Kazan

During my adventures in Russia, I hopped on a tourbus with my Russian mom and friend to go to the mysterious land of Kazan. We had to get on the tourbus at 11 o'clock at night and sleep on the way from Kirov to Kazan. We had plans to stop at a local McDonalds and eat breakfast. We had about 30 mins to change our clothes in the bathroom and brush our teeth and grab a cup of coffee. It was a crazy start to our day. 

The first stop was a nice morning cruise on the Volga River. I wasn't too impressed with the scenery but it was nice to get off that bus!

The Mussa Jalil Statue was on the outside of the Kremlin in Kazan. It was a powerful representation of a famous artist of the USSR.

The cathedral of Kazan's Kremlin is actually a Mosque. Most of the population in Kazan are muslims.

My Russian mom and I inside the mosque.

The beautiful artwork on the ceiling of the mosque.

Another great view of the mosque.

The view of the agricultural building from the wall of the Kremlin. 

On my morning cruise still trying to wake up.

On the streets of Kazan, souvenir shopping.  

Look familiar? Its IKEA!!! It was just like the ones in America. I got lost and had to ask for directions....TWICE!

Some beautiful artwork inside one of the malls.

My trip to Kazan involved a lot more than boat cruises and Kremlin tours. We went to a carnival and I tried my hand at darts, basketball, and four wheeling. We also walked around the city and went souvenir shopping. At the end of the day we all hopped on a bus and went back home about 7 hours away. I was exhausted but very excited that I got to see another city of Russia.