The Kremlin!

This is the latest in a series of postings about my recent trip to Moscow as I get whisked along by a spritely, speedy tour guide. 

You see those towers along the right? The ones that run along that great, tall, wall? Behind that wall lies the Kremlin.
 
I'm going to absolve myself of any responsibility in trying to explain what the Kremlin is, because it is many things and has been many things. Instead, I defer you to my good friend, Wikipedia - and to an even better source, a Guide to the Moscow Kremlin. The latter explains the Kremlin in a much more interesting manner.


This is a statue of Marshal Georgy Zhukov, the most decorated general in Russia's history.  He played a key role in freeing the Soviet Union and other other Eastern European nations from the Axis Powers and was there to conquer Berlin. Check out that headless eagle and the fallen swastika.  I had no idea who he was when I saw this statue, but that symbolism isn't hard to interpret.



"Grottoes" were once popular features in palatial gardens.  This grotto and now-absent garden lay on the banks of a moat/river that has long since been turned into a moat-less/riverless promenade.


And here it is!  Following our zippy tour guide through the metal detectors and security guards, we entered into the fortress-city known as the Moscow Kremlin.


Inside the gates, there was a diverse mixture of old and new architecture.  There were numerous palaces and countless churches and chapels.


This is the old Arsenal building.


It is now used as barracks.


Here's the President's Official Residence!  We're told he doesn't actually live here, but it is still his official residence.  Check out that building to the right of the picture.  It's fake!  Well, the building behind the facade is real but it took me a while to clue in that it was just a facade!  There are a lot of buildings undergoing restoration work in Moscow.


Oh, yeah!  It's the WORLD'S LARGEST CANNON!  I don't know if those are the World's largest cannon balls, but I do know that I don't want to be the one responsible for loading them into that cannon.


And here's the World's Largest Bell! The Tsar Kolokol III sits, unusable, on a stone pedestal.  A massive chunk cracked off the bell (on the other side) - but not when I was there.  The story behind the bell is fascinating and you can read it here.  By the way, the bell has a clapper (the thing you use to ring a bell).  It wasn't originally built with a clapper but someone thought "you can't have a bell without a clapper".  At least, that's what our fast-talking tour guide told us.  The clapper sits under the bell (behind that gate on the right-hand side of the picture).  The crazy thing is, the clapper is too heavy to lift.


We toured a few of the buildings and saw several religious icons.  Pictures weren't allowed in the interiors, so here are some pictures of the exteriors for your viewing pleasure.


Oh, look!  Another palace!

Our guide took us on a tour of the Armory building.  It was fascinating to see the gifts that nations gave to each other, the clothes that people used to wear, the carriages that were used for coronations, and far, far, more.  I saw some Fabergé Eggs, too.  I never understood what made Fabergé Eggs so special, but now I do.

Fabergé didn't make the eggs himself.  He was a project manager.  His company made the eggs as Easter gifts to Tsar Imperial family.  Each egg had a little toy inside.  There was a great amount of thought and meaning behind each egg.  And there aren't a lot of them in existence.  There are 50 known Imperial eggs.  I've seen ten of them.

It was dark by the time we got out of the Armory.  I could have spent hours there, but visits are given time limits.



Our speedy tour through Moscow was coming to an end.  All that was left was a ride on the Metro - but I'll save that for another entry.

Exploring the "Backroads" Around Red Square.

During my second visit to Red Square (I'll get back to the tour later), we explored the streets around the area, starting from the "Goom".

 
The streets there were narrower in this part of the city. I would have expected most of the city to have narrow streets, but that was not the case.
  
Moscow's streets are surprisingly wide.  Some of the streets right down down are more than eight lanes wide.  Our tour guide explained two reasons why the streets are so wide. The first reason is because, once upon a time, everyone had yards big enough for food-producing gardens (like mini-farms for every family). Obviously, those urban farms are gone now. The second reason the roads are so wide is because, when they were doing their urban planning, they looked way into the future and said, "We're going to widen these roads to accommodate X number of cars". They haven't reached their car carrying capacity yet but, by gum, they tore down buildings and widened the roads in preparation for the day it happens.
 

The ГYM

The ГYM (pronounced "Goom") is a shopping mall that flanks one side of Red Square. Normally I despise shopping malls, but I liked "The Goom".

 I liked it so much I went there twice.

The first time I went there was during our fast-paced tour. Without warning, my camera stopped working. And when I say it stopped working, I mean it stopped working. It wouldn't turn on properly no matter how many times I changed the batteries. "E32" was not an error message I liked to see - especially because I had no idea what it meant.

Refusing to accept that I could be traveling in Russia without the ability to take pictures, I dashed off to take advantage of the 15 minutes of free time we had to roam the mall.

 There was nothing in the Apple store, but there was a Sony store. I looked at a few of the cameras, priced them out, got cold feet, and walked out of the store. I tried my camera again and walked right back in, bought a camera and then dashed out - well aware that the tour would move on if I didn't meet up with them on time.

 As I ran through the mall, James Bond-type music played over the sound system. I kid you not.

I made it just in time.

The second time I went was just to enjoy the architecture. Here are some pictures to give you a little bit of an idea why I enjoyed it.

Red Square

This is the latest in a series of postings about my recent trip to Moscow as I get whisked along by a spritely, speedy tour guide.

And just like that, we were in Red Square.  I must admit, like so many famous people and places from history, I thought it would be bigger.  I wasn't disappointed, though.

One of my favourite buildings framing the Square (which is really more of rectangle) was the State Historical Museum.  I love buildings with character.


There are so many churches and chapels in and around the Kremlin.

Part of Red Square was closed off while they construct a large, temporary skating area.  Although the construction ruined some of the views, it didn't ruin all of them.

The red, fortress wall of the Kremlin flanked one side of the Square.  In spite of the colour of the wall and the Square's name, that's not why it's called the Red Square.  In Russian, the archaic word for "red" also means "beautiful".


Although we didn't stop at Lenin's tomb with the tour, I went back later to see Lenin's body.  Again, he was smaller than I imagined.  The state of preservation is extraordinary, if not a little creepy.  No cameras are allowed in the tomb (enforced by police officers using metal detectors) but you can see a very accurate picture by clinking the link above.



Toward the river is the cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed.  The cathedral is the geometric centre of Moscow.



Our next stop will take us to the GUM (pronounced "goom") and after that, behind the Kremlin walls.

Walking into the Heart of Russia

This is the latest in a series of postings about my recent trip to Moscow as I get whipped along by a spritely, speedy tour guide. 

All roads in Moscow radiate from the Kremlin and Red Square. Some say that the Kremlin and Red Square is the very heart of all Russia. Indeed, many world-changing events have taken place here and it has since been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its cultural significance.

 On one of the roads leading to the Red Square and Kremlin is another famous site, the Bolshoi Theatre.
    
Our van driver dropped us off across the road from the Bolshoi near a statue of Karl Marx. As zippy as ever, our tour guide sped off toward one of the entrances to Red Square.  We sped along behind her.


As we approached the entrance, we heard voices screaming over loudspeakers. It sounded like war-time propaganda. When someone asked, our tour guide informed us that it was other tour guides trying to attract customers.
   

Through the Iberian Gate (behind me in the above picture), we could see the cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed.
 
In a few short steps, we would be standing in the Red Square.