Kremlin and Red Square (well, sort of)

Our first full day in Russia, and we neither were arrested nor detained! We did our best to sleep well, but woke up insanely early (3AM Theresa, 4AM Bill). So, now at 9:30 PM, we're both dragging. But, we have a very late night tomorrow, so are trying to stay up late tonight. Anyway... we had (free) breakfast at the Executive Lounge. Smoked fish anyone? Don't worry, if you do not think that is breakfast food (or food at all, huh Theresa?) they had baked beans too. I have seen baked beans for breakfast at Hilton in a number of countries, and still don't get why.

We finally got going to the Metro to head to the Kremlin. Basically, a "kremlin" is a fortification, or a walled city, remnants of an era where that was necessary. It serves as the city center, or in Moscow's case, the heart of the nation. Much of the upper echelons of Russia's leadership has run the country from behind these walls (with the exception of the latter Tsars, who decided they needed a "proper" European Capital, and so built one on the Baltic sea and named it for Saint Peter. The Bosheveks promptly reversed that decision and restored Moscow to it's former place at the head and heart of Russia (or Soviet Union at that time). So "The Kremlin" is both an actual place with red brick walls, and a generic concept like the US version of "The Capital".

Because they actually maintained the walls over centuries, they now have a limited access area, for which they can control entry. We bought tickets for the Armory Museum and the Church Architecture "tours". The churches were amazing. The domes and spires were all unique and rich with detail. Many were gold leafed. Inside, at least in the vestibule, they were covered from floor to ceiling with iconigraphic frescos. Every inch of every way had icon paintings, except where an actual* icon itself was on the wall. (*Yes, I do see the irony in that word choice.) But, we were prohibited from taking any pictures inside, so we have none to share right now. We did buy a book though, so we have some pix. We were also annoyed by the couple that was not satisfied with taking pix inside, but thought a nice flash would really make the shot. The attendant was NOT amused.









The Armory Museum is sort of a collection of physical art and weaponry from about the 1400's to the 1800's. They had all varieties of silver and gold platters, chalices, goblets, ladels, fountains, etc, various dresses and clothing, carriages, Faberge eggs, and ceremonial armor. It was awesome. But the audio tour skipped around alot, and only discussed less than half of the articals in a display case, and then only about half of the display cases at that. And directions were a little difficult. A statement like "move forward a little" after being told to go the middle of the display case is a bit confusing, when you aren't sure which way "forward" is supposed to be, and what is his idea of "a little"??

We left the Kremlin about 2:00, and wondered where we might go for lunch. Just outside the Kremlin, we saw the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Lots of red granite, and other color rock, and an eternal flame. A couple of guards. Not exactly "original"? :-) But, it is, of course, as important to the Russians as ours is to us, and probably every other nations' is to them.



Back to lunch. We had hoped to try a restaurant in another museum as it was well touted, but we could not get inside the museum. We settled for a quick food location in the nearby shopping center. It was a tough choice...Sbarro's or McDonald's. In the end, we had "Cbappoc" (Russian version for Sbarros) buffet for 59 rubles per 100 grams. They had beer and assorted apparetifs, so it seemed right to have a Russian beer for lunch.

Then we headed to Red Square, so named centuries ago as the word for "Beautiful" was mistaken for "Red", and the "Beautiful Square" became Red Square ever since. Red Square is adjacent to the Kremlin. We could see between the buildings St. Basil's Cathedral, and the excitement built. Alas, the obvious way in was closed. So, we decided to walk a little around and try a different angle. Blocked. We walked through the GUM, a high end, very fancy mall. The single aisle we took looked like an indoor Rodeo Drive. The type of store that has one purse on a 4 foot shelf, with another purse on a another similar shelf. We kept our pace, and came out on the other side, only to see that it was still blocked off. Our ruse to find a way in was foiled. So, we tried to figure out why, and all we knew was there was some big show from the 5th to the 10th, but we couldn't figure out what it was. (More on that later, perhaps.) But, we have a few "peek-a-boo" pix of Red Square and the surroundings.









On our way out, we stopped off and bought a watercolor picture of Red Square from a street vendor. It will be available upon request, on your next scheduled visit to us! Then we got some Russian ice cream (had to try it...mine was like an ice cream sandwich without the cookies), and walked across the bridge over the Moscow River (and got a great view of the back side of St. Basil's).









Christ the King Church (from the bridge) and Theresa with the Kremlin and the Moscow River.






So, we headed home, experiencing the Metro again, this time during rush hour. It wasn't too bad. It was crowded, but people seemed to behave no worse than New York! :-) And, we did take an escalator that seemed to go three stories down.

Tomorrow...we haven't determined yet. We know we have a "night tour" to see the lights of Moscow. That leaves at 9:30PM and is a three hour tour. Something omnious about a "three hour tour"? (If not, ask your parents what that means!!)

Happy Labor Day!