Day 1 in Moscow



















 My body was still 5-hr early, so I woke up 5 am and started walking in town from 6 am. I visited Zaryadye Park split in several areas like the Birch Forest, Coniferous Forest, the Steppe, Northern Landscapes, etc. The amphitheater and the huge glass dome certainly attract attention. The park offers amazing views of the Kremlin, and its floating bridge is a panoramic deck that offers spectacular views of the Kremlin, the Moskva River, the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and one of Stalin’s skyscrapers.


I then walked the open areas outside of the Red Square for photos. Red Square is a city square in Moscow, Russia. The buildings surrounding the Square are all significant: Nearby to the South is the elaborate brightly domed Saint Basil's Cathedral and the palaces and cathedrals of the Kremlin, Lenin's Mausoleum. On the Eastern side of the square is the GUM department store, and next to it the restored Kazan Cathedral.


I walked all the way north near Patriarchs Ponds in Moscow to meet a friend to apply for a debit card to save time for payments within Russia. The huge pond is surrounded by trees, but about 300 years ago it was a marshy place. In the beginning of the 19th century two of the ponds were filled up and trees were planted around the remaining one.


I took my 1st subway ride to Novodevichy Cemetery next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Convent. It is the resting place of Soviet elite, like composers (D. Shostakovich, S. Prokofiyev, A. Skryabin), writers (N. Gogol, M. Bulgakov), political figures and their families (N. Khrushchev, B. Yeltsin, N. Alliluyeva (Stalin’s wife), R. Gorbacheva, Yu. Levitan, V. Molotov). I made a new friend there and we traveled together to take a cable car up to Sparrow Hills which is one of the highest points in Moscow and offers a panoramic view of the city. We were very lucky to get up a viewing deck closed on Monday and let in by a kind worker there. Then we toured the University of Moscow and passed by the Great Circus house. The final stop was Spar supermarket for a quick dinner. What a busy 1st day in Moscow!

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