Moscow day 1 - Moskva dag 1.

Dag 68. 22. juli. Moskva dag 1.

Efter dejlig morgenmad på hotellet, blev vi mødt af Sophie, vores Moskva guide, i hotellets lobby. Hotellet ligger 50 m fra en metro station, så vi tog metroen ind til centrum. Vi begyndte med at se en del af byen, hvor der, før Sovjet tiden, var flotte rigmandsbygninger – disse bygninger er i dag ejet af staten, og for det meste lejet ud til butikker og kontorer. Moskva’s nye borgmester, har i hele byen gjort meget for, at lave små hyggelige områder med blomster m.m.

The Mayor's flowers - Borgmesterens blomster

Vi var inde og se et af Moskvas ældste supermarkeder, ”Yeliseev Grocery” en utrolig flot butik, bygget før revolutionen, men heldigvis ikke ødelagt under Stalin tiden, eftersom Stalin synes det var en smuk bygning.

The old supermarket / Det gamle supermarked

Derfra gik vi til den Røde Plads, et imponerende sted med utroligt flotte bygninger. Vi så først vagtskiftet foran Kreml, og var så inde og se Kazan Katedralen som ligger på den Røde Plads. Vi kunne ikke komme ind og se Lenin, hans mausoleum er lukket om fredagen. Vi nød også synet af St. Basil kirken, som har mangefarvede løgkupler.

Changing of the guards / Vagtskifte

 GUM – et shopping center som blev bygget i 1890, ligger også langs den Røde Plads, et utroligt flot center med mange dyre butikker. Under Stalin tiden, blev der lavet små lejligheder til fattige og hjemløse personer, men heldigvis blev den flotte bygning igen lavet til shopping center senere. Vi spiste vores frokost i Nr. 57, som er en slags kantine i GUM.

No 57 / Nr 57

Efter frokost gik vi tilbage og så Alexander Park, som ligger langs Kreml og har nogle flotte statuer.

Så tog vi Metroen hen til Frelseren Kristus Katedralen – en kæmpe katedral, som har haft en dramatisk historie. Under Stalin blev tusindvis af kirker revet ned og Frelseren Kristus Katedralen led samme skæbne – den blev simpelthen bombet væk, Stalin fik dog ikke bygget det monument for Lenin, som han havde planlagt, så Kruchchev byggede en kæmpe svømme hal der. Kirken blev genopbygget og stod færdig i 1997, heldigvis var alle ikoner gemt, og kunne sættes tilbage i kirken.

Metro stations

The Kgb building / KGB bygningen

Sidst men ikke mindst var vi på tur i Metroen, og se alle de flotte metrostationer, mange med overdådige lysekroner og flotte mosaik billeder. De mest overdådige stationer er bygget i 30erne. På alle de stationer, hvor der var billeder af Stalin, er de billeder fjernet, og mange steder er der så bare en tom plads. Sådan er det over hele byen. Statuer af Stalin er fjernet.

Metro stations / Metro stationer

Hjemme på hotellet igen kl 17.30 var vi godt trætte, vi kunne lige klare at gå i centeret og spise pizza.

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22nd July. Moscow day 1.

Sophie was our guide for the city of Moscow. We had hired her for 2 days.

Sophie met us at our hotel at 9.30 am, and we caught the Metro, which was just 50 meters from the Hotels entrance. She took us straight to the centre of Moscow, and here we started, with a walk around the centre of town, to see a few interesting buildings.

Bolshoi Theatre

We started our walk, by walking past the Bolshoi Theatre, and we strolled along some of Moscow’s famous streets. All the buildings, in the centre of Moscow, are owned by the state, which are then leased out to private enterprises.

The new Mayor in Moscow, has spend a fortune on flowers, which were present in every street, in form of arches, floral decorations etc. This made the city look beautiful, together with the old buildings, which have been renovated by the state.

Moscow / Moskva

We strolled along to the Red Square, which is the spiritual heart of Moscow.

