Moscow, Russia

This morning we headed to the Park of the Fallen Heroes, which was full of sculptures and statues, including those pulled down by residents at the fall of communism. There were heaps! Lenin, Stalin, Bresnev, Ghandi, and the masterpiece, a 50-60-meter statue of Peter the Great on a huge sailing ship. Another sight too grand for words. The bus was parked next to Gorky Park, which I really wanted to see, but time did not allow.

Me, Park of the Fallen Heroes, Moscow, Russia

Peter The Great Statue, Moscow, Russia

We did, however, then take a tour of the Kremlin with our guide, Galina. The Kremlin is the Russian word for fortress. When a city was built, the Kremlin was always built first, so as to protect the rest of the town. Today, Moscow’s Kremlin is used as a tourist attraction that houses the Tsar canon (the biggest cannon ever, but not used in battle), the Tsar bell (an 11,000-ton bell, which was never used because it broke when it was being put in place), numerous churches and, of course, parliament.

Parliament House, Moscow, Russia

Tsar Bell, Kremlin, Moscow, Russia

After our Kremlin tour we had some lunch, did some shopping for the next couple of days, and headed back to our hotel for our afternoon nap.

Dinner was at the hotel and once again wasn’t too bad. Seeing as we had been to the ballet the night before, tonight we did the other obvious thing to do…The Moscow Circus. Great entertainment, but I’m kind of reluctant to enjoy it too much due to the use / treatment of animals in the act. Although what they could do was incredible, the way they were punished or rewarded was substandard.

When the circus finished, we stopped by the old KGB building for photos, as well as dropping some people off who wanted to see St. Basil's at night. Roberta and I opted for an early night (it has been a big three days). Once again, this is another place I would like to come back to, not only to see more sights, but to see how capitalism takes further effect.