After living in Bulgaria, I have a soft spot in my heart for all things Eastern European. Hungarian wine? Yes, please!  Turkish food? Alright. You want me to speak Bulgarian? Of course. Out with friend and we get a round of drinks and we don't toast? I shake my head.

So I am surprised that I rode the 40 bus through the neighborhood of Fremont so many times before I noticed the statue of Lenin out of the bus window.

Lenin in Fremont?<em> Oh yes</em>.

This weekend I actually spent some time poking around the neighborhood.

I had an Americano at Fremont Coffee. It was super and the coffee house has so much character. I did some window shopping. I thought about taking a picture of a sign for Verellen Amplifiers--amplifiers that are being made by the son of one of my MoM and dAd's college friends' son--but then I got distracted by Lenin.
<a title="Lenin in Fremont by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/12075589565/"><img alt="Lenin in Fremont" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2887/12075589565_892780dc9b_z.jpg" width="640" height="640" /></a>
So instead, I took a single photo of Lenin and then I never got my phone out again. It's like I am an out-of-practice-blogger! (Which, I guess, for the record I am.)

How did Lenin end up in Fremont? Long story short, he was purchased after the fall of communism from a town in Estonia. Because, why not really?!

Lenin looks pretty great in this statue. Much better than he looks these days on Red Square. When you got to visit Lenin in Moscow, you have to wait in line for ages, check your camera and then in the tomb, there's no talking and you can't even stop walking to admire him. If you attempt to do either of these things Russian guards will admonish you and like librarians with guns they will shush you. Lenin is taken very seriously.

Needless to say, nobody is taking Lenin very seriously in Fremont but loads of people are posing for pictures.