One short day in the Capital City

Yeah, that was a Wicked reference. I know, I’m slapping my wrists right now…

So... Two friends and I went to Astana (which is Kazkakh for "capital") for about 24 hours. It’s only 4 hours from where I live, but I’d never been there. So we went. And it was good. And... yeah.

Now look at some pictures. Then maybe I’ll have something else to say along the way.

Me, Anna, And Molly

The Shaw's - the fantastically hospitable missionary couple who make excellent American food.

Baiterek - a very popular building here in KZ. Behind it (can't see it) is the capital building.

And now some more crazy architecture... and this is only brushing the surface of some of the crazy buildings there.

The Mosque

Ha Ha. Donkey cart. 

The Khan - one of the newest attractions in Astana. It's a big shopping center with  a monorail going along the top, an indoor beach, and a catapult-ish ride in the middle.

The gold building with the slanted roof is known as "the lighter" because... well... it looks like a lighter.

And then you get to the edge of the city and.... nothingness. Oh yeah, we're still in Kazakhstan.

The weather was beautiful on Sunday. We went for a walk along the (man-made) river

These buildings represent the tallest mountains in Almaty. I'll go study my geography and get back to you on what those mountains are called (no I won't).

Anna and I are both big tennis fans. We knew the Davis Cup was going on while we were there, and were excited when we actually found it! Switzerland was playing against Kazakhstan. In this match, the Swiss-man was losing. Go KZ. 

Questions? Comments? You know what to do.