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I get up the next morning, and like the song goes, its a new day at midnight, and I awaken with a new energy and sense of purpose.We have a tour of the Kremlin in the afternoon so in the morning we decide to go of exploring on our own.
As we wander around, we see this boat sailing on the Moskva river (Moscow takes its name from this River). |
| I had read in my Guidebook, that Moscow is unique for a “developed” country, in that it doesn’t have any ethnic specific areas like Chinatown or Little India.We manage to find Gorky park. I had been keen to see it, but as we get nearer the gates, I decide not to go in, as I have always imagined it a certain way and worry ill be disappointed, as a park is after all, just a park.
Instead, we head for the nearby Museum of fallen monuments which my friend Mike Delafield had recommended from his trip. There are loads of old statues, positioned around this sort of park next to a trading estate. |
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The hated “Iron Feliks” which previously stood in Lubyanka square. |
| A Statue of Stalin. Look closely at the nose, and you will see where its been hit with a hammer and vandalised.One good thing, was that the weather throughout the day was superb. |  |
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One of the more traditional communist images of a perfectly formed man with gelled hair, fighting for Mother Russia. |
| This enormous statue of Peter the great sailing was an affront to the eyes. |  |
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Cathedral of Christ the Savior.Originally built in the 19th century in commemoration of the Russian army’s victory over Napoleon.
It was destroyed after the revolution on Stalin’s personal orders. Architectural drawing and measurements, were taken just before it was destroyed, this made a complete reconstruction to the exact specification of the original in 1994 possible. |
| The Pushkin museum of fine art is a must-see sight in Moscow.Unfortunately, we were running late for our tour of the Kremlin, so passing it on the street was as close as I got. |  |
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We walk around Alexander square, which we had seen the previous day from the other angle.It was a national holiday, so the place was packed (lots of people were drunk and staggering around, but overall the mood was friendly).
There were hundreds of soldiers and police everywhere. The sun was up, and the colour of the water in the fountains outstanding. |
| Our agreed meeting point, was this statue outside the Moscow state archives.Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov was the famous general who took Berlin from the Germans.
Recognising him as a potential rival, Stalin “rewarded” him with retirement to a small village and a removal from public life. |
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At the arranged time, we meet our guide and head for the Kremlin.Citadel of the Tsars, headquarters of the Soviet Union and now the residence of the Russian President.
In the background is Trinity tower one of only 2 public entrances into the Kremlin. Napoleon marched in triumph through this gate in 1812. He left defeated a month later. Only official qualified guides are permitted to conduct tours in the Kremlin. Due to the holiday, It was closed to all but official guides and pre booked foreign tours. On the plus side, this meant that it was practically empty when we got inside. |
| The state Kremlin palace. Built by Kruchev in 1961.It actually has 5 floors bellow ground, so that it doesn’t rise high above the older classical building.
Its 6000 seat auditorium was previously used for political rally’s but today is a more likely venue for ballet and rock concerts. |
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The ceremonial residence of the President of Russia. Since the Kremlin is a working arm of government, only half of it is available to the general public.Putin’s office. He does not live here (like in 10 downing street) and only the President and the ruling party have offices here, the actual parliaments are outside the Kremlin. |
| Various diplomatic cars are parked outside the Senate building. |  |
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The famous Tsars Pushka (canon). Weighing 38 Metric Tonnes it is listed in the Guinness book of records as the largest Howitzer ever made.It has never been fired, and considered to have been a showpiece of military might, rather than a functional weapon.
This is illustrated by the Cannon balls. They were constructed more than 300 years after the Cannon, and can’t actually fit inside its barrel !. |
| Cathedral of the Assumption.There are 5 churches inside the Kremlin. We walked around inside this one, but weren’t allowed to take any pictures. |  |
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On the right, is the famous Ivan the great bell tower.It is called “Great” due to its height. In 1600 it was the highest building in Moscow. |
| Outside the bell tower is the enormous Tsar Bell (the largest in the world).It fell from the tower in 1701 during a fire and shattered.
The bell wasn’t terribly lucky, and its parts were used to make a 2nd bell. When the Kremlin caught fire in 1737, cold water was poured over the hot bell and a large piece broke off (its missing from the other side of the bell, and can’t be seen from this picture). |
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With our tour complete, we leave through the 2nd gate.In the centre of this picture, is the state armoury, one of Stalin’s 7 sisters.
Our guide advises us that the state armoury and the diamond room are definitely worth seeing (I was a bit surprised that they weren’t included in the tour). When I had a look, the queue’s for both were enormous (to be expected on a state holiday). I decided to kill some time and visit Pushkin square, where the first Macdonald’s in Russia was opened. Various roads were closed and I there were large crowds everywhere. I decided to just go back to my hotel. |
| That evening I was supposed to go to the Circus, but decided not to.From my experience, some trips are holidays and some trips are adventures (many are both).
A 3rd category of trip, is one which isn’t particularly pleasant, but broadens the mind. This was one of those trips. I have to say that I was miserable for most of it but in the end, I’ve experienced Russia. The night before I fly home, I find myself in the Hotel bar, paying a fortune for flat warm beer, and suffering offensive staff while I watch some ice skating reality TV program I hate. |
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Category: Europe
Visit to the Russian Federation, overnight train and 2 days in Moscow (1/2).
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We arrive at Moskovsky station, St Petersburg for our night train to Moscow.
Its identical “brother” station is, not surprisingly called the Leningradsky station and is located in Moscow. There is some confusion in the shop. There are apparently too many customers, and the shop is closed. The travelling is a bit of an ordeal, but I have always dreamed of visiting Moscow and standing in Red Square so it will all be worth it. |
| As our group have a look around the station, some of the girls and I guard the bags.
