Россия

The boat stopped in St. Petersburg, Russia for 2 days. On the first day we had organized a day trip to Moscow. It was a long day of travel, with 4 hours of buses and 2 hour long flights, but it was so worth it! I don't think any of us knew what to expect as we drove into the city and there was such a mix of new and old. You can already see how the fall of Communism has brought all kinds of new business and infrastructure. There are huge blocks of old run down apartments next to brand new ones, and massive shopping centers with all types of westernized stores. The first stop of the day was outside of the Kremlin. Red Square is just as big as you think it is going to be. At one end of square is St. Basil's Cathedral which is just amazing. The colors and the shape of the building is just so unique and is unlike any of the other churches you are used to seeing. At the other end is the national museum with its bright red exterior that is similar to the Kremlin walls that run around the whole area. Lenin's tomb is also in Red Square where you can go see his body, but unfortunately we didn't have time to go see it. There is also a huge shopping area next to the square called GUM which was very beautiful. Also, it is a Russian tradition to go and take wedding photos in Red Square so being a Saturday, tourists were almost outnumbered by brides and grooms.

During the communist time in Russia the government wanted to prove to the people that they were using their money for important things, so they spent loads of money to deck out many of the underground metro stations. Our group went for a ride on the metro to see some of these stations which were very interesting, with their marble and statues everywhere. One of the most unusual and amazing things we saw all day was on the way back to the Kremlin for the interior tour. There is a massive statue dedicated to Peter the Great where he is standing on a large ship and it is so different from anything I had ever seen before. The museum tour inside the Kremlin was nice, but a little long as our guide wanted to explain every single exhibit. However there was one room with a bunch of old carriages and sleds that the kings used to use which was great. We were able to walk around inside the Kremlin and also managed to get in trouble for taking a picture on the grass. The Kremlin has a bunch of churches that we could tour and there are gold domes and round roofs everywhere.

We got to have a look over the whole city when the tour took us to a lookout by Moscow University. The university is housed in a very large building and is an imposing figure on the Moscow skyline. We were taken to a local restaurant for a traditional dinner featuring caviar on pancakes, beef stroganof, and shots of vodka. It was a long trip back to the ship and we didn't return until after midnight, but surprisingly enough it was still light outside. It was a very long day, but one that none of us will ever forget. For the older generation, going to Russia was once considered impossible and now it is open to visitors. Its architecture is so unique and is a nice change from the traditional western European ways. The people in the city were very nice, although they have a very tough exterior. They certainly have come along way in the past 20 years and the city and country will only continue to grow.