Ivan the Great Bell Tower

Here's Lyndsey in front of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower.

The Armory

This beautiful 18th(?) century building was originally built to store the weapons for Tsar's military. Now it is a museum where the crown jewels are kept. We didn't get to go inside. :-(

Ugly Building

Unfortunately, the first building we saw when we entered the grounds was the stark Congress Hall built by the Communists in the 1950's. It is now used as a theater and there were holiday performances for children going on the day we were there. To my eye it is very much out of place with all the older, beautiful structures of the Kremlin, but it is as much a part of the history of the place as the churches and palaces.

Inside the Kremlin

On Friday, January 5 we had another day of touring Moscow. Our first stop was the Kremlin again. This time we were on the opposite side from Red Square and entered the main gate to tour inside the wall. Elena, the main guide for our group (on the left in the fur hood) left us in the capable hands of Sasha (her real name was Alexandra; she said if the monarchy was ever restored to Russia she should be Tsarina!) who took us into the Kremlin and told us all about it. Not all of our group did the Kremlin tour this day; some of the folks who had been there before preferred to use the time to go to the market at Ismailovo and do more shopping. I wouldn't have missed the tour for the world!

When we left the Blind and Deaf Orphanage and headed back to Moscow we passed the Monastery of St. Sergei, the patron saint of Russia. Beautiful! One of the early tsars asked Sergei to pray for victory over the Mongols who were attacking Moscow. When the victory was won, Sergei was given the credit . We begged the driver to stop for a photo opportunity and he did, even though we were running late. It's a good thing we did; one of the ladies got sick to her stomach and had to find a bathroom (there wasn't one on the bus). Our team leader and the translator went with her up to the Monastery and found an entrance and a public restroom on the other side of the complex. She was OK later but what a nightmare!

The Party Continues!

Just like we did at the other orphanages we moved into the gym where Grandfather Frost and the Snow Maiden led us in dances and games around the tree. The gym was brightly decorated and the kids were so excited. They each received a box of candy and would receive other presents later. It was such fun!

Folk Dances and Songs

The staff and children sang and danced for us in magnificent costumes they had made themselves. It was touching to see the teachers guiding the children around the stage as they participated in the program.

Blind and Deaf Orphanage at Sergei Posad

That afternoon we returned to the town of Sergei Posad to visit the Orphanage for the Deaf and Blind. Volunteers in Mission has been working at this orphanage since they started going to Russia seven years ago and many improvements have been made. The lobby is bright and welcoming - the sign in the first picture says "Happy New Year!" I don't know if you can make it out in the second picture but there is a fish tank with live fish under the middle picture on the wall.

Beautiful Children

The children gave us a beautiful music program and then we put on the puppet show for them. There were not very many children staying at this orphanage over the holidays; some of the children in Russian orphanages are not "true" orphans with no parents but they may come from families who for financial or other reasons simply cannot support them. Some go home for the holidays to older siblings or to aunts and uncles but live at the orphanage the rest of the year. In the United States these kids would probably be in foster care, a system which has its own set of pluses and minuses.

Another Day, Another Orphanage

On the 4th we climbed back on the buses for another day visiting orphanages. I honestly don't remember which town this orphanage was in - maybe some of my fellow travelers who are reading the blog can remember and will help me out. We still had lots of presents to deliver and some of the boys in the orphanage helped us carry them in.

Orphanage at Klin

We left the Senior Citizen's Home and drove to the Orphanage at Klim. Of course the first thing they did was to serve us lunch! Then we danced around the Christmas tree with Grandfather Frost and the Snow Maiden and played games. The children presented some wonderful entertainment for us including holiday songs and oriental dances. One of the games we played was the "newspaper game". Unfolded newspapers were placed on the floor and couples danced on the square of paper. When someone stepped off the paper they were out. The remaining couples had to fold their papers in half and dance again. This kept going until the papers were folded down to about a six inch square just big enough for one shoe. A couple of the teenage orphans won the game - he had to pick her up and balance on one foot to win!

Senior Citizens' Home at Klin

Our first stop of the day was at the Senior Citizens' Home in the town of Klin. They greeted us warmly and had us sit down to tea. No, it's not a full blown lunch, just tea (lunch came later!) We always had delicious fresh oranges on the table along with yummy pastries and chocolate. We presented our puppet show for the seniors and they enjoyed it just as much or more than the kids did. When we took the puppets out into the audience they wanted to pet and kiss them and have their pictures taken with them. It was a sweet experience.

