Moscow

Woke to more rain and a full schedule for the day. With Edward, our local guide, we rode more high speed transportation, the fast-moving escalator down and down and down deep into the metro where we got off and on at different stations to view the lovely art and architecture, Stalin called ‘Palaces of the People.’ We emerged from the depths at the station nearest the Kremlin.

 Down, down, down into the metro

Metro Art

Metro Architecture

Metro Bronze Sculpture

A special event for school children was going on, so to get into the Kremlin everyone had to pass through security metal detectors, bag searches, and no liquids or bottled water permitted. 

Kremlin

K

Red Square

Once inside the Kremlin walls, we saw St. Basil’s Cathedral along with eight other churches and Lenin’s Tomb in Red Square. No one but morbidly-fascinated tourists care much about the latter.

Lenin's Tomb

In the afternoon, we visited the Kremlin Museum, a treasure chest of the Imperial family, to see their crown jewels, diamond-studded thrones, royal coronation gowns, costumes, a fabulous collection of Faberge eggs, gilded horse-drawn carriages including a child-size carriage built for the young prince, said to have been equipped at the time with miniature horses and dwarves dressed in livery. Jerry especially loved the armament rooms with munitions, suits of armor, chain maille, bejeweled swords, clubs and spears (probably never saw a battle). No cameras allowed inside but we have to tell you this collection was more impressive than comparable displays we’ve seen at the Smithsonian or of the crown jewels at the Tower of London.

Later we went out again around 9:30pm to view Moscow by night. 

Novodevichy convent where tsars dumped unwanted wives

St. Basil's Cathedral

Jerry and Linda

Got back to the hotel long past midnight.