Wonderful Wednesday with My Purple World, Oh My Heartsie Girls, and Friends

Cheers from Semarang..

Here comes another busy week.
I have been traveling here and there for works and while it's exciting, it's also tiring at some point.

After coming back from Moscow, I have to attend meetings at Semarang and Solo, two beautiful cities in Central Java. I have visited these cities before but it's always nice to be back here again.

Semarang, the capital city of  Central Java Province, has been chosen as the place for the final DiploFest, Diplomacy Festival,held by my ministry. This wonderful city has also been well-known for being a wonderful melting pot, where Chinese descendants and Indonesians have lived together side by side harmoniously.

I visited Sam Poo Kong Temple in Semarang and got the photo session wearing traditional Chinese costume! It was so much fun!

I love this costume, although it's heavy and hot!

Sam Poo Kong Temple

And let's join our party now!

Welcome to Wonderful Wednesday!! We always get a head start each week and our Co-Hosts choose from the previous week’s links and we are featuring 7 blogs on week #171!! I am sure that you will find it both fun and interesting to meet and make friends with our Co-Hostesses and Bloggers through our party and we appreciate your visit today!

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♥ Karren Haller // Oh My Heartsie Girl How To Give Your Home A Makeover Twitter | Bloglovin | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram

♥ Indah Nuria Savitri // My Purple World What to See in Red Square, Moscow, Russia Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram

♥ Clearissa Coward // Command Center Working With A Small Space? Try These Simple Decorating Tips Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest

♥ Suzan White // Country Crafting Caramel Apple Pound Cake Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest

♥ Alice V // DIYerfy Beginners Guide to adding Amazon Affiliate links into Wordpress Blog Posts Twitter| Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest

♥ Kaycee Mason Pumpkin Bread Recipe Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest ...

Feature Chosen by Co-Host's Alice // DIYerfy Clearissa Coward // Clearissa Coward's Command Center Kiappa At Home // Fall Decorating Ideas

Feature Chosen by Co-Host Kaycee Mason // My Crafty Zoo Gods Growing Garden // Homemade Basil Pesto from The Garden

Feature Chosen by Co-Host Suzan White // Country crafting Mommy Evolution // Thumbprint Twix Cookie Recipe



Feature Chosen by Co-Host Indah Nuria Savitri // My Purple World Unique Creations by Anita // Altered Wine Bottle Halloween

Feature Chosen by Host Karren // Oh My Heartsie Girl Lou Lou Girls // Banana Bread Bars

Feature Chosen by Host Karren // Oh My Heartsie Girl Pennys Vintage Treasures // Pink Owls and Plaid Pumpkins



Feature Chosen by Host Karren // Oh My Heartsie Girl Vanity and Style // Autumn Fashion To Early to Be Thinking About

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WW: DiploFest Semarang 2019

Hello, Semarang!

Public Lecture with Menlu Retno

We finally come to Semarang for the last leg of DiploFest.
What is DiploFest anyway?
It’s the diplomacy festival where you can see, learn and even try some real works of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, my office, up close and personal.
We set up booths where people can learn about negotiations, participation in UN Security Council (through simulation in a specially made-up room just like in UN HQ :)), safe travel, citizen protection, and many more.

We had the public lecture with the Minister herself at the Diponegoro University, while other high rank officials spoke in various universities about various topics as well.

At the end of the event, we had the concert with Danilla and Afghan, the local famous singers. 

Check out more photos from the event here.

public lecture at Diponegoro University

Welcome

The simulation of the UN Security Council meeting

Mr. President :)

The wishing wall..interesting to read 

All in all, it was a great event and we had so much fun! Especially since I got to meet some fellow bloggers from Semarang and shared some times with them!

Cheers

Me with dearest blogger friends from Semarang )

And now join us on our (almost) Wordless Wednesday and have fun with the Linky Party.

What to See in Red Square, Moscow, Russia

Welcome to Moscow

You probably remember my previous post about my visit, first time ever, to Moscow, the capital city of the Russian federation. 

Read: Hello Moscow, I am Coming.

As I said, it was a very memorable trip and definitely exciting. I only spent less than 3 days, packed with meetings, but surely we managed to see the famous landmark of Moscow, the Red Square.

Everyone in Red Square literally took picture of this!

Red Square has been famous for being the heart of Moscow.

Being number one tourists’ destination in Moscow, here lies several historical buildings and important, unique spots deemed tourists’ attractions as well as architecture gems. Perhaps one of the most striking one is St, Basil's Cathedral.

