Other things to see in Moscow

Previous page - Red Square in Moscow

 

Monument to Alexander iI

We wandered on looking at anything and everything in sight. It was great to soak up the Moscow atmosphere.

We came across the Monument to Alexander ll. It was completed in 2005 and stands inside the gardens of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. There was an earlier statue of Alexander ll in a different location, but it was destroyed in the 1918 Bolshevik revolution. Alexander ll is probably best known for his crusade to end serfdom and on the statue is the inscription he "freed millions of peasants from centuries of slavery".

 

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

We wandered on to the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour which is a very new cathedral, built in the 1990's. It is the tallest of the Russian Orthodox cathedrals. There was a cathedral of the same name on that same spot until 1931 when it was dynamited. The Soviets planned to replace the church with a huge monument to socialism however they never were never able to access funds to do this. Later on, to replace the gaping hole in the ground Nikita Kruschev transformed it into a huge public swimming pool. Then the swimming pool was demolished.......

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour With the end of Soviet rule the Church was granted permission to re-build the cathedral. It was built on the same spot and was consecrated in August 2000.

 

 

 

I was itching to take photos in the Church which I know is probably not the right thing to do.

Finally I took one and moments later I was sharply tapped on the shoulder. A man in a suit simply said "Erase!".

I attempted to do so but somehow managed to still retain the image. I wonder how that happened?

 

Weddings & limousines in Moscow

Right in front of the Cathedral is a footbridge that crosses the Moskva River. The bridge is quite stunning and was constructed in 2003/04. Again we found lots of wedding parties with beautiful brides having their photos taken.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whilst up on the footbridge we looked down at the road that runs along the side of the river. We saw absolutely masses of huge stretch limousines. I think they must have been there carrying the bridal parties around. Their sizes were much larger than the stretch limo's we see here in Bunbury. One was so large it couldn't fit around a corner and had to do the manoeuvre in stages. At one point Ian counted 10 huge limousines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sand sculptures

Whilst we were wandering outside the cathedral we were handed an advertising brochure for a sand sculpture exhibition. We decided to have a look at it.

It was inside a white tent in the cathedral grounds. In total the sculpture was 23 metres long and 7 metres high. It featured segments of Russian history and was created by half a dozen of the top sand sculptors from around the world. The detail in the project was outstanding.

It was quite a hot day and inside the tent it was, of course, even hotter. I had to sit down at one stage for fear of fainting.

 

We had had a long day so decided to make a bee-line back to Mubin's house. We travelled on the train and of course were entertained by the usual sellers and buskers. The train didn't seem to be air-conditioned so it was a hot ride home.

We soon felt refreshed after getting back to Mubin's house in the village. It was nice and cool there. For dinner Lucia cooked rissoles, potatoes with butter and dill plus a salad. It was so tasty we all went back for seconds. Lucia is a good cook.

 

 

The delicious decorated cake

Later on after dinner, one of Mubin's students arrived to say hello. His name is Dimma. His English has progressed so well he has now completed English-Russian translator courses and speaks fluently.

Whilst he was there a beautifully decorated cake appeared. I thought Lucia had brought it home with her but Ian thought Dimma brought it with him. It was so colourful I just had to take a photograph of it.

 

We were very pooped that night. Ian still had his chesty cold and I had blisters on my feet from all our walking over recent weeks.

 

Next page - Tsaritsyno Park

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