Russia

Last week I had to travel to Moscow for work. 

While I generally felt very safe, work arranged for a security escort/driver to and from the airport. The weather was very hot and humid - more similar to summer in D.C. than summer in London. Even in air conditioned hotels it was hard to stay cool.  There wasn't much time for sight seeing but I was able to walk around Red Square a bit the evening I arrived.  It helps that it stays light until 11pm.  

Entrance to Red Square

On the other side:

A little video tour of Red Square

 

St. Basil's Cathedral - so iconic.  Impossible not to take a bazillion photos of it.

Another church on the square - Kazan Cathedral - which I loved .  Something about it being pink and turquoise and having flowers decorating the entrance. 

GUM building - really high-end department store.  Looks amazing at night with all of the lights.

Very soviet looking building

Statue of Karl Marx with Kazan Cathedral in the background.

 

The Bolshoi Theatre, just around the corner from my hotel.

The Winter Olympics are coming - 227 day countdown.

Pedestrian area across from the office, with an outside bar selling beers and sausage.  Perfect on a hot summer night - and great people watching location.

I was with a few colleagues and we ate dinner outside on the Square one night.  The yellow building behind the wall is the Kremlin.   

 

View of the Kremlin from the other side:

The most surprising aspect of my trip was that no Vodka was consumed - beer, wine and Limoncello yes, Vodka no.  Even though it was a whirlwind few days I'm glad I got the chance to visit Moscow.  The area around Red Square was very impressive - both in history and aesthetics.