Moscow!!!

On the day I arrived in Moscow, I went downtown and walked around. The sun was setting only around 10:30 pm while I was there. This photo was taken about at dusk. I'm standing on a bridge over the Moscow river, looking at the Kremlin. You can see clearly one of the Kremlin towers and in the background one of the 4 ancient churches that stand inside the Kremlin walls.

I was in Moscow primarily to officiate at the church wedding of my friend Masha and Nathan. The wedding took place at a charming little church located within an old cemetary in the eastern part of Moscow. The wedding was beautiful and meaningful. It was a bilingual wedding as we had those who only spoke English, only Russian, or both. The service was conducted in English with an excellent interpreter translating into Russian. Afterwards was a very nice reception in a different part of town.

Besides officiating at the wedding, I spent my time sight-seeing and visiting. I stayed with Sasha and Ira -- brother and sister-in-law of my friend, Vladimir, in Austin. They have a spare room (a real luxury in Moscow) and gave me the run of the apartment. They were gone to their summer cottage (dacha) from Friday to Monday night, so during that time I felt like a real Muskovite with his own place. It was fun.

I got good at riding the Metro (subway), ate some new foods, made some new friends, and saw some beautiful sights.

Now, to plan the next trip back!!