I’m sure that by now my friends are getting pretty tired of hearing me talk about boats. Boats, especially tall sailing ships, really bring out my sense of adventure. Like Chet, I loved seeing the Aivazovsky paintings at the Tretyakov gallery and at the Russian Museum in St Petersburg.
Russian Squadron on the Raid of Sevastopol, Ivan Aivazovsky. I loved the traditional favorites, of course, but I liked this painting because of its detail. If you look closely, there are tiny sailors standing in the rigging of all of the ships.
I was also intrigued by the huge, strange monument to Peter the Great that stands by the Moscow river. Almost 100 meters tall, it depicts an oversized Peter standing at the helm of a stylized sailing ship, looking out over Moscow. The monument, built in 1997, was designed by the artist Tsereteli, who also designed several other statues in Moscow and elsewhere. You can read more about the statue here. While the boat is appropriate (Peter worked tirelessly to make Russia a naval power in the early 18th century) its location in central Moscow is somewhat odd, since Peter hated Moscow, and spent as little time here as possible.
Moscow’s boat-themed monument to Peter the Great. Photo by Alexander Leo Phillips.
While I haven’t yet found a chance to ride on a sailing ship here in Russia, I have been on a couple of boats. As I mentioned in an earlier post, we had the opportunity to take a tour of the canals of Saint Petersburg, which was amazing. Then, yesterday I got to go on another boat, this time on the Moscow River.
He’s on a boat.
It was a hot day, and we had been walking in the park at Kolomenskoe for a few hours. We were getting pretty tired, and we were thinking about what to do next when we spotted a sign advertising hour-long rides down the river. We bought ice cream, then got on board.
It was a great day for a boat ride!
It was a beautiful day for a river cruise. Once we got moving there was a nice breeze, and the sunlight sparkled on the (slightly smelly) water. For a while, we rode past the park, with forests and fields on either side.
Our view of Kolomenskoe Park.
We went under a couple of train bridges, and soon we were surrounded by rows of apartment blocks rather than trees. Seeing all those apartment buildings reminded me of just how many people call Moscow home.
Apartment blocks like these are a common sight in Moscow, which has a population of around 12 million.
Even though it wasn’t a sailing ship, I had a great time on the riverboat. My next project is to go on another ride down the Moscow River, this time at night, to experience the city lights. Until then, maybe I’ll try to stop talking about boats. Maybe.
Chet staring majestically into the distance, wondering if I’m done talking about boats yet.