, so he borrowed a badge. He'll be a great missionary in a few years!
Karina, the Chernikov's 4 year old daughter, also wanted to be a missionary. She came over to sit beside Anne to have her picture taken. She'll also be a wonderful missionary!
Our dear friend, Ilya, came to Sacrament Meeting to see us. He surprised us by bringing his new girlfriend, Sveta. We enjoyed visiting with them. Sveta is starting her last year in law school and Ilya will be leaving for Austria the end of September to attend a university for a masters degree. Aren't they a darling couple?!
While we were on our visa trip, Valary was baptized. Elders Worthington, left, and Nuckols helped teach him. He's a very humble, sweet man and will be a strength for the branch.
We had to say good-bye to Sister Corbett, on the right, after a short stay in Nizhniy. She was transferred to Kazhakstan. Our sweet Luba Ivanova from the upper branch was her companion for two days while she packed and got ready to leave.
The city of Prague in Czech Republic was a wonderful place to visit for our visa renewal trip. It was one of the only cities that escaped a lot of bombing during WWII, so the historical buildings are in tact. They have been or are being restored and refurbished since the fall of communism. Every place we looked was amazingly beautiful.
We ate two meals in this wonderful restaurant. The atmosphere was so great and the food was very good. When we went back for dinner, there was a trio playing old romantic American music. We felt like we were dreaming.
Every street had buildings and homes with completely different architecture. We could have spent several days there just looking at all the buildings.
The murals on this building were magnificent. 
We visited the royal palace grounds with this huge cathedral. It was built over many years in three different parts, so it has several architectural styles.
From the palace hill, we could see out over much of the city. It's hard to see, but there are several bridges in the distance. There are 18 bridges in the city that cross the river. The stone wall in the foreground was built centuries ago and is being preserved.
Another very interesting architectural building in the Jewish section. We must have hundreds of pictures of different buildings throughout the city.
This is one of three Hebrew clocks in Europe. We couldn't get to the front to get a better view.
There are several cathedrals that have this type of towers. If you notice closely, the one on the left is thinner and shorter than the one on the right. They are called the Adam and Eve towers. Eve is the one on the right, of course.
When our tour ended here in the old town square, there was a festival going on with bands and dancers and lots of food and souvenir kiosks. There was lots of merriment.
This door really caught our attention. The detail is unbelievable. It's beside the astronomical clock which you see in the video below.Every hour, the two little doors above the astronomical clock open and figurines of the twelve Apostles can be seen rotating around. At the end of their appearance, the rooster crows, reminding everyone of Peter's denial of the Christ. You have to really listen for the crowing. There was a huge crowd sharing this experience with us. We hope you enjoy it, too.
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