Minutes later we head for the platform and walk next to easily, the longest train I have ever seen. The Jobsworth Hitler of a train guard demands passports and stamped documentation, but is content to stop at a urine sample which is a relief to everyone !. He later tells our guide Artem to encourage us to buy drinks from him ?. |
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In the train sleeper Cariage.
It was very cramped and hot and we were next to the fire exit so couldn’t open the window. I wore my Rohan Goa trousers (I bought them for use in the tropics, I never thought they’d be so useful for rail travel). I put myself into a relaxed mental state (something I practice doing regularly, for situations like this) and got about 7 hours sleep. A few of the other passengers had a rough night. |
| We arrive in Moscow and clamour to get off the train, get some fresh air and stretch our legs. |  |
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We are driven by coach from 3 station’s square (its a square with 3 railway stations in it) to our fairly cosmopolitan hotel.
We drop off our bags and head for the Metro station. The Moscow underground was built in 1929 and is considered to have some of the worlds most beautiful underground stations. |
| This station Ploshchad Revolyutsii featured extensive statues of ordinary people bravely fighting for Russia.
People kept walking past and touching the dogs nose (Its considered lucky to touch brass). It wasn’t very lucky for the statue dog, who’s nose was a completely different colour from the rest of him and his “owner”. |
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Changing of the guard.
We change our itinerary briefly as just at that moment, the changing of the guard is taking place at the Tomb of the unknown soldier in Alexander Gardens. The Tomb of the unknown soldier is a war memorial, dedicated to the Soviet soldiers killed during the Great Patriotic War of 1941 – 1945. The torch for the memorials eternal flame, was transported from St Petersburg (at the time named Leningrad) when it had been lit from the Eternal Flame at the Field of Mars. The inscription on it says “1941 – To Those Who Have Fallen For The Motherland – 1945” |
| Theatre square. So named as it contains the Bolshoi, Maly and Russian Youth Theatre’s.
The Theatre behind the portakabins is the Bolshoi Theatre. Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake premièred at the theatre on Saturday, March 4, 1877. |
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Marx statue opposite Theatre Square.
Its inscription reads: Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь!. Which actually means: Proletarians of all countries unite!. |
| We wandered around to find somewhere to get a coffee (we had eaten breakfast at the hotel, but caffeine was needed).
As we strolled around, we passed the famous Hotel Metropol, where Lenin gave several famous speeches. |
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Outside the hotel, is this revolution carving. |
| Moscow has been named the worlds most expensive city for the 2nd year running and 75 billionaires live there (more than any other in the world).
No surprise then, to find luxury car showrooms everywhere !. |
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Lubyanka building in Lubyanka square – synonymous with terror and the secret police (it had previously been an insurance building).
The home of the FSB, Formerly the KGB and formerly the Cheka’s, founded by “Iron Feliks” Dzerzhinskiy. His statue was torn down by a cheering crowd and now resides in the Graveyard of fallen monuments. |
| Although I had problems changing cash throughout the trip, some people were drawing cash from cards, and had endless problems due to fraud protection.
The problem was compounded with the cost of Mobile calls from Russia to banks at home, which at times, cost more than the amount of money, people wanted to withdraw. Here, after much messing about, Shane returns with some cash having successful withdrawn money from the cashpoint. |
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After all the travelling, stress and bureaucracy, we arrive at Red Square
Stand in Red Square, has been written as a to-do on the bluelist which I re-read every day for the last 4 years. I’m standing right next to it and I am having trouble containing my enthusiasm. We walk to wards the entrance and… |
| Find that its closed.
Clearing my head I decide to be practical, there is always a solution. I discuss jumping the fence, renting an army uniform, bribing security. Artem tries everything he can but police just don’t seem to care and adopt the mildly irritated, “why are you bothering me with this” attitude that I am now tired of seeing. He explains that there is nothing he can do, and it won’t re-open until after we have left. |
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The trip had disappointed me in many ways up to this point. At that moment it was effectively over for me, and just a matter of how quickly I could get home. |
| Its decided that we will “circle” the square (if that makes sense ?) and see the main parts of it, from the back.
The GUM is the most luxurious shopping centre in Russia and its full name Gosudarstvennyy universalnyy magazin dates back to its nationalisation in 1921. Although shopping emporiums don’t normally float my boat, it really was rather spectacular. |
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As we round the corner towards Saint Basil’s a security man is still guarding the gates. |
| St Basil’s is quite fantastic. Legend has it, that Ivan the Terrible had the architect Postnik Yakovlev blinded once it was completed, so that his work couldn’t be repeated.
In my minds eye, the picture I was going to take in Red Square was going to be in front of Saint Basil’s. Sadly, this picture is taken in front of a car park. It was still pretty cool being there though. |
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Making our way back through the GUM, we spot a nice cafe and I’m able to try my first taste of beef stroganoff. |
| We have the option of carrying on exploring through the afternoon.
This website is subtitled the adventures of an ordinary person, so I wont try to colour things up. I was bitterly disappointed and just wanted to be on my own in my hotel (I know some people will say I should have made more of the moment, but I was emotionally crushed and I just needed some space). A few of the other travellers jump on the Metro with me and while exiting the station, I get a photo of this statue in Partisanskaya. |
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Partisanskaya also has this rounded ceiling, which I had read about in my guide book.
Off back to my room, I write up some notes, text a few friends back home and listen to my Ipod. |
Adventure and a “proper” holiday in Istanbul (2/2).
