Down tempo in Suzdal

Suzdal was a wealthy trading town dating from the 11th century. The town avoided industrialisation as it was bypassed by the railways built in the 19th century. There are over 100 architectural landmarks scattered over three square miles. There was a tourist attraction consisting of various wooden buildings including churches, windmills and houses built from interlocking wood without using any nails.
The place had a really cool atmosphere mainly due to the slow pace of life and the small wooden houses that made up a whole district of the town.I lost count of the number of monasteries, but I did see a nun with the most gangsta habit; she was wearing a typical black hooded robe that was adorned with skull and crossbones and crucifixes that wouldn't have looked out of place as a street-wear T-shirt print. I really wanted to get a photo but the symbols obviously had major religious significance and displeasing the servants of God had the potential to incur his wrath.

Certain things struck me as just looking particularly Russian.Some of the houses reminded me of Austria and although it seemed strange that they live in wooden houses in a country where it goes down to -20°C it's obviously fine as the houses have stood the test of time and the wood must act as a good insulator. We hired bikes on both of our days in Suzdal and on the second day we cycled out to a 12th century church that had probably been used as a store room during the communist regime but was now being restored.