Kremlin Cathedrals, Gorki Park, and Blini

Hey everyone! I hope all is going well with you! Sorry it's been so long since I last wrote; we've been super busy with life and there is lots to write down! First, I will tell you about the weekend before last, the 22nd. 22.9 We met up with Moscow 1 and Guyla at the metro, where we waited for the rest of Moscow 1 to show up. Our plan was to attend a military parade at the Kremlin, but when we arrived at the Kremlin, we discovered that the parade was cancelled for unknown reasons so we purchased tickets to enter the Cathedral Square, which is inside the Moscow Kremlin (Kremlin means ‘fortress’ in Russian). Honestly, I would have preferred to see the cathedrals anyway. They date back to the eleventh century and have such rich history behind them; plus, they’re gorgeous inside and out. I’m sure the parade would have been awesome, but I am satisfied by our visit to the cathedrals. There are three main Kremlin cathedrals: the Dormition or Assumption Cathedral, which is considered the mother church of all of Russia; the Annunciation Cathedral, which was a personal cathedral for Russian tsars and the Russian royal families; the Cathedral of the Archangel, which was used as a necropolis for the tsars up until Peter the Great. There are also three lesser cathedrals, though we only entered the Church of the Deposition of the Robe. None of them are actively used as houses of worship, though significant services, like marriages between people of power or the New Years’ service, are sometimes held within the Assumption Cathedral. The interiors of the Assumption and Archangel cathedrals were, for the most part, similar: a single vast room with four massive columns reaching up several metres to a domed ceiling and walls adorned with faded depictions of bible stories and icons in red, maroon, green and gold; every inch of wall, ceiling, and columns were painted. The Assumption cathedral had golden icons and ancient artifacts preserved in glass cases on the walls and on pedestals throughout the cathedral, while the Archangel cathedral had golden icons and more than a dozen golden coffins. The bodies are buried underneath the floor, but the coffins are there to represent the tsars, like headstones. The two other cathedrals were split into different rooms surrounding one main chapel, though all the walls, again, were painted. I daresay the cathedrals have an almost dank and gloomy feel, due to the lack of natural lighting and dark colors. That’s the biggest difference that I’ve noticed between Russian orthodox cathedrals and other religious cathedrals: the Russian orthodox are darker in color and lighting. Perhaps it’s simply because these cathedrals are thousands of years older than the Catholic and Lutheran cathedrals I’ve been in. To show respect, those of us females who had scarves wore them over our hair, as is customary in that religion. Guyla acted as our tour guide and told us the history behind all the cathedrals and their symbolism. Russian history is so rich and intriguing; I love learning about it! After the cathedrals, we walked past the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, which was formally the tallest building in Moskva, and the Tsar Bell, which was originally cast in 1508 to hang in the bell tower but it was so large and heavy that it fell and broke and was never rung. Next, we went into the Chapel of the Twelve Apostles or the Patriarch’s Palace, which is now a museum of ancient artifacts. There were ancient robes and head dresses, dinnerware, weapons and armor, and books and other such things. It was very interesting. Afterward, my girls and I separated from the group and met up with Vlad Tropi, our Russian friend. Vlad took us to the Gum (pronounced goom), a fancy-pantsy shopping mall right on Red Square. It looks kind of like Utah’s City Creek Mall on ritzy steroids and it has stores like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and the likes. It also has Bosco, the clothing company that created the jumpsuits for the Russian Olympic team. One can buy a jacket to match Mustafina for only $500! I did buy one thing at the Gum, though: a glass of Soviet-era-esque lemonade for 10 rubles (about $0.30). It tasted like watered down strawberry soda. The flavor that Whitney got tasted like watered down cream soda. Not too shabby—and it even came out of an old fashioned soda fountain pump! Once we were tired of looking at things we could never purchase, we entered Red Square and wandered around St. Basil’s cathedral, the coolest-looking building ever built. It’s straight out a Dr. Seuss book, without the fairytale ending: the architect and all the other architects who claimed to be able to design something just as awesome were blinded by a greedy ruler, who wanted the design all to himself. We crossed a bridge over the Moscow river, which provided a fabulous view of the Kremlin and Red Square, and then found a Russian fast food restaurant called Kortorshka, where Vlad introduced