Sunday, july 15. Moscow,Stalin and The Bolshoi

Hi friends and family, I took a vacation for a few days for several reasons...first, we have been burning the candle at both ends. Secondly, I fell to the tourista bug for a day and the blog just wasn't happening. I know you all understand. So, quickly, we had the most amazing last few days in Moscow and we were sad to leave it. We toured everything we wanted to see and a few more. We saw Stalin's bunker, a secret underground bunker that was built under a soccer stadium for Stalin to use during the The Great Patriotic War. I learned that there are still people in Russia that are followers of Stalin and that believe he was the greatest man of all time. But, I talked to several other Russians that said their studies in school portrayed Stalin in a more human light. I have found it fascinating, as I studied Stalin through Western History Books, that maybe, just maybe, there is an in between for all of us. Another astounding thing was that most Russians dislike Americans because they think we think that if it were not for the Americans, Hitler would have won the war. After seeing the massive loss of life, the total destruction of their cities and meeting Russians who lost their grandparents and many relatives in WWII, I can hardly disagree. We should learn more about how the Soviet Union defended their nation, and fought the Nazis on their eastern front for many years....of which many Americans know nothing. What an eye opener. We saw Victory Park, a monument and museum dedicated to WWII. These people honor their fallen like no one else. Every block or metro station is a remembrance and all have fresh flowers lain at the feet. It is an honor for the people to remember their heroes, every day. I guess because Will and I come from a long line of veterans, this felt special to me. Did I say that their metro is a museum as well? Every stop was magnificent. I just don't have words to describe them. Inspiring, beautiful, but I think magnificent will suffice. Oh, I forgot to tell you about the Bolshoi. Fabulous, but I am a neophyte. We dressed up for the show in our best but really shouldn't have as the other tourists brought the dress standard down to the lowest level. The theatre was gorgeous, after it just undergoing a renovation. I did love the ballet, but loved even better the people watching and the champagne, strawberries and chocolate at the two intermissions. We ended our tour of Moscow with another tour of a cold war bunker built after the US bombed Japan. 80 meters underground, it was a maze of tunnels and communications rooms. It also had an elementary lesson about the use of weapons of mass destruction. But it was a good lesson to be reminded about by the Russians. Off to bed tonight as we have been traveling all day. It is very difficult still to visit places off the beaten path. We are trying to be flexible and keeping our chin up as we adapt to the incessant bureaucracy. The people are wonderful here but we are constantly reminded that as Americans, our freedom is our life. We are truly so fortunate and so blessed.