Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Paris and Vienna, Step Aside


Having been weaned on American television and film, I expected the Kremlin to be a drab grey building with a whole bunch of pictures of Lenin, etc. A place where KGB agents hide in shadows waiting for the enemy. Would you believe me if I told you it is a town within a city with stunning architecture, beautiful churches and perfectly manicured gardens?

Kremlin means fort in Russian and many Russian cities have kremlins. The fort in Moscow, however, is the one to see. It is a walled city within the city. Red brick walls with 12 towers surround 70 acres of grounds that abut the Moscow River. There are several churches with the trademark Russian gold crowns, gardens, palaces and the state armory that houses the carriages, crowns, jewels and gowns of the great czars. We spent three hours there this morning wandering through the grounds, taking loads of photos. The plan was to start at Lenin's tomb, but the line way too long and slow (by the way - what's with the Communists pickling their leaders for posterity? You can see pickled Mao in Beijing, Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam and Lenin in Moscow).

Now that Tony Blair has moved on to France and the Russian national holiday is over, Red Square is back open and we wandered through taking more pictures of St. Basil's and the State History Museum. To top off the afternoon, we took a ride on the Moscow Metro. Many of the stations are works of art, with chandeliers, sculptures and mosaics. The Brown Line is a ring around the city, so Rob and I got on and off at almost each stop on the line, taking pictures along the way. The coolest part of it for me is that I can read Cyrillic (the Russian alphabet) well enough to be able to navigate the Metro lines and read the signs for all the stations. Not bad for 10 days.

Yesterday, we went to GUM, which is an acronym for the State Deparment Store. The name is deceptive seeing as it is not a department store. It is a mall of 1,200 of the most high-end stores from around the world. It used to be a place where Soviets handed out rations of bread and clothes and now you can buy Prada and a Rolex if capitalism has agreed with you.

Last night, Rob, Andrea and I went to Propaganda, a trendy restaurant/night club. There were the three of us looking like dressed up backpackers surrounded by hot, Gucci-wearing Russian beauties. I can't believe I got passed the bouncers with how wrecked I looked. The place was so cool. The food was good, great vibe and, as luck would have it, it was hip hop night. The DJ's were just as good as any I have heard at home and they played real hip hop -- not the vulgar nonsense that gets marketed to white kids in the U.S. The sounds of Talib Kweli, KRS One, Dilated Peoples, Mos Def, etc. had everyone moving. The DJ's told me that it's really tough to get hip hop on vinyl in Russia, so they order a lot online. They were so cute! There were the guys in cornrows, some wearing the matching sweat suits with Pumas, doo rags, etc. I had a blast! We didn't get back to the hotel until almost 2am and awoke at 6:30 because the cheap curtains in the hotel didn't block out the sun.

We were just thrilled to have good weather.

Today's crystal blue skies provided an idyllic backdrop to the greatness of this city. I used to think that Paris and Vienna were the most beautiful cities I have ever seen, but Moscow has left them both in the dust. No picture I can possibly take will do this place justice.

Off to St. Petersburg on the midnight train.

7 Comments:

At 9:46 PM, December 05, 2014 , Blogger oakleyses said...

polo ralph lauren, prada outlet, oakley vault, christian louboutin shoes, cheap oakley sunglasses, tory burch outlet online, true religion, michael kors outlet, coach outlet, prada handbags, michael kors outlet online, chanel handbags, louis vuitton outlet, tiffany jewelry, gucci handbags, burberry outlet online, kate spade outlet, michael kors outlet online, coach outlet store online, michael kors handbags, oakley sunglasses, louis vuitton outlet online, tiffany and co jewelry, longchamp outlet online, ray ban sunglasses, michael kors outlet store, louis vuitton, nike air max, longchamp outlet, red bottom shoes, true religion outlet, polo ralph lauren outlet, jordan shoes, michael kors outlet online, nike outlet, ray ban outlet, christian louboutin, nike free, nike air max, burberry outlet online, kate spade outlet online, louis vuitton outlet, coach outlet, longchamp handbags, louis vuitton handbags, coach purses, christian louboutin outlet

 
At 9:53 PM, December 05, 2014 , Blogger oakleyses said...

babyliss, new balance outlet, replica watches, vans outlet, mcm handbags, celine handbags, beats headphones, nike trainers, nfl jerseys, giuseppe zanotti, jimmy choo shoes, ugg boots, birkin bag, asics shoes, canada goose outlet, ferragamo shoes, insanity workout, nike huarache, chi flat iron, hollister, abercrombie and fitch, uggs outlet, north face jackets, north face jackets, mac cosmetics, soccer jerseys, canada goose outlet, uggs outlet, uggs on sale, bottega veneta, instyler ionic styler, ugg boots clearance, nike roshe, valentino shoes, lululemon outlet, ugg, marc jacobs outlet, ugg outlet, longchamp, ghd, reebok shoes, ugg soldes, p90x workout, soccer shoes, wedding dresses, mont blanc pens, herve leger, canada goose outlet, canada goose