More McDonalds

McDonalds doesn't have a presence just in downtown Moscow - we saw them all along the roads and in the smaller towns where we visited orphanages. I took this picture from the bus window when we stopped to let one of our teenagers use the "facilities" at this McDonald's across the road.

Birch Trees

On Wednesday, January 3, we divided into two larger teams and drove out of Moscow to visit more orphanages. One we got out of town we saw groves of birch trees all along the road. You could imagine Dr. Zhivago riding out of the trees at any point!

United Methodist Bishop

The Bishop of the Eurasian Conference of the United Methodist Church welcomed us to Moscow at our dinner on New Year's Night. In addition to having Christmas with the orphans, Volunteers in Mission have worked at the orphanages in the summer building playgrounds and repairing buildings and have helped build a Methodist Seminary in Moscow. The Bishop thanked us for continuing this work.
Our meal this evening and several other evenings was at the Log Cabin Restaurant across from the Hotel. The food was supposed to be typical Russian food and I loved almost all of it. (I still don't like mushrooms, Russian or otherwise!) The meal always started with some kind of salad like slaw or pea salad (but not salad greens or lettuce) and/or soup (borscht/beet soup or ghia/cabbage soup). The main course was meat (beef, pork or chicken) and potatoes (mashed, baked, roasted, etc.). Desert was often the most wonderful ice cream I've ever tasted. The butter fat content must have been the most you can have and still call it ice cream! Russia is also known for its chocolate candy. Yum!

Arbot Street and McDonald's

I'm told that this is the original Russian McDonald's on Arbot Street. Our bus driver dropped us off here to do some shopping (Hard Rock Cafe, expensive souveniers, Harley Davidson t-shirts with "Moskva" on them, etc.) and McDonald's was our meeting place and the location of a fairly clean if very crowded restroom. I didn't order any food here but I was told that a Big Mac is a Big Mac is a Big Mac...
I bought a few things at one shop but the prices were pretty high and everyone kept telling me to wait for Ismailovo Market (they were right!). Jan wanted a Hard Rock t-shirt from Moscow for one of her kids but mostly we just wondered down the block and window-shopped. There were a lot of tourists and party-goers out that night and we held on tight to our purses. Three of our young men from the Virginia youth group ran into a problem with a couple of police (at least they thought they were police) who wanted to see their passports. The hotel had kept our passports at the desk and all any of us had with us were copies and a receipt from the hotel. The police threatened to arrest them but were willing to accept a "fine" of about $40 each. The boys made it safely back to our group; our translator told us later that if we ever found ourselves in such a situation that we should ask to be taken to the American Embassy and let them straighten it out. It made for a very interesting evening!

War Memorial and Museum

The Russians are rightfully proud of their military history, especially in World War II. Their struggle on the "Eastern Front" kept Hitler's army busy while the West prepared for the D-Day invasion. Russia's biggest contribution to world conflicts has always been the sheer number of troops she could throw into battle. There was a tremendous loss of life during the defense of St. Petersburg (Leningrad) and Moscow. This museum commemorates this history. Unfortunately, we didn't get to go inside because the museum wasn't open when the signs said it would be. What can I say? It's Russia!

Light Displays

This light display was across from the War Museum (see the next post) but it was typical of the ones we saw all over town. New Year's is there big secular holiday and all the parties, celebrations and gift-giving center on it. One member of our group noted that he kind of liked it that way; Christmas then becomes a purely religious holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus.

Sparrow Hill

Sparrow Hill overlooks the city of Moscow. This is where Napoleon stood to say that he was here to conquer the city; it's also where he looked back as he retreated after he was defeated by the Russian forces and the Russian winter! There was another beautiful tree on Sparrow Hill set up by the souvenir stalls. I didn't buy anything here; I was waiting for the Ismailovo market.

The building in the background of the center picture is the main building of the University of Moscow.

Novedevichy Convent

On our way out to Sparrow Hill we drove past the Novedevichy Convent. This is where the tsars would send their wives when they were tired of them and wanted to marry someone new. Also, Peter the Great exiled his sister Sophia to the Convent when he threw her off the throne and became Tsar in his own right.