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Published: November 27th 2012
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Saturday, September 11th Moscow at night and sights along the way
It took sailing on the canal through the night and then all the next day to reach the City of Moscow at 10:00. Except for the “black tie preferred ” Captain’s dinner that night, , Valerie and I rested in our cabin most of this day.
We knew that as soon as we arrived, we were taking a bus tour of “Moscow at Night”. We thought we were just going to get on the bus and relax and let the driver do all the work—nope, on and off we got at various sites along the way–mostly photo op places. It was really pretty and well worth the tour, but we didn’t get back on board the ship until 1:30 am and then had to be up early to have time for breakfast and be ready for the daytime tour starting at 8:30 am. I think I will let Valerie’s photos show you beauty of the various stops that night. The bridges, buildings, streets, churches etc. are all lit
or spotlighted at night, not at all how we had envisioned “cold, bleak, Moscow”.
First stop, was the absolutely huge at least ½ mile long Victory plaza leading up to the modern WWII memorial that was topped by a very tall sword stuck into the “ground” signifying the end of the war. Angels on the top and St. George slaying a dragon in front, all in gold, decorated the sword. Fountains with red lights lit the length on both sides of the plaza. I have goggled several sites looking for the height of the sword and can’t seem to find details on it. It was spectacular at night, but we would have liked to have seen it during the day also.
We also stopped at an overlook of the city in front of the huge University of Moscow, which is situated on a hill. In one of the photos you will see two of the skyscrapers designed by Stalin with the university making a third of seven total. We decided there should be a new tongue twister "Stalin-styled seven sisters skyscrapers." Try saying it fast with a Russian accent, which the tour leader did every time we
passed one even if it was for the third time. The plaza at the university was for partying, with souveniers, a DJ for dancing, and food, like corn on the cob.
The next stop was at the lovely New Maidens Convent. Some people suggest that the lake in front of it was the inspiration for Swan Lake. This convent appeared to be used to send ex-wives and mothers of wea4lthy people who didn't want them around anymore. In the cemetery of The New Maidens Convent all kinds of Russian dignitaries are buried from cosmonauts, actors, writers like Chekhov, and politicians like Khrushchev [for more info see “www.sacred‑destinations.com/russia/moscow‑novodevichy‑convent.htm”.
We headed then to Red Square and St. Basil’s Cathedral. The area was lovely to look at at night, especially the fully-lit GUM department store. Unfortunately, there was scaffolding on part of St. Basil's, so it was a little difficult to get a good shot. On the ride back to the ship, it was amazing to see all of the neon signs for things like, "Hannah Montana," and other US brands.
I think this would also be a good place to also show some of the many
photos that were taken by Valerie from the ship as we sailed along. Forests, lakes, other ships, locks, abandoned churches, industrial sites, and a mirid of other sights were shot.
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