Thursday 5 August 2010

Moscow River Cruise

I always think that an evening cruise along the Moscow River - past the fairy-tale golden domes of the Kremlin, the illuminated sky-scrapers, the monasteries and parks - is enhanced by Donna Summer singing 'Hot Stuff' over the loudspeaker.
Andrei, Nick, me
Kremlin cathedral domes

Kazan and Kitay-Gorod

Then once more to Red Square by metro, this time to see the Kazan Cathedral (a delight) and along Nikolaiskaya Ulitsa to the Church of St Barbara (which gets my vote as friendliest orthodox church), the English Court, the Church of St. Maxim of the Sign and - en route to Revolutsii Square metro - the Cathedral of the Epiphany.

Interior of Kazan Cathedral



The Old English Court

Cathedral of the Epiphany


Хамовники / Weavers' District

Church of St. Nicholas of the Weavers
Back on the metro to Park Kulturni and a visit to the Church of St. Nicholas of the Weavers.  Rather odd lunch which included (by mistake) cold black cherry soup.  Then on to Tolstoy's House / Museum but, alas, it was closed.

Tolstoy's Moscow House


But, at the end of Tolstoy Street, is a statue of the master, set in the Devichovo Pole (Maiden's Field) where the scene takes place in War and Peace in which Pierre watches the executions by the French soldiers.  I've read this scene so many times - it was incredible to be there.


Tolstoy

Novodevichie

Hurrah!  Today the smog / smoke cleared and Moscow was just a boilingly hot city (100cF).  Nick gave a talk at the Institute of Numerical Mathematics (part of the Russian Academy of Sciences), and I went sight-seeing solo.  Took the metro to Sportivnaya and visited the Novodevichie Convent, a fairy-tale ensemble of onion-domed buildings: the Cathedral of Our Lady of Smolensk, the Church & Refectory of St. Ambrose (with icon exhibition), the Church of the Assumption and a little mausoleum.  Famous Russians from Gogol to Raisa Gorbachev are buried in the cemetery, but that was closed.


Mausoleum


Cathedral of Our Lady of Smolensk


Annunciation Icon

Trinity Icon