us to korsha kortorshka, or a baked potato with various toppings. I chose the ham, mushroom, and cheese toppings—it was delicious. We wandered a reasonably priced mall and then a street market—oh, how I have missed street markets! I love the local atmosphere and perusing all the interesting trinkets and souvenirs: Russian souvenirs are all so beautiful and intricate, like hand carved jewel boxes, knitted scarves, hand painted dinnerware, and colorful matryoshkas (nesting dolls). I want everything. Vlad took us to the metro, which is always an adventure, and then to Gorki Park. Gorki Park is a popular outdoor park in the heart of Moscow: it has a strong community feeling to it, with live local bands, bicycling, roller blading, dancing on the docks of the река Москва, or the Moscow River, giant community bean bags for lounging, amusement park attractions, food stalls, and other community events. It’s a great place for fun and people watching. One band, which was decked out in black leather and chains and ripped jeans, sang Russian country songs—the Russians aren’t always what they seem. After wandering the park, our next destination was a lookout point where you can see most of Moscow. We had to walk a year and a half to get there, however: Vlad never warned us that so much walking would be involved in the day’s events and I hadn’t worn proper shoes, and after a while my feet were ready to fall off. Nevertheless, I purchased an ice cream cone near the end of the trail and my mood instantly brightened—that’s how good Russian ice cream is. As we walked, we discussed stereotypes: Russians think Americans are fat and dumb and play video games all day and eat McDonald’s all the time; Americans think Russians are all stern and angry and cold, just like Russian weather. Of course, you can’t stereotype an entire country, especially such vast countries with so many differing cultures. But I digress: before coming to Russia, I viewed Russia as a grey, colorless place with abnormally cold and nasty weather, and all I ‘knew’ of the people were just as the stereotype suggests: stern, mean, and the villain in Hollywood movies. Nevertheless, and of course, that viewpoint is inaccurate. I’ve encountered some of the sweetest, friendliest, and most colorful people here; the men are generally more chivalrous than in the States, and people in general are very polite. It’s just like anywhere else: there are gruff, grumpy people and there are polite, congenial people. Americans think Russians are unfriendly and unhappy simply because they don’t smile in public, but it’s simply cultural to not smile at strangers. One of the signs that we are Americans is that we’re so smiley. And, obviously, the Russian viewpoint of America isn’t (completely) accurate; yes, there are people in the States who are dumb, fat, lazy, and eat fast food all the time, but we’re also the country that landed on the moon first and dominates in the Olympics. We also invented Apple—which Russians think is so cool they’ll pay $1,000-3,000 for an iPhone 5. This is why I feel international travel is so important: so that we can learn more about other countries and learn to love them for what they really are—not what the media teaches us. It’s definitely interesting finding out more about true Russian culture; in fact, I love it! I wish more people knew Russia on this level instead of the distorted view the media has. On more than one occasion, I’ve heard Russians exclaim that they don’t understand the tensions between Russia and America or other countries and they wish “everyone could just get along.” God willing. Finally, we reached the overlook of Moscow. The view was marvelous: four of the Seven Sisters were visible, including the one directly behind us: Moscow State University; one of the two main football stadiums, the Moscow River, and the rest of the beautiful city spread out before us for miles and miles. The sun was setting, and before long the world was only illuminated by street lights, traffic, and the night life. For dinner, we ate blini from another Russian fast food restaurant: Teramok (терамок). It has to be my favorite Russian fast food place. I had blini with strawberries, while Whitney had chocolate, Ally had apple, and Shelley had caramel and apple. Blini are between a crepe and a pancake, used in a crepe fashion with sweet or savory toppings. We also got Subway because we were starving. Vlad had us try квас (kvass), which tastes like vinegar and pee with a hint of rubbing alcohol. It was fantastic. On our way to the metro, we passed the Moscow State University, where we are technically registered for a course (according to our visas). It’s a gorgeous building, as it’s one of the Seven Sisters—buildings that are the tallest structures in Moscow, which were constructed during the Stalin era. All in all, it was an exhausting but exciting and beautiful day. When I have time, I will write you about this past weekend and our trip to the villages of Vladimir and Suzdal. Love to all!