DAY 2 -

I woke up feeling more normal today after a big sleep. I look out the window and find snow is drifting down as the sun was rising (it was about 9am). We went outside and I was so excited to see that snowflakes are actually shaped that way (of course they must be, but I had to check and when you think about it, they really are a very delicate, intricate part of nature that is rather amazing).

 

Today was going to be exciting as Sarah had planned to take us by train to Red Square. The underground train (the metro) caught me by surprise at how it races through the tunnels.  It was a little scary at first, the noise and the speed, but got used to it after a while.

 

State History Museum

As we headed to Red Square, it was all decked out with cute little market style shops decorated for Christmas. We entered Red Square and was greeted by the State History Museum, the Kremlin, Gum (pronounced Goom) and an ice-skating rink set up for Christmas but most of all, St. Basil's Cathedral WITH SNOW. I could take a hundred photos of it (probably came close).  It was amazingly decorated inside with walls and ceilings (even the domes) all painted with some of the doors and walls being very ornate in their design.  We reached the second level and I was so fortunate to have caught the end of three male singers singing acapella in the vestibule. I believe I recognised it as one of Rachmaninoff's Vespers (a choral work by my favourite Russian composer). I can't explain how beautiful the voices sounded resonating through St. Basil's, but I was overwhelmed with awe and brought tears to my eyes. I will never forget this moment and now when I think of St. Basil's, it will always have a place in my heart. The whole experience was a very "pinch me" moment.

 



We headed to a little café inside Gum (goom) building and warmed up with the most velvety Russian hot chocolate, followed by mandarins which is the traditional Christmas fruit of Russia.  They had bowls of mandarins on each table which were free to eat.  They even decorate their Christmas trees with them. We explored Gum a little more, its like a shopping mall with lots of little shops (think of Royal Arcade in Melbourne but on a much large scale). Sarah took us to a place to eat a smorgasbord type lunch with traditional Russian food.  There were some very interesting foods there, I was not feeling all that adventurous in trying something new so stuck to a safe option - chicken kiev.

 

After warming up we braved the -2 degrees outside  again and ventured out to view St. Basil's from the bridge (the other side and yes, I took more photos).

 

The day was finished by the boys heading off to watch Star Wars and the girls having dinner at a local pub near Sarah and Anthony's residence.  I wasn't too hungry and went for Borscht, Russia's traditional beetroot soup, a delicious way to end the day.

 

Beautiful St. Basil's