Moscow in Spring & Summer

[mendeleyev]

Mr. Mann has a beautiful thread on Moscow in winter and as the title indicates, this is for spring and summer views of Moscow. Please join and add your spring and summer Moscow photos to this collection.



A lot has been written about Moscow's efforts to add English translations to street and metro signs and this Metro is an important stop for several reasons. First there is a large population density here with high rise apartments, a large shopping mall near the Metro station and the Kolomenskoe Park.




I really like this neighborhood with ample green spaces and proximity to good public transportation like this electric tram.



Were we to cross the street to the green space we'd follow the walkway to the lower section of Kolomenskoe Park which is a good half day adventure in itself.

There is a living museum of old Russian homes, most of which have been converted into cafes. Some have patios outside with strolling musicians to entertain while you consume a bowl or borsch or eat blini. Almost every cafe serves tea and sodas and several serve beer.

Or, we could stop and work out at the fitness club named "Fitness Time" at this corner.




As we approach the lower park entrance another cafe seeks to entice us with sushi rolls but we're going into the park for the good stuff--sorry Ivan!

[mendeleyev]

Kolomenskaya Park is a large outdoor museum, the upper section consists of the ancient summer home of the early Tsars, a wood structure that has been completely rebuilt.

The middle section consists of several ancient churches with beautiful bell tower and a tent-style roof architecture.

The lower section is an outdoor collection of old log homes that have been converted into cafes in a village setting. It is very unique and while you eat of course there will be live table-side entertainment. Like this:

[MrMann]

I'll try and dig out some summer photos when I get the chance.

[mendeleyev]

To demonstrate the girl watching advantages of visiting this park/estate, the guys from Real Russia are here to lend a hand. 

[MrMann]

Some photos from the summer of 2007 when I first visited Moscow. It was quite a surreal trip really, I wasn't sure what to expect at all on a number of levels. Spending time in and around Red Square I was struck by how weird it was to be there, as I recognised all the buildings from the news, probably in the late '80s and the '90s.


This building on Nikolskaya ulitsa stands where the first printed book was produced in Russia in 1563.


The building is called the Synod Printing House.


This building is, or was, part of the Zaikonospasskiy Monastery, although the street frontage now houses a café.


The cathedral of the Epiphany Monastery (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epiphany_Monastery), just off Red Square opposite the entrance to Ploshchad Revolyutsii Metro station on Nikolskaya ulitsa.


St. Basil's Cathedral, obviously. Although perhaps not everyone knows that it is actually better known in Russia as the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin on the Moat. My girlfriend had no idea what I was talking about when I mentioned Basil.


The sun dipping behind the Nikolskaya Tower (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kremlin_towers), built in the 15th century then rebuilt early in the 19th century before being damaged during the 1917 revolution and subsequently restored.


GUM. When I first visited here I hadn't joined the dots of my knowledge and didn't realise GUM was directly opposite the Kremlin.


The Spasskaya Tower (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spasskaya_Tower), originally built in the 15th century although it underwent significant remodelling in the 17th century.


I think this is one of the domes of the Cathedral of the Annunciation which is within the Kremlin.


The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour as seen from next to the Kremlin wall.


Flower beds in front of the Manege (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_Manege), a former 19th century indoor riding academy now used as an exhibition space.


Jets of water forming an arch in the gardens next to the Manege. I spent quite a while standing under here, enjoying the cooling effect of the water passing through the air.


Red Square just after sunset.

[mendeleyev]

Very cool. 

[MrMann]

Some more photos from my first visit to Moscow during the summer of 2007.

On my second day there we visited St. Basil's Cathedral. The outside is so iconic but I don't think I had ever seen an image of what it was like inside so had absolutely no idea what to expect. Although some of the rooms were highly decorated a lot of the corridors between the rooms had bare red brick walls which was completely unexpected for me, being used to stone churches in Scotland.





















It was another blisteringly hot day, and while the cathedral was nice and cool we were soon back out under the sun's rays in Red Square.



The heat didn't stop Lenin and Stalin though.