You know, the cathedral with super unique dome with intricate details and vivid colors it looks surreal. At the same spot, we can enjoy many museum, the Tsar's tower, Lenin's Mausoleum and more.

Before coming here, I read some reviews about what we can do for one day in Moscow. Most of them, if not all, recommend visiting the Red Square. 

Well, my Russian colleagues complained why I only had one extra day in Moscow with so many places to see. Not that I didn’t want to but more works are waiting in Jakarta so that my team and I had to go home to Jakarta right away. Nevertheless, I feel grateful for having a little break and getting to see the best the city can offer.

So there I was.. standing in the middle of Red Square.

The one-and-only Red Square.

I felt beyond happy and about to cry at the same time.

This is just like a dream-come-true destination for me.

I remember meticulously preparing the trip to Moscow and St. Petersburg with my petite family,, the Frakarsas, back in 2009 when we regretfully cancelled it after a series of  bombing incidents happened in the city’s subway. Bo, our son, was only 3 and we couldn’t risk traveling to places like this. Ten years after, my Rabb answered my prayers and I finally visited Moscow for the first time ever. Alhamdulillah.. merci my Rabb 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻.

So flying through Istanbul, we arrived in Moskow on Tuesday afternoon. Heading straight to the Ambassador’s  office and having the courtesy call, we had dinner at a place call.. I forgot :). Before dinner, we stopped by the Zaryadne Park, near the Moskva River to see the St. Basil's Cathedral from outside.

Cheers...

The following day we had full bilateral meeting, with wonderful lunch served at the mansion of the MoFA. It was a very productive meeting and certainly many follow ups we need to do afterwards. All in all, it was a successful meeting and both parties enjoyed the process as well as the result.

Once we were done with the meeting, we directly went to the Red Square.

Good thing it was summer, so we had long days.

Arriving at the Red Square at around 5 PM, we were directly walking towards the heart of it. Starting from the Museum of Archeology of Moscow, we admired the architecture designs of the building. 

Striking red..

where to go first?

Even the gate to the Red Square is amazing!
I was actually trying to get more detailed information about the gate but I wasn't very successful here. Perhaps I should learn Russian to make it easier!

At the gate of the Red Square, with the team.

Striking red brick seems to be the trade mark, as the State Historical Museum is also standing across the street. Too bad we didn't  have time to enter this place but I made a mental note that I have to be back here and definitely explore the museums.

The side of the Museum of archeology of Moscow

As we stepped into the Red Square, we were again wowed by the vastness of the area, surrounded but beautiful and historical buildings. One of them is the Kazan Cathedral. Ornate with pink and white bricks, the church looks glorious with its golden domes and intricate details. I was tempted to go inside and see more glorious settings but I knew I had no time :(. 

The Kazan Chatedral in Pink and White

At the same spot, we have the oldest shopping center in Moscow, GUM Department Store. To me, it looks more like palace instead of the shopping mall. It is very artistic and the good thing is, the good being sold are tax free. Please correct me if I'm wrong but that's what I read in one of the signs.

Here you can find all those branded stores like Dior, Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, and more, as well as the most delicious ice cream in the city.
Oh, and there is a fountain in the middle of the Mall that looks cute.
When we were there, it was packed with watermelon and cantaloups. Perfect fruits for summer in Moscow.

GUM Department Store

I was coughing badly yet I enjoyed one scoop of chocolate ice cream.
It was delicious and only costed me 100 Rubel, or Rp 22.000,- or less than 2 USD! Very, very cheap, right. Even cheaper than Jakarta.

My yummy ice cream

After strolling around GUM Department Store, we went out to walk towards the St. Basil's Cathedral. There was a festival of military band at the are so it was packed with people and members of the band who were practising. We had to pay the ticket to see the performance but then again we had no extra time. Too bad the front part of the St. Basil's Cathedral and the Tsar Tower were closed with the tents for this festival.

Perfect summer day!

Yet, we saw many stalls and vendors selling traditional handicrafts like various kinds of Matryoshka, Russian chocolate and candy, ushanka or the Russian hats, and more. I just love to see them all!

Don't you just love them!

And, as the final stop, we once again took pictures of St. Basil's Chatedral.
I have to say I can't get enough of it!

The colourful domes are like magnet to me!

Mini - me loves this place, too :)

Again, here's the video of me welcoming myself to Moscow and get more shots from the airport to the city of Moscow! More videos are coming and wish me luck with the editing.

That's what I had on my first visit to the Red Square, Moscow, Russia and its charms and will definitely be back with more story about the subway in Moscow and the ones that we tried!

Stick round and see you on the next adventure!