Moscow - Red Square, St. Basil's and GUM Department Store

Monday, January 29, 2018

We woke about 0730 to the sound of snow shovels in the courtyard between our hotel and the neighboring buildings. About 2 inches of snow fell over night. We slept well and ate breakfast in our room consisting of bread, cheese, yogurt and tea. After breakfast we headed to the subway to catch a train to Red Square where we found ourselves in a winter wonderland of fir trees, vending stalls, skaters and tourists enjoying a pleasant winter day in Moscow. Temperatures were in the 20 to 25 degree range during the day. Snow plows and snow shovelers were busy throughout the day.

Carla at St. Basil's

Hotel Courtyard - 2 Inches of Snow

We left our hotel at about 9 a.m. walking to the nearest metro station and catching the train to Red Square. The square in front of the Four Seasons Hotel had been turned into a magical pine forest interspersed with glass cubes of flowers and a large merry-go-round. Two young ladies in period costume were quick to join us for a photo op. When pressed for more than the 200 rubles Dwayne offered, Janet sprang for $10 US for the honor of their presence. Another snow job.

Ladies in Waiting (For Dumb Tourist)

We continued walking across the Red Square to Lenin's Tomb for a quick photo (free). In the past, there were long lines of people waiting to see Lenin's body which is on display in the tomb. Today, there was no line. We passed on going through the tomb and continued on to St. Basil's.

Lenin's Tomb

Across from Lenin's Tomb was the large ice skating rink which was filled with people enjoying the winter weather as they skated in circles around the rink. Vendors were selling food and souvenirs to the tourists who appeared to be mostly Russian with a few Chinese groups being guided through the square. We watched the skaters for a while and checked out a couple of souvenir vendors before finally reaching the entrance to St. Basil's.

Sanctuary of Basil the Blessed - Under the Green Dome

St. Basil's Cathedral was built on orders of Ivan the Terrible between 1555 - 1561 and commemorates victories during Ivan's campaign to retake Kazan and Astrakhan from the Mongols. St Basil's actually consists of a octagonal central church with eight side churches and a tenth church erected in 1588 over the grave of St. Basil. The interiors are decorated with beautiful icons and stucco paintings. Extensive restoration has been completed in recent years. The artifacts on display are amazing for their beauty and age. A quartet sang spiritual hymns from the past enhancing the experience. We were fortunate to be here in the off-season as we did not have to wait in a long line to enter and had plenty of time to explore the many nooks in this marvelous place.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Basil%27s_Cathedral

After touring St. Basil's, we crossed over to the GUM Department Store to warm up, have lunch and window shop. Moscow's GUM was constructed in the late 19th Century and is much like an American shopping mall of a hundred years later. The shops are located on three levels and the entire complex is covered to provide an indoor shopping experience. Today, high end retail dominates GUM with stores such as Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, Hermes, Cartier, Mont Blanc, etc. There were extensive seasonal decorations throughout the store. We had lunch at Stolovaya 57 which is a Soviet-style cafeteria. The chicken kiev was very good and the prices were reasonable. We lingered after lunch to warm up before heading back to our hotel.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GUM_(department_store