Tag Archives: russia

Moscow: Lots and Lots and Lots of Pictures of Red Square and the Kremlin

You’ve been warned by the title of this post!

My first view of the Bolshoi
Detail of the fence by a church
The Kremlin walls
Closer to the Kremlin
Outside the Kremlin
Outside the Kremlin
Heading to the Kremlin entrance
Kremlin tower
Another view of the Kremlin
Architechtural detail near the Armory
The Kremlin
Inside the Kremlin, not yet at the churches
Another peak in the Kremlin
The first of many Kremlin churches
A square filled with churches in the Kremlin
One of the lovely Kremlin churches
Looking out at the Kremlin walls from inside
Frescoes
The bell tower
I’m at the Kremlin!
Lots of domes…
More frescoes and domes
Frescoes!
In the square
View of me with Kremlin churches
Me by another church
Another view of me in the square
Tree and domes
The canon on the other side of the Bell Tower
Looking back into the square
The cracked bell
A better view of the engraving
Now you can see that it really is cracked
Past the churches to government buildings
One last glimpse of frescoes
Parliament building (not the Duma)
Looking at government buildings
The working part of the Kremlin
Towards Red Sqaure
A long view down a side street for government employees only
Kremlin tower
Heading into Red Square
A broad view – St Basil in the background
First glimpse of St Basil
Red Square – picture the 20th century history!
Looking at St Basil’s
St Basil’s and GUM (the department store)
Doesn’t look real, does it?
Snow globe church
The business side of the Kremlin
Looking toward Lenin’s mausoleum
Red Square
The weird procession of cars that closed of Red Square
The cars going around in circles
And again…
A closer view of St Basil’s
And closer yet
This view shows the statue of Minin and Pozharsky
Outside Red Square
Side road into the square
The Bolshoi
Memorial to victims of the secret police
Lubyanka, HQ of the KGB and an island in the “Gulag Archipelago”
The entrance to the Gulag Museum
Entrance to the Gulag Museum
The Gulag
A map of how many people were affected
Reconstruction of a Gulag prison camp room
More of the Gulag reconstruction
So many people in Red Square, and this is a good day!
Lenin’s tomb
GUM
Pushkin and his wife
One of Stalin’s Seven Sisters (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs with lots of satellite dishes
Another view of the wedding cake building
Kremlin at night
Red Square
Red Square
St Basil’s
Lenin’s Tomb
GUM
Red Square
Looking into the Kremlin at night
Shadows
The Kremlin
St Basil’s
View from St Basil’s – another of the Seven Sisters is visible
View from St Basil’s
View of Red Square from St Basil’s
Library
A glimpse of Moscow traffic
A view of Moscow that’s not Red Square or the Kremlin
Walking to the Pushkin Museum
The Pushkin Museum
Heading back to the hotel

More Fun in St Petersburg (Another Photo Gallery)

I got to spend the rest of the time in St. Petersburg with a good friend of mine from college. We walked all over the historic center city!

My friend in front of the Peter and Paul Fortress
Me in front of the Peter and Paul Fortress
Broader view of the Peter and Paul Fortress
Imperial detail on the bridge
Peter and Paul Fortress
Peter and Paul Fortress – the scaffolding on the tower looks as though it’s part of the building
Wax figure in the Fortress
My friend in front of the Peter and Paul Cathedral
The Neva and Hermitage from the Peter and Paul Fortress
Wish upon a rabbit…
My friend tossing coins to make a wish
The cruiser Aurora and the frozen river
The Aurora and me
Another view of the Aurora
Here we are again!
Before the ballet, Mariinskii Theater
Church
Submarine museum and the sailing ship the Mir
I’m going to get to go on board the Mir!
Ready to head onto the Mir
Walking back to the hotel

Arrival in St Petersburg! Pictures from My First Day or Two

I was so excited to arrive in St Petersburg, and spent a lot of time in the Hermitage!

