Zaryadye Park - Moscow

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17th January



Today’s tour in Moscow was to Zaryadye Park.



It was minus 17 degrees but our guide Anna was well wrapped up.



As we entered the Park area we passed The Old English Court, a stone mansion erected in the early 16th century, one of the earliest surviving specimens of Moscow's secular architecture. Most importantly it witnessed the birth of Anglo-Russian relations in the age of Ivan IV (the Terrible) and Elizabeth I. For it was here from 1556 to 1649 that the first English trading and ambassadorial office in Moscow was located, the first official residence of a Western power in the Russian capital.



The bulldozers were out clearing the snow and whizzed passed Anna as she explained about the history of the building.



Next to the Old Courthouse was the Church of St. Barbara the Great, built in 1514.



Zaryadye Park is a modern place for recreation, entertainment and education created by an international team of architects, engineers, landscape designers.

Here the concepts of nature and technology, education and entertainment, history and modernity are united and complement each other.

The park is home to over a million plants that brush up against the open spaces of surrounding streets, squares, and embankments. The botanical variety of the park reflects Russia’s natural diversity.

It would be great to visit the park in different seasons.



At the entrance to the park, is the Dome Pavilion. With free admission. It’s interior walls are covered with QR code tiles that store data about the project and numerous interesting facts about the historic Zaryadye district. Quite amazing.



Next to the Dome Pavilion is the Media Centre Pavilion. Inside this pavilion you can enjoy Time Machine, a film in an interactive room. Images are projected on a spectacular wide screen and here you will learn about the history of Moscow from ancient times to the present. Tickets:

In another of the halls you can see “Flying over Moscow” and “Flight over Russia”. From a swivel chair you can experience the feeling of being on a real flight and of seeing stunning views of the city, its architecture, its monuments, national parks and legendary Russian landscapes.



Outside the Dome we met ‘Monty’ - It’s an enclosed kiosk roughly five feet in diameter with two articulating arms that swing about to automatically serve up cups of coffee or other beverages. Good for social distancing that’s for sure.



We continued through the different zones of the park to reach the Floating bridge a

70-metres long concrete console, today was rather cloudy but you could imagine on a clear day the beautiful panoramic views of the Kremlin, the city centre, the river embankment, and the park itself.

One of the river boats was moving slowly along the river but we were told the boat was equipped with ice breakers!!



At the end of the tour we enjoyed the view of the church where our tour started and the colourful changing lights in the snow.



I try and enjoy at least one virtual trip a day, sometimes like today I booked 3! This afternoon I’ll be walking along the Seine and this evening I’m off to New York and Brooklyn Bridge Park

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Comments

[ayeeye]

Not the best season for parks :-)
Zaryadye does look pretty good in spring/summer/fall, though. Oh, and the boat IS a light-duty icebreaker (all bigger boats from Radisson Flotilla are).