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Moscow Pictures

2005-04-13T17:31:00.000+02:00

Here I am publishing my Moscow pictures. There are so many sights to show to you but I just posted here some. The first 2 pictures are of a more personal nature followed by photos of famous landmarks.
So, in the first picture you can see Vera and me in front of my house. It was built by German prisoners of war just after the end of WWII in so-called Stalinist architectural style

2005-04-13T17:28:00.000+02:00

My secondary school was built at around the same time as my house and I was studying there for 10 years between 1991 and 2001. Those were the days ...

2005-04-13T17:22:00.000+02:00

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour is the largest in Russia. It was built in the 19th century to commemorate the victory over Napoleon, then demolished in the 1930s and rebuilt again in the 1990s. Its main cross is 9 metres tall and I don't even know how much gold was used to cover its domes.
On the left you can see the high-rise building of our Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It's one of 7 such buildings constructed in Moscow at the time of Stalin

2005-04-13T17:17:00.000+02:00

A view from the bridge over Moskva river with the Kremlin seen in the background. The ancient fortress and the seat of Russian tsars is also a seat of our modern time presidents

2005-04-13T17:14:00.000+02:00

Eternal flame at the Tomb of Unknown Soldier. A memorial to more than 10 million Soviet soldiers who died during the WWII. This section of the Kremlin wall is being renovated at the moment

2005-04-13T17:10:00.000+02:00

Here you can see the History Museum in the background, Red Square is just behind it. Very interesting to see the golden eagles of Russian Empire on top of the museum side by side with the red star of Soviet Union on top of a Kremlin tower. All tall Kremlin towers are equipped with those stars that glow at night. The following three pictures were taken in the Red Square

2005-04-13T17:03:00.000+02:00

View of History Museum from the Red Square

2005-04-13T17:01:00.000+02:00

In front of Lenin's Musoleum where people have not been allowed for years now. And in the background you can see the Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin (the only one with the clock) and St. Bathel's Cathedral

2005-04-13T16:49:00.000+02:00

St Basel's Cathedral was built in a quite unique style and is perhaps the most well known symbol of Russia

2005-04-13T16:45:00.000+02:00

Finally in front of Bolshoi Theatre - one of the most famous in the world

In Moscow

2005-04-06T08:42:00.000+02:00

Greetings from Moscow! Unfortunately I am not able to chat with you for now so let me update you through the means of my blog. The weather here is fine, in fact the day I arrived spring finally came to Moscow as well. And it can be as warm as +15 here during the day, though still freezing at night. And there is so much snow here that gathered during the long winter (up to 2 metres of it in some places) that it will take weeks to melt.

My passport extension is not going as smoothly as I wished it would, but if I am lucky I'll get it by the time I leave. I am also trying to arrange Internet at home for those of you who is willing to chat :p Hope to get it in the coming days. What about you guys? Any news?

Leaving for Moscow

2005-04-02T08:00:00.000+02:00

Hi guys, how are you all doing recently? Today I am leaving for my second hometown and the capital of my Motherland - Moscow. Looking forward to meeting my family and friends though I am not really going there for holidays. My old passport has all but expired and I need to renew it.
I still don't have access to Internet at home and I doubt I will chat much, but you can expect me to check my e-mail and blog regularly. I will also take some pictures and publish them when I am back on April 13th. Should be freezing there and I am taking my winter clothes with me, such a sharp contrast with Keukenhof yesterday. But I think I'll be fine. So stay in touch and keep me posted of all the recent developments. See you ... ;)

A trip to Keukenhof

2005-04-01T20:31:00.000+02:00

Today Min and I visited Keukenhof. It's located near Leiden to the South from Amsterdam and covers some 32 hectares. Every spring millions of tulips and other flowers are blossoming and attracting thousands and thousands of tourists from all over the world. In fact Keukenhof is one of the top three most photographed sights on this planet and of course a true symbol of the Netherlands. So no wonder I was looking forward to visit it.

The weather was really great, about +18 and sunny so I could just wear a t-shirt; can't imagine what it will be like in Moscow tomorrow. However it seems like we came too early. Keukenhof only opened a week ago and few flowers were actually blooming. Nevertheless we managed to make some nice shots which I publish for you to enjoy...

2005-04-01T20:18:00.000+02:00

Most of the blossoming flowers were actually indoors like in this pavilion

2005-04-01T20:16:00.000+02:00

Another picture in the pavilion

2005-04-01T20:12:00.000+02:00

Keukenhof is famous for its colourful flower fields though this time there was really just this yellow one :p

2005-04-01T20:08:00.000+02:00

Here I am in a very typical Dutch surroundings: wearing traditional wooden shoes next to a windmill

2005-04-01T20:01:00.000+02:00

Min looks so funny in these shoes, maybe chose the wrong size :d

2005-04-01T19:58:00.000+02:00

and finally some more flowers

2005-03-31T10:51:00.000+02:00

That would be my new official picture

Trip to Dordrecht

2005-03-29T09:41:00.000+02:00

The first of my photo posts would be about Dordrecht, a city in the South of Holland near Rotterdam. We went there with my best female friend Zoey and she took all these nice pictures for me, so have a look.

In a conclusion I would like to say that I was yet again impressed by this city. Dordrecht is certainly one of my favourite places in Holland if not the most favourite one. This time the weather was pretty nasty and it never stopped raining; but I am looking forward to visit Dordrecht again this summer. When it's warm and sunny, the city should reveal its true glory and I will be there to witness it!

2005-03-29T09:30:00.000+02:00

The City Hall of Dordrecht.

2005-03-29T09:27:00.000+02:00

Another canal. From these pictures you can get an impression that Dordrecht is some kind of Dutch Venice but in fact there are only few canals there.

2005-03-29T09:24:00.000+02:00

Here you can fully appreciate the unfinished church, have not seen anything like it before.

2005-03-29T09:22:00.000+02:00

In fact this church was unfinished many centuries ago and the tower was only built until the clock (which is however in a good working order).

2005-03-29T09:19:00.000+02:00

Getting closer to the church and you can now see that its tower has a strange shape.

2005-03-29T09:16:00.000+02:00

A view from the bridge. And you can already see the main church from here.

2005-03-29T09:07:00.000+02:00

The same bridge with me in close-up.

2005-03-29T09:05:00.000+02:00

A bridge over a canal and you can see me in the middle of it.

2005-03-29T09:01:00.000+02:00

Here I am publishing my Dordrecht pictures. One of the canals in the old city centre.