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Day 17 -19 (April 21-22)
Catching the bus in Vladimir is interesting in that the buses run so regularly that you don’t need to book, they run as soon as the bus is full or every half hour whichever comes first.
It is a four hour journey, but finally we have arrived in the modern and current Russian capital. We transfer to the amazing Moscow metro and four stops later we have arrived (metro trains run every 2 minutes, and the stations are works of art).
To get to our hotel is a short walk but made longer as it feels like we are walking through a wind tunnel. We are soon registered and warmed, and head out for an evening orientation walk in the city centre and some dinner.
Food is very expensive in Moscow and so we go to a cafeteria style restaurant (Moo Moo; which is spelt My My in Russian. My Cyrillic recognition is getting better). Salad and Borsch (beetroot soup) is my choice. The salads are all with mayonaisie but you get used to it.
We then head over to Red Square for a night time view with the Gum Department
store and the Kremlin and St Basils Cathedral all lit up. Well worth being out in the cold for this sight, it is breathtaking and it is what makes you really believe that you are in fact in Russia. Small flurries of snow are falling, adding the finishing touches.
The square itself is large but not on the same scale as Ti'anAnmen Square. The buildings are closer and it has a slightly more homey feel to it (if you can say that about a square]. Lenin's mausaleum is also on a smaller scale. Apparently there have been discussions about whether he be moved to one of the burial places in Moscow, as the queues are waning and Russia is moving on from it's past.
We visit the Mauseleum the next morning. They close off access to the square during the opening hours, but not before we have time to take some more photos during daylight hours. There are less than 20 people in line.
We then get a guided tour through the Kremlin. After the revolution, the government of the communists moved into this area and so I think that is why the word Kremlin for me
meant Government offices only. However, as we learned from Suzdal, it is more than that. Certainly, the governing can be done out of this area, but it also houses Cathedrals and Churches and other halls and residences of the ruling classes.
Some of the buildings were destroyed over the years but many were saved or have been restored. There is one building that is closed to the public as this is where officials from other countries are entertained and housed.
There was a temporary exhibit of mogul artifacts, with knives and swords and jewellery all with amazing gemstones, housed in one of the buildings. For lunch we went inside the most expensive department store (Gum Department store in Red Square) in Moscow...to the cafeteria. The food was actually reasonably priced and I scored my favorite...cherry strudel (sour cherry).
After lunch it was bace to the Kremlin, for a tour of the Armoury. The armoury houses the valuables of the Russian royalty, and displays of craftsmanship such as silverware, coaches, clothing and jewelled eggs. A museum well worth the roubles (even though it just doubled in price in January - it seems that in Russia when there is
a economic downturn the prices go up. The concept of supply and demand doesn't seem to have made a very strong impression here.).
A bit of a rest day the next day. Late start, checking out and storing luggage at the hotel. Japanese for lunch, followed by a stroll through the nearby market. Used the wifi at a nearby hotel while waiting for dinner. Dinner was at a folk type restaurant, with singers and all. The best veal stroganoff topped off the evening.
Our train left at 10 and would arrive in St Petersburg early, so we settled in quickly for our last train journey of the trip.
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tezzakezza
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Love the night lights!!
What a beautiful place all lit up at night, especially The Red Square, St Basils and the Gum Dept Store, and with the snow too, looks very magical. Different during the day, more grey and formidable, although still beautiful. What an interesting visit, you must be learning so much history. The blue sky and white walls are nice, with the gold roofs!!The Mausoleum must have been fascinating too.