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We visit the Grand Bazaar.To describe this as a market, is to do it a disservice. The sheer size of it, is awesome.
Its so big inside, that there really is no point in trying to navigate, getting lost is almost guaranteed. |
| One of the main walkways into the centre of the market.I remember watching a horror film some years ago. Post apocalypse, some people setup home in a large shopping centre, where everything they need is available.
If you were locked in, it would take you a lifetime, to eat, drink wear etc. just a small percentage of goods in here. I had been told that the shopkeepers could become annoying, although I never saw this. They were persistent, but always polite and obviously masters of the selling art. |
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There were many different sections of the Bazaar, and an entire section devoted to Jewellery .Sarah bought a bracelet here.
Once they knew she was interested and had the means to buy the bracelet, she was invited into the shop to haggle Haggling across the floor of the market, is considered poor form. |
| The famous Valens aqueduct built in the 4th century, which carried water from the Belgrade Forest.It was only replaced by a modern water distribution network, in early 1900. |  |
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The main entrance to the Topkapi Palace.One of the things that amuse me, is that the more I travel, the more I find original buildings, which were the names of restaurants in my home town. |
| Standing on one of the many spectacular balconies near the Baghdad Pavilion.The area has beautiful white and blue tile work, and was constructed in 1639 to celebrate the capture of Baghdad.
It was nice being in the shade, as the weather on that day was very hot even for Istanbul. |
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The gardens were beautiful to walk around.It was very relaxing to be immersed in an environment, like this. |
| The throne room.There were literally hundreds of buildings like this, located all over the palace.
It would be a feat to build the palace with modern mechanical assistance, let alone ordinary people carrying rocks by hand. |
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In a building which was originally the inner treasury, is a small museum of armaments.An 8 foot long sword would have been used European crusaders. I am not sure how people managed to fight with a sword that big !.
The armour is 15th Century Ottoman. |
| My favourite place in the whole Palace, was the balcony next to the Konyalti Restaurant overlooking the Bospherous.On such a beautiful day, it will be one of my main memories of the trip. |  |
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One morning we decided to go for a walk through the Gulhane park, in the centre of the city.The sound of birds, and the smell of plants and grass had an immediate effect on me, I don’t like to be away from the countryside for long. |
| The Church of Holy Wisdom aka Haghia Sophia.More than 1400 years old, it is among the worlds greatest architectural achievements.
If you have ever tried to construct an igloo, or some other kind of self supporting shelter (ok, I confess, I have) you will realize the complexity. Imagine trying to do that, with what was then the largest dome in existence, even today, the 4th largest religious dome in the world. To support such a large dome, the building has been buttressed on several sides, which gives it a “rounder” shape. |
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Originally inaugurated as a Church in 537, it was later converted into a Mosque by the Ottomans in the 15th century.Its for this reason, that the building contains artefacts from both the Christian and Muslim religions.
Naive of me perhaps, but I wonder if a holy place where both religions could pray side by side, might be the key to peace one day. Invading countries and blowing up subways, doesn’t seem to be achieving much. The centre off the building (the Nave) was designed to impart a celestial feel, and it certainly did that for me. |
| One of several walkways, leading to the upper floor.100 stonemasons, and 10,000 labourers, were required to complete it. |  |
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As the building has been used as both a Mosque and a Church, it features a Mihrab which points in the direction of Mecca. |
| A Christian structure, actually stood on this site from the 3rd century, but was destroyed, rebuilt and then destroyed again before becoming the Haghia Sophia.One of many beautiful Mosaics showing the Virgin Mary, Jesus, Emperor John II and Empress Irene. |  |
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We decided to spend our last day in Beyoglu, on the opposite side of the Golden Horn.We got a bit lost, but a friendly stranger, who spoke perfect English gave us directions, and showed us this hidden gem of a staircase near St. Mary Draperis Church.
We continued up the hill, navigating through back streets, and passed the British Embassy. |
| At the top of the hill in Beyoglu we reach the Galata tower which at 62 meter’s high, is visible from all over Istanbul.Built in 1348 it was originally used as a watch tower.
Its now a wine bar and nightclub with spectacular views of the whole of Istanbul the Bospherous. |
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We wandered along Istiklal Caddesi, Istanbul’s busiest street, where trams still run to this day.I discovered this Memorial but have been unable to find out its name or what its supposed to commemorate.
At a guess, 1923 is when Istanbul was declared a republic, and 1973 would have been its 50th anniversary, so I presume its to commemorate that. |
| The afternoon before we head home, we decided to go somewhere nice, and have a few drinks.The famous Pera Palace Hotel was built in 1892.
It featured in Murder on the Orient express, written by Agatha Christy. The room she stayed in is kept on show for guests to view, exactly as it was. Originally guests on the Orient express were transferred to the hotel, on chairs carried by waiters (its a long walk up hill, to get to it). |
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Adventure and a “proper” holiday in Istanbul (1/2).
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Sarah commented that “all our holidays seem to be more like projects than holidays”.
I concede, and we have a “proper” holiday in Istanbul. We stayed at the Legend hotel. Located in the Old Quarter it was about 100 meter’s from all the attractions. It had a superb rooftop bar with spectacular views of the Blue Mosque. |
| There were lots of smart things to see.
Some cultural sites, excellent food, and friendly people would make the difference between success and failure. The original walls that protected the area where the leaders of the Ottoman empire originally lived. |
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Sarah standing next to the wall of the Blue Mosque.
