Finland Russia Baltic Day 9

Trafalgar Tours - Day 09 - October 11, 2008 - Saturday - Moscow, Russia

After our late evening at the circus we were happy to be able to sleep in this morning. At 9:30 we met out group, Vera, and Sergei to go on an optional tour. It was raining off and on so it seemed really cold and gray. The temperature was 50 degrees and it was 80% humidity.

Vera reviewed the history of the Russian people and then talked about the famous natives of modern day Russia. The people of Russia are extremes, warm but aloof, arrogant but shy, and a country with strict rules that most people ignore.

On the first stop of our optional sightseeing tour we saw the Cathedral of the Resurrection recently reconstructed after Stalin blew it up in 1941. Under Gorbachev it was rebuilt for the morale of the people for over $650,000 million dollars. It will hold over 10,000 parishioners and is used for all major state functions.

Then we went to the Novodevichy Cemetery where we saw memorials to such great names as Krushchev, Chekhov, Mayakovsky, Prokoviev, Eisenstein, Yeltsin, Gromyko and Raisa Gorbachev.

The newly commissioned grave of Boris Yeltsin is very modern; the tri-colored Russian flag, the symbol of the new country that was formed after the fall of the Soviet Union. It was a fascinating place with tombs to these heroes of the country.

Our next stop was Swan Lake where Tchaikovsky was inspired to write the ballet, Swan Lake. Gennie bought some post cards and we took a few photos in the rain. Amazingly many families were out walking in the park and enjoying their free time out of doors.

We had about two hours of free time on Arbat Street, a pedestrian way lined with shops. There were locals as well as a few tourists window shopping and buying remembrances of this great city. As we are not the best shoppers, we ducked into a local the KoФe XAY3 or the Coffee House.

Gennie ordered a hot chocolate and that is exactly what she got! She asked Vera what she should have ordered and was told she needed to ask for cocoa and then she would get hot milk and chocolate. Lessons learned traveling the world!

We walked back to the meeting place and Sergei and Xavier picked us up for our tour of the Kremlin. Kremlin means fortress and was built as a fortification around the city. The present red brick walls date back to the 15th century.

The Kremlin is the core of both the city and the country, a small world cluttered with wonders; a city within the walls. We had an opportunity to tour the outside grounds and then entered the interior of the Kremlin.

From here Ivan the Terrible and Stalin orchestrated their terrors, Napoleon watched Moscow burn and Khrushchev led Communism in the Cold War. Within this stronghold we saw some of Russia’s chief glories including the Seven Cathedrals, the world’s largest cannon, and the huge Emperor’s Bell.

We then went into the Armory Chamber. This treasure collection holds the riches of the Czars. We saw the diamonds of Catherine the Great, her golden gowns, and the Imperial carriages studded with precious stones and gold.

Room after room held the jeweled thrones, and hundreds of spectacular priceless items of the Romanov’s personal collection. Gennie’s personal favorites were the Faberge eggs, gifts to the royal family under the reign of the last Czar Nicholas.

We finished our tour at 5:45 and then went to the bus where we said good bye to Vera. She was a fantastic guide with a wonderful smile, rare in the Russian natives.

During the previous two days Gennie and Vera had marveled at their unique childhood memories, Vera of the Russian fears of the Americans and long bread lines while money was spent on arms to protect the Russian from the evil United States.

Gennie told her of the duck and cover drills in her elementary school and the fall-out shelters built to protect Iowans from the Russians! We talked about the value of traveling and actually meeting and getting to know people of the world to share similarities instead of focusing on differences.

Traffic was not too heavy but it took an hour to get back to the hotel. We had a few minutes to get ready for our next adventure. We had arranged to meet our former Lewis-Palmer student, Becca Dash who is now living and working in Moscow for the Fulbright Foundation.

We had a delightful time learning about here experiences here in Moscow and all she has accomplished in her young career. Life is much different here than in Monument, Colorado!

Accommodations: Holiday Inn Sokolniki Hotel - - - Meal: B

Food at the meeting with Becca Dash looks really good. What exactly did Gennie get when she ordered hot chocolate, a bar of chocolate that had been heated up?

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