Red Square and other Adventures

During my first day in Moscow, I had the opportunity to walk through Red Square in downtown Moscow. That was an incredible experience. Red Square is a giant, paved, rectangular square...which makes no sense, but it has been the home of many large military marches and demonstrations. It's seen as the center of Russia. At one narrow end, the famous St. Basil's cathedral stands, looking extremely similar to a pile of colorful Hershey's kisses. To the opposite end is a giant old museum. On one wide end, the Kremlin, and its giant brick walls frame the square, and directly opposite the Kremlin is a huge commercial mall known as GUM ("goom"). Lenin's tomb occupies the center of the square, adjacent to the Kremlin wall. For those that don't know what the Kremlin is, it's Russia's royal palace - a huge complex of governmental buildings, museums, and monstrous palatial structures. It was interesting, and extremely cool to see the Kremlin, a symbol of communist power opposite a huge mall, a symbol of capitalism. This image expressed the exact dichotomy between communism and capitalism as they currently relate to each other in post-Soviet Russia. In my lifetime, perhaps the awe factor of standing in Red Square has diminished, but think back 10-20 years if you can. I know I didn't live through much of the cold war, but for those that did, being an American in Red Square can be quite an emotional experience-an experience that many thought would never occur prior to fall of the Soviet Union. Before 1990, the idea of being an American in Red Square was nearly unthinkable, and certainly unlikely to occur, but times have clearly changed. I'm fortunate to have experienced it.

Also in Moscow, I came across the "lover's locks" again at a bridge crossing. I happened to be touring on a Saturday, and saw 5 or 6 newlywed couples placing locks on small metal trees lining the center of the bridge (See earlier blog if you have no idea what I'm talking about). It's a fun idea, and one that will probably make its way to America before long. Seeing a happy couple getting married is always fun, but what made it even better was the hairdos. Europeans have the most incredible mullets. I've been fortunate to snap pictures of quite a few, and will soon have a Facebook album lovingly devoted to their beauty. I may even have a top-ten mullet poll...stay tuned.