Russia: Moscow

After much online searching, Bill was attracted to the tour company Travel All Russia for a couple of major reasons. First, their tours were available when we were--our granddaughters' Easter break from school--while most tours and cruises in Russia don't start until May. Second, they offered child-friendly tours and we would be traveling with Steve and Maria, whose girls, Anna and Kate, are ten and seven. As it turned out, the trip was extremely successful and will be a highlight among our memories even though we were only in Russia for a week. Our Moscow guide, Kira, took us to all the places scheduled by tour planners Ivan and Kristina as well as to a few extras she thought would especially appeal to our family. Here are photos of some of the highlights.

THE KREMLIN AND RED SQUARE

We were scheduled to visit the Kremlin and Red Square on April 1. It was supposed to be open. It was closed. No explanation. Kira simply said, "Sometimes things are closed with no explanation." Bill, Steve, and I walked there from our hotel at night and were treated to beautiful views. Steve came back the next morning with Maria and the girls before we met Kira for the day.

A few days later, in our hotel lobby in St. Petersburg, we saw the reason in the St. Petersburg Times.

Kremlin wall and Spasskay (Saviors)Tower, built in 1491

Kremlin: Cathedral of the Annunciation

 Kremlin: Cathedral of the Archangel

Kremlin: Cathedral of the Assumption

 Kremlin: Church of the Nativity.

 Kremlin: St. Basil Cathedral

Steve, Bill, Jean, Kate, Maria, and Anna with the bronze Tsar Bell of 1733, the largest bell in the world weighing 445,170 pounds. The bell was broken during casting and has never been rung. The broken piece weighs 25,000 pounds. 

Red Square: Kazan Cathedral

Red Square: GUM Department Store

Red Square: Historical Museum

Red Square: Lenin's Tomb (Between the towers)

OUT AND ABOUT IN MOSCOW

 GUM Department Store on the side outside Red Square

Inside GUM, where we had a tasty lunch in the cafeteria

One of the "Seven Sisters" Stalinist buildings constructed between 1947 and 1953.

Statues: Children are the Victims of Adult Vices, a group of sculptures in a park near the Kremlin. They were created by Russian artist Mihail Chemiakin.

 "Make Way for Ducklings" by sculptor Nancy Schon was a gift from Mrs. Barbara Bush to Mrs. Raisa Gorbachev. Installed in 1991 on old Boston cobblestones and native black bassalt, the sculptures are like the ones placed in the Boston Public Garden in 1987 honoring the 1941 children's book by Robert McCloskey.
 

These giant Matryoshkas at the top of the AFIMALLCity Shopping Center are painted in traditional patterns representing the different ethnic cultures in Russia.

Our child-friendly tour took us to the Moscow Circus, an evening we adults enjoyed as much as did Anna and Kate. 

Izmaylovo is one of the oldest parts of Moscow, where the second Romanov Tzar Alexey Mikhailovich had his summer residence. His son Peter the Great was brought up in this very location. Now it is an outdoor historical museum and traditional handcraft center. We each got to paint our own Matryoshka or bell--a huge hit with the whole family.

One of the things we wanted to do was visit a Moscow Metro station as they are reputed to be beautifully decorated. This is one of the ceiling mosaics in the Komsomolskaya Station.

 It's a very long way down!

More Komsomolskaya Station

On this pedestrian bridge over a canal near the Moscow River, couples come to kiss on their wedding day. They put a lock on the tree and throw the key in the water so nobody else can find the key to one's beloved's heart. When a tree is full, it's removed and placed in a long line of trees on the adjacent sidewalk to make room for a new tree on the bridge.

NOVODEVICHY CEMETERY

This was not on the original schedule, but Kira thought we'd enjoy seeing where some of Russia's greats are buried. Here are just a few.

The cemetery is walled. The columbarium is in the walls.

Boris Yeltsin

Writer Anton Chekhov

Composer Dmitry Shostakovich

Nikita Khrushchev

Composer Igor Stravinsky

We couldn't have asked for a nicer stay in Moscow. Ivan and Kristina at Travel All Russia had every detail worked out in advance, including the visa process, but on-site guide Kira had plenty of flexibility to adapt. Our driver, Constantine, met us at the airport with a "Family Woolley" sign and Kira delivered us to the train when we left for St. Petersburg. The Assambleye Nikitskaya Hotel was in a great location for walking and the staff was most accommodating. 

On to St. Petersburg...