Bob and Ann in Russia 2007

Please visit August 24 slideshow.

Front of the Cathedral of the Assumption


Domes on the Church of the Deposition of the Robe

We continued our tour of Moscow today with a visit to the Kremlin. The Kremlin is a fortress within the city. It contains government offices as well as several Russian orthodox cathedrals. We began our tour in the former arsenal which is now called the Kremlin Museum today. It contains jewelry, clothes, carriages, etc. from the era of the tsars - from Peter the Great (18th century) to the Romanov's (20th century). Artifacts from tsars and tsarinas such as Ivan the Terrible and Katherine the Great were there. The diamonds, rubies and emeralds in the jewelry and sewn into the clothes were particularly intriguing.

After the museum, we toured the outside area a saw Uspensky Sobor (Cathedral of the Assumption), Blagoveshchensky Sobor (Cathedral of the Annunciation), Arkhangelsky Sobor (Archangel Cathedral) and Kolokolnya Ivana Velikogo (Bell Tower). Other sights were the bell that had never been rung and the canon that was never fired. We were able to go into the Cathedral of the Assumption which was full of very old icons. We learned how the Russian Orthodox Church differs from the Greek Orthodox Church in their layouts and decorations. If I can remember this when we go to Greece, I'll be happy.

We got back on the bus to drive to the boat, arriving at 1:45. Our lunch was at 2:30 and we were pretty hungry. So we tried our Russian vodka and orange juice and snacked on Russian Lay's potato chips.

Imperial Ballet Theater

Tonight was ballet night. We drove into the city to see a production by the Imperial Ballet Company. There were three short ballets. Ann said that the first two were not nearly as good as those at the SF Ballet Company. The third one, Bolero, was a show-stopper though. It was very dramatic and intense. Dancers were in black and there was fog on the stage. The choreography was wonderful.

We got back to the boat around 10:00 and had a light meal before bed.

Observations: 1. Touring Moscow while sleeping and eating on a boat allows you to unpack only once. That is very convenient. You waste a lot of time, however, by driving back and forth to the city. 2. Pack snacks, especially if you are going for long periods between meals. 3. Drink lots of water when it's hot. The temperature today was in the 90's again. I'm surprised some of the older folks on the tour haven't collapsed because of the heat. We are among the very youngest on the tour.

The map of our route is below. To see it in Google Earth, follow this link.