Just before entering, we witnessed the changing of the guards; here Sophie suggested that we waited 10 min for the show.

As soon as we found a good spot for the show, a Chinese Babe elbowed her way through, and plunged herself right in front of us. I had no choice, than to shove my camera lens in all different parts of her body. I think she loved it, for she did not move. Anyway, it was a spectacular sight, to see the guards walking synchronised with their riffles for the whole show.

The Mayor of Moscow's flowers / Moskva borgmesterens blomster

In the Red Square, we have the Kremlin, The Iconic Onion domes of St. Basils Cathedral and the Mausoleum of Lenin. We started with The Kazan Cathedral; this is a replica of the original which was built in 1636. Out again, and straight down to St. Basils Cathedral, this is an Icon of Russia, and the Cathedral is a confusion of colours, patterns and shapes, and is a style icon to Russian architecture. There are as many churches inside, as there are domes on the outside.

St. Basils church / St Basil kirken

On the way to the court yard, Louis kept getting lost, as he had to talk to every Indian he saw, he finally caught up with us, but missed out on the historical info. We skipped Lenin’s Mausoleum, as I figured out, that there is no point to visit Lenin, when he is in the ground.

We strolled along the Kremlin and the Red Square, and walked into the GUM supermarket, here we had lunch in restaurant No 57. This place served original Russian cuisine, whatever, the food tasted great, and I liked the system of walking down an alley, and pointing out what food I wanted, and had it thrown on my tray.

The GUM Supermarket

Walked a round a bit, in this beautiful Supermarket, which was the first Supermarket in Russia, and renovated to its original architecture.  This supermarket, was changed into housing for lower income people of Moscow, and is now renovated into its original glory, and is one of the few buildings owned by a business man. We kept loosing Louis again, as he kept falling over Indians, and had to tell them about his drive.

We then caught the Metro to the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, this gigantic Cathedral was completed in 1997 to celebrate Moscow’s 850^th birthday. The sheer size and splendour, can get anybody to love it or hate it. This is, where first a swimming pool was build, it was for many years the world largest swimming pool. Today, with monetary support from Kazakhstan, the cathedral is totally rebuild and replicates its predecessor in many ways. It is truly magnificent and worth the visit.

Cathedral of Christ Church / Kristus kirken

From here on, after a brief history lesson from Sophie, we crawled down to a Metro station, and started a small guided tour of the Metro stations.

The Metro / Metroen

What a treat, to visit different Metro stations in Moscow, and each of them better and grander then the next. We were fascinated by how money was spent, and some of them looked like palaces and cathedrals, or castles but definitely not Metro stations. I wish that Metro stations, all over the world, would try and copy some of these splendours. We finally reached our hotel at 5.30 pm, rested our tired limbs and had dinner at the shopping mall.  

21st July. Vladimir to Moscow

Dag 67. Vladimir til Moskva 191 km

I dag kørte vi fra Vladimir til Moskva, en tur med megen trafik hele vejen. Louis og Janet blev væk i trafikken, men pludselig var de bagved os igen. 

Highway to Moscow - Motorvej til Moskva

Teddybear sale on the way - Bamser til salg

Vi fandt vores hotel, men havde lidt svært med at finde parkeringspladsen, den viste sig at være i kælderen under et shopping center. Vi fik parkeret, læsset bagage af og gik så en tur i centeret for at spise frokost. Slappede af om eftermiddagen, gik en tur nær hotellet for at finde en restaurant, men endte i Shopping centeret igen, hvor vi fandt en hyggelig restaurant.

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21st July. Vladimir to Moscow. Distance 191 km, driving time 4 hours.

We left at 9.30 am, en route, to Moscow.

The traffic was very heavy on this stretch, going to Moscow and we soon lost sight of Louis car. There was no highway today. The road had only 2 narrow lanes, and we had to drive through many villages.

Moscow

Of course, the police were out again, and I did not give them a chance today.

As we neared Moscow, the traffic got worse, and we were in a constant queue, till we reached the centre of town.