It looked like they were having a successful day.



Just off Red Square, past the State Historical Museum, is the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.







On the way to the metro we passed the Perlov Tea House on Mysnitskay ulitsa, built in the late 19th century by the architect Roman Klein (who was also responsible for Tsum and the Pushkin Museum). Not the greatest of photos unfortunately, I had a lot to learn back then.



The following day my girlfriend had to work so her brother took me to the local monastery.













On the way back to the flat I saw my first "Stop" sign (Стоп). I'm not sure why I found it so funny that "Stop" has been introduced into Russian, but as I soon learnt it's just one of many foreign words incorporated into everyday Russian.

[MrMann]

Well the heating has just gone on in Moscow so I suppose I better hurry up with these Summer photos.

On the fourth day of my first visit to Moscow I was told we were going horse-riding, not something I had ever done before. We drove out into the countryside just outside Moscow somewhere. I don't remember exactly where but it was probably somewhere near Opaliha (Опалиха), a village just to the west of the MKAD.



As the biggest person there I was given the biggest horse. Unfortunately he was also the oldest horse, just 3 years younger than me. On the positive side I wasn't going to have to deal with an out of control runaway horse. On the negative side he didn't like turning left. Or right. Or walking at all really. Having said that if I was sitting on me I wouldn't be very happy either.







Nearby on the edge of the village was a pond where people were feeding bread to fish.





Next to the pond was a small but beautiful church, quite similar in design to the one at the centre of the Andronikov monastery further up the thread.

[Orchid]

Great pictures! Thank you.
I am jealous.
I think if I lived in Scotland I would fly to Russia even for some weekends.
America is so far!! 

[MrMann]

Thanks Orchid. It would be quite a rushed weekend, even from here. There are no direct flights so we have to fly via London, but yes still much closer than America.

The following day it was even hotter than the previous days (30+ degrees Celsius) and we headed out into the sun.



We took the Metro to Red Square and spent a while wandering around the outside of the Kremlin in the shade of the walls before buying tickets to visit it, making our way into the courtyard to join a tour.















It might seem obvious given how long it takes to walk around the outside of the Kremlin, but the place is absolutely huge! There are all kinds of buildings, large and small, hidden behind those walls.









This huge cannon is known as the Tsar Cannon (Царь-пушка) and is the largest calibre stone ball cannon ever built (the internal diameter is 89cm / 35"). It was cast in 1586 but never fired in anger.



Not far away is the Tsar Bell (Царь–колокол) which is the largest bell in the world, although it has never been rung as it broke during its casting in 1735. It weighs an almost unbelievable 201,294kg (445,166 lbs) and is over 6 metres tall and wide.

Within the middle of the south side of the Kremlin, not far from the river, is Cathedral Square (Соборная площадь) around which three cathedrals are arranged.

The Cathedral of the Dormition (Успенский Собор) was built between 1475 and 1479 but is thought to stand on the site of a 12th century wooden church.











The Cathedral of the Annunciation (Благовещенский собор) is topped with several golden onion domes of varying sizes and was built between 1484 and 1489 on the site of a 13th century wooden church.









The Cathedral of the Archangel (Архангельский собор) was also built on the site of a 13th century wooden church, between 1505 and 1508. It was the mausoleum of the Tsars until capital was moved to St Petersburg.



None of the cathedrals has their own belfries, so the Ivan the Great Bell Tower (Колокольня Ивана Великого) was built in 1508 to serve them, replacing an earlier bell tower of 1329. It's the tallest tower within the Kremlin, rising to a height of 81 metres (266 feet).

[MrMann]

Later the same day we headed west out beyond the MKAD to a rural area.



We were going to a field where microlight enthusiasts hang out. For a few hundred rubles they'll take you up for a flight.











After that we visited the giant pyramid which I previously discussed here. It's supposed to focus energy at its centre to "charge' various things (including crops) with positive energy.











That was the last thing we visited of note on this trip in the Moscow area. We took an overnight train to St Petersburg for a long day after which I had to fly home due to work commitments.