Sandra was here!
Craig's sister Sandra made her first trip out of North America to come see us here in Moscow. We kept her very busy with new sites and experiences everyday.
The afternoon she arrived I made dinner at home and then I walked her over to the bridge by Christ the Saviour Cathedral for her first view of the Kremlin just a few blocks away.
Coming from Canada she was jet-lagged, so we didn't have too much planned on her first day. We went for a walk to Gorky Park and then had dinner at our favorite pizza place - Pinzeria. Sunday we went to my favorite park - Tsaritsino Park - where she had her first taste of shashlik (shish kebab).
 |
| View of the Kremlin from bridge by Christ the Saviour Cathedral |
 |
| "Our Church" as we call it - Christ the Saviour Cathedral - Sandra standing in "Statue Park" on our way to Gorky Park |
 |
| Craig made Sandra go get wet in these cute fountains that children always play in (Statue Park) |
 |
| Entrance gate to Gorky Park |
 |
| Craig and Sandra posing by the fountains at Gorky Park |
 |
| Same fountains, but looking back towards the gate to Gorky Park |
 |
| Hmmm.... Pinzeria pizza! |
 |
| Craig & I posing at the fountains as we enter Tsaritsino Park |
 |
| Fountains of Tsaritsino Park |
 |
| Bridge in Tsaritsino Park |
 |
| Walking in the forest paths of Tsaritsino Park |
 |
| The lovely flower gardens in Tsaritsino Park |
Monday morning I had a free walking tour booked for a 10:45 am start at the monument below. Our guide started off telling us about a small little church with a big history, Varvarka Street (full of ancient cathedrals), the Romanovs Chambers (old estate of the Tsar's dynasty), St. Basil's Cathedral, Red Square, Lenin's Mausoleum, The Senate Palace, GUM (pronounced goom - first shopping mall in Russia), Kazan Cathedral, Tomb of Unknown Soldier (with changing of guard), Ruins Grotto, and the Kremlin walls.
 |
Meeting point for free walking tour - in the centre of Slavyanskaya Square is the monument to Cyril & Methodius (9th century Greek brothers who are famous for having evangelized pagan Slavonic people and are considered as the founders of the Cyrillic alphabet).
|
 |
| The first church of many we encountered on the walking tour - I cannot remember the name - All Saints maybe? Lots of history here including many human remains found here. |
 |
| Sandra's first view of St. Basil's (from the back). |
 |
| The Kremlin walls up close |
 |
| Kazan Cathedral with Moscow State Historical Museum (all red) to left |
 |
| Tomb of Unknown Soldier - changing of the guard ceremony |
Around Moscow:
 |
| lunch at the chain - MyMy (pronounced moo moo). Her first real taste of Russian food. Little did I know I had bought her, what I thought was a drink, but it was more like cherry pie filling she said - it was very thick and syrupy. |
 |
| A service going on at the little church around the corner from us where Sandra's Homeless friend, Tatiana hangs out and sleeps. |
 |
| It seemed like a very important occasion, but we don't know what it was for |
Sandra became fast friends with people in the neighbourhood. Apparently being a smoker and wanderer brings with it opportunities to make friends. Through charades and gestures and a couple of Russian words she made friends with the lady who cleans our stairwell, the man who works next door and goes out for a smoke, the guard who mans our gate and, of course, Tatiana, the homeless lady around the corner by the small church. She and Sandra spent a lot of time together and Sandra helped her out buying her meals, food at the grocery store, a new bag to hold her things and, I think most importantly, she was good company for her. I went out once to try and help translate and brought my phone too. They had a kinship with one anther. I don't think I would ever be able to develop such a friendship with a stranger on the streets, but that's what makes Sandra - Sandra. She has a very big heart.
More tours:
Tuesday was the Kremlin tour. We had purchased a "Moscow Pass" from the same company as the free Moscow tour, so it included the Kremlin tour, communist tour, metro tour and the "mystic tour" (which we didn't know what that was exactly and never got to as Sandra's feet were swollen up like little sausages).
 |
| The bridge entrance to the Kremlin - on the Kremlin Tour |
 |
| The Tsar Canon inside the Kremlin grounds cast in 1586 - a bronze cannon weighing more than 39 tons. Each cannon ball weighs 1000 kgs. It is purely decorative as it has never been used. It is one of the largest cannons in the world. |
 |
| This is the Tsar bell that stands in the Kremlin grounds not far from Ivan the Great/ Terrible Bell Tower. It is the largest bell in the world weighing almost 202 tons. It has never been hung or rung due to many misfortunes. It was cast in a large ditch when a fire broke out destroying the wooden structure that was designed to lift the bell once completed. During another fire in 1737 the bells overheating and uneven cooling (apparently people poured cold water on it to "save" it) causing this huge chunck (11 tons) to fall off. For another century the huge bell remained in its casting pit until in 1836 when it was placed on this pedestal. |
|
|
Metro Tour:
 |
| Metro station - Ploshad Revolutsi where huge bronze statues are rubbed for good luck. |
 |
| The old USSR star chandelier at metro entrance to Kurskaya Metro Station |
 |
| How it is now - with no statue, but a video camera watching |
 |
| How it was originally when Stalin was watching |
 |
| Mayakovskaya Metro Station - used as an underground city during the war |
 |
| Modern day Mayakovskaya Metro Station |
Communist Tour:
 |
| A memorial to all those who lost their lives near the former KGB building and the start of our Communist Tour. Every year people gather for one day in this square to read off the names and some information about each of the victims (from 10am - 10pm). They have been doing this since 1991 and they have yet to finish reading all the names! |
 |
| Lubyanka Building - former KGB Headquarters. Only 3 years ago we would not have been able to take a picture of this building as it was illegal! |
 |
| Bolshoi (Grand) Theatre |
 |
| Cute little pedestrian street we encountered on the tour |
Victory Park:
 |
| Gate to the city |
 |
| Victory Park |
 |
| Victory Park monument |
 |
| Victory Park museum |
Bell Ringing "Master Class"
Sandra and I could not resist this unique opportunity to go to the Bell Ringing Master class tour. As it turned out, the Master Class is actually 3 months long and we were only there a couple of hours. We were given a lesson on the history of bell making and the properties of the bell (made of tin and copper). Being the bad student I am, I do not remember a whole lot of the information. It was a unique experience, but we didn't get a whole lot of hands-on experience.
 |
| Sandra was the first to try the bells - here she is getting some tutorial |
 |
| There she goes! I think you were actually the best of all of us. |
 |
| Here goes nothing... it was much harder than I thought because you have your one foot controlling the large bell, your right hand controlling all the small bells at once and your left hand ringing each of the medium bells. Come on! Who's THAT coordinated? lol |
 |
| I think here she's saying "don't ring the large bell so much girl" |
 |
| Francine's turn - actually, I think she went before me |
 |
| The happy bell ringer |
 |
| Despite her broken toe, she did a good job! |
O |
| Outside after our class - photo of part of the church we had our lesson in. |
 |
| Our instructor - how it's supposed to sound (hope you can open it) |
 |
| Sandra's great effort as a Master Bell Ringer |
It was good to see you Sandra. We love you and wish you all the best with your future plans!
