Moscow

St Basil's Cathedral

Joep and I arrived early Thursday morning in Moscow. I was fortunate to be able to check into the hotel early, shower, and then head out to collect my train tickets for Warsaw. Unfortunately, I forgot to arrange a transit visa for Belarus, so had to spend a good deal of time over the 2 days getting that organised.

After collecting my tickets on Thursday morning, I had time to spare before the Belarus Embassy opened so decided to go for a walk. I walked for about 10 minutes and stumbled across Red Square with St Basil’s Cathedral in all its’ glory. To stumble unplanned up to such an iconic building really took my breath away. A building I had yearned to see for many years was right in front of me – wonderful!

I strolled a bit around the cobblestones of Red Square and saw the exterior of Lenin’s Mausoleum, the imposing Kremlin behind a tall wall, and the palatial GUM Department Store.

St Basil's Cathedral and Kremlin

Unfortunately, the view around Red Square was blemished by the construction of temporary seating for an upcoming event.

The Bolshoi

Both evenings, we enjoyed dining al fresco. In fact, both full days I also enjoyed sitting outside with a beer watching Moscow life pass me by. Despite such wonderful sights, I took remarkably few photos. Carrying a large camera around with me was becoming a very onerous task.

Marshal Zhukov

Moscow impressed me a great deal!