Off to Moscow, the capital of Russia. We are only 3.5 hours from the city, so only stop on the way was at Tchykovsky’s House – the home of the composer of the Nutcracker, Swan Lake, etc.
We arrived in Moscow at midday. This is a better kept city than St. Petersburg, but by no way is it a prettier city, as there are no classic palaces here. None the less, Moscow has some great buildings in its own right. We stopped in town and changed money to $US and went to Red Square. We walked through the gates to take a couple of photos of the Square and the Kremlin. We couldn’t go too far in, as Lenin’s tomb was open and they close of the whole Square when that happens.
Red Square, Moscow, Russia
State Historical Museum, Red Square, Moscow, Russia
Lenin's Tomb, Red Square, Moscow, Russia
GUM Department Store, Red Square, Moscow, Russia
Afterwards we went to the symbolism of the new capitalism in Russia – McDonalds.
After lunch there, we got back on the bus for a guided tour of the city. Our first stop was St. Basil’s Cathedral, the onion-domed church at the Moscow River end of Red Square. We got out here for photos for half an hour.
Roberta & I, St. Basil's Cathedral, Red Square, Moscow, Russia
From here we drove up to the Moscow State University, which is on a hill overlooking the city, with the 1980 Olympic Stadium in the immediate foreground.
Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
From here it was to our hotel. This is a 5-building complex, with 10,000 beds built specifically for the 1980 Olympics. The room here is quite nice even though it’s up on the 22nd floor.
We had dinner in the hotel’s restaurant and then some people went to Red Square for a drink and to see if they could get thrown out or not. I decided to stay home (I’m getting too old and sensible). Besides, I had a stomach bug and didn’t want to be too far from a bathroom.
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