She is wearing a hat she purchased just for the trip. |
| The Blue Mosque considered the most famous sight in Istanbul.
It was an amazing building, and built by many of the people, who later constructed the Taj Mahal. |
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The Basilica Cistern located underneath the city.
The water in the Cistern travels 19km from the Belgrade woods, via aqueducts built by Emperor Jusitinianus. |
| The Cistern was used as a set in the James Bond film From Russia with Love.
In Istanbul all of the historic sites we visited were either free or very cheap, which was a refreshing change from some of the other countries we have been to. |
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The Cistern was originally built in the 6th Century.
For a century after they invaded, the Ottomans did not know of the Cistern’s existence. Many of the original residents were able to collect water and even “fish” from their homes by lowering buckets and fishing line from their floorboards into the water below. The fish in this picture, were nearly 2 feet long. |
| The Cistern is made up of 12 rows of 28 columns, with a raised wooden platform, that allows you to walk through them.
Some of the columns are made from re-used stone. Here the famous Medusa head on one of the columns. I have photographed it this way to make it easier to see, in reality its upside down. |
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The archaeological museum next to the Topkapi Palace.
I could have spent the whole day in there, and still not seen everything. |
| Some of the many original artefacts on the 3rd floor.
The statue on the left of this picture, is ancient, yet has a look of modern art to it. |
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The Golden Horn, is at a right angle to the Bospherous.
Its very similar to the creek in Dubai, and has been called the best natural port in the world. At night, the Ottomans, would block the Horn, using this chain, an amazingly practical way to render a waterway, effectively useless. |
| Me standing in front of a spectacular stone carving.
Unfortunately, I never wrote down the name of this piece, but almost everyone in the museum was photographed in front of it. |
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The Kadesh treaty.
The oldest known peace treaty in existence arranged between the Hittite’s and the Egyptians It was written in Akkadian the international language of the day. |
| We sat outside at the Green Corner Cafe.
Many of the stone artefacts were located outside in the garden and we were able to sit among them while we relaxed. |
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Every meal I ate in Istanbul was excellent.
The waiters always looked pleased to see us, and seemed to show genuine delight, when receiving a well deserved tip. This gargantuan steak, was one of the best I have ever eaten, and cost about £2. |
| The road leading down to the port at the Golden Horn.
The streets in Istanbul, were busy, but always friendly. |
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Fisherman at the riverside catch fish and sell them to local shopkeepers.
The shopkeepers then make them into fish kebabs, and sell them to the general public. Sarah decided to try one. She described the taste as distinctive (which for Sarah, means it was awful !). |
| We set off on a boat trip up the Bospherous
The ferry was packed and we were lucky to get a seat outside. The view was spectacular. The boat stopped off several times on both sides of the Bospherous. |
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We sail under the world famous Bospherous bridge.
Since Istanbul is a city which spans 2 continents, it is possible to walk from Asia to Europe, over this bridge. Started in 1970, its construction cost $200,000,000 and took 3 years. |
| Fortress of Europe.
Located on the narrowest point of the Bospherous was built in 1452 by Mehmet II (before his invasion of Constantinople, which would later become Istanbul). |
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At the most northerly port on the Bospherous (Rumeli Kavagi) the boat stops off for an hour.
This is the highest point that the ferry goes up the Bospherous. A few miles beyond, is the Black See. Sarah and I decided to make the most of it, and have a glass of wine. The view from the Restaurant balcony was quite excellent. |
Visit to the Russian Federation and 2 day in St Petersburg (2/2)
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In the evening, we head out towards the Ballet.
I bought a formal travel jacket a couple of years ago from Rohan, and I had always wanted a legitimate reason to wear it. Unfortunately, my bag was winding its way to our hotel, so I attended the Ballet in the decadent attire of a North Face polar tech fleece. As we arrive, I have my first (and only) drink of Vodka, a must do activity in Russia. |
| Swan Lake was really rather good.
Some of the other people on the trip, said that the performers weren’t as good as they could have been, but then they had been to the ballet before, and I hadn’t. I took a few pictures (without flash). An old hag (I would meet 4 on my trip and they all looked like sisters) punched me in the back and proceeded to lambaste me in a language I couldn’t understand. To be honest, I was sick and tired of being endlessly polite to people who treated me at best with indifference and at worst downright insulting or threatening. I told her to go away, and reading the expression on my face she did. |
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Ultimately, this is johnsunter.com
I was enjoying the ballet, but I know that the Swan dies in the end, and was a bit culturally overloaded. I decided to leave at the intermission and go for a pint in a nearby Irish bar. Shane an Australian lawyer living in London decided to join me. After a couple of pints, we headed back to the Theatre, just in time to see the closing credits. I later learned, that the dying swan, was a part created specifically for the prima Ballerina Anna Pavlova, who later trained many of the countries best dancers. |
| We went back to our hotel in the coach and a Sushi bar next to the hotel served us a couple of drinks and allowed us to round of our evening.
To be honest, I didn’t really enjoy this trip at all, and from this evening, I don’t come out with the group and join the festivities as I was pretty miserable and just didn’t want to bring the evening down. They were all nice people though, and Id like to thank them. Without their company, I think I would have gone home. The good news was that the bar sold the excellent Japanese Asahi beer which I had so enjoyed in Tokyo. |
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The following day there is a “proper” tour of all the major sights of St Petersburg, but this is an extra £75.
