Into the Kremlin

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Friday 22nd May
Into the Kremlin
The plan today was to visit the inside of the Kremlin and we had all day to do it.
We started out first though with a dry run to link the subway to Leningrad Station where the train for St Petersburg will depart from tomorrow.
On the way into town we actually got some life out of a fellow passenger and it was the first and only time someone actually acknowledged we were there on the train.We were both standing and a seat came free behind Gretchen.A woman tapped Gretchen on the shoulder and indicated the spare seat with a sort of a grunt.They aren’t all zombies after all !!!
Subway director Gretchen had it all worked out and sure enough after popping up from underground it only took a couple of minutes to find the station entrance.Inside a large noticeboard had all the indication of our train number,time and we had deduced the Russian spelling of St Petersburg,so it looked like we were in the right place and it had only taken 30 mins from the hostel.We strolled through the station to the platforms and we think we have it sussed.
On the way out Gretchen decided to visit the station loo and had my Hania experience of an eastern style toilet.Unlike me she had it all worked out and came out smiling!!
Back to the subway and off to the Kremlin.Except there was no entrance next to the exit where we had found it in all other stations.
We walked around the building looking for the entrance avoiding the multitudes of fairly roughly dressed workmen who we assumed had gathered at this spot to be picked up for daily work if they were lucky.
We also dodged the only real menace in this country,where the men hoick or spit onto the ground!!The streets are very clean and there is little graffiti but men still do spit here and it must be about the last civilised country where this happens to such a great and obvious extent.
So we used the well tried and true method of fanning out from the problem and eventually found the in steps and door to the subway station.
One of the interesting things riding the escalators at the subway are the women(mostly) who sit in a little box at the foot of every escalator and watch people on two monitors.Is this the most BORING job in the world??So next time we complain about work we shall think of these ,mostly chubby red faced women in drab grey uniforms and keep our mouth shut!!we did see one guy doing the job today but he was fast asleep and should have been fired!!
There is a lack of security in this country or at least they don’t take it seriously and one day it will come home to them.
We topped up with another delicious McD’s chicken wrap and Fanta(the Russians can’t understand the word when you say it to them but when they finally get it and repeat it back it still comes out as’Fanta” )Another of those little oddities about travelling in a foreign country.
We purchased standard admission to the Kremlin as the Armoury tickets did not come on sale for a couple of hours.And so we passed through the slack(again) security at the entrance and walked into the open space of the Kremlin grounds.The gardens were beautiful and tulips still in bloom making great photo shots.Other than the square where there are about 6 different churches with only 3 open with displays there wasn’t actually a lot to see.There was a huge cannon about 300 years old with massive cannon balls that would have been the type used.One can only imagine the noise when this thing went off.
The churches or cathedrals were all of Russian Orthodox style and why there so many built in close proximity is unclear.This has been one of the frustrating things of sightseeing where an explanation is required,there is often nothing written in English.The Russians will have a lot to do before or when they open the country up to full blown tourism.
We were able to work out that one of the cathedrals was where Tsars and Emperors were crowned over the years from 1500 odd onwards.Inside one were numerous crypts which we assumed were long gone local people of note.
There was also the largest bell in the world on show.It had only been rung once and on that occasion it cracked and has never been rung again since.It really was huge at 200 tons!!
We finished the inside of the Kremlin with about a half hour before they would commence selling tickets for the next admission to the Armoury where many Russians treasures were kept and we had heard it was well worth a visit.
With tickets purchased we joined the queue for the 2.30pm opening.They only sell so many tickets for each 90min session and this turned out to be a great idea as it limits the number of people taking up the space when you want to view or study something of interest.
There were certainly many treasures on show from dresses from Catherine the Great to other clothing from Tsars.Again the displays were short on explanations in English with just a summary of what was in the cabinet and then you had to try and match up what you thought it related to.Still you could gape at the gold and silver that been accumulated over the last 500 plus years from different sources and put on display.
