Honestly yesterday was a well needed day of R&R. I hate to wasted days but we honestly needed to chill out. We got to the hotel early in the morning and of course our room was not ready for it was way too early to check in. However they helped us out and we were able to get a room pretty quick. We had a great breakfast which was even better than the previous hotel. We are staying at the Hilton Leningradskaya. I don't know what I am going to do in the future as far as traveling is concerned. My uncle has spoiled me. The hotels have been first class all the way. In fact right now I am on a special floor in the hotel for Hilton Diamond club members. All of those years my uncle has travled for work has paid off. We have had dinner up here the last two nights for free. There is also complimentary drinks. First class all the way!
After our breakfast we got a room and both of us passed out for hours. I think I slept around four or five hours. My uncle was still sleeping so I decided to head to the exercise room, pool, jacuzzi and then the sauna. Talk about a refresher! Felt refreshed for sure and I certainly needed it. Afterwards we got a bite to eat up on the floor I mentioned and took it easy the rest of the night.
Today we headed to the Kremlin. We took the metro down and did a pretty good job navigating the subway system. We haven't seen the beautiful subway that you see pictures of. It is around just not the stops we were on today. We have all week so we will get there.
So let's see, the Kremlin is unbelievable. It is so much more than what I had in my mind. It is really hard to describe, just awesome. We were going to go to the museums but today we decided to walk around the Kremlin and check the scene out. Tomorrow we will be going to the Russian State Museum and the Armory. Today we went into St.Basils, the most famous church in Russia probably. St.Basils was built by Ivan the Terrible, you know that nice guy that punched his pregnant daughter in law and killed the future heir and then for good measure beat his son to death with a scepter. Good times. While walking around Red Square we noticed there was a stage being put together for some concerts in the next few days. Russia is celebrating 1,125 years of Christianity being brought to the area by I believe St.Cyril. I am gonna check the concerts out.
After our visit to St.Basils we sat down and had lunch in Red Square by the exculsive shopping mall called GUM. This mall was shut down for a period during the Communist Revolution. However now it is popping. All the high end stores you can imagine. Saw awesome clothes unfortunately my wallet is not up for such things. Obviously not everyone is flourishing in Russia however from what I see a lot of people are. This shopping mall was the nicest I have ever seen.
After our trip to the Kremlin (Red Fort) we came back to the hotel for another swim and trip to the Sauna. Our hotel was commisioned by Stalin in the 1950's to show the grandeur of the Soviet State. Pretty cool being in a hotel that was commissioned by Stalin even though he was a ruthless dictator. Great Purge, Gulags and Secret Police.
Moscow is no St.Petersburg, although not many places are. The weather has been rainy and gloomy. The Russian people have been pretty helpful to us. People are people as I always say : )
We certainly stick out like a sore thumb but the people seem to enjoy having tourists and many are on holiday visiting their cities just as we are. I have learned from people that I have talked to that the Russian middle class is growing and more and more people are starting to enjoy the advantages. Capitalism is alive and well here!
Lenin's tomb, my students will be disappointed to hear you can't go in anymore.
Uncle Ed enjoying lunch in Red Square
Tim,I have found your posts very informative&you are very descriptive in your posts so I can imagine myself right there w you. Glad to hear you&Uncle Ed seem to be having so much fun.Sorry you're having bad weather but it is especially wet here as well. Looking forward to discussing your adventures at length. Enjoy your last few days&we'll talk soon.
ReplyDelete