First stop was the Armoury where we could not take pictures of the gowns, jewelry, coaches, clothing, thrones, and gifts from other nations to the Czar and Czarina. We heard a great deal—for example, Czarina Catherine the Great used more than 800 (yes that is 800 horses) to pull her carriage from Moscow to St. Petersburg. The carriage was drawn by 23 horses and they were changed every hour. Whew, what a workout.
After the Armoury we walked the grounds of the Kremlin—think of the Vatican, it is a city within a city. The first picture is of a enormous bell (with our folks in front) that weighs over 200 tons. It was never hung because a fire broke out, and in an attempt to keep the bell from melting, they poured cold water on in and the bell cracked. The “small” slab that broke off weighs approximately 12 tons. The second photo is of a rather large cannon, that actually did work, but was never actually used. It sat on the wall of the Kremlin and intimidated enemies. The third photo is of a small garden/park outside of the Kremlin. The fourth photo is of restored Church on the end of Red Square opposite the Church of the Intercession (St. Basil).
We then went to lunch in GUM a former state department store and now a beautiful indoor mall. The fifth photo is of us working our way to the food court. The sixth photo is of Mr. Baker enjoying his lunch (although he does look less than enthusiastic)—note rather large beer next to him. Life would not be good without coffee (7th photo).
We then made our way to a cemetery. Now cemeteries are not usually on a tour—but this is a unique one, where the tombstones are just extraordinarily conceived.
The 8th photo is Checkov’s tomb (for the literati he was a physician who started writing in his spare time). The 9th photo is Svetlana talking to the group. The 10th photo is the tombstone of a physician (guess what area he practiced in?). The 11th photo is of Nikita Khrushev’s tomb and the final photo in this series is of a set of hands holding a jewel (heart).
We then went on a tour of the metro system. The final four photos are from different Metro stations (note the stained glass, the metal work, the painting, the mosaic work). The photos do not capture the variety and beauty of the system.
A long day of hiking and busing and walking and sightseeing for all. Tomorrow we commence some of our intellectual work here—we visit the U. S. Embassy and the Coca-Cola plant tomorrow—and although that might not sound like much, the distances involved demand the entire day.
Thus ends the second full day in Moscow. Groups are going to various places for dinner.
John F. Mahon
John M. Murphy Chair of International
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