End of this blog

This blog has to come to an end as I have run out of photo storage. However, I have created a new blog so you can carry on reading about my adventures in Moscow. It goes by the original name of Prestwoodite in Moscow 2 and the link is http://www.prestwoodite2.blogspot.com/.

See you there.  Su

A train ride to Dmitrov

With another long weekend and the start of half term it seemed criminal not to go out and about again. Peter and I had used the electrishka to get to Irina's for the choir BBQ, but someone had always bought the ticket. It was time to try on our own. Jonathan from church mentioned he had been to Dmitrov, and Phoebe had a walk on the website so we decided to have a go. A break down in communication between Peter and I meant we didn't get off as early as we should so we were a little late arriving at Savalovksy station. It wasn't busy and the lady was very patient with me as I asked for 'dva billieta pashalsta' and waved my arms to indicate I wanted returns. Then we had to find the train, which we did with some help.

These suburban trains are very basic: hard bench seats and no facilities. They stop at every station with people getting on and off all along the route. We were entertained by buskers and bothered by people selling vegetables, pens, post cards: anything that is saleable as well as the inevitable beggars.

You can just about see how basic it is - these two were pretty good.

Very few people got on the train at the station, which is situated on the edge of Moscow city centre. The next few stations inside the MKAD ring road were busier the further out we went, but once we were away from the city the train was pretty full with people getting on and off at every stop, some were in the middle of no where, just a few dacha huddled near the railway line.

Dmitrov is about an hour and a half away to the north. It was founded by by Yuri Dolgoruky seven years after he founded Moscow and is named after his son Dmitry. It still has a basic Kremlin (a fortress) and some churches, but is a small town rather than a bustling city.

Sadly we had just finished our picnic lunch when the skies opened which set the tone for the rest of our trip. I did not get all the photos I intended but it was SSOOOOOOOOOOOO wet.

A standard Soviet era monument.

The Assumption Cathedral is inside the Kremlin embankment

The Cathedral domes peeping over the Kremlin

Statue of a priest

Wall painting

These was this chapel just inside the embankment too.

This is known as the lovers' bridge and has padlocks all over it like Luzhkov's trees in Moscow.

Just outside the Kremlin are these statues of past inhabitants of Dmitrov in a street of wooden houses.

Look carefully at this house. I loved it because you can see its history. The original wooden building is at the front, with a block work extension at the back and then the brick addition. So typical of Russian buildings.

Peter Kropotkin, the anarchist priest, after whom the road is named.

Saints Boris and Gleb outside their monastary

And so our day trip came to an early end. By now we were cold and wet, but I am pleased we made the effort. Now we can try some other places.

A pampers cake and a small park

This is a piece of news I forgot to include. Sergei, our conductor at choir, became a father a few weeks back. As a present from the choir one of the girls found this!!!

A Pampers cake - all disposable nappies together with a teddy and other useful toiletries. Different eh!!

  

The other evening I had a bad attack of the fidgets so caught a tram round to Park Dubki which mean Park of the little oaks. I pass it every time I come home from choir and it is at the beginning of one of Phoebe's walks. I found this lovely little wooden church. Like my local church it is a rebuild. Sadly I couldn't go in as it was closed for the evening but I will stop off sometime and go and look inside.

War memorial and Victory Day flags

Ducks

Across the pond

South of the river

Zamoskvorechye, which literally means 'beyond the Moscow river', is full of architectual gems. I walked down one of the main roads in my first year and thought how boring it was - I didn't realise that I had to zig zag along the side roads. Once again Phoebe Taplin provided us with a lovely walk. We didn't go into every church, and some buildings were closed, but as you will see we found one to two treasures.

We started near Novokuznetskaya station and immediately found the Church of Theodore and Michael who were martyrs who refused to give up Christianity in the time of the Mongols.

I found this interesting plaster work on a building as we walked past.

The neo classical Church of the Virgin, Consolation of Sorrows. It was originally built in the time of Catherine the Great, and the bell tower survives from that time. The rest was rebuilt after the great fire of 1812 by Osip Bove who designed the Bolshoi Theatre.

Along the walk I found these gates

and these mosaics.

We then continued on the Church of the Resurrection in Kadashi. This is slowly being restored and I want to go back as there is a workshop in the grounds.

Just down the road was this modern memorial to the poet Anna Akhmantova. I have no idea who she is but she associated with St Petersburg.

The wooden house of the playwright Alexander Ostrovsky - apparently he wrote plays which were performed at the Maly theatre.

We then found this gem of a convent right in the middle of this busy commercial and residential district, the Convent of Mary and Martha. It was founded by Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna, sister-in-law to Tsar Nicholas II. It is essentially an Art Nouveau building and built to house a clinic,a small women's hospital and a school. Sadly Elizabeth was murdered during the revolution but this legacy is enchanting.

First view from the road of the Intercession church

Wall detail

An oasis of calm in a busy city

This might be the clinic; it is hidden in the corner of the garden

The Intercession Church

Inside is so beautiful. I don't usually take pictures inside churches as I don't want to disturb the worshipers, but another lady was already snapping and this is so beautiful I permitted myself a few.

Grand Duchess Elizabeth

This convent was the highlight of the walk. It was wonderful and I will go back. But we had not yet finished.

The church of St Nicholas of Pyzhi which was funded by the musketeer regiment of Colonal Pyzhov of the Imperial Army. It has been raided by Napolion and used as a science laboratory, but is once more a place of worship.

English pubs get everywhere

One way to get your windows cleaned!!

Church of St Gregory

The roof of the church has 'kokoshniki' gables, named after the medieval headresses, with the tent roofed bell tower.

Then onto the last church of St Nicholas which is on the corner of the Museon sculputure park which we visted in our first year.

We walked through the park, which we had not done for some time, and saw these gambons with carved heads.

We then walked into Gorky Park which is undergoing a major face lift. All the rides have gone and the place is being spruced up. Last weekend was sports weekend, which considering how windy it was, made playing badminton and volley ball interesting. We did see some tango dancing going on and the water fountains are back on again.

By now the wind was gale force and it was rather alarming walking across the bridge to get to church for choir. I left Peter at the metro and continue to church. By the Lenina Library I saw this 'decoration' for Victory Day which is on Wednesday.

And so back to school for three days and then half term. I'm not sure what we are doing as the weather forecast is not very good. I did get some gardening done at church this morning but managed to leave my camera at home so no pictures.