I decided I would just wander around with my guidebook. First problem was getting the underground. I don’t think anyone reading this will be surprised to hear Chester doesn’t have one and I’m not as used to this sort of thing, as people from say London. After asking the woman at the ticket office for help and being spoken to as though she had caught me breaking into her house, I photographed the section of the map, with the place I wanted to go and just held the camera screen up to the window. Turns out, its the same price wherever you want to go on the network, but I wasn’t to know. |
| It was raining as I set out around the city.
Nevesky Prospekt is the lifeblood of the city, and the first place I wanted to see. My first stop was the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan. 96 Corinthian columns arranged in four rows, were inspired by Bernini’s colonnade for St Peters in Rome. Occupied (ironically) during the Soviet era as the Museum of Atheism. |
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The Lutheran Church was set quite far back from the Road.
I really was glad that I had my guidebook I would have been left wandering aimlessly in the poring rain. Converted into a swimming pool during the Soviet era, it once again functions as a church. |
| Whilst preparing for the trip, one place I had read about and really wanted to see was the literary cafe.
Previously called the Wolf and Beranger, it was know for its fashionable clientele. It was from here that Pushkin left for his his fatal duel in 1837. The cafe was a popular haunt for St Petersburg writers and frequented by Fyodor Dostoevsky. |
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The entrance to the Palace of Stroganov, who lent his name to the dish Beef Stroganov (the eating of which, is another must do activity in Russia).
Stroganov Palace was built in 1753. The Stroganov’s amassed an enormous fortune, mainly due to their monopoly of Salt. Today it belongs to the Russian museum for temporary exhibitions. The Stroganov’s collection of antiquities were moved to the Hermitage. |
| The famous Bronze Horseman designed by Etienne Falconet shows Peter the Great with his horse trampling the serpent of treason and is said to capture the spirit of the city’s uncompromising and wilful founder.
The Statue is brought to life in Alexander Pushkin’s epic poem the Bronze Horseman, written 42 years after the statue was erected in December’ists square. It took 12 years to complete and newlyweds are frequently photographed in front of it (as they are, just about everywhere else in St Petersburg) as it is said to bring luck. |
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The Naval museum had previously been a stock exchange. |
| I wander around the Peter and Paul fortress.
Towards the front is this sand bank (apparently in summer it is filled with people sunbathing !). It was hard to imagine on this bleak day, but It was nice to be able to walk along a wide open space with nobody else around and look out across the water. On the left is the outer fortress wall. |
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The famous Neva gate on the bank, not surprisingly, off the Neva river.
Many political activists had been imprisoned at the fortress including Leon Trotsky. Sometimes they would be moved to the even more notorious Schlusselburg Fortress for execution, and its from this, that the gate earned the nickname death gate. |
| Cathedral of St Peter and Paul.
The Tsars family are all interred here. In the eyes of many Russians, the Romanov’s are Gods representative’s on earth. Before heading for Russia, I watched a program called Revealing the Romanov’s, that proved finally that the 2 missing children had actually died, and that their line was ended. A few other people on the trip had watched it, but our guide had never heard of it. The spire on the top of the Cathedral, is visible from all over St Petersburg, was the tallest structure in the City, until the 1960’s. It was about 3pm and I had about 8 hours to kill before I met up with the rest of the group and headed for the train to Moscow. I met up with 2 other people from the course by chance, and we wandered around some of the other sights. |
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The commandants house.
Many political prisoners were incarcerated, interrogated and imprisoned here over the decades (among them Leon Trotsky in 1905 and Fyodor Dostoevsky in 1849). |
| Peters cabin.
It took the Royal joiners just 3 days to build and Peter lived here for the following 6 years, while he oversaw the building of the Fortress. |
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At 9:40pm on 25 October 1917, the cruiser Aurora signalled the storming of the Winter Palace by firing a single blank round from its bow gun.
It was sunk during the Leningrad Siege to protect it from the Germans and then raised in 1944, 950 days later. It has been maintained as a museum since 1956. We weren’t able to go on ship, as a building next to it houses the Naval college and they were about to come aboard for some sort of Naval ceremony. |
| We wandered through the winter garden, which for some reason I had completely missed off my walking list.
It had originally been constructed by French gardeners in a Versailles style. After a flood, Catherine had it rebuilt in an English style to reflect her more sober tastes. |
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As we pass through the gates of the summer palace to leave, we get this view of The Russian museum.
Regretfully, with the cost and time constraints, I didn’t actually go into any of the museums aside from the Hermitage. Its a shame as the museum holds one of the largest collections of Russian art in the world. |
| The Cathedral on spilled blood (also known as the Resurrection Church of Our Savior) was built on the spot where, on the 1st of March 1881, Tsar Alexander II was Assassinated, and its from this that it takes its name.
It re-opened in 1998 after more than 20 years of restoration. The market on the right, across this bridge, sells the cheapest Matroyshka Dolls in the City. |
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As I wandered around to meet the rest of the group, I saw this building. I really love architecture like this, and there were dozens of buildings just like it.
Its still impossible to drink the tap water in Russia as it contains large amounts of metals. You can see in the lower section of the picture, that the road had been dug up, to replace them. |
Visit to the Russian Federation and 2 day in St Petersburg (1/2)
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With only 2 places left on the bluelist, I was determined to see Moscow and stand in Red Square.Problem was, its expensive and none of my friends fancied going. Adventure Company don’t run trips there, so I signed up with a company called On The Go tours.They didn’t do just a trip to Moscow, it was called the Vodka shot tour, and included 2 days in St Petersburg and an overnight train to Moscow as well as the ubiquitous 2 days in Moscow.Id never been struck by St Petersburg, so looked at the trip there as a bonus.
