Worth a thousand words..if only I could prove it

We got an early start this morning (ready to go before 10am? Who is this group?) to catch a train out of Moscow to Sergiyev Posad, a monastery about an hour and a half away. The train ride itself was an experience. It was not the nice, posh European trains that I have traveled on before, it was an old, dirty car similar to the metro with passengers sitting knee to knee. Throughout the entire trip, various people of all walks of life stood up to sell every kind of product imaginable. I saw someone selling magazines, cigarettes, eyeglasses, and demonic electronic stuffed animals. One shabbily dressed man who had no legs below the knee and no hands made some kind of verbal appeal and then shuffled down the aisle with his hat extended for coins. Both a dark-haired young boy playing the accordion and a middle-aged gentleman with a guitar serenaded the passengers at one point during the trip.

It was a cold, cold day but the monastery was well worth braving the weather (and the train ride). It is literally a fortress. According to Bolshoi Max, it was built in the 1400s, started by Ivan the Great and finished by Ivan the Terrible (Katie McKee pointed out, "You know, you don't hear much about Ivan the Mediocre") and it was impenetrable, even by a Polish force of 30,000 troops at one time. Once we entered the grand gate, we could see why--the walls were several meters thick and layered. Once inside, it opened to a beautiful community of churches, brightly-painted religious buildings, and gardens. Each building was unique and painted with vivid, wonderful colors, made more so by the snowy surroundings. There was a chapel (shrine?) for people to sample the famed "saint water," holy water that you can buy by the bottle. Inside many of the dimly-lit buildings was artwork: paintings of saints and biblical scenes stretched from floor to ceiling, gilded pillars and pictures and ornate metalwork added to the reverent scene. Miles looked around appreciatively and said, "Michelangelo gets a lot of credit for the Sistine Chapel but, if this were only a little brighter, it would be every bit as impressive." True statement, Miles.

Unfortunately, somewhere between leaving Sergiyev Posad and getting off the train home, I lost my camera. And with it, all of my pictures from today. I can’t express how aggravated this makes me, I hate losing things. And I really hate to not have it for the remainder of the trip. So, unfortunately, I guess you will have to google image the place since I now have no proof I was ever there…

A slightly sad пока from Moscow tonight...