The Faberage exhibition was quite stunning with such immaculate work that the Faberage people are world renown for with a delicate dandelion made up of what seemed to be crystal...just beautiful.Plus of couse a number of Faberage eggs all made for different royal or special occasions.
The exhibition was well worth the R700 each we paid for it and we were well pleased that we had waited around for the tickets to go on sale.
We headed away through for one last look at the mightily impressive Red Square with its dominant buildings on all four sides,each quite different in style and use,the Kremlin wall with Lenins tomb,The State Museum,The GUM department stores and St Basils.And all the while if you close your eyes you can hear the marching feet and tanks rolling on parade through the square.All a very memorable experience again.
In the walkway leading to the Red Square and in the square itself there were dozens of teenagers with saches and dressed in suits(boys) and smart dresses and high heels like you have never seen on cobbles(girls) enjoying a good time.Now we hadn’t seen such frivolity since we arrived in Moscow and Gretchen had to know what was up.She tapped a girl on the shoulder and found out it was graduation day and they were all in high spirits.Ah, youth!!There is hope for the Russian society yet!!Gretchen lined up about a dozen of the high spirited girls and boys to take their photo.They happily obliged giving us another special memory of our visit to this city and country.
With another dozen or so photos of the very photogenic St Basils taken we walked away from Red Square for the last time on this adventure looking for a restaurant we had past the other day which we thought was close by.
Gretchen had already decided she had to taste Borsch,beetroot soup,while I opted for pork steak and chips plus a couple of cheap draft beers of a label we hadn’t had before.
Then it was home on the subway for the last time in Moscow for us.
The market near our home station was as busy as very other day we have passed by.Added tonight though were a number of older type of cars parked up on the pavement with their boots open and lots of people looking in them.To our surprise the boots were full of MEAT!! And the car owners were the vendors and it was moving fast.
We haven’t really noticed any butchers shops here although the supermarket had a chiller with meat for sale but this selling out of a boot was an eyeopener.Clearly the people who were selling the meat could produce it cheaper than the supermarket and the locals were buying up quickly.
It was just as well we didn’t dine locally on any meat products!!
The weather had changed a bit and was now showery so the playgrounds were empty of the children and their mothers that had been evident on other nights when we have returned home.
We had had dinner earlier than usual tonight and so we had some time before we would head off to bed.With little else to do(no internet still available and TV channels all in Russian)we cleaned off another 1 litre of the cheap vodka we purchased the other day.It was quite smooth with orange juice and a real bargain,as it should be here in the place it is produced in the greatest volume.
Anatascia did not come around as we expected last night for the money for our stay and so we knew she would be here tonight.However we were surprised when her “friend”from the 7th floor turned up asking that we pay her.When we became a bit defensive about paying someone other than the owner she picked up the phone and rang Anatascia who then talked to me to confirm it was OK to pay her friend Tania.Gretchen got Tania to sign a piece of paper to say that we had paid her even though she looked a bit peeved that we didn’t trust her.
Our stay here has been great from the living with the locals side of it and we have had the place to ourselves.However,the lack of internet and no breakfast provided when it was advertised have been drawbacks.With the owner not staying here communication has been impossible and we have let the situation drift and getting our point across on the one occasion we did talk directly with her she was unresponsive.
With a big day ahead tomorrow and our train trip to St Petersburg we hit the sack before it was fully dark to be fit and fresh for the next day.

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Photos

The biggest bell in the world
It only rang once and it cracked!!!

Comments

[Leebee]

No eyecontact!
Please dont attempt to attract eye contact on the Tube in London....I rode the same train with the same people in the same carriage every day for four months and never made eye contact with those people. It s acultural thing and not an experiment to be conducted in the UK!

[Rin]

Brent and I have the theory that if you made eye contact with someone in Russia (back in the day), you ran the risk of being dobbed in by your *comrade* for doing something you never did and then next thing you know the KGB comes knocking at your door :-P Maybe old habits are hard to shake!