Here I stand at Eternal flame, on the Fields of Mars. |
| It was Russia after all, and after 90 minutes getting through passport control, where the staff on the gate simply walked away and left us helpless, I realised this was the start of things to come.My bag wasn’t there when I got through, our guide Artem spoke to them. Although they treated us with indifference, the procedure was explained.I had to fill in 2 forms for the administrator (as a matter of routine), once checked I had to fill in 2 forms for the security team (in case my bag had been impounded.Once these forms had been filled in, I was permitted to speak to the lost luggage official, who had 2 further forms for me to fill in.
This process took more than 45 minutes. On one occasion, I had filled in 2 very detailed forms, and a full stop on one, wasn’t duplicated on the other, which they flagged up to my annoyance. After all of this, the lost luggage official had a quick look at the computer and pointed out that my bag was still in Paris. It would be 40 hours before I would be re-united with my bag. Nobody at the airport looked concerned if I ever saw it again, and I believe that without Artem, I wouldn’t have. Never mind, we all leave the airport, jump on a coach, and we are off to our hotel. |
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There were some pretty cool people on the trip although I was surprised at just how many there were (I think there were something like 24 all together). |
| We were all taken to a briefing room in the hotel for some advise and also shown loads of optional excursions that we could sign up for.I thought charging admission to the Hermitage was a bit unreasonable on a pre-paid tour, but there was a trip to the Ballet, that was only 40 quid, so these sort of balanced out.Artem took us all to a bar across the road. It was pretty good inside and they had their own micro brewery. |  |
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The next day, we are up for breakfast, then jump in the coach for a morning tour of St Petersburg.Several times, our coach was stopped by the police, for a routine inspection of “papers” (basically, they saw it was full of tourists and stopped our driver for a bribe).Artem said simply “The police are not here to help you”.We stop of at St Isaac’s square.
The square features 3 interesting sight’s all in the same square. This statue of Tsar Nicholas I has pictures on the pedestal, said to be of his wife and daughters. It also has scenes from his life (2 of the scenes show suppression of rebellions). |
| St Isaac’s Cathedral.Thousands of wooden piles were sunk into the marshy ground to act as foundations for the building.St Petersburg suffers sever flooding, and although beautiful to look at, you have to wonder why it was built there (its said after only 3 months of construction, everything Tsar Peter had built was washed away, but he carried on regardless).During the soviet era, the Cathedral was designated as a museum and is still technically one now. |  |
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The Astoria hotel.American write John Ree author of the famous eyewitness account of the revolution Ten Days that Shook the World, was staying here when the Bolsheviks seized power.Hitler had famously arranged a banquet here to celebrate his conquest of the city. A victory, which never came.Whilst I found some of the Russians I met (most of them in fact) to be obnoxious and offensive, there was little doubt that they were a proud people.
Artem talked proudly about the siege of Leningrad and the courage of the ordinary people who had stood against the Nazis. |
| Artem was very modern and enthusiastic. Standing in the square he gives an impromptu talk on Modern Russia.The trip was a real whirlwind, and I don’t think I ever got to thank him for his enthusiasm throughout the week. |  |
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St Nicholas Cathedral.Founded by Sailors and Admiralty employees, it took its name after the patron saint of Sailors where it later became know as the “Sailors church”.The 4 tiered bell tower opposite has an unusual folklore tale attached.Its said that a local man, climbed to the top, to fix it, and was awarded a certificate of free beer for life.
He repeatedly (and quite understandably) lost the certificate many times, and in the end, the award was tattooed onto his neck. Today, if a St Petersburg ‘er is in the mood for drinking and offered one, they will sometimes point at their neck, in the place where the free beer tattoo was located. |
| The old war dog of the soviet Union.No, not the people in the picture, they were a really nice couple from London (The chap on the left acted as camera man for my Red Square podcast).The ubiquitous Lada. Simple DIY mechanics and un-pretentious functionality have made this the international symbol of Russia and a success all over the the world (it is the only car brand, to exist on every continent).In line with its un-pretentiousness, Lada UK, sponsor Aldershot football team. |  |
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Field of Mars, a swamp which was drained, and used for practicing military manoeuvres takes its name from Mars, the Roman god of war.The Eternal flame nearby (built in 1957) commemorates the victims of the Revolution and the Civil war.I was awed by how seriously the Russians treated the passing of their war dead.Whatever criticism could be laid at the Russian people, a lack of appreciation of the sacrifice of others in war, isn’t one of them. |
| We stop of at Vasilevskiy Island.The famous Rostral columns were originally designed for use as light houses (they are 32m high).The ridiculous looking boat features, are inspired from Italy, where it was common to decorate castles and the like with the remnants of defeated ships. |  |
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As we drive around, we park up to take some pictures, and across the waterways is the impressive image of the Hermitage. |
| Millionaires street, takes its name from the expensive properties located on it.The house at no 12 Millionaires street, witnessed the end of the Romanov dynasty.It was here that Grand Duke Mikhail Aleksandrovich, Nicholas II’s brother, signed the decree of abdication in March 1917. |  |
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Alexander Column in palace square built to commemorate victory over Napoleonic France.It was, rather ironically, created by Auguste de Montferrand,the same architect who built St Isaac’s Cathedral, who was French.The column itself is made from a single piece of granite, 83 feet long. |
| Palace square taken from the Winter palace.The scene of massive protests during the 1991 Coup.General staff building, the headquarters for the Russian army. Carlo Rossi demolished an entire row of houses to build it.It was near here, that I went into a bank to change some money.
