We woke up around 9:30 (no wonder after the night before) and although my alarm rang three times (I have a strict ban for tomorrow), there was just no getting up.
Even better that breakfast at this wonderful hotel was until 11am. I had an English breakfast which I really needed especially with the day we had in front of us.
After we did a little tour of the hotel and listened to an audio guide telling us everything about the Red Square and the Kremlin. The Radisson Royal has a huge model of the City Center in the reception hall. The model is amazing with lights highlighting the area which is talked about. We did also a tour of the bathroom at the ground level and were impressed with the pyramids of individual hand towels and seating possibilities in the washroom.
Finally at 12:30 we made it out of the hotel after buying tickets for a cruise this evening leaving from the hotel.
We found the Kievsky Station without problems today and also made it on the correct metro to the Red Square.
The metro of course is amazing. Here some impressions.
We entered the Red Square by the Resurrection Gate, passed kilometer zero and the Iberian chapel and stood in awe looking at the Kremlin walls, St. Basil’s church and the GUM.
First we toured St. Basil’s church
In front of the church is a monument for Minin & Pozarski, legendary heroes who drove away the Polish army in 1612 from the Kremlin.
Sightseeing makes tired therefore we decided a coffee was in order. We wanted to visit the famous Bosco Café in the GUM.
How the Russians can walk around in heels high like this must be a genetic miracle.
Shopping at these prices was out of the question, so we shared some pastries.
By then it was shortly before 3pm and we still had the Kremlin to visit. Which we did right away, walking back through the Resurrection Gate, passing the tomb of the unknown soldier with an honor guard in front,
and then walked through Alexander Park to the Borovitskaya Tower to enter the Kremlin.
We toured first the Cathedrals, the Tsar cannon and his bell.
Please note the snow on the ground
For last we saved the Armoury which holds the largest collection of Fabergé eggs. Of course most of them were not in display being borrowed to some other exhibition. Still we found it all very impressive.
When we left it was already 5:30 and by then we were hungry again. Decided on a late lunch/early dinner in the nearby mall Manež. Enjoyed tasty Italian food and rushed to make it on time to the cruise.
The cruise turned out to be a dinner cruise which we hadn’t known. Also audio guides were not available. We ended up drinking cosmopolitans and relaxing for the first time today.
Yours, Pollybert
