Just a short blog. We are out of cyber space but I will forget otherwise.
Yesterday, Monday, we navigated from our apartment to the Intrepid hotel on the other side of town. The hotel was built for the Olympics and there are 3 in a row. We are in the middle one. A high rise with wonderful views over an enormous park, lake and towards more skyscrapers.
In the afternoon we walked across to the local market, supposedly the biggest in Moscow. Luckily it was Monday so very few of the stalls were open. Too mind boggling otherwise.
At 6 we met the group ,or parts of. Anya is our leader , Irina is doing her training and we have a couple of German guys, 2 Irish and a New Zealand girls and an Australian bloke. Seems to be a pleasant group of people.
Later we went out for dinner then metroed back.
Today we started early, as Intrepid does and queued for Lenin's Mausoleum which opens at 10. Peak hour metro is interesting and 3 of us were left on the platform as the doors closed before we could get on. Anya held up 5 fingers as the train sped off. Count the stations being the message.
A full hour in the queue to visit Lenin isa regarded as good. We were really impressed with the way it was organized, keeping lots of people respectful, and the visit was really worthwhile. Looking at Lenin lying there you can't help but think about this man in history and what a political master he must have been.
The rest of the day we Kremlined, seeing wonderful Cathedrals filled with glorious icons. We were lucky to hear a group of monks singing religious music in one of the cathedrals. Very moving and incredibly beautiful. The voices unaccompanied just melded together from bass through to a beautiful tenor who sang the octave above in a clear amber voice.
Separately we visited the Armoury and diamond collections, the Kremlin treasures. Russian nationals pay very little to visit these but they were expensive for us and we had to queue again. Well worth it again. We saw the most amazing collection of silver and gold jewelry, gifts from other countries to the Russians, weapons, clothing etc. It was great to see the way the craftsmen developed their skills and the intricacies of their work. Of course, the Faberge collection was just stunning.
Really interesting was the collection of carriages. Again they had been crafted in the different European countries and gifted to the royals here so they were in different styles, with different levels of technology.
Later we visited the jewels and saw some of the biggest diamonds in the world. Collections of Sapphires, Rubies, emeralds, aquamarines, amethysts you name it we saw it. We were just blitzed and didn't even take in the massive gold nuggets and ingots.
Tonight , tired we have returned to pack. Tomorrow we head out of Moscow for Suzdal. We leave at 8 in the morning. Given the lack of darkness 8 is early. I woke at dawn this morning- 3.30am. Great view over the lake!
Goodbye Moscow. We have had a great time.