The 3 security guards there, though heavily armed, were quite friendly. I asked one of them where the money exchange was, as he turned around to speak to me, I had a scorpion machine pistol pointed at my face. It was good natured, and he gestured with the automatic weapon, towards the exchange. Not an every day occurrence in my life. |
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The Hermitage. Incorporating the breathtaking staterooms of the Winter Palace, the world famous Hermitage holds nearly three million exhibits ranging from fine arts to archaeological finds.As we enter the Hermitage, we climb Rastrelli’s masterly staircase and are met with this scene at the top.The overall splendour of the building of almost impossible to capture. |
| This was one of the many state rooms in the Palace, it actually featured solid gold paint throughout.Our guide Tanya mentioned that a popular dish cooked for visitors was bears paw.It sounded horrendous to me.When you imagine that the Royal family lived like this and millions of people were freezing and starving, its not hard to see why there was a revolution. |  |
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Only officially registered guides are allowed to give tours of the Hermitage.Tanya, the operations manager of our tour company had taken up the reigns from Artem.This famous peacock clock was designed and built by the London jewell’er and goldsmith James Cox.His fertile imagination generated ideas that were then turned into reality by the craftsmen and mechanics of his company.
Its the largest automaton clock of its kind in the world, and features 4 mechanisms. 3 animate the birds and animals, and the 4th actually keeps the time. It works like this: 1. At the end of each hour the owl begins working. Its cage rotates, little bells ring, the owl turns its head to right and left, blinking its eyes and tapping its right foot. The cage makes twelve rotations and stops. 2. Roughly ninety seconds after the owl starts moving its mechanism starts up the peacock. It spreads its tail, stretches its neck, turns and throws back its head, opening its beak. When its tail is fully spread, the bird freezes for a second. Then it smoothly turns its tail to the viewers, again freezes for a moment, returns to its starting position, folds its tail and lowers its head. 3. At the end of its cycle the peacock mechanism starts the cockerel. After shaking its head several times, it crows. It was a gift from Grigori Alexandrovich Potemkin (secretly her husband) to Catherine the Great. |
| Another of the elaborate rooms in the palace.I’ve seen some pretty amazing things while I’ve been travelling, but I have really never seen a palace as elaborate as this, it was astounding.It must have also taken hundreds or thousands of people to maintain it.The palace even had its own theatre, but it was closed when we arrived. |  |
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Other parts of the Hermitage, are museums of various kinds.Here in the classical arts section, is one of 2 pictures painted by Leonardo Divinci, The Litta Madonna. |
| The Royal family, even had their own ancient Egypt museum. |  |
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In the contemporary arts section, was Ea Haere Ia Oe (where are you going), painted by Paul Gauguin. |
Visiting Gibraltar on the way to Morocco.
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I decided to attend a Desert survival course, run by Survival school.
We flew Luton to Gibraltar in order to get the ferry across to Africa. |
| The plane comes in quite low over water, during the landing.
I don’t fly very well, and was a little unnerved by this, although the view was excellent. |
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Because Gibraltar is quite small, the runway isn’t permanent.
A road running through Gibraltar has to be closed each time a plane comes in to Land. |
| A Picture of the famous Rock.
Unfortunately, we didn’t get time to walk to the top (well we did on the way back, but after 10 days in Africa we chose to have fish and chips and a few pints instead). |
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I really liked Gibraltar.
It was like being in Britain, but with Spanish weather. The people there, were also extremely patriotic, the main street in Gibraltar is named after Britain’s greatest “son”. |
| On the way out, we walk from Gibraltar in Spain.
It was weird landing in one country, then walking only 200 metres to the customs and emigration of another. |
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Long weekend in Paris with a long awaited trip to the Louvre.
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A friend and I went to visit Paris for a few days.
Off we travelled at the hospitality of those orange uniformed people at Easyjet. I booked our accommodation on hostelworld.com I unfortunately, didn’t realize it was right in the middle of the red light district. Still, the tackiness of the venue made the trip exciting. Here, Frances stands in front of the Eiffel tower. I know that the tower and tourism are a bit of a cliché, but as anyone who has ever stood in front of it will tell you, it is spectacular. |
| To complete the Cliché theme, I am photographed under the Arc de Triomphe.
There is a roundabout right near here, which is terrifying to look at, as it has something like 9 lanes. The Weather was fantastic the whole time we were there. |
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Although I have been to Paris before, I have never visited the Louvre, so we made straight for it.
We sat outside in the sun next to the controversial pyramid. We spent most of our evening, having dinner on river boat restaurants, and we also managed to find an Irish pub that sold pints, so I was sorted. |
| I am not much into art, so I don’t know the names or the details of the pictures on this page (apart from Mona Lisa obviously).
I just took pictures and enjoyed the things that I found inspiring. Here, a Chandelier, which is around 20 feet wide. I wonder how long it took to make. |
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In this picture, my friend stands next to the biggest picture I have ever seen.
The Louvre had a section on interiors, on pictures and on sculptures to name but a few. The guidebook we had said a full appreciation of the Louvre would take a minimum of 4 days !. There were thousands upon thousands of pictures like this. |
| Been to Paris before, but never seen it, and ALWAYS wanted to.
What must easily be the most famous picture of all time. This was the closest I could get to it, as the crowd around it didn’t wane in the 3 hours that I was there. It was everything I thought it would be. |
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Part of the sculpture section.
The light and ambience in this room had to be experienced to be believed. it was like sitting in the heavens. As I said in the Gaudi section about Barcelona, I am not really what you would call cultured, but this was almost a spiritual moment for me !. |
Frank’s birthday weekend in Dublin.
