For a group of Association members, Easter week 2004 holds special memories of a visit to Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Having arrived at our hotel in Moscow on the afternoon of Monday 21st April, we were free to relax, stroll and investigate the immediate environs. We admired the highrise architecture of our fashionable hotel – one beautiful example of seven similar buildings in Moscow.

Here, among the royal tombs was that of Peter the Great.  We also visited Peter’s Log Cabin and boarded the Cruiser Aurora for a different type of viewing.

Another unforgettable experience next day was the visit to the magnificent Winter Palace with its Hermitage Museum.  Each sumptuous room, in itself a work of art, contains a superb collection of priceless treasures.  Then, too, The Cathedral of the Resurrection is a masterpiece of architecture.  Reminiscent of St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow, it took twenty four years to construct and links the northern capital with the ancient roots of Russian creativity.
           

Our final morning was an excursion to the Royal Palaces at Pushkin and Pavlovsk outside St. Petersburg.  Pushkin, known as The Great Palace, is the crowning glory of the complex, with its imposing façade and gilded church domes.  The Amber Study, has inlaid amber panels, and is ranked among the “treasures of the world”.  Plundered by the Nazi soldiers during World War II, it has been completely restored to its original opulence.
            Outstanding in Pavlovsk is the highly decorative State Bedroom with its painted silk panels, while the Park is the largest among the Royal suburban residences.

Though we spent many hours each day exploring and enjoying the breathtaking beauty of both buildings and art, we also found time to attend a Ballet and an evening of Folk Entertainment among other things.

Arriving in Prague Airport on our return journey, we had an unexpected surprise when we met up with a choir from Galway City, Ireland, who had given some recitals in Prague during their stay in that city.  The writer was happy to join the group on their bus from Dublin Airport to Galway City, thus ending a once in a lifetime trip, with treasured memories.

Majella O'Keeffe

The Kremlin is Moscow’s oldest architectural complex, surrounded by the many towered, fortified walls, which enclose some of the most beautiful buildings.  These include the Great Kremlin Palace and the Cathedrals of the Dormition; the Archangel Michael; the Annunciation and the Twelve Apostles.  Sadly, in the Soviet era, two monasteries and a great number of churches were demolished.
Most of us are familiar with Red Square and the trappings of militarism in  Soviet times, but overlooking the square, is the beautiful St. Basil’s Cathedral with its multicoloured onion shaped domes.

We greatly admired the incredibly beautiful metro stations en route to the Tretyakov Gallery.  This, of course, was one of the outstanding highlights for iconographers. While non-iconographers took a quick look at the icons and moved on to other rooms, some of the iconographers spent the full allotted time enjoying the feast of icons.  It was wonderful to see world famous icons like Rublev’s Trinity and the Great Panagia, while one iconographer who had been engaged in painting a large version of the Mandylion, spent most of the time contemplating the prototype and making mental notes for future reference.  One of the lady guards ran up and remonstrated with two iconographers who were admiring the Trinity, because they had the temerity to touch the protective glass while pointing to a particular detail!  The ‘offended’ glass was quickly polished up!!!

Moving on to the beautiful city of St. Petersburg, we spent the afternoon relaxing with some of the more adventurous members shopping or exploring the nearby vicinity of the hotel. 
Our guided tour of this city included a visit to the Peter and Paul Fortress, named after the nearby Cathedral, with its unique, carved iconostasis, cast Holy Gate and carved lectern, decorated with sculpture.