Rain was promised on Friday, our last full day in Moscow, so on Thursday we planned the day so that we could do as much of the outdoor sightseeing as possible. The first thing we did was to visit Kolomensky Park. This was somewhere that neither Yulia nor I had been before, and we really liked it. We took the Metro there, and then it was about a 10 minute walk to the park.
The Park was a village, founded in the 12th Century, and which became the home to the royal family, specifically the Rurikovich dynasty, but also later the Romanovs as well. The park itself was free and had nice paths and facilities. It also has wooden architecture and areas that show how people lived earlier. We didn't pay to go into those demonstrations. We just walked through and looked at the gardens and orchards and at the church buildings. The most famous is the Church of the Ascension of the Lord which was built in the 16th century to celebrate the birth of Ivan Grozny (The Terrible) and is a UNESCO world heritage site. The church overlooks the Moskva river and is white and very beautiful.
Looking at the beautiful primroses.
Gardens
Papa and the twins and roses.
Gate to the park.
One of the churches, early onion dome architecture.
Bell tower and water tower
The family minus Mama the photographer.
Church of the Ascension
Observing the view across the river.
The View from the hill.
Lexa resting
Giant Samovar at the cafe within the park.
After we had seen the park, we took the metro to Red Square. We arrived there at about 12:30 and set up to watch the changing of the guard at the eternal flame which burns for those who died during WWII. It is my favorite place to go, and we wanted the kids to experience it with a good view. The uniforms of the soldiers has changed since the last time we were there 5 years ago, but the ceremony was still very touching.
At the eternal flame.
Guards at their posts.
Reading the cities where more than a million people died (Hero Cities)
New guards marching down the path
Relieved guards making their exit.
Marching
After the changing of the guard, we walked through Red Square and took lots of pictures and saw the sites. After that we went and looked at the fountains at the Okhotniy Ryad shopping center. We then ate lunch (we had pizza and salads) and then got on the Metro again.
Entrance to Red Square
Family portrait on Red Square - a long tradition.
The renovated GUM department store.
Having Fun!
Lenin's Tomb - We still haven't been inside.
St. Basil's Cathedral.
Kremlin Tower
Past Red Square and toward the Moskva River
Red Square from St. Basil's
Fables in the fountain.
Posing for pictures at the fountain.
Our last stop of the day was to visit the Izmailovo Souvenir market. We missed the station and had to go back one - something that's happened to us on that stop a couple of times, but got there at about 4:00 in the afternoon. We gave each of the girls 600 Rubles (about $10 dollars) to buy souvenirs. Lina and Nika had earned a bit of extra money by helping the Stice girls with their Russian on the trip. The girls had a great time looking around and bargaining. Lina got the bargain of the day, buying a ceramic turtle that is also a jewelry box, by talking the seller down from 1800 Rubles to 1000. She had enough to buy one of those infernal fidget spinners..... so we are not as pleased with the bargaining :)
Lexa bought herself a hat, and Sophie got a snow globe. They both then bought little metal collapsible cups that had Soviet Military emblems on the base. Nika bought herself a laser engraved crystal.
After our shopping excursion.
Overall it was a fun day. It started sprinkling as we were leaving, but we were in the Metro and home without getting too wet. We found a little restaurant across from our hotel: Vareneshnaya. It had great prices, good Russian food, and a fun atmosphere like an old Soviet apartment. We liked it so much that we went back for dinner there the next evening.
I woke up on Monday morning feeling quite ill - I was congested through my head and chest. I'd been having some allergies, but this felt more like a cold. I didn't feel up to going out, so Yulia and the girls went to the Schindler Factory and Ghetto without me while I slept and tried to recuperate some. It sounds like they had a really good time at the factory - which is a museum about the Ghetto and Polish resistance and is very interactive and child-friendly. It was also free on Monday, and they got there in time to get some of the few tickets remaining for early in the day, so everything worked out okay in the end.
[Yulia will tell more about the museum in the captions to the photos from that experience]
Portrait of Oscar Schindler
Portraits of people saved by Schindler, on both sides of the wall.
Equipment from Schindler's factory to make cookware.
Beginning of museum: pictures and video of Krakow in 1939.
Looking at slides from 1939
Stations where you could stamp documents
Apartment from the era.
Scenes taking place behind the window.
Polish Resistance
Nazi invasion and occupation.
Replica of Ghetto wall, which resembled tombstones, with actual accounts from Ghetto survivors on the wall.
Schindler's Office
Big cube with cookware from the factory
The names of all the workers saved by Schindler
Exhibit about Aman Goth, camp director played by Ralph Feinnes in the film.
Closing the Ghetto and putting Jews into camps.
Working camp.
At the end of the tour.
Plaza of empty chairs in commemoration of the victims of the Ghetto
After everyone came home, we went out at about 5:00 p.m. and looked around the old part of the city. Part of the day was buying Poland souvenirs. The girls each got a wooden jewelry box, and Yulia got an Amber necklace to put in her own jewelry box at home. After we were shopped out, I went and showed them Jagiellonian University, where I'd been to a conference two years ago. After we saw the university, we went and found a Ukrainian restaurant that we had seen the first night when we got turned around. We found the restaurant and had a nice meal - the portions were much smaller than the night before, but the food was delicious. You can't go wrong with Eastern European cooking.
Stopping for pastries after the museum.
Part of original defenses of Krakow
Peacock sculpture in a random building.
Scenes from Old Krakow
On the square.
Central square
Souvenir shopping.
A flute-playing goat. Our flute-playing girls.
University courtyard
University courtyard
Looking down the well.
Part of the original walls.
Ukrainian food!
After we ate, we had room for ice cream, so we got some and sat outside and watched people for awhile while we finished our cones. We walked home, calling it an evening. Our time in Krakow had come to an end. Yulia hadn't been to center Krakow before, and she fell in love. Krakow is less touristy than Prague, and quite a bit cheaper. We loved Prague, too, but in Krakow we felt very much at home as well.
