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Russia Traveler
Red Square
October 12, 2019 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
Time for a wee walk, weather a bit showery and windy, but not cold. Walked through one of the western gates into Red Square. Near St. Basil's Cathedral is Spasskaya Bashnya, translates as Saviour Tower, the main tower overlooking Red Square.Read more
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Russia Traveler
Moscow Island
October 12, 2019 in Russia ⋅ 🌧 9 °C
After walking through Red Square, I crossed the bridge to the Moscow Island. It doesn't have any other than, but does have three districts on it. As I cross the bridge I see Znamenie Church and a huge building alongside the water.

Znamenie Church was built for the first Tsar of the Romanovs, Mikhail Feodorovich, and consecrated in 1636. It's one of the most important churches in Moscow. The large building is Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Building, one of Stalins seven residential and shopping buildings.

It was created to avoid disastrous floods that had affected the areas around the river for many years. The river runs on the south side, and a new channel was created to the north, on what was previously mud flats.

As you walk along the channel side, you get great views across to the Kremlin and its many churches.Read more
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Russia Traveler
Moscow Island
October 12, 2019 in Russia ⋅ 🌧 9 °C
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Russia Traveler
Cathedral of Christ the Saviour
October 12, 2019 in Russia ⋅ 🌧 8 °C
As I crossed back over the channel I visited the massive Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. With its huge dome and intricate artistic detail both inside and outside, its a must to visit.
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Russia Traveler
Saint Vladimir the Great statue
October 12, 2019 in Russia ⋅ 🌧 8 °C
Heading back to the centre, I come across the monument to Vladimir the Great, or Saint Vladimir, the ruler of Kievska Rus who converted the Russians into Orthodox Christianity in 988.
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Russia Traveler
Monument to Peter I
October 12, 2019 in Russia ⋅ 🌧 8 °C
Statue honouring Tsar Peter the Great and the 300th anniversary of the Russian Navy. This impressive and unusual statue is 98m tall, taller than the Statue of Liberty.
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Russia Traveler
Alexander Gardens
October 12, 2019 in Russia ⋅ 🌧 9 °C
I then visit Alexander Gardens, with fantastic Autumn colours in the trees.

The first public park in Moscow, Alexander Gardens sits along the Kremlin’s western wall. Colourful flower beds and impressive Kremlin views make it a favourite strolling spot for Muscovites and tourists alike. Back in the 17th century, the Neglinnaya River ran through the present gardens, with dams and mills along its banks. In 1821 the river was diverted underground and the gardens were created.

Inside the gardens there is also a memorial and eternal flame at The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which contains the remains of one soldier who died in December 1941 at Km41 of Leningradskoe sh – the nearest the Nazis came to Moscow. This is a kind of national pilgrimage spot, where newlyweds bring flowers and have their pictures taken. The inscription reads: ‘Your name is unknown, your deeds immortal.’ Every hour on the hour, the guards perform a perfectly synchronised ceremony to change the guards on duty.Read more
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Russia Traveler
Gum Shopping Arcade
October 12, 2019 in Russia ⋅ 🌧 10 °C
After refuelling with food, I tackled the immense and impressive Gum shopping arcade, must sell absolutely everything. Behind its elaborate 240m-long facade on the northeastern side of Red Square, GUM is a bright, bustling shopping mall with hundreds of fancy stores and restaurants. With a skylight roof and three-level arcades, the spectacular interior was a revolutionary design when it was built in the 1890s, replacing the Upper Trading Rows that previously occupied this site.

Pronounced goom, the initials GUM originally stood for the Russian words for ‘State Department Store’. When it was privatised in 2005, the name was officially changed to ‘Main Department Store’. Fortunately, the words for ‘state’ and ‘main’ both start with a Russian ‘G’.Read more
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Russia Traveler
Night time in Red Square
October 12, 2019 in Russia ⋅ 🌧 10 °C
With darkness came the lightshow of buildings and streets all lit up. Passed the Bol'shoy before getting caught in a massive rain storm.
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Trip end
October 13, 2019