Today we set out to see some new places around the city. It was a beautiful sunny day, not as cold but we still needed to rug up. Not sure why but we keep coming across these huge cement turtles everywhere we go. Apparently they were invented by a landscape gardener to use as traffic barriers to stop vehicles running on to public property such as parks. They can also be used for gnomes for transportation.          All the water around the city is frozen and we saw some men fishing through the ice. They drilled holes in the ice and dropped a line down, and they were catching some too. The Botanical Gardens were on our route so we walked through, it was quite pretty with the snow still around the trees in places. There were huge glass houses where they grew plants from all over the world.   Just near railway station square, there was a skating rink and as it was Saturday there were lots of children skating and having fun. Below is photos of the statue of Alexander II in front of the Lutheran Cathedral in Senate Square                              We have included Sunday in this entry as we didn't do a lot. there was a very cold mist coming in which made it difficult to take photos. A good day to find a warm coffee shop and restaurant and time for a bit of R and R. Red Ted enjoyed a play in the snow or what was left of it.