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The Celebrate Franks Birthday, we went to Dublin for 3 days.It was a smart trip, here we recline in the Airport Lounge, shortly after arriving in Dublin. |
| Here Frank poses in our simple yet comfortable b+b.It was a bit white, but made a good base for the many drinking sessions and shopping trips we did throughout the break. |  |
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Frank and I went with a friend Andy and his girlfriend.Here we relax in our hotel lobby, and not surprisingly we had a few drinks. |
| The famous Library.It’s several hundred years old, and its practically impossible to describe the atmosphere in this room. |  |
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Franks x and a few hangers on, met up with us, for a night of debauchery. |
| This picture is taken inside the temple bar.A really famous bar that lends its name to one of the most popular districts in Dublin.
These Chaps singing are called fiddlers three. They seemed quite honest to me ! |
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Meet an old friend from Brussels, a wandering “Fin” and visit Athens, the birthplace of democracy (2/2).
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The hotel foyer was pretty lively in the evening, had free internet, and since you could bring your own drinks, was a pretty cheap/excellent venue for the evening.
All the backpackers looked so young, I wondered if I really was getting old. The following day, Mia found out that they were on a school trip, and actually they were 12-13 🙂 |
| Back to the Polish bar, for a couple of drinks.
At one point, Paul decides he doesn’t want to be photographed, and does his famous “kung fu arms”. A large figure at the bar kept looking over his shoulder at us. We later realized (when he got up to break up a fight !) that he was the owner, and as his best customers, he was just looking after us. The bar staff seemed very surprised to be tipped. |
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Back to my room to relax and watch some programs on my playstation portable and backup the days photos.
It had a double bed, a “proper” desk and chair and a TV, with the BBC world service (and loads of other programs in Greek). It also had a balcony, although that wasn’t a great deal of use in winter. |
| The following morning, we head out exploring again. The archaeological museum was only 500 meters away.
After an earthquake in 1999 the museum was closed for 3 years whilst many of the artefacts were repaired. |
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Two beautifully made bronze cups.
The glass in the museum was amazing, it looked like it wasn’t actually there, and I had to take this shot especially to show it. |
| In addition to the exotic artefacts, the museum also featured practical exhibits like this baking dish, used for making bread. |  |
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The museum has the largest collection of Bronze statues in the world.
This internationally famous sculpture the Youth from Antikythera. Seven feet tall, it was found in the area of a Roman shipwreck. apparently, the phrase larger than life, comes from statues like this, which were designed to be about 12 inches taller than the subject. |
| Horse and Jockey of Artemision.
A horse racing at full gallop, with its young rider clinging to the back. Sculpture isn’t normally my thing, but these to statues were really atmospheric, and you felt like an emotional and physical snapshot of the moment, had been taken by the sculpture. |
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Mia wanted to go and see the Monastiraki flea market.Normally, the area is considered seedy, but on a Sunday morning, it comes alive.
There are a number of small jewellery shops in the area, and I notice a lot of Army surplus shops. |
| This was the most fascinating market I have ever visited.
They had 100 year old working telephones, machine guns left behind by the Nazis after the occupation and just about every kind of useful and useless artefact you could think off. |
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The Roman Agora.
This took over many of the business functions of the Greek Agora, once the Romans had invaded and settled in. |
| The Tower of winds.
There are different symbols on each side, so the direction of the wind will for example position a pointer of an icon of a sailor, signifying good sailing wind. On top, is a fairly complex water clock, and a series of sundials. |
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Hadrian’s library.
Built in the first century, it was actually a temple and philosophical center. |
| Theatre of Herodes Atticus.
Although it looked spectacular, all of the seating that you can see, is modern, and only the back wall is authentic. Also, due to some lacklustre placement of fencing, it was practically impossible to get a good shot of it, I was sat on a friends back while taking this !. |
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Theatre of Dionysos on the slopes of the Acropolis.When first built, it could seat 15,000 people on simple stone benches.
I was delighted that it hadn’t been cordoned off, and that I could sit in it, and be photographed. |
| The new Acropolis museum.
This will replace the rather small museum at the top of the acropolis. It sits bellow the acropolis, but the acropolis above can be seen through a glass wall. Wasn’t completed when I was there, but during construction a Christian village was found on the site of the foundations. The builders have actually raised the museum above it, with a glass floor, to create a sort of living museum effect. Its intended that the “British” will return the Marbles, now that a suitable museum is available (fine chance !). |
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Temple of Olympian zeus.
Of the original 104 columns, only 15 remain. This picture was taken through the fence, as the staff, closed the exhibit half an hourly early. |
| For town planners, it must have presented a nightmare, as the 2 goals of keeping the city authentic, but also developing it with a modern infrastructure would have appeared to conflict.
This picture shows one of the solutions they had found, where a busy walkway is positioned around an ancient village beneath. |
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The Grande Bretagne hotel.Arguably the best hotel in Athens, it was used as the German headquarters for 3 and a half years, where Hitler was a regular guest. |
| The Greek parliament building in Syntagma Square.
Evzone Presidential guards. Serving in this regiment of only 200 men, is the highest honour a Greek soldier can hold. Shame then, that he has to dress like an idiot, but I wouldn’t want to mess with him !. |
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After an amazing weekend, we head for the airport I bed farewell to my old friend Paul and my new found friend, Mia, wandering Fin. |
| Paul and Mia’s flight was earlier than mine, so I had a few hours to kill on my own.
Its the first airport I have been to, which has a museum inside. I spent more than an hour in here, its a shame more airports don’t do something similar. |
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