We found our hotel without any difficulty, but soon found out, that our parking was below the shopping mall next door. Unloaded our bags, and parked our cars, at the basement of the shopping mall.

Very nice hotel, but the A/c kept shutting of at night.

Checking in to the hotel - Indtjekning

Had lunch and dinner at the shopping mall.

Suzdal and Vladimir, Russia, July 2016

Dag 66. Nizhny Novgorod via Suzdal til Vladimir 292 km

I dag kørte vi fra Nizhy Novgorod kl 8.15, vi var fremme i Suzdal kl 12.

Suzdal er en lille hyggelig turist by. I Suzdal’s Kreml er der kirke, som blev bygget i det 10 århundrede – flot lille kirke, med flotte løgformede kupler i blåt med guld stjerner.

Suzdal Church - Suzdal Kirke

 Efter at vi havde set kirken, fandt vi en lille restaurant og fik frokost. Derfra, kørte vi så til Suzdals anden store seværdighed, Saint Euthymius klosteret, en borg, i den nordlige ende af byen, her var der også en kirke og nogle museer. I kirken var der nogle munke som sang en smuk sang, så man virkelig kunne høre akustikken. Alt i alt en rigtig hyggelig lille by med mange seværdigheder.

The singing munks - De syngende mumke

Vi havde booket hotel i Vladimir, ca 25 km fra Suzdal, vi fandt hotellet og tjekkede ind. Det er nok det mindste hotel værelse jeg endnu har set. Der er lige plads til en dobbelt seng og måske 1 m for enden af sengen, godt vi kun skal være her en nat.

I mens vi var på hotellet, blev det et frygteligt regnvejr. Jeg kiggede ud af vinduet og kunne se, at en af sporvognenes el ledninger var faldet af, og sporvognskonduktøren var ude i regnen og reparere det, stakkels ham. Han så meget våd ud, da han var færdig med reparationen.

Vladimir

Vladimir

Imens Janet og Louis var ude og møde en Rotary gruppe, gik Michael og jeg først i Ecco butikken, hvor der var udsalg (jeg købte nye sandaler), og derefter hen for at se ”Assumption Katedralen” , endnu en utrolig flot kirke, med kæmpe guld ornamenter. Vi gik en tur i byen og så endnu 2 kirker, en med flotte sten udskæringer udenpå kirken, og en hvor der var gudstjeneste.

Vi fik anbefalet en rigtig fin restaurant, og fik dejlig mad der.

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20th July. Nizhny Novgorod via Suzdal to Vladimir. Distance 292 km, driving time 4 hours.

Left early, as we wanted to visit, the small of town of Suzdal, on the way to Vladimir.

Suzdal, is a small medieval town. In 1964, the local Merchants forced the government, that the Trans Siberian railway, should not pass through their town. As a result, Suzdal was not only bypassed by trains but the 20^th century all together. It has cute wooden cottages, mingling with golden tops, that reflects in the river. It has also horse carriages, and the only thing that spoils the view, are tourist busses.

Suzdal

The Church - Kirken

We then visited ‘The Nativiti of the Virgin Mary’s Cathedral’ with its blue domes spangled with gold. The inside is sumptuous, with 13^th and 17^th century frescoes. We walked around and had lunch, in this fascinating little village.

We then drove to ‘the Monestary of Saint Euthyius’, at the outskirts of town.

The Hospital Chambers - Hospitals Museet

This Monastery was built, in the 14^th century, like a fort, to protect the towns northern entry.

It was beautiful inside this Monastery / Kremlin. We also visited the Hospital chambers and Saint Nicolas church. The Hospital Chambers, exhibits a rich collection of the churches, gold treasures and a amazing collection, of gold and precious stones. There are 4 more churches in this Monastery, and we soon got tired of looking at churches, so back to our cars, and off, we drove to Vladimir.

Checked into our hotel at around 4.30 pm. Our room was the smallest, we have stayed in, on this trip so far. It was so small, that if I farted the curtains moved.

