Moscow

The abridged version
I've decided, if I can to do it, to spread the last days of the trip to this one off blog, so it will will more photo's than words.
We arrived in Moscow on Monday October 7th and will disembark on Thursday October10th.
The boat is on the outskirts of Moscow, in fact the nearest Metro is a half an hour walk through a nice park and then 9 stops to the centre.The cruise buses take on a good trip about 45 minutes.BUT, to get into Moscow centre is an all day rush hour, it's a stop start journey along roads that appear to have no rules attached to them. Lane markings are ignored,so a three lane will easily become four,even five lanes as motorists, usually one per vehicle, vie for position.


Our first organised City Tour of Moscow is timed to be 1:30pm to 9:30pm. Monday 7th October

Novodevichy Convent

Duck family presented by Betty Ford

Scenes from within the Metro

Kremlin/ Red Square entrance, underground shopping in the foreground

Long range shot of Lenin's tomb

St Basil's behind the scenery!!

As soon as we arrived in the square it became obvious that photography would be nigh on impossible.
The Winter Olympic Torch had arrived the day before and all sorts of celebrations were and continue to be underway.

Red Square

Pretty soon we were being shepherded out of the square by uniformed personnel, mostly quite young. There was no way back, so us tourists could have a wander around Gumm, the big departmental store, or people watch, as citizens were turned away at the quickly erected barriers.

We never got the chance to visit Red Square again!


Tuesday October 8th

Today we had paid for an extra tour of the Kremlin and the Armoury from 8.45 to 1.30pm.
I've Wiki'd this as we were not allowed to take photos', and we had a most disappointing 35 minute rush through, groups are not permitted to hang around.
So, a waste of money, a place we must revisit though.

The Kremlin Armoury originated as the royal arsenal in 1508. Until the transfer of the court to St Petersburg, the Armoury was in charge of producing, purchasing and storing weapons, jewellery and various household articles of the tsars. Nowadays, the Kremlin Armoury is home to the Russian Diamond Fund. It boasts unique collections of the Russian, Western European and Eastern applied arts spanning the period from the 5th to the 20th centuries. Some of the highlights include the Imperial Crown of Russia, Monomakh's Cap, the ivory throne of Ivan the Terrible, and other regal thrones and regalia; the Orloff Diamond; the helmet of Yaroslav II; the sabres of Kuzma Minin and Dmitri Pozharski; the 12th-century necklaces from Ryazan; golden and silver tableware; articles, decorated with enamel, niello and engravings; embroidery with gold and pearls; imperial carriages, weapons, armour, and the Memory of Azov, Bouquet of Lilies Clock, Trans-Siberian Railway, Clover Leaf, Moscow Kremlin, Alexander Palace, Standart Yacht,Alexander III Equestrian, Romanov Tercentenary, Steel Military Fabergé eggs. 

The ten Fabergé eggs in the Armoury collection (all Imperial eggs) are the second largest collection of Fabergé eggs in the possession of a single owner.

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Inside The Kremlin

The Tsar cannon

The Tsar bell

 

Ivanovskaya Square

Wednesday October 9th
By this time we had enough, due mainly to the Red Square closure, and couldn't make up our mind what to do.
There were optional trips lined up Sergiev Posad and a trip to the Cosmonaut Museum.
We'd had enough of the traffic, and decided either to have a walk in the park, and then maybe a trip on the Metro back into the centre.
We decided a walk and relax in the park was the thing to do,so we did.

Recommendations

Our overall view was that a cruise from St Petersburg to Moscow,with the benefit of hindsight, was not the best way to see the two cities.The stuff in between didn't have much appeal and seeing banks of forest not particularly interesting.
Both cities should be seen separately, on maybe long weekend excursions, and not with an organised group.
Both cites are safe, but to save traffic problems, hotels within the city would be the best option. Of that we have no doubt and will be going back.
This would enable you to see the Hermitage, and the Armoury, two must see locations,and  with plenty of time to take the beauty of both the cities in your own time.


Time to get my fishing hat on!