Our last day started with a "Moscow In Depth" excursion. The pun is intended because the excursion involved taking the Moscow Metro (subway) from near our dock into the heart of the city for a walking tour. The Metro is fascinating because each of the stations has been designed as a work of art. In many, the walls are clad in granite and other stones -- some rare -- and mosaics abound with depictions flowers, fruit as well as patriotic themes. The stations are lit with ornate candelabra, the floors are clean, and the trains run about every two minutes.
Our guide was an art and architecture historian from the Moscow State University who supplied a running commentary on how the subway was built and her impression of the artistic endeavors of the stations we visited. Not surprisingly, she liked the older, more ornate stations and found fault with the look of some of more recent ones. She also filled us in on some little-known details, such as that Stalin had a private, secret subway from the Kremlin to his summer home, which, after Kruschev denounced him, was joined to the regular system.
Once above ground, we walked about a mile down into the section near the Moscow River, pausing to hear about the important places we were passing. We circled the relatively new cathedral of Christ our Saviour which was built on the spot where Stalin had demolished the historic structure in order to build a massive monument to Lenin. The outbreak of World War II stopped the project, and after the war, it was decided to build the cathedral anew. Again, our guide had made input into the building of the new structure and revealed to us, for example, how the domes were gilded to last 50 generations.
After lunch we returned to downtown Moscow for our final tour -- this time of the Tretyakov Museum, a vast collection of Russian art which was donated to the city from the Tretyakov family collection. There we learned that prior to the 17th century, the only art created in Russia was icons. It was Peter the Great who in his effort to Westernize Russia created national schools of artists. In the galleries we traced the transition from flat icon-like paintings to the fully detailed and life-like art that prevailed in the West. The museum had also an excellent collection of icons, of which we took many pictures.
Tonight it is time to pack and get ready for the long trip home. Our Viking River Cruise of the "Waterways of the Czars" was excellent beyond expectation. We recommend it to anyone.
