Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine April 2019

Travel / Moscow 1 2 1. The Golden Ring houses some of Russia's finest religious architecture. 2 & 3. Local markets are a great place to buy unique souvenirs. 3 I f you come to the Golden Ring, you will see a different side to Russia. Life moves more slowly here. The people are gentler, more unassuming... “With its traffic and malls and skyscrapers, Moscow is a very modern city,” says tour guide Darya Orlik, as she waits with a small group of Belgian tourists outside the monastery’s whitewashed walls. “But when you come to Sergiev Posad, you enter the gateway to the Golden Ring. You enter a land that time has almost forgotten.” All that glitters The Golden Ring: it may sound Tolkienesque, but the tales of war, spirituality and romance tied up in this necklace of ancient towns and cities are anything but fictional. Nestled on the fertile plains to the north-east of Moscow, and bordered by the mighty Volga River to the north, they truly deserve their glittering accolade. “Nobody really knows why it’s called the Golden Ring,” says Darya. “Golden spring sunshine. Glittering onion domes. Clever marketing. I do know that many people tell me they have left here with precious memories.” Strategically situated at the intersection of Europe and Asia, criss-crossed by trade and transport routes, the settlements of the Golden Ring grew prosperous on East–West commerce. ”If you come to the Golden Ring, you will see a different side to Russia. Life moves more slowly here. The people are gentler, more unassuming, more in touch with their surroundings,” says Darya. 105

Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine April 2019 | Page 107