Tuesday 28 August – Cathedrals, composers and cruises

After another hearty breakfast we headed off along the Moscow Riverside, crossed the pedestrian bridge and arrived at the magnificent Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.  This monolith has a short but interesting history; it was first built over forty years in the 19^th century and was the site of the 1882 premiere of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture.  It was destroyed in 1931 on the orders of Joseph Stalin and its reconstruction was not completed until 2000.  It is a truly magnificent edifice and could be said to be the physical face of the claim, first made after the fall of Constantinople in 1543, that Moscow was the “New Rome”.  When we entered a mass was in progress, including a full choir, with the haunting music and chants drifting across the vast interior.  Every surface is covered with colourful frescoes, the floor is of ornately patterned marble, the central dome seems suspended in the sky. It is simply overpowering in its beauty.  John was refused entry because he was wearing shorts (although we noted that several young women were admitted wearing shorts – reverse sexism?), however he was able to hire a pair of trousers for a dollar at a nearby stall.

From there we went for a stroll along the wide streets, past beautiful gardens and eventually jumped on the metro to another part of town to see the statue of one of Russia’s greatest composers and pianists, Sergei Rachmaninov (who, incidentally, died the same year John was born).  After seeking directions from a few locals, include one very polite and helpful English-speaking woman who declared Australia at the top of her bucket-list before sending us off in the opposite direction to where we needed to go, we eventually found it.  Then back on the metro to our hotel for a well-earned afternoon rest.

As twilight approached we all headed off along the riverside to board a cruise boat for a 1½ cruise of the Moscow River, under the bridges, past the Cathedral, the Kremlin and St Basils, before turning around under the shadow of an enormous, all-white hotel.  Then a leisurely walk back to our hotel, stopping on the way for a tasty snack of spiced chicken and salad in a pocket.

Moscow is a beautiful city, far beyond our expectations.  The people are friendly and helpful, the streets are wide and clean, and it appears to be a prosperous city – we saw only one old lady begging outside the cathedral in iur four days here.  The Metro system is sensational and we would love to spend more time here.  But now we are off to board the train for St Petersburg!