I’ve arrived! (Train station)
Synagogue
Synagogue close-up
A Mariinskii theater bill
The world famous Mariinskii
Balletomanes, be envious!
Down the street from the Mariinskii
St Isaac’s gold dome
Locks by a canal
The Neva river
A first view of the Bronze Horseman of Pushkin fame
The Admiralty
The Bronze Horseman in front of a museum
View over the Neva
Another Neva view
St Petersburg’s mighty river
First view of the Hermitage
Rostral columns in front of the Stock Exchange
Column close-up
Another view of the Hermitage
In front of the Winter Palace (which was at my back left)
Triumphal Arch
Looking back to the Winter Palace
Kazan Cathedral
Kazan Cathedral
Kazan Cathedral close-up
A bridge in St Petersburg
Walking by the canals
Another interesting bridge
Gold and pastel colors, the colors of St Petersburg’s historic district
Close-up of the Hermitage gates
The Hermitage
The Hermitage
The Hermitage
Details of the Hermitage exterior
The grand entry staircase (Hermitage)
Ceiling above the grand staircase
A peek outside
Malachite Room (Hermitage)
Malachite Room
Nicholas II’s library
Nicholas II’s library
Another Hermitage courtyard
The small throne room
Small throne room
Wall of Napoleonic era nobles
View of the gallery
And a view of the ceiling details
Gorgeous chandeliers…
The large throne room – the tourists show the scale
My favorite room: chandelier
Moorish influence
White and gilt
Frescos in the Hermitage
The Rafaello gallery
Kitty basking in the sun
The Rafaello gallery
Another gallery
Arms and armor
Graceful neo-classicism
Palace Square and the Alexander Column
A coach and four…er, one
Looking at the different wings: Winter Palace, New Hermitage, Old Hermitage
The Admiralty
See the scaly tails hold up the flag!
The Bronze Horseman in different lighting!
What can I say? Bronze Horseman + St Isaac’s = good shot
My favorite room on my second trip to the Hermitage

Nizhny Novgorod Gallery

You got a preview when I realized that I could post pictures from my phone on the WordPress blog app, now here’s the real thing!

Three More Days on the Train: Irkutsk to Nizhny Novgorod Gallery

More scenes of taiga, more snow, more birches…

Snowy out of Irkutsk
More snowy scenes
Houses
Bundled up for the snow
More civilization further west
Wooden houses, painted shutters
Snow and trains
Another snowy view
The landscape gradually changed
Trees that aren’t birches!
More conifers
Houses
White birches, grey sky
Good thing I love birches…
And more birches
Evidence of people!
A big town
Arriving in a big city (Novosibirsk?)
Crossing the river
Another river view
Crossing the river
At the station
Station building
Other trains
Heading into more snow
Across the river…
River crossing
Mariinsk station
Some sun with the birches
Rare glimpse of blue sky
Forest going by
And more forest
Another station
Lots of snow
More snow in the Urals-Western Siberia
Half buried buildings
My kind compartment mate had her dad bring me some dried fruit
The Rossiya train
Front view of the Rossiya
All the laundry and garbage!
Enjoying my compartment
In my train compartment
Another station
Another river – approaching Nizhny Novgorod

Cartier on Karl Marx Street Gallery: Irkutsk and Lake Baikal

I fell in love with Irkutsk, and I think you’ll see why (including the Decembrist Trubetskoy Manor and lots of views of the River Angara…and even another Lenin statue, since they’re ubiquitous, even if far from my favorite statues):

Small chapel in Irkutsk’s main square
Irkutsk actually had good tourist info
The former House of Soviets
Church of the Savior behind the former House of Soviets
Church of the Savior
Catholic Church, a rarity
First view towards the Angara River
Frescos on Church of the Savior
Church of the Epiphany
Close-up, Church of the Savior
Cadets by the war memorial
The River Angara
Locks on the pedestrian bridge by Angara River
Angara River
Angara River
Angara River view
Another view on the river walk
Angara
By the river
Moscow Triumphal Arch
Walking away from the river
One of the old wooden houses
Wooden house neighborhood
More wooden houses
Wooden house
A pretty well-kept wooden house
Joshua Feinberg’s mansion
On a square
Walkin’ in Irkutsk
On a big street
The synagogue
What I thought was the Trubetskoy House…
Trubetskoy Manor
Why gee golly, I guess they have a sense of humor about tourists in Irkutsk
Another city, another Lenin
Epiphany Cathedral (?)
Epiphany Cathedral(?)
The symbol of Irkutsk
Another neo-classical facade
Pretty sure this translates to Jesus Christ, Superstar
Museum…closed:(
Tsar Alexander III
Tsar Alexander III
Peeking through the fence
Soviet looking memorial
Random hidden scupture garden
Little Big Ben, anyone?
Thinking…
Irkutsk

The incredible blue ice at Lake Baikal (and scenes from Listvyanka):

Baikal blue…ice
A view over the lake
Another view over the lake
The ice crunched up on the shore
More blue ice
Scenic ice scrunches
Listvyanka, pretty quiet in April
Look at that blue!
An Orthodox church, Listvyanka
One of the unique freshwater seals
Cold perfection

The Volkonsky Manor, a Decembrist’s home in exile:

Volkonsky Manor
Volkonsky Manor

Leaving Irkutsk:
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Around Baikal: Photos from the Trans-Siberian between Ulan Ude and Irkutsk

My shortest leg of the Trans-Siberian was between Ulan Ude and Irkutsk, around the gorgeous scenery of Lake Baikal.

