Moscow, Russian Federation
The must see place for any first time visitor to Moscow is the Red Square and Kremlin. Growing up in Soviet times this was the most recognizable image on tv of Soviet Russia with their military parades. In post Soviet times this once forbidden territory has now become a tourist haven.
Leaving the metro (see entry on Metroblog http://v2.travelark.org/travel-blog-entry/londone7/46/1572102144) I had to navigate my way and was somewhat lost. Finding my bearings I made my way back to the Bolshoi Theatre towards Red Square.
It felt strange walking into Red Square by myself knowing in my childhood this was one of the most tightly controlled states and no wandering tourists strolling into Red Square. Times have changed and it was now full of bus loads of tourists.
Today was scheduled to be the coldest day of the trip, only 9 degrees and was quite chilly so I went into the Tsum Department store. I'd only been in one Tsum before in Minsk Belarus which was very old school with attendants at counters and items on shelving behind as in the 1970s.
This was more of a shopping arcade on three levels. However it was a large complex and had three parallel sections. Tourists were snapping away and I wonder if anyone buys anything.
To get into the Kremlin and Armoury are two separate tickets. The Kremlin architectural complex is an all day ticket but the Armoury has set times of 10am, 12pm, 2pm, 4pm. They go on sale 15 days ahead and when I went to purchase the 10am and 12pm were already sold out for today. I had a 2pm ticket.
By around noon I wanted to head in. All I could see were massive crowds all the way down a staircase and stretching further. I didnt need to stand in line as I had my ticket but I dont see how I would ever get in for my timeslot in this line.
I tried to goto the side entrance at the top where families with children were entering but the guard who spoke no English wouldnt accept my ticket. Fortunately I had seen on youtube there was another side entrance to get in on the south corner.
There was absolutely nobody at this gate and I walked right in. The Armoury also let me in even though my ticket wasnt till 2pm. No photos are allowed but I managed to sneak a couple in.
The Hermitage in St Petersburg allowed photos so I'm not sure why here wasnt allowed. Anyway I made it in past all the lines so could relax now.
The Architectural Complex is an all day ticket but was full of all the crowds from Red Square. I had to line up to get in the churches, only managed to get in one, and no photos were allowed again. I wasnt too bothered as I was going to spend the next six days doing the Golden Ring visiting all the important churches.
The sun came out and began glistening on the gold domes. We always see images of Red Square but this was my first time seeing the interior architecture of the Kremlin. It was similar to Kiev which had none of the tourist crowds.
See also vlog of today's visit https://youtu.be/9OU4w3mjbM8
2025-05-23