Wednesday, April 8, 2015

G is for GUM and Gostiny Dvor



I am not a shopper, so it is probably surprising that my choice for the letter 'G' is not one, but two Russian Department stores, GUM on Moscow and Gostiny Dvor in Saint Petersburg


GUM has a very interesting history, but walk into the building today and you'd think you were at a mall in the USA.  The store is located in Red Square in Moscow.








Gostiny Dvor is in Saint Petersburg.  I did go into a store to buy a soccer jersey for my grandson.  Since I somehow took no street views of the large store (huh?), here is one of Charlie in a jersey for the FC-Zenit Football Club:



Tolkien Bonus:  G is for Galadriel, a holder of one of the Three Rings, Nenya.  She dwelt in Lorien and gave shelter to the Companions of the Rings during the War of the Ring.


14 comments:

  1. If you hadn't said they were malls, I would never have believed it. I think they look like palaces. I wonder how long it would take to walk from one end to the other.

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    1. GUM used to be just market stalls inside. It opened in 1893. And here in my home area we are tearing down the first mall in the USA, opened in 1954.

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    2. Denise, I believe they do everything "bolshoi" in Russia.

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  2. I thought the same thing. Terrific posts, Denise

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    1. They seemed to do everything BIG in Russia.

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  3. wow that's a huge place. I loved the architecture.

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  4. Loved this post! Beautiful place!

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  5. Wow, I wouldn't mind shopping in either place! Lovely photos, and cute of your little one! Too bad the link to the Galadriel video is down... Lisa, co-host AtoZ 2015, @ http://www.lisabuiecollard.com

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    1. Thanks for letting me know about the video. I will try to find another.

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  6. I've been to GUM a couple of times. Nice building, with interesting history, but shops are to expensive for me. My favorite place to go around Red Square is the Historical Museum, and maybe afterwards a stop at the beer- tent outside to drink a Sibirskaya Corona >:)

    Cold As Heaven

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    1. Expensive yes. But the ruble was dropping while we were there and now if I went I could buy even more stuff. My favorite thing to do is people-watch.

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  7. The store fronts do look the same but then you see the façade of the actual mall and it is so beautiful-much nicer than anything mall here. Your grandson is so cute and Galadriel is my favourite

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  8. What a gorgeous building for a store. Looks totally modern inside but wonderful on the outside. I'm not a shopper either Grocery shopping OK, otherwise forget it.

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