Excursion of Moscow

Saturday I went on my first excursion of the city. We spent 8 hours exploring Moscow. It is not nearly enough, not even for what we intended to see.

Tomorrow is another day.

Below is a photo of the only place in Moscow where skyscrapers are this close together.

Russian Federation Government Building. This is the Russian White House.

Parliament Building.

Bolshoy Theater.
Statue of Marx. Our guide did not fail to mention that attempts to keep Marx's head clean from bird doo have been unsuccessful.

Back to the Red Square. This time for a more detailed visit. Sans rain.

The Resurrection Gate of the Red Square.

St. Basil's Cathedral once again...

but this time I went inside!

St. Basil's Cathedral was commissioned by Ivan the Terrible and built on the Red Square in the years 1555 - 1561.

I was able to enter Lenin's Mausoleum in the Red Square. Lenin's embalmed body has been on display here since his death in 1924.

Inside the tomb if Lenin no cameras are allowed. Guards even check if cell phones have built in cameras. I had to borrow this photo from the net:

Here is GUM again; a converted shopping mall.

This photo is for Ashley : )

A very Stalinist building.

One of the many beautiful cathedrals I visited.

This building is part of the RUSH University, where I am currently a student.

This is the official headquarters of the ... KGB, building known as the Lubyanka.

The architecture varies so much from building to building.

Through the alley we see another amazing cathedral.

And another.

This is the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. It is so breath-taking inside. I started to cry. Sigh.

This is a statute which stands behind the last cathedral, in honor of Emperor Alexander II.

And last but not least, I thought I would include a photo of a few gypsies that tried to acquire money from us with their banter, "Help me and you will have good luck always... You will marry the one that you love..." For those who have seen Borat, I say, "Gypsy... give me your tears!"