Travelin' Fullers Blog: Second day Touring in Moscow - The Kremlin, Red Square, the Armory, Cathedrals and churches

Wow! What a great day of touring with Marina! And, I have to say my new hip, is working spectacularly because I walked 4.07 miles today and climbed 4 flights of stairs according to the fitness app on my phone! The morning was lovely. Overcast, but pleasantly cool for walking... Our first stop was walking to the Kremlin. The Kremlin area is behind an ancient wall that fortified the original Moscow founded in 1147. On the map below, you can see in the Kremlin in the very center of the map outlined by the red line. Inside the Kremlin wall are a group of important Cathedrals ranging in age from the early 1400's to to the early 18th century. Renovations are always on going. One of the Cathedrals, the main cathedral of the Russian Czars (the Dormition Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin) , was actually occupied by Napoleon for 30 days before he was driven out. The Dormition Cathedral's walls are covered floor to ceiling by amazing and beautiful icons. The people were mostly illiterate, and icons were used to tell the stories of the times. Many of the icons were painted on wood, but then they were covered and decorated with beautiful gems and silver. There were so many saints, that there was a period in the 18th century when a child's name was often chosen by the Saint that was dedicated to that date. It became quite fashionable for a period. This was the cathedral where most of the coronations took place from 1547 to1896.

The Russian Orthodox Church is such an integral part of the fabric of the people through the centuries that it's easy to understand why, when the churches were closed during The Soviet times , that the religion remained in the hearts and minds of the people. Cathedrals and churches were built in Russia to commemorate everything -- every important battle or victory resulted in a church or cathedral being built. There are literally hundreds, (I believe the number was around 400) churches that were built over the centuries in Moscow. The people truly rejoiced when the churches were finally reopened in the 1990's. The Russian history may be as complicated as British or Chinese history. It is hard to compress all the important information we learned into this blog. The churches and cathedrals inside the Kremlin walls are unique pieces of art and religious history that are most impressive...

Also inside the Kremlin walls is the palace where Putin comes to work every day. There is a photo below with a dome with a flag on top. The flag flys directly over his state office, in the Grand Kremlin Palace.

One of the other impressive cathedrals we went inside today was the Necropolis of the Archangel Cathedral. It was begun in 1340 by the first Romanof Czars. Each one is impressive in so many ways. This cathedral is the burial place for many of the Czars.

After touring the most important cathedrals, we visited the armory. We might call it "the treasury " because it contains the finest collection of precious gems and preserved, authentic clothes from periods that were centuries old that Bill and I have ever seen. Such things as: 30,000 carats of rough cut diamonds. There are more then 900 large , natural uncut diamonds-- the largest of which is 342.57 carats. There is a unique collection of 20 platinum nuggets from the Urals. The largest is 17 pounds and there are three gold ingots, the largest weighing 26 lbs. (423 oz). Using the current price of gold, it would be worth approximately $560,000 each and there are three of them. There are several magnificent tiaras. One of the most Beautiful was the grand imperial crown made for the coronation of the Empress Catherine the 2nd made in 1762. It has 5000 diamonds and 75 natural pearls.

But I believe the jewels pale in comparison to the magnificently preserved costumes from the 1400's to the magnificently embroidered silk dresses of the empresses--in particular, Catherine II and Peter the Great's coronation clothes and capes. They even have the boots and shoes covered with natural pearls and gems perfectly preserved. Even the saddles of the Emperors' horses and the decorations for their horses are an amazing sight to behold. I could go on and on, but I promise to stop. It was just so impressive. I am sad we were not allowed to take photos in the armory. We will have to preserve the images in our minds.

After the Armory, the weather gods deserted us and the rain began. However, this led to a wonderful experience as we took refuge from the weather In the famed Gum's department store. Actually, it's not one store, but the collection of many stores under one roof. You can have the glitzy, fancy mall that was recently built (photos from yesterday), but we MUCH preferred the elegant, stately and classic structure of the Gum. We tried to out wait the rain by having lunch as we explored the immense 3 levels of this beautiful, historic marketplace. Gum was originally run by the state so all prices were controlled. Now it is filled with every high end store you could imagine. She is an elegant and "classy" old lady that has maintained her grandeur.

Alas, we could not out wait the rain, so the photos of the famed Red Square are very gray. Red Square is the most often shown on tv. Many state and important festivals continue to be held in the square today. It is the site of Lenin's and Stalin's burial place. Lenin's tomb remains quite visible in the square, but while they were once side by side, Stalin was removed in the Soviet time and buried in a vacuum sarcophagus many feet undergeound. He remains there today.

One last small note of interest about the currency, the ruble. The word itself means "cut". Early strips of metal were "cut" to make the first currency. Enough for tonight. Enjoy the photos!

Right outside hotel as we walk to the Kremlin wall. The domes you see are light for underground shops.

Lovely sculptures adorn the waterway just before the entrance to the Kremlin.

The gates to the inside of the Kremlin. Remember, the wall was built as a fortification for the early city. Moscow, by the way, derives its name from the river which flows in front of the city.

The Kremlin wall is in the background.

The Soviet Style of building during Khruschev's years.

The palace that is where Putin's government office resides.

A beautiful canon that was never fired. It was made to intimidate.

A bell that was cast but broke before it was ever installed.

You can see the many cathedrals that surround the inside of the Kremlin. The white one behind us is where the coronations of the Czars occurred.

The coronations occurred here.

Entrance to Gum's (pronounced Goom's) mall".

Gum's....

Marina treated us to delicious ice cream! Old school. Very creamy...

This store is not doing well. It has all the Russian Olympic gear. Since the doping scandal, the Russian team is prohibited from participating in this years Olympics. Sad for the athletes who didn't dope....