A night with music

On February 2nd, 2012 my husband and I attended a concert of Tarja Turunen that took place in Kiev, Ukraine. Tarja is a famous Finnish singer with an opera voice - a mezzo-soprano. She is an ex-vocalist of Finnish symphonic metal group Nightwish. She arrived in Kiev with her farewell tour «What Lies Beneath».

So, it was unforgettable. The energy of Tarja and her musicians immediately captured the audience and held it until the end of the concert. And it's not only due to, without the slightest exaggeration, the wonderful voice of Tarja, who seemed to sing not only with her voice but also with her whole body, but also for the musicians, their performance on stage. It was evident that the whole group got great pleasure from playing. The drummer, guitarist and bassist created granite-tight sound, that was complemented colorfully by the cello of Max Lilja (ex-Apocalyptica). His «cutting like a knife» passages, sometimes souned more like guitar solos than the sound of the cello. Keyboardist Christian Kretschmar, almost invisible behind the huge number of musical instruments, helped by synthesizing cosmic atmosphere, softening the overall sound picture, and lending even more fairy-tale feel to the voice of Tarja.


In addition to songs from the last two solo albums, Tarja sang the famous «Bless the Child» from the old repertoire of Nightwish. When the audience heard the first chords of the song, it burst into a complete ecstasy, and rightfully so since the song sounded just as good as when performed by Nightwish.
A few words about the audience - it was very diverse: grey-haired older folk, businessmen, young people with long hair, gothic-style girls and middle-aged ladies. They were all brought together by their love of Tarja’s music.


The concert was a complete success, it was a lot of fun and we had an unforgettable time, and memories of it will last until the next Tarja 's visit to Ukraine.

And when it happens again I'm so going to that concert ...

Story by Katerina (katuasha)

Luray Caverns in Virginia

We have recently visited amazing Luray caverns located in Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. First discovered in 1878 the caverns are open to public. They are beautiful and well managed making a family trip to Shenandoah Valley a memorable experience.


It will take about 2 hours drive to take you to the caves. A large part of the route goes through beautiful mountains and is quite picturesque. Once at the place it is hard to believe that the caverns are actually beneath the surface. Nothing tells future visitors about their existence. So it's a surprise to walk down the stairs and find oneself in a magical and hidden kingdom!


The caves are well preserved and beautifully lit. Well designed walking paths remind of a maze and make the whole experience exceptional. A guided tour is about one hour. It’s just enough to enjoy the beauty of the place and not to get tired. It’s a highly recommend attraction that will be enjoyed by a whole family.