Cathedral of Christ the Savior – Moscow Russia

Many years ago in the heart of Moscow stood the tallest Orthodox cathedral in the world. It was called “Cathedral of Christ the Savior” and it was truly a magnificent structure. Unfortunately it was destroyed by Stalin (to make way for a large monument that was never built) but was restored with nearly perfect identical architecture in the early 90’s. Today this cathedral rises again with almost all of its previous glory and Lindsay and I just happened upon this beautiful building during an evening stroll through Moscow. It was late afternoon and we had just finished exploring Red Square and were wandering along the outer walls of the Kremlin. In the distance we could see this incredible cathedral and we just kept making our way towards it until we eventually stood at its feet. The sheer size is extremely impressive and it is also a beautiful building. We marveled for at least an hour just relaxing on nearby benches taking in the beautiful architecture and people watching as well. We especially loved the numerous ornate lamp posts that surrounded the outside of the cathedral. Immediately in front of the cathedral is a pedestrian bridge that crosses the Moskva River and offers a stunning view of the Kremlin and Red Square. It was early June when Lindsay and I were in Moscow and on this particular evening the weather was simply beautiful. The sun was just starting to get low in the sky and it reflected beautifully off the colorful buildings and gold roofs of the Kremlin complex. We wandered up and down this bridge taking as many shots as we could of the beautiful scene all around us. I was so enthralled at what I was seeing that I failed to notice that I had leaned up against some bird droppings and they were all over my arm. :) After wandering, sitting and enjoying this incredible structure we made our way to a nearby pizza restaurant were our friendly waiter gave us one of the most quoted lines from all of our travels. He asked if we wanted Mozzarella on our Pizza and when we asked if we should he said in an incredibly thick Russian accent “it makes it more tasty.” To this day Lindsay and I still laugh about that great line! The beautiful summer evening we spent admiring the Cathedral of Christ the savior in Moscow Russia is an experience we will never forget.