Moscow - Part 5

Friday, 22 April 2016, 11 am

Guess what. When I went downstairs today Mr. Doorman greeted me, with a smile too! He probably thought it was best that he greeted me before I energetically yelled Good Morning to him. I was so pleased. Thank you Sun Tzu.

Today we had a guided tour to the Red Square. Our guide, Julia was an old lady with a low, mellow voice. I noticed that a lot of Russian women have this kind of voice, which is very soothing and pleasing to the ear. And I must say that most Russian women are beautiful. Unfortunately I can't say the same for the men. Oh, well. They can't all look like Putin. 

Anyway, Julia informed us that the tourist industry is not doing so well at the moment. Most of the tourists in Russia are British and American, but since there is a sanction against Russia now due to the dispute with Ukraine over Crimea - people have just stopped coming to Russia. This is quite sad because despite the lack of colour, the lack of warmth and the lack of smiles, I have a soft spot for Russia, don't ask me why. 

The Red Square again. I preferred it at dusk, it somehow looked more romantic. This place not only used to be a market place, but also for various public ceremonies, coronation of tsars, burial ground, executions, official government ceremonies. There are arched gates in front of and at the back of the Red Square.   

The original Moscow Kremlin was built in the early 14th century by Ivan the Great (1440-1505) and completed in 1495. The Kremlin's Great Bell Tower (situated nearer to St Basil's Cathedral) was built in around 1500 and heightened in 1600. Originally as a kind of fort for the tsars.  In the old days it was used for the coronation of the tsars, celebrations as well as funerals. It is almost a city within itself as it has monasteries, palaces, walls, towers and churches. You could go into the Kremlin compound but I didn't.

Every hour there is a changing of the guards. We saw the one at 12 pm. I had to expose my fingers to the cold to video the whole thing, and my fingers were so cold that it started feeling hot, if that makes any sense. 

The Lenin Mausoleum contains the embalmed body of Lenin, founder of the Soviet Union. Unfortunately it was closed, it's closed every Monday and Friday.