Moscow – The Kremlin and around

We were prepared for there being lots to see and had bought our ticket online to skip the queue. The word Kremlin means citadel and while The Kremlin is in Moscow, kremlins can also be found in many other Russian towns. We entered through the Trinity Gate Tower …

… with the arsenal on the left

… and the State Kremlin Palace built in the 1960s for Communist Party congresses and now home to the Kremlin Ballet.

Policemen in blue shirts blew their whistles very loudly if anyone strayed where they shouldn’t or if a child climbed on a cannon … and there were some large cannons.

Walking a little further we found ourselves surrounded by white washed buildings and golden domes. There are three cathedrals and the Ivan the Great Bell Tower.

The Assumption Cathedral was the most important church before the revolution and all the church patriarchs are buried here, with frescos round the doorway.

The Archangel Cathedral was the coronation, wedding and burial church of the tsars.

The Annunciation Cathedral was built by Ivan the Great as the royal family’s private chapel and Ivan the Terrible added six more domes and corner chapels, making it a bit of a warren to look round.

No photos were allowed in any of the buildings so just to say the frescoes, soaring roofs and gilded icons were beautiful. We also caught a glimpse of the chimneys for the Terem Palace which was closed to visitors …

… and the stairway down which Peter the Great’s relatives were thrown onto the pikes of the Streltsy guard below, which might explain his dislike of Moscow.

Last but not least, we walked passed the huge Great Kremlin Palace to the Armoury containing tons of decorated gold and silver, armour and Faberge eggs  – but not as nice as those we saw in StP!

We returned to GUM for lunch and I finally found pod shuboi on the menu – literally ‘herrings in fur coats’ with slices of herring, beetroot and pickle in creamy sauce.

We went for a walk through Kitay Gorod, the oldest part of the city. Nikolskaya was pedestrianised in 2013,  and city authorities ordered the construction of a cosy European-style promenade with street lamps, benches and flower beds …

… and is home to the Synod Printing House where Russia’s first printed book was produced in 1564.

The very short Tretyakovsky proezd begins with an arch and was built privately by the famous art patrons, the Tretyakov brothers.

Next the former Detsky Mir (Children’s World) Department Store, once the main shopping center for children in the Soviet Union. Built in a Stalinist-era architectural style, visiting Detsky Mir was the dream of every child and it has recently been restored and reopened. Chris enjoyed it too!

 

The building opposite looked interesting too.

We passed TsUM (Central Department Store), another major Soviet-era shopping center which is now one of the most luxurious shopping malls in Russia.

Behind is the Bolshoi Theater …

… and across the road the lovely Art Noveau Hotel Metropol …

…and then the bus back.

Out for dinner, we went to Mari Vanna and were shown into another cosy interior rather like someone’s front room! A meal of salad and soup then pike cutlets for me and potatoes with mushroom for Chris and very nice it was too.