Two days in Moscow

After a long overnight flight on Swiss Air to Geneva and then on to Moscow, we arrived at 3 p.m. and were met by our driver from Gate 1 Travel. There was a bit of confusion as there were two Gate 1 Travel groups arriving. I had sat next to Scott on the plane who was in one group. We met Barbara in New York but she was also in the other group. they were only doing Moscow and St. Petersburg. When we lined up with them outside the airport, our name wasn't on the guide's list. We soon found our driver and it was just the two of us to ride in town. It was at least an hour drive into town to our Marriott Hotel. Egis, our Lithuanian guide, was there to greet us and send us to our room!

He held an introductory meeting at 7 p.m. to give us basic directions, our "Whisperer", so we could hear our local guide, name tags, etc. Pat Bartlett (from Wellfleet) was there with her friend Alice, from Charlottesville, VA. then Robert and Barb from Detroit area. He works for Ford in Marketing. Bill Clinton is from Philly. Luz and Joseph were from California. They met in Saudi Arabia when both were connected to the military. She is a dentist from the Phillipines; he's Mexican-American. Sita and Natalie, from CA; and Susan from FL. We had a welcome dinner that was nice.

Our breakfasts in all the restaurants are amazing! If we don't have lunch included, there's always sandwich stuff to make and take for the day. Edward was our guide in Moscow. He was rather difficult to understand. Went past the Moscow River, the Duma, the Parliament, KGB and several churches. Lots of those blocky gray apartment buildings we will see all over this whole trip, where the Soviets had been dominant in the 50s and 60s. Went into Assumption Cathedral where Czars were crowned. Churches in Russian Orthodox have no pews; everyone stands for the whole service. Icons on the walls are decorated with gold and silver with usually only the faces peeking through.

The Kremlin was a long red walled enclosure along the river with many buildings, towers and churches inside. We could go inside and wander around which surprised me. In the Armory gallery there were many royal items, crowns, scepters, etc. Outside we viewed a military parade with horses and performing soldiers.

Through an archway we passed this HUGE cannon (it was never fired!) into Red Square with St. Basil's amazing, beautiful cathedral on one end, GUM department store on the side, Lenin's Tomb (not opened) near the KremlinWall. Lunch in GUM with Pat and Alice and then walked around. Lots of high end stuff. when Betty was here in the 1960s there was hardly anything in the stores. Things were very grim then! Back on the bus we passed Moscow University and the Olympic Stadium from 1980 when America boycotted those Olympics because of Russia's invasion of Afghanistan (guide pointed out it was okay for US to invade, but not Russia!).

Had difficult trying to get Russian rubles from ATM. Neither card would work. Spent the next hour calling US and Cape Cod 5. Turns out bank teller hadn't noted Russia on my form when I told them my travels. We walked with group from hotel down to the Metropole Hotel (most of us had red Gentleman from Moscow by Towles where this guy is imprisoned but free to roam around this hotel (it's fiction but we wanted to see it!). We all had a drink in the lobby and I went to ask about a possible tour (it was already like 7:30 p.m.). But a guide, David, showed up and he gave us a delightful tour of the hotel. Obviously they have had many tourists come by who have read this book and so he gives regular tours!! It was fun! He had a picture of the author who had come by as well. 

After that the group split up as everyone except Betty and me wanted to go eat somewhere. We headed back and were going to get something at a shop. We went in one and I bought two bottles of beer to take back and went to the front in a booth while Betty was in the back getting a sandwich or something. I went back and checked TWICE and she was in this line at the counter. I should have told her I was waiting at the front but knew she had to come by the only door and I was sitting right next to it waiting. It was by the checkout counter where I assumed she had to pay for her food. Finally I went to the back again and she was gone!! I called her name, walked up and down the aisles of the tiny store - no Betty! I went outside thinking she'd be waiting there, up to the corner looking for her. Nowhere!!! After 1/2 hour or more of searching, I had no choice but to start walking that long road back to the hotel! I was walk/running thinking she was ahead of me - where else could she be? - for a good 40 minutes! I got to our hotel, up to our room - no Betty! I could NOT figure out what happened! I went back to the lobby to sit and wait by the front door, went out to the corner looking both ways! FINALLY she came in - at least an hour and a half since I'd last seen her. She had paid for her food back at the counter and just walked out of the store. When I wasn't outside in front, she just assumed I had left her (I had NEVER done that in all our traveling!!) and started home. I was waiting inside at that booth!! So she was long gone by the time I headed home to the hotel. She got confused and went past our street and on the other side. It was almost midnight by the time she showed up. We should never leave a new hotel without a card with the address written down!!! Not a great start to our trip!!!

The next day was an out of town trip to Holy Trinity Monastery with a clock tower, churches and many devout monks 9men and women) and visitors. Pilgrims were buying large plastic jugs and filling them with holy water from a spring there. On the way to our lunch place outside the monastery we found some street stalls where I bought the nesting dolls (15) for Sarah. I also bought a Santa nesting doll set for Jackson! Lovely salmon lunch and back to the hotel.

Huge bell near Kremlin that was cracked

Procession of monks at Holy Trinity

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Mural at our hotel

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Older monk at Holy Trinity

That night we had an optional tour of Moscow by night, all the buildings lit up, and the subway tour. Built in the 1920s as a propaganda tool with its paintings of prosperous happy, workers, we went to about 4 or 5 different stations. Some had beautiful chandeliers, others bronze statues. During the Stalin years things were so depressing, this was to give people hope. Long escalators to get to platforms, no toilets or restaurants or souvenir shops like in many subway stations. Edward told us to think of Russia now as the best! No more Communism,no more imperialism, Russia is a thriving REpublic! Only N. Korea, Cub, Vietnam and China are still Communist.

Up early the next day to catch the train to St. Petersburg. Our suitcases had gone with Andry on the bus and he would meet us there. Very nice, fast train! Arrived around 2 p.m. where our local guide met us and walked us to the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Betty and I opened one of our bottles of wine, after room service brought us two wine glasses and a cork screw! Enjoyed a couple of glasses before heading out, NOT to get lost from each other this time!! We set up clear rules!! (It was really all BETTY's fault!! :)