Moscow: Day 2

Back again for Day 2 in Moscow! We got up early and began our tour of the Kremlin, the site where the Russian government is run.

Entrance to the Kremlin

The world kremlin literally means "fortress inside a city".  There are walls and towers protecting the government buildings and cathedrals inside.  The walls were built in the Italian style between 1485 and 1495.  In the picture below, I'm standing in front of Assumption Cathedral, the site where all the tsars of Russia were coronated!  Also in the Kremlin I saw the tomb & throne of Ivan the Terrible in the Church of the Archangel.

Church of the Archangel

Outside the walls of the Kremlin is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier where they have the changing of the guards every hour.  Here's a pic I got of the soldiers marching!

After the Kremlin tour, we were all starving and freezing from the cold, so of course I had to grab some Teremok, my favorite Russian food place!  After lunch I went to tour the inside of St. Basil's with a few friends.  Being inside the Cathedral was a whole different feel than any other Russian cathedral I've been in.  It was like a maze inside with tiny rooms and corridors weaving throughout the church.  

St. Basil's Cathedral

While we were in the cathedral, it started snowing really hard!  I looked outside onto the Red Square one minute, then the next minute I couldn't see anything from all the snow!  It was crazy, but hey that's Russia...

Before the snow storm

After the snow storm

More pictures from beautiful St. Basil's!

Looking out onto Red Square

After seeing the inside of St. Basil's we unfortunately had to brave the freezing cold, snow, and wind...It was not fun, and I think this picture I got of my friend Sarah pretty much describes the experience.

So that was my trip to Moscow!  I really enjoyed my time, and I can now say I have seen St. Basil's in the "sunshine", snow, and at night!  

Next post will be about my time in Budapest, Hungary!  Thanks for reading :)