St. Basil's Cathedral in Red Square is one of the most famous sights in
Russia. On this cloudy day the colors did not photograph as magnificently as they are.
While the overwhelming number of churches in Moscow are Russian Orthodox, other faiths
have some representation, however meager, in the city. There are two Roman Catholic
churches, one Baptist church, a Buddhist temple, five synagogues and two mosques.
In the background you see the
Kremlin. The Kremlin's main features date from the mid fifteenth century. Besides numerous
churches, the area contains the Russian legislature and the offices of the president.
Two priests with the wife of
one of them stroll on the Kremlin grounds. A Russian Orthodox priest once explained to Tom
that while a priest may not marry it is acceptable if a man is married before he is
ordained.
Lenin's tomb is one of the most
popular tourist attractions in Moscow. On the day we were there it was closed so we
were not able to go in. However, we have heard that when it is open the line to
enter the tomb can stretch for a mile. We asked our guide about this and she told us that
only foreigners line up to see it now.
GUM Department Store is an impressive
sight. Here are views of the outside and the inside.
GUM is the
largest shopping area in Russia. It's aisles extend for a mile and a half. It was a
commercial showcase during the communist area, selling products from the Soviet Union and
abroad. For shoppers, it could be a frustrating experience because of the tedious routine
for buying goods and the boorish behavior of the clerks was legendary. First, you
selected the item you wanted, then you went to another location to pick up it up
and, finally, you went to a third cashier to pay for it. It could be a very slow, very
tedious process, often with ill-mannered clerks. Today GUM seems to be composed mostly of
foreign owned boutiques and shops aimed at the tourist trade. It is an outstanding site
and roaming its corridors is well worth a visit.
Luba and Marie with Red Square
in the background. We wish we could have spent much more time with her. She is one
of those people that we feel we instantly bonded with and would have been a friend where
ever we would have met her. We wish we could have her come visit us in our home and stay
in touch with her. She is really special.
This is the Emperor Cannon.
According to our guidebook it is the largest cannon in the world. It was
designed in 1586 to protect the Savior's Gate on Red Square but was never fired ---
probably because each cannon ball weighed one ton.
This is the Emperor Bell, the
largest bell in the world dates from 1733. It is 20 feet high and weighs 210 tons. The
fragment you see weighs 11.5 tons. It broke off during a fire in1737 when water was
thrown on it. Just as the cannon was never fired this bell was never rung. Driving
around Moscow after the revolution, Leon Trotsky remarked, " All the barbarism of
Moscow glared at me from the hole in the bell and the mouth of the cannon...."
OTHER SIGHTS AROUND MOSCOW
Driving into Moscow each day from the ship, our guides pointed out many
places of interest that we would otherwise have missed. We saw the headquarters and the
training center for the KGB and the offices of Gorbachev's center for for peace studies.
The latter was a fairly imposing building. We were curious about the funding of the
institute but, unfortunately, our guide wasn't of any help. Also, we saw several chocolate
factories. There are five main chocolate factories in Moscow -- each retaining its name
from the Bolshevik/Stalinist era. Two of the brands are "Bolshevik" and
"Red October". Definitely not as appealing or tasty sounding as
"Hershey." However, all of the chocolate that we sampled in Russia was
outstanding and we wondered why we had brought Hershey kisses, our old stand-by, with us
on this trip.
The Bolshoi
Moscow University is state
owned and free. It is considered to be the best university in the country. Other
universities charge and are not as highly regarded. As a general rule, the more a school
charges the poorer the quality of education. Students who consider going to one of these
universities have been rejected by other schools and are desperate to get into any school
of higher learning.
World War II Memorial in Moscow
Tolstoy in the park.
Arbat Street is a major
shopping area in Moscow.There were many young people there, but the shopping was mostly
geared to tourists or wealthier Russians. Most of the cars we saw here and elsewhere in
Russia were European made -- predominately German. License plates come in four colors in
Russia. White plates are for private citizens, blue for the police, yellow for
company-owned cars and red for diplomats. There did not seem to be many gas stations. Many
of those we saw had fences around them, with gates that could be closed when the station
was not open.
The construction of
apartments is a common sight in Moscow. Apartments in central Moscow can rent for as
little as $60 a month. However, people try to live away from the center of town, which is
expensive and very polluted. For most Muscovites the new apartments are out of reach. The
more reasonably priced ones go for $30,000. That's cash, as there are no mortgages or
buying on time in Russia. According to our guide the subsistence level in Moscow is $150 a
month, with the average salary being $350/$400 per month. The apartments pictured here
cost $70,000 -- $35,000 (in cash) down, $35,000 at settlement.
This billboard caught
Tom's eye. It combines an international theme with the crass commercialism of
"decadent capitalism."
What can you say about subway
stations that look more like art galleries than the dreary, noisy subterranean places we
experience in the United States? The system rightly deserves the accolades it receives in
travel literature. While we can't vouch for the entire system, the stations we saw were
spectacular. Marble columns, statues celebrating workers, elaborate chandeliers and
beautiful murals were on display everywhere. Chalk it up to pride or draconian penalties,
there was no graffiti in sight at the stations or on the 1950's era subway cars.
Since our time was limited, our group had a tour of the system with a guide. That was
fortunate. Although there are excellent maps with all of the station names written in
Latin letters, the names in the subway itself are still in Russian and look amazingly
alike to a newcomer to the country.
Inside a car in Moscow's subway.
Here we are with Roy and his Ever Ready video camera.
How we hated to say good-bye to all of our traveling companions. It
was just the most wonderful group and we hope we see many of them in our travels ahead.
We knew that we would have a long plane ride back to JFK with most of them and that
made the leave-taking more gradual.
However, first we had to get out of Russia and that was the part that we
most feared. We had heard so many horror stories about the customs people in Russia.
And sure enough our guides gave us the same warnings. "Just smile and do
whatever they say." "Expect to held up in long lines for a long period of
time." and basically expect to be given a very hard time!
What a relief it was when we headed to the long lines to be diverted by
one of our guides and were told to quickly go through a certain gate -- with no delays or
questions!! We were certain that our guides or someone paid off the customs people
so that we would not be harrassed and we were doubly glad that we had come with a tour
group rather than attempt this trip on our own.
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