Kremlin, Moscow,Russia

We boarded the train for Moscow the following day -- it was hard to imagine that Moscow could surpass our time in St. Petersburg -- but it did.  The two cities are vastly different: St. Petersburg is the Venice of the North, while Moscow is a Cosmopolitan city.  In preparation for the next Olympics, they have done a magnificent job of converting the city into a modern Metropolis.

Upon arrival, our doorman greeted us at the entrance to what was once a government hotel, The Hotel National, a lavish five-star hotel located on the edge of Red Square.  It sits in front of the Ritz-Carlton and diagonally across from the new Four Seasons -- a better view than either hotel.  Permitting one to actually experience Moscow, the hotel has been renovated with eighteenth century artifacts and furnishings and is run by an excellent Russian staff.  We toured our hotel suite, enjoyed the view of Red Square, and then decided to investigate the Kremlin.

Instituted by Peter the Great at the end of the 17th Century, the original Kremlin was not completed until 1736 by Field Marshal von Munnich (mainly due to a lack of funds from having to support wars).  After buying tickets at an electronic kiosk, Vic, Brendon, and I went into the Kremlin, toured several cathedrals and museums (for more information about the cathedrals http://www.moscow.info/kremlin/churches/index.aspx.), and admired some of the 875 cannons won by Tsar Alexander I from Napoleon's French army during the War of 1812 (included in that number are Prussian, Austrian, Italian, and Bavarian cannons).

We also admired an enormous, bronze bell caste in the 15th Century that originally hung in Ivan the Great Bell Tower; however, during a mid-seventeenth century fire, it shattered after plummeting to the ground.  Using the bronze from the original, they caste a second, larger Tsar Bell in 1655 (weighing 100,000 kg) that was destroyed by fire in 1701.  A final bell was caste in the ground between 1734 and 1737, but it too succumbed to fire and cracked when guards threw cold water on it, leaving the bell that remains on the Kremlin grounds today.  We finished our tour that day in the Alexander Garden at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier outside the Kremlin Wall.

St. Petersburg, Part III

Breakfast the next morning in the Palace was lovely:  fresh fruit, yogurts, croissants, cappuccino, etc. in a vaulted atrium tiled in marble, followed by a long shower in the luxurious bathroom.  After which Vic made arrangements to hire a guide and driver to take us to the Summer Palace, a long, yellow building that stretches across acres of gardens filled with germinating flowers and golden fountains and arboreal greenery. Touring the gilded rooms and gardens we gasped in delight and awe, then walked outside and watched children play in the fountains, listened to musicians entertain us, and tried our hand at a coin toss into the boot of a statue.  When we felt we had seen it all, we boarded the high speed catamaran powerboat across the harbor and back into the heart of the City.
That night, we decided to eat dinner at the Russian Empire restaurant -- a palace formerly owned by the Stroganoff family, where we ate an amazing meal of Venison Stroganoff, sorbet, and various delights. Our dinner ended with a tour of the basement where ancient wines were concealed and hidden bedrooms hosted unexpected overnight visitors. Our guide informed us that the members of the G20 Summit had just eaten there the week before. When we returned to the hotel, we had a vodka and ran into the lead singer for Nazareth, Dan MacCafferty, and the Village People, who were also staying at our hotel. What a great end to an amazing City!

St. Petersburg, Part II, Russia

Afterward, we toured St. Isaacs Cathedral -- enjoying the view from the top and from the inside (gold gilded doors and moldings, and painted ceilings and walls). People were riding their horses outside the cathedral. We walked around the city and viewed the statue that Catherine the Great had given to honor Peter the Great. We finished the evening at Savior on the Spilled Blood Cathedral where Alexander II is buried, followed by dinner in the Palace - Beef Stroganoff, seafood and medallions of duck.