May 9th is the day the people in East Europe celebrate their victory over fascism and Nazi Germany. Being from the states, I figured it would be more than just a Memorial Day or Veterans Day, but didn't quite know what to expect. Here then are a few of my photos of Victory Day, with a bit of commentary on the side.
Arrival of Political Parties - I saw a number of the political parties arrive to pay their respects, but did not see representatives of the three largest parties. Not to say they were not there. They may have arrived and left before I got there.
An Officer and a Priest - The juxtaposition between the military and the clergy struck me, but then, there was enough suffering going around during WW2 for everybody to honor.
A Wall of Flowers - I have never seen so many flowers in one place in my life. By the end of the day, they were 4 feet high and 4 feet deep in some areas. There were at least several hundred thousand flowers left around town, if not a million or more.
A Female Veteran - The young man at the left of the picture was reading something to her from that slip of paper, but not being too terribly fluent in the language, I don't know what was said. I do know she started crying afterwards.
A New Friend - My wife and I were going to check on our son, when this veteran stopped us and offered us a drink. My wife wanted to continue on, but I thought it was a good idea to stop and have a shot of cognac and some chocolate with him and a few friends. After a brief conversation, my wife found out that a relative of her late grandfather may be eligible for additional pension benefits. Lesson Learned. Don't waste an opportunity to have a drink and converse with a veteran. You might learn something valuable.
More pictures here...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattsh/
