We tried to get into this cathedral yesterday, but the line stretched around the block and we needed to get home so we could make it in time for mom and dad's class. Our goal was to be there close to 10 am, right when it opened and the line looked a bit shorter than the day before, but not by much. After a bit of deliberation, we decided to stick it out. I'm so glad we did. What a spectacular building and amazing history. Stalin ordered the cathedral to be blown up in 1931 and it was recently rebuilt (primarily between 1994-1997). Something this spectacular comes with a spectacular price tag as well - $200 million! Square footage of 97,000 and more than 10,000 worshipers can worship at one time.
After being in line for about 45 minutes to enter the cathedral, we realized there was still a line forming inside. We all thought we would just go in, look around, and then leave. Imagine our surprise when after going around a few corners, we realized we were in line for the sacrament. Oops! At least we were prepared with scarves to cover our heads. :)
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| Outside Cathedral of Christ our Redeemer |
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| Outside Cathedral of Christ our Redeemer |
Red Square and surrounding area
This was probably my favorite stop of the entire vacation (although I'm just starting to write this up, so I may say that again). I am in awe walking in old buildings and seeing how other countries re-purpose buildings verses the mentality that most things are disposable. We visited Red Square which is quite famous but is not very impressive from an aesthetic viewpoint. It is essentially red bricks that form a good size square (1,600 feet in length) and was constructed in the 15th century and was a place for public announcements and executions.
On one side of the square is Lenin's mausoleum. We had hoped to squeeze in time to see this, but simply ran out of time. Also, it's only open a couple of days each week and quite limited hours.
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| This actually says LENIN - tricky remembering a backwards N is an I, an H is an N, etc. |
St. Basil's Cathedral was commissioned by Ivan the Terrible in 1552 and completed in 1561. According to legend, Ivan was so amazed at the beauty of the architect's work, he had him blinded so he would never be able to design anything as exquisite again.
I loved walking up the narrow steps of varying height, knowing that the builders just used whatever stone was available and somewhat of the right height. You could also see significant grooves on the stairs caused by so many people walking in the same place. Amazing!
We stopped to get a quick refreshment... thank goodness they have Diet Coke in Russia.
GUM
With a name like Gosudarstvennyy universalnyy magazin you can see why the abbreviate it :) Designed in 1889-93 it originally was used to sell goods ranging from furs and silks to candles. During the Stalin era, he requisitioned it as offices. Now it's back to a HUGE shopping mall.
On our way back to the apartment, Mom and Dad showed me the padlock trees. When couples get married, they can go to this padlock bridge and add their padlock to the tree, throwing the key into the river. What a cute tradition! I told Mom and Dad they should celebrate their anniversary by doing this.
And to top it all off, we went to a great concert in the evening. It was a very close call getting there on time, but we made it before the concert started. I didn't know Dad could race walk like that! :) The concert was an amazing assortment of jazz, chamber music, oboe player, accordion player, opera singer - pretty much you name it, they had it. All of the music was well done and it was fun to attend a cultural event.
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