 
At 7:53 PM, December 06, 2015 , Blogger Unknown said...

louis vuitton handbags
camisetas futbol baratas
ferragamo outlet
nfl jersey wholesale
polo shirts
michael kors outlet online
louis vuitton,borse louis vuitton,louis vuitton sito ufficiale,louis vuitton outlet
lebron shoes
michael kors outlet online
michael kors outlet
the north face outlet
nike outlet store
true religion canada
michael kors outlet online
louis vuitton handbags outlet
timberland shoes
michael kors handbags outlet
chanel outlet store
ray-ban sunglasses
michael kors outlet
1207minko

 
At 7:24 PM, April 10, 2016 , Blogger oakleyses said...

louis vuitton, oakley sunglasses wholesale, longchamp outlet, chanel handbags, replica watches, oakley sunglasses, christian louboutin shoes, ray ban sunglasses, longchamp outlet, louis vuitton outlet, prada outlet, louis vuitton outlet, christian louboutin, nike roshe, sac longchamp pas cher, louis vuitton, jordan pas cher, tiffany and co, christian louboutin outlet, ray ban sunglasses, kate spade outlet, longchamp outlet, uggs on sale, gucci handbags, oakley sunglasses, ugg boots, nike outlet, nike air max, polo outlet, nike free run, louboutin pas cher, tory burch outlet, jordan shoes, air max, michael kors pas cher, tiffany jewelry, louis vuitton outlet, nike free, replica watches, ray ban sunglasses, burberry pas cher, cheap oakley sunglasses, longchamp pas cher, ugg boots, nike air max, polo ralph lauren, polo ralph lauren outlet online, oakley sunglasses

 
At 7:26 PM, April 10, 2016 , Blogger oakleyses said...

uggs outlet, vans pas cher, michael kors outlet online, coach purses, nike tn, abercrombie and fitch uk, burberry handbags, michael kors outlet, coach outlet store online, true religion outlet, uggs outlet, ray ban pas cher, hogan outlet, oakley pas cher, north face, michael kors, burberry outlet, michael kors, hollister uk, michael kors outlet online, true religion jeans, polo lacoste, ralph lauren uk, nike air force, michael kors outlet, michael kors outlet, sac hermes, michael kors outlet online, nike roshe run uk, converse pas cher, nike free uk, sac vanessa bruno, nike air max uk, michael kors outlet online, lululemon canada, kate spade, guess pas cher, mulberry uk, coach outlet, replica handbags, nike blazer pas cher, true religion outlet, timberland pas cher, nike air max, true religion outlet, hollister pas cher, ray ban uk, north face uk

 
At 7:29 PM, April 10, 2016 , Blogger oakleyses said...

instyler, new balance shoes, mac cosmetics, abercrombie and fitch, soccer shoes, insanity workout, reebok outlet, iphone 5s cases, north face outlet, wedding dresses, jimmy choo outlet, iphone 6 cases, ralph lauren, iphone 6 plus cases, celine handbags, mont blanc pens, giuseppe zanotti outlet, hollister, louboutin, nfl jerseys, hermes belt, oakley, babyliss, lululemon, hollister clothing, ipad cases, iphone 6s plus cases, longchamp uk, iphone cases, timberland boots, soccer jerseys, baseball bats, nike huaraches, mcm handbags, valentino shoes, chi flat iron, ferragamo shoes, bottega veneta, asics running shoes, s6 case, nike trainers uk, beats by dre, p90x workout, nike air max, ghd hair, north face outlet, nike roshe run, iphone 6s cases, vans outlet, herve leger

 
At 7:14 PM, August 20, 2018 , Blogger ouch said...

0821jejechaussure air max nike homme 2017 D'autre asics gel nimbus 17 Chaussures part, il existe une légère variation des prix coque iphone 5s nike sb sur les différents types disponibles. asics gel kinsei 6 soldes Ils ont supposé que les exercices avis site air jordan france pas cher d'échauffement avaient leur retour sur investissement. asics gel lyte v noir rouge Les sneakers ne furent connus internationalement basket nike tn 2015 qu'en 1924, quand Adidas fut adidas zx flux bleu marine homme créé par un Allemand nommé Adi Dassler.

 

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home