Left Louis and Janet at the hotel, and we walked across the square to see a few more churches.

‘The Assumption Cathedral’, was enormous. The altar, laden with gold and frescoes on the ceilings. This church sits on a hill overlooking the river. What a beautiful church.

Vladimir

Walked around town a bit, and saw a few more churches. Decided that my soul was saved today by visiting so many churches.

Susanne hopped and hobbled to the nearest Ecco Shop, and bought a pair of Sandals, as an excuse for her legs to get better.

Had dinner, at a great neighbouring restaurant, which served us some great food. 

Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, July 2016

Dag 65. Nizhny Novgorod

I dag tog vi en taxi fra hotellet kl 10 til Nizhny Novgorods Kreml, denne by’s Kreml er bygget i ca. 1500 af en italiensk arkitekt, og ligger på et højdedrag imellem 2 floder, Volga og Oka. Så der er en fantastisk udsigt over floderne. Vi styrede straks hen til ”Katedralen for ærkeenglen Michael”, så Michael kunne sige, at han havde været der.

Nizhny Kremlin - Nizhny Kreml

Michael in front of the church - Michael foran kirken

 Der er også en evig flamme til ofrene fra 2. Verdenskrig. Vi gik lidt mere rundt, eller det vil sige, jeg humpede rundt.

Fra Kreml gik vi hen til Rukavishnikov’s villa. En kæmpe villa bygget i det 19. århundrede af en rigmand, huset er nu lavet om til museum. Vi betalte for en tur med engelsk talende guide, men desværre kunne vi næsten ikke forstå hvad hun sagde.

The Mansion - Villaen

Efter frokost, var vi med svævebane over Volga floden, en flot tur, hvor vi så folk som badede i floden og flodpramme som fragtede sand.

In the Cable Car - I svævebanen

I Rusland er kjoler helt klart på mode, så vi ser mange flotte russiske kvinder i kjoler og høje hæle, så Michael er glad.

Om aftenen afprøvede vi hotellets sports bar, hvor andre gæster havde travlt med at spille pool eller bowle.

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19th July Nizhny Novgorod

Caught, a taxi, to the Kremlin.

The Kremlin, is in principle, a fort, which has Churches, Mosques and government buildings inside.

We hopped of, at a corner of the Kremlins, enormous 55 feet wall, walked half a km parallel to it, and entered from the main gate.

Nizhny Kremlin - Nizhny Kreml

Our first stop, inside the Kremlin, was the church of ‘Michael the Archangel’. What a beautiful name, given to a beautiful church. People kept waving at me, and I soon found out, that it was, because Susanne kept calling me Michael. Once again a beautiful name, for a spectacular church.

Michael the Archangel Church - Saint Michael'a Kirke

Susanne, hopped on one foot, while I, like a mule, had to carry everything else.

We strolled along the Kremlin, and stopped every 20 feet, to have a photo shoot and for Susanne to rest her leg.

We then walked to the Eternal flame, which burns near a Monument, for the heroes of WWII.

We hoppled outside, to a beautiful mansion, build by Rukavishnikov.

The Mansion - Villaen

This is a 19^th century mansion, which belonged to a Merchant family. We arranged for a guided tour and could have been better of without it. Our English speaking guide, spoke a mixture of Finnish, Polish and Jibberish. So, as we wandered through the rooms, it became more and more clear to me, that I should try and loose our Jibberish guide. Not easy.

View from the Cable Car - Udsigt fra Svævebanen

We then caught a taxi to the Cable Car. This connects Novgorod to a settlement across the river. In these Cable Cars; we got a spectacular 15 to 20 min ride each way. The highest point on this ride, was 80 m high, and the length of the ride, is 3.6 km.

Had to buy return tickets, and caught the Cable Car back.

Bought enormous ice-creams, hailed a cab and left back for our hotel.

Had dinner, this evening, at the sports bar in the hotel.

I found out, that there is a new billiards game. It is called Russian Billiards, and is played only with white balls.