The Zehrens Go Global

Moscow ~ July 13

Well today is John and Stacy’s 21st wedding anniversary! There’s no better way to spend it than with our three daughters on this trip.

Before we get into our day, we just wanted you to know that we have gone back and updated our Beijing portion of our family blog to include pictures and in some cases fill in days that didn’t upload in China. Take a look if you get a chance 🙂

Well the day started out sunny with blue skies and comfortable weather. Stacy checked the weather report and saw it called for rain. It was insisted upon that everyone bring an umbrella and a long sleeve shirt for later. Lots of eyes were rolled. Remember, mom always knows best!

We managed to find the metro station without getting lost which we felt was quite an accomplishment. On the way, we stopped to exchange cash. Much to John’s frustration, five of our 100 dollar bills were rejected (Thank you Wells Fargo) for being too worn! John was not happy. He retaliated by looking over every ruble she issued him and handed some back to her. We ushered him out ASAP before we got in any trouble.

When we surfaced from the metro, we were standing in front of the Bolshoi Theater which was quite lovely. We made our way over to the Red Square. There are stalls of vendors lined up outside selling their goods. As we approached the entrance to the Red Square we came across a tiny Russian Orthodox Church situated at the entrance. We went inside and there was a “priest” performing a ceremony and about 5 ladies singing. The entire interior was decorated mostly in gold. There was a small counter where we purchase three crucifixes and then left.

As we entered Red Square, there was no mistaken St. Basil’s Cathedral at the far end. It is stunning and doesn’t even look real because of it’s shape and vibrant colors. Everyone felt the excitement at seeing it and we quickened our pace to enter Red Square. The buildings are gorgeous. On one side is the wall of the Kremlin which is red brick; on another is a beautiful red brick building; the other side opposite the Kremlin is a huge long gorgeous white building; and at the end is St. Basil’s. St Basil’s was construed by Ivan the Terrible in the 1500s. It has nine domes. Inside there are nine small chambers for services. There is not one big area like a catholic church.

As we stood outside taking our pictures, rain drops slowly started making an appearance. Suddenly it started to downpour. Out came the umbrellas (thanks mom). We ran to St. Basil’s, bought our entrance tickets and went inside. It is as stunning on the inside as the outside. You enter on the floor and their are some rooms. Every inch including the ceiling are ornately decorated with gold being the primary color to accent everything. We made our way up a winding stone staircase to the second floor. This is where the nine prayer chambers are located; each with its own type of alter but not like a Catholic alter. There are no statues but tons of paintings everywhere with gold around the heads of everyone in the pictures. The gold halos are a separate piece, three D like, that protrudes from the painting in most cases. Sometimes there are jewels in the halos.

Suddenly we heard the most beautiful male voices singing religious type music. Kind of like Andrew Borcelli but five of them singing in Russian. Of course we purchased two of their cd’s. By the time we concluded our tour of the inside of St. Basil’s it had stopped raining. We were all hungry but wanted something fast to eat since it was about 2:00 pm and the Kremlin closed at 5:00 pm. We saw a McDonalds (yes I know you are all probably thinking “McDonalds?”). It was mobbed but the girls scored a outdoor covered table and we ate. Of course it started Io down pour again. Once it seemed to lessen, we decided to make a beeline for the Kremlin.

The Kremlin is next to Red Square. However, both are huge and there is quite a bit of walking between their entrances. “Kremlin” means fortress. Indeed it is surrounded by a red brick wall with beautiful towers. This is not at all what I pictured. I pictured grey concrete and sixty ish buildings. Wrong. It contains gorgeous white religious structures that date back to the 1500’s, had a lovey sprawling garden and of course some government buildings. Some of those are old lovely buildings which must be a couple hundred years old and a few are more modern glass like structures. Indeed they do conduct their government from here.

On our way to find the entrance it started to downpour again and really hard. There was rain everywhere. Suddenly lightning struck really close to where we were and it was louder than anything I have heard. Several people yelled out in what seemed to be shock and I saw a few people double over that were in the rain holding umbrellas. John yelled for us to all come near some shelter he found along the Kremlin wall. John, Zoe and Kallin all were holding umbrellas by the metal shaft when the lightning struck and all three felt electrical jolts starting in their hands and down to their feet. It was quite scary. We waited about 10 minutes and the rain slowly stopped and we proceeded to the Kremlin. Unfortunately tickets to the Armory which is really a museum with treasures from the Tsars and a vast Faberge Egg collection were sold out.

We walked into the Kremlin and went to the area where the white religious buildings were located. We went into about four. One was where the Tsars were crowned, another where they were entombed (some dating to the 1300’s), and one where they worshipped. They were all stunning and ornately decorated with gold as a primary color. Unfortunately no photographs were allowed in the buildings. The sun was out by this time and we made our way to Alexander’s Gardens where we spent some time relaxing. From there we went to see the mammoth Tsar’s Bell and Tsar’s Cannon. By this time it was almost 5 pm and we made our way out.

We headed over to the luxurious Metropole Hotel near Red Square for High Tea. It is an old world first class hotel where we certainly stood out in our shorts and high top Converse on the girls. We enjoyed tea and cappuccinos while it rained some more outside. We ended up walking around and returning to Red Square again because it was early evening and the sun had returned giving wonderful lighting upon the sites. From there we walked to a Russian pub and had beer and dinner. See the picture of John below with his beer. It was around 11:00 pm and still light out!! We finished with the pub and proceeded to Red Square for a third time to see it lit up at night which we had read was a must. You would think it would be empty but NOT! There were many people walking around in a jolly mood.Red Square is striking at night and St. Basil’s even more enchanting lit up in the dark night. It lived up to all expectations.

We were able to hire a “gypsy” taxi and headed back to our “homey” apartment. We returned back after 1:00 pm. Hailey’s mosquito bite count was at 26 at this point.