Moscow: One of the most peaceful places to be is actually the Kremlin

In a previous Blog I wrote about how for a while I always had this eerie feeling while in Moscow, how everything reminded me of old cold war movies and so on. This was probably most apparent in Red Square and outside of the Kremlin. However once you purchase a pass to the interior, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact I found being inside the Kremlin, the former headquarters really of the Soviet Menace, to be one of the most interesting, and peaceful places I have ever been to. Funny as it is probably one of the largest fortresses in the old world. We spent the better part of ½ a day exploring the public parts of the Kremlin. People are of course not allowed in the government palaces, but you can buy passes to view the architecture, visit the old armory, and view what ever exhibition is currently in town.

We arrived at the Kremlin in the early afternoon. As I have mentioned before, all roads lead to it. It is the center of the city and all roads originate in that area of town. You by tickets just to the East of the main tower, the cost is about $25 to roam around inside and also visit the armory to see the museum exhibition within costs another $10-15. You enter through the main gait; it is a long bridge with two towers on each end. From here you get a good view of several buildings surrounding the Kremlin, I don’t really know what they builds were or for what use but they were pretty nice looking. Once you pass through the gate you are allowed access only to the eastern side of the fortress. The western and northern areas are reserved for government uses and no tours/tourist are allowed.

Through the main gate you see a museum on you left and large, yellow government places on the right. There are also rows of canons from years and years ago. These were probably used to defend the walls at some point in history. You walk a path that is pointed out by surprisingly friendly and informative guards. Walking around the museum you run into a large (10+ feet tall) old canon in front of you, a path to the church square, and nice park on your left. The churches are all topped with beautiful golden onions, but they come in different shapes and sizes. There are 7 churches all together. I do not know why there are so many except that each is the final resting place for dozens of Tsars. So I assume as one filled up with dead leaders then next would commission a new church to be buried in. In side they are all similarly built with plaster covered brick walls that have intricate biblical scenes painted from floor to ceiling. The churches are also divided by a wooded wall, also painted from floor to ceiling, that contains a set of large doors that open at the beginning of services and close at the end of services.

After seeing the all of the churches (3 of which were closed for repairs) we continued on to the armory. This building has been turned into a museum. It is only two floors and looks like at one time it may have been used to house balls and events as it has a grand stair case and large ball rooms with floor to ceiling windows. Now however it houses an assortment of historical artifacts from Russian history. These include the inaugural and wedding costumes from emperors, empresses, and Tsars. Amazing outfits many including jewels and intricate detail work. Many of the thrones, crowns, scepters, and orbs are also on display showing both simple design and very intricate craftsmanship. There was another room that housed gifts from other countries to the Russian royals, including Faberge Eggs, silver platters, icons, and other strange and expensive things. There is also some suits of armor and weaponry on display. My personal favorite was room full of carriages. They were amazing, some where again coated in precious metals and jewels, but the most amazing thing is that each part of the carriage was hand crafted with intricate wood carving. This includes the axles, leaf spring retainers, and other parts that would normally just be functional.

After going through the armory we strolled along the wall and got a great view of the southern half of Moscow. We walked until we reached the park in north of the churches. Here there was a very nicely wooded set of pathways with manicured lawns, freshly planted flowers, and comfortable park benches. After a few minutes of exploring we decided to sit down and relax. It was one of the most peaceful places I have been. The sun was out, a breeze was blowing. We were in a park in the middle of the Kremlin, in the middle of Moscow – pop. 20 million+, and there were maybe 3 or 4 other people walking around the area. Everyone was friendly and every thing was very well maintained. It was easily one of the nicest places we visited the entire trip. Of course it is also one of the main attractions in all of Russia, but still it was nice to be there.