Train seen from the train
Crossing the river
Frozen river
View back to the bridge
Headin’ through the hills
Not too much snow…
The special Russian train tea cup
Not too exciting yet…
Passing through…
My cabinmate’s plants
Cozy compartment
Snow…and the lake
More Siberian houses
A glimpse of mountains
Blurry, but hey! It’s Lake Baikal!
More mountains
Starting to get grandiose views
Gorgeous mountains
Moutains overlooking Lake Baikal
More mountains
Wooden houses
More wooden houses by the lake
Leaving the town by the lake
Rounding the lake
Not all of the lake area is scenic
Getting closer to Irkutsk!
Finally, a prettier view…
The Rossiya

Ulan Ude: A Gallery

My first day in Ulan Ude, I explored the older part of town. On the second day, I went out to the Ivolginsky Datsan, the center of Russian Buddism.

First sight of Sovetov Square
Biggest Lenin’s head statue
Walking towards the old town
The opera house
Dancers (outside the opera house)
Across from the opera house
The star, a relic of Soviet days
Building detail
Heading towards the old city
Building along the pedestrian only street
More buildings in the pedestrian zone
Ulan Ude’s pedestrian street
Old wooden house in Ulan Ude
Orthodox Church, Ulan Ude
The older part of town: plenty of wooden houses
Old part of Ulan Ude
Ornate wooden fretwork
Street of wooden houses
World’s largest Lenin head dwarfs me
That’s better – you can see me now!
Orthodox buildings, Ulan Ude
Street view Ulan Ude
Prayer wheel at the Ivolginsky Datsan
Prayer flags
Some buildings in the datsan
Colorful buildings
Building at Ivolginsky datsan
Deer at the datsan
Deer roof details
Ivolginsky Datsan
Old Soviet train near the Ulan Ude train station
Side view, Soviet train
Old war canteen
Signage – seemed like a Soviet remnant

The Transsiberian from Vladivostock to Ulan Ude: A Gallery

The first part of my overlanding across Russia: almost three days on the Rossiya to Ulan Ude.

Not much other than taiga
My daily train-provided meal
Shades of white and grey
One of our many stops
All white outside
Rail car depot
More snow
Birches in the taiga – more white!
More birches…even some sun!
Sun, snow and trees
Another station
Taiga
Some hills in the background
Buildings!
Arriving in a Siberian town
Getting closer…
In the town
Train borscht…appetizing!
Evidence of humans…
Siberian houses
Wooden buildings
More Siberian wooden houses
Check out the painted shutters!
Nearing Ulan Ude
Getting close to my first stop in Siberia!

Trojan Gold: Last Day in Moscow

My last day in Moscow, I resolved to try one last time to get through Red Square to see St Basil’s. Imagine my surprise when I was actually successful! Better yet, apparently it was the free Thursday (though if it not being free would have reduced the crowds, I’d have been ok with the trade-off).

St Basil’s is a rabbit warren of little chapels, mostly empty on the ground floor. Due to the crowds, I almost missed going upstairs, which would have been a real shame as it was the prettiest part of the cathedral, with frescos and icons from different periods in the different chapels. It also gave a good view south over the city to another of the Seven Sisters.

I then walked to the Pushkin Museum of Art, specifically to see the Trojan Gold room. Walking there took a bit of a detour: Moscow is a city of underpasses, and the route I had chosen had no way to cross the street. I backtracked to the State Library and continued on. Again I was lucky and didn’t have to pay an entrance fee. I went straight to the Troy room.

All that went through my mind when I got there was Keat’s poem “On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer”. (Unlike some of my friends, I cannot declaim Homer himself.) The display was pretty spectacular. Most of it is just loops of gold, most exciting for its context. However, the diadems and earrings that Schliemann draped on his wife for the famous photographs were magnificent:

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