Moscow (1)

добрый день / Dobry degn!

Who would have bet that the worst logistical problem since the beginning of the year would have been with an organized guided tour? My trip in Russia started with more than 3 hours roaming in one of the international airports in Moscow, in order to get my luggage (and what happened during the following days tended to prove that it was a good idea to have stayed there, instead of requesting it to be delivered at the hotel), and getting shouted at by tghe guide, who was not happy because of the flight delay. Yes, sure, that was our fault...

Anyway, once all of this was settled, and that everyone was assigned a room (clean, and not already occupied by someone else, which is not that obvious here, even in a 5 star hotel), we are ready to discover Russia.

It is raining buckets on the first morning, but nevertheless the Red Square is amazing:

First time in the Russian metro:

On our way to Novodevichy Convent, on our own, as we have a free afternoon

Its cemetery holds the tombs of Russian authors, musicians and poets, as well as famous actors, political leaders, and scientists, such as Anton Chekhov, Nikolai Gogol, Sergei Prokofiev or Boris Yeltsin

That's the view from my hotel room, I should make the most of it, as I won't have lots of opportunities to stay in a 5 star hotel during the next months...

Next morning is spent visiting the metro. Yes, in Moscow, it is one of the most popular attractions, and for sure it is unique, you will never see such artistic stations anywhere else in the world:

That's it for the guided visites today, then we wander in Arbat street, and visit a few of the nearby churches.

As the sun is shining bright today, we decide to head back to the Red Square:

Saint Basil's Cathedral is even more surprising when you see it for real then on pictures.

Impossible to visit the Bolshoi Theater, but we have a look at the architecture:

Then one more trip with the metro, to visit Kolomenskoye, a former royal estate overlooking the Moskva River.
The earliest existing structure is the exceptional Church of the Ascension (1532), built in white stone to commemorate the long-awaited birth of an heir to the throne, the future Ivan the Terrible.

Tsar Alexis I had all the previous wooden structures in Kolomenskoye demolished and replaced them with a new great wooden palace, famed for its fanciful, fairytale roofs. Some people call it 'the Eighth Wonder of the World', and I can understand why, it is one of the most beautiful buildings I've ever seen. Although basically only a summer palace, it was the favorite residence of Tsar Alexis I.

One more walk along the Red Square, to reach the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The current church is the second to stand on this site. The original church, built during the 19th century, took more than 40 years to build. It was destroyed in 1931 on the order of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. The demolition was supposed to make way for a colossal Palace of the Soviets to house the country's legislature, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Construction started in 1937 but was halted in 1941 when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union during World War II. Its steel frame was disassembled the following year, and the Palace was never built. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the current church was rebuilt on the site during 1995–2000.