That water and the night frost made the building look like a cave with huge ice stalactites shown in the photo on the right. It takes a weekend to really enjoy the contrasts of Moscow, to absorb quietly its life. Busy weekdays are too much full of rush. On a Saturday morning one can at last lazily walk on the boulevards - or ski there or in the park. Muscovites like skiing and other winter sports.
Every short slope becomes a place where the kids enjoy their sledges.
Perhaps, there are more skiers in February on park trails than bikers on the same paths in June. Andronnikov Monastery is one of such places. Fortunately, it's not crowded. Winter light paints its white walls in tender shades of pink and yellow, bare branches of old trees do not block the view, and the snow offers its perfect bluish background for the simple beauty of ancient churches. If souvenir hunting is a somewhat more pressing issue for you than a study of Russian architecture, Izmailovo with its Vernisage may be of more interest to you than any museum.