St. Basil's Cathedral (Moscow)

The famous cathedral at the Red Square is actually a collection of nine tiny churches.

Red Square is to the left, Kremlin is behind us

Inside the cathedral

The Kremlin (Moscow)

Filled with a large number of cathedrals and churches, palaces and parks, the Kremlin is much more pleasant than the Cold War image that I had of it.

South facing wall, along the Moscow River

Outer wall with a view at one of the cathedrals inside

Left to right: Archangel Cathedral, Annunciation Cathedral, Assumption Cathedral

The Belltower. For a long time the highest building in Moscow by decree

Cannons left behind by Napoleon's retreating army

View at the Kremlin from the river

Lenin's Mausoleum (Moscow)

A very surreal experience, but one of the highlights of Moscow for us.

Lenin's mausoleum

Novodevichy Convent (Moscow)

Founded 1524, this is where Peter the Great imprisoned his sister and his first wife. The former for being implicated in a rebellion, the later for being a nag.

View from across the pond

Entrance

Smolensk Cathedral with the Bell Tower in the background

One of the towers guarding the outside wall

Other Moscow Sights

Some random other pics of Moscow.

Church of the Trinity in Nikitniki

People splashing in a fountain

Statue of Peter the Great

Statue park with retired communist era statues

Moscow State University

Another of the '7 Sisters' Stalin built to shape Moscow's skyline

Train trip from Moscow to St. Petersburg

We had high expectations of making the train trip from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Unfortunately, it was actually rather boring. The country is so vast, you pass endless forests and plains. This was exciting for an hour, but then we had seven more to go...
It did give us a very good feeling for the huge country Russia is, though. Is also high-lighted the contrast between the riches in Moscow, and the ramshackle wooden houses in the country.

Smile!

Village with dirt roads

View at a river village

Kazan Cathedral (St. Petersburg)

Built as a cathedral to Our Lady of Kazan, now a memorial to the Russian victory against Napoleon.

View of the cathedral from Novsky Prospect

Inside the cathedral

Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood (St. Petersburg)

Built on the exact spot where Alexander II was blown up (hence the name). The inside is completely covered in mosaics, from top to bottow.

Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood

Some of the mosaics

More mosaics

Detail

The Hermitage (St. Petersburg)

Housed mainly in the Winter Palace, one can spend at least half a week in the Hermitage and barely see everything. For several reasons, we only got to spend half a day in there, which didn't do the museum justice. As you will see on the pictures below, the rooms alone are worth visiting for.

View at the Winter Palace from across the river Neva

Balcony outside the 'Large Hermitage' (one of the building comprising the whole museum)

Be sure to get there early to avoid the queues, or (as we did) pay someone to get you in through the guided tours entrance

Hallway

State Staircase

Mesopotamian tablet describing the measurements of a field

Room with Greek artefacts

Hallway lined with Roman sculptures

Another hall full of Roman sculptures

Paintings of Russian generals lining a wall

Floor detail in one of the rooms

Peter and Paul Fortress (St. Petersburg)

The oldest building in St. Petersburg, built to defend the city from the Swedes.

Outer wall at the river Neva

Looking out over the barracks built just inside the wall onto the Neva

Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad (St. Petersburg)

One of the most impressive war monuments I have come across, this monument commemorates the siege of Leningrad during WWII. A haunting symphony by Rachmaninov sets a sombre tone outside, while inside you can only hear the sound of a metronome ticking -- the only sound the people of Leningrad heard on their radios in between emergency broadcasts. A must-see should you ever visit St. Petersburg.

Sculptures next to the stairs leading up to the monument

Detail of the ring that symbolises the siege

Sculpture inside the ring

Other St. Petersburg Sights

The museum of theatre and music

Richly decorated bridge

WWII monument

Bridge over the river Neva

Summer garden

One of the many canals

Monument to Peter the Great

The Alexander Column. A single piece of marble, held in place by gravity alone

The General Staff building