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.