Saturday @ Red Square

Christ the Saviour Cathedral on the bank of the Moscow river.
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Dear Meridith and Peter,

Red Square on a Saturday is like a shopping mall at 50% sales! So we set out to see the world's most famous mummy: Vladimir Lenin, born Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. Two separate lines ending with metal detectors (not your usual open access) with long queues are on either side of Red Square. We enter one to find out that we are in the area reserved for pedestrians wishing to participate in the Champions League Soccer final exhibition taking place in Moscow at the end of this week...We turn around and try to access the mausoleum to find out that we are out of time...it closes in 15 minutes (the mausoleum is open every day except Monday and Friday from 11 am to 1 pm)... No chance to make it. So we exit and move on to the tomb of the unknown soldier for the changing of the guards (taking place at 13:00). We pursued with a visit inside the Kremlin walls to discover some of the churches with a go around to the Ivan the Great Bell tower and belfry, Tsar Bell and cannon. You know you have been living abroad too long when the local tourist police asked you to produce your official guide badge...and so we exited the church of the Assumption after taking time to explain the intricate organisation of the iconostasis and to marvel at the architecture of the early Kremlin Church. Moving on to the Church of the Archangel Michael, to view the tombs of past Tsars and Patriarchs with a splendid iconostasis to boot. We walked the Kremlin grounds to the lovely garden on the river edge and viewed the 11 ton piece of brass that fell off the Tsar bell during the fire of 1737. We excited the Kremlin to walk along the streets to Lenin’s Library; a splendid collection of Russian literature and writings to rival those in Washington and London. We ended our walk at the impressive Christ the Redeemer’s cathedral erected on the site of Stalin’s famous swimming pool.

The ladies in front of the President's offices.
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In the evening, we decided to explore another aspect of Russian culture... We got all dolled up and headed to the New Bolshoi Theatre for a representation of the ballet: A legend of Love http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDPdDoDzSJc . Fantastic choreography, gorgeous costumes, bright colors, outstanding ballet... do not ask me the story because it was difficult to follow at best. It is an ancient Turkish legend all mimed by dancers, bit hard to wrap your head around, great dancing! The theatre collected an eclectic array of Moscow citizens and tourists alike, felt like the United Nations went to the ballet! We would have loved to share this one with the two of you.

Ivan the Great tower and belfry.
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Dasvidania from the Motherland

B & N