St. Petersburg & Moscow, Russia: Aug. 20 - 25

Highlights:

a) Hermitage, b) Red Square, c) Armory d) Bolshoi, e) Lenin's Tomb

Lowlights:

a) Food b) Mosquitos c) Crowds

 

Moscow, Tuesday Aug. 23, 2005

We were very lucky to get into our rooms early at the Rossiya Hotel. We got great rooms with incredible views of the Kremlin and St. Basil’s Cathedral. The first thing I did was whip out my camera and I started shooting. The sun was in the perfect place and I got my best pictures from here.

We headed out to the Kremlin shortly after arriving at the hotel. Brian remembered a lot of the area from his high school trip in 1978. However, he was the first to say that so much had changed from the Soviet era. People weren’t trying to buy his blue jeans any more, among other things. We passed by the Gumm shopping area and there were designer clothes, cosmetics etc displayed in the shop windows. Brian recalled buying his fur hat there in the tourist only section of the building. At that time there wasn’t much available for the local people and the line-ups were long just to get essential living items. After passing by Lenin’s tomb, a memorial to the soldiers of WWII and the Natural History Museum, we followed Brian to the ticket building for the Armory. Brennan didn’t believe that his father would know where it was after all those years but once again Brian’s memory and navigational skills were highly honed. Our hopes of getting in to this museum were quickly dashed when we saw the sign stating that all the tickets for the day were sold out. However just as swiftly, we were approached by a Kremlin licensed tour guide and we were on our way to see the Armory. It turned out to be the best way to go. Marina was full of information about the museum’s collection and of helpful hints about other parts of the Kremlin. First of all, we found out that this building was especially constructed to hold all of these royal treasures. It has always been a museum. We saw and learned about so much of Russia’s cultural heritage. We saw fancy ceremonial clothing such as coronation gowns of the Tsarinas, crowns encrusted with jewels and precious metals, gilded carriages, ceremonial weapons inlaid with more precious metals and jewels, royal thrones, Faberge eggs, dozens of displays of highly crafted silver pieces, richly decorated religious robes, crosses and Bibles, and so much more. The wealth in that building on those two floors was absolutely overwhelming. It was guarded by more than just little old ladies.

From here we ventured into the large red walled Kremlin or fortress. (It was an additional cost from the Armory tour.) At one time the entire city of Moscow fit inside the Kremlin walls. We toured the Cathedral Square, home to many beautiful gold plated onion domed churches and palaces. As well the world’s largest cannon and bell were on display here. Brennan thinks that Russian Tsars must have liked everything to be extra large. We were always surprised by the loud sharp whistles used by the Russian police and soldiers guarding all the areas we toured. Mostly it was at Japanese tourists who wandered into restricted areas when they were trying to take a picture. Just in front of the cannon, the guard had to blow his whistle about 6 times while we were there because the aforementioned tourists were stepping behind the roped area. Across the street was the main Russian government building so the guards were probably tenser here.

By this point we were all hot and tired, so we headed back to our rooms for a short nap. Later in the evening, we walked through the Gumm shopping area and had dinner at their food court. Believe it or not, it worked out quite well. Brian and I liked the Russian dumplings and Greek salad and the kids loved the pizza. We ate at a table placed on a walkway perched three storeys up over the shopping center. Very cool. The best part of the shopping experience was that we were able to find a foil for Brian’s broken razor. So now he doesn’t have to worry about chopping up his face each morning.

August 24, 2005: Moscow

This morning was supposed to have a leisurely start. However we decided at breakfast to see Lenin’s tomb today instead of tomorrow. I noticed at the ticket office yesterday that some of the museums were closed on Thursdays and Brennan was concerned that he might miss his opportunity to see this monument. The tomb was open for viewing from 10 to 1 o’clock. However there are incredibly long lines to get in to it. It would have been better to get into the queue at least 45 minutes before 10 o’clock to avoid standing even longer later in the morning. We got into line at 9:45 and waited about 75 minutes. Part of the wait was due to people joining their friends and family already in line and to tour groups being allowed in by the guards. Oh where was Olga when we needed her??

Entering the tomb was spooky for the kids. It was naturally very dark and became especially so until our eyes adjusted from the bright sunshine outside. The guards were very solemn and strict. At one point Brennan clasped his hands together behind his back and Sierra put one hand in her pants’ pocket, and they were cautioned by a guard to leave their hands in full view. Lenin’s body was well preserved, pale and tiny. He was eerie to view. We only had a short time to look at him as we were weren’t allowed to stop walking as we passed by his glass enclosure. It was obvious to us that he is still highly revered by the Russian people. Brennan was happy to see this historical figure and even more so to complete one of his items on his “50 Things to do Wish List”.

One of Sierra’s wish list items was to see a Russian ballet company in Russia. She got her chance tonight with a performance of the Nutcracker at the Bolshoi Theatre. The performance was colourful, amazing, perfect, light and incredible according to Sierra. The dancers were exciting to watch as they flung their bodies through the air one minute and then did tiny, precise hand movements and steps during the next minute. The costumes had a definite Russian influence; very colourful, bold and full of unique patterns. As this production was part of the summer festival, it was done in the “Children’s Theatre” located next to the main building. This was actually an older, smaller theatre than the true home of the Bolshoi Ballet. It made the performance more intimate for us. Walking back to the hotel after the ballet, across Red Square as the lights lit up on St. Basil’s Cathedral was an incredible moment. Sierra was as high as a kite.

Tomorrow morning I hope to see the Moscow subways before leaving for Turkey. ( NEXT PAGE )