Today started a bit gloomy. Outside it was raining and today was the day we were visiting the Kremlin, but soon the weather started to clear and there was sunshine again. We all departed to get to the metro station Biblioteka Imeni Lenina.
After getting there and walking to the Kremlin we had to wait until the committee got all the tickets for us to enter the complex. It soon became clear that the information from the website gathered before the trip was incorrect. We needed additional tickets to get inside and some of the timeslots were incorrect as well. This resulted in us being unable to visit the inside of the Ivan The Great Bell Tower and the Diamond Fund.
Having dealt with all the mandatory bureaucracy when ordering tickets, they finally managed to get all the tickets necessary. Thus started our trip to the Kremlin.
At the entrance we encountered high levels of security. Nonetheless Rutger managed to smuggle in some toothpaste he had kept in his pocket from earlier this morning. He asked if he could store it in my bag during our visit, but I was not going to involve myself in his attempts of smugglery and of course it was hilarious to see him carry around a tube of toothpaste.
Now we were finally inside the Kremlin and were immediately greeted by a symphony of whistles. Apparently Russians are not very well aware of the concepts of traffic rules and thus multiple officers were present to whistle at tourists to prevent them from crossing somewhere else than at a zebra crossing.
The committee had been so kind to recommend us an audio guide tour through the Kremlin, which we could download and play with our smartphones. To increase the ease of use when using such a audio guide in large groups, we decided to play it through a Bluetooth speaker which hung from a backpack. As we meanderd through the walkways, it became clear that not everyone of the group was as excited about this concept. Almost every explanation was either forwarded to check if there were any interesting parts or stopped early due to lack of interest, so our tour through the Kremlin proceeded at an astounding high pace. The level of concentration even became so low, that people started to make fun of the British accents of the narrators. One could easily say we were like a group of Japanese tourists. Walking around whilst listening to a guide and only taking pictures.
Having finished our high speed tour, I decided to visit all the sites of Kremlin again but this time in a little bit more detail. The only annoying part was that certain buildings are still in use by the government, so walking through them was prohibited. So it took a little walk to get back to the open tourist attractions.
By the time I got there, large numbers of Asian tourist groups had gathered at the entrances of the buildings. It was as if the great wall of China had been erected inside of the Kremlin, only not made of stone but people. At the Cathedral Square you can visit a multiple of cathedrals (who would have guessed). The Assumption Cathedral, Annunciation Cathedral and Archangel Cathedral all lay adjacent to the square as well as The Twelve Apostle’s Church, The Church of Laying Our Lady’s Holy Robe and The Ivan The Great Bell Tower.
Each Cathedral is richly decorated with fresco’s and gold plated ornaments. The only downside was that time had taken its toll on the fresco’s, so these were a little bit dull. In The Twelve Apostle’s Church there is also a nice exhibition of richly decorated silverware and church related items. In one of the side buildings there was even a small exhibition of Japanese art, which rivaled the rest of the Kremlin in its beauty.
By this time the weather had decided it had been fair for too long. The sky darkened and thunder cracked through the air. Everything still seemed fine by this point, so I simply put on my raincoat and continued my journey. Unfortunately this was not the end of it. Small raindrops soon made way for an enormous downpour. In a matter of seconds I was soaked to the bone. Through the curtain of water I finally reached shelter, where a group of Japanese tourist was also standing (no, these were not the group of students I described earlier, but genuine Japanese people). The only solace from the terrible weather was the words of recognition by a grumpy old Japanese man; “Good man,” as he patted me on the shoulder for walking through the rain burst.
Luckily it only lasted for a short period of time and I was soon on my way again. Now it was time to visit the Kremlin Armoury. This is separate exhibition of silverware, gifts, ceremonial arms, dresses and more the Russian Royal family gathered over the years. Unfortunately there was again tight security and unlike the main entrance where there were six rows, this one only had one. The fact that the security was letting everyone with a voluptuous bosom skip the line, was not helping us with getting inside of the museum either.
Finally our group managed to get inside after two additional tickets checks, because one apparently is never enough in Russia. In the two story building there were multiple rooms, each full of exhibitions. The one I can recommend the most is the display with with the Fabergé collection. It is simply gorgeous.
Having completed our visit, we had some free time until dinner, where everyone of the study tour would join and eat together. We even had the pleasure and honour of having Prof. Dr. Elena Lomonova with us as well, who was also in Moscow at the time. She helped us with getting into contact with different Russian companies and universities, so many thanks for this. She also greatly enjoyed hearing all of our stories and experiences with Russians and Russian culture.
At the end of the evening some of us went to a night club, where they managed to get a VIP lounge with full service fully to themselves. Other went to a shooting range and some went to get a small drink before bed. Everyone chose to spend their last night in Moskou and Russian in their own way. Tomorrow we leave for South Korea, so all I can say now is “Spasibo i proskchay!”
– Jim Beckers