Sights and Activities
Below are the places we saw and activities completed while visiting Russia:
Trans-Mongolian / Trans-Siberian
We left Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia to head to Moscow, Russia via the Trans-Mongolian/ Trans-Siberian train. The voyage spanned a total of 5 days, 101 hours to be exact, and passed through many landscapes. We enjoyed the views of Lake Baikal, snow in the Siberian forests, the traditional countryside houses, and the colors of fall as we got closer to Moscow. The experience was a great way to relax and celebrate our one year of traveling.
Moscow
Red Square: we entered the square through the Resurrection Gate and enjoyed a superb view of St. Basil’s Cathedral.
St Basil’s Cathedral: this unique Orthodox Church is the symbol of Russia, created between 1555 and 1561. We were able to go inside to see the medieval wall paintings and towers.
Kremlin: once the center of the Orthodox Church and the stage of Russian political power, this is where tsars, communist dictators, and democratic presidents have ruled. The triangular complex has many churches and gardens.
Cathedral of Christ the Savior: this giant cathedral finished in 1997, sits on the site of a similar church of the same name, built from 1839 to 1883. Stalin ordered the destruction of the original and planned to replace it with a 315m-high ‘Palace of Soviets’, but the project never got started. Instead, the site was occupied by the world’s largest swimming pool for 50 years.
Museum of Contemporary History of Russia: the museum took us through Lenin’s and Stalin’s era of the communist revolution from the late 1800’s to the break of communism.
