The Armoury is more of a treasury, containing historic
costumes, carriages and gifts presented to the Tsars by foreign rulers. There
are a few weapons but we spend more time on the other exhibits. Some of the
women’s dresses have ridiculously small waists and Irena tells me that one of
them fainted 3 times during her coronation because she just couldn’t breathe.
There is an astonishing amount of precious metals and jewels on display, much
of it belonging to the church – the priests’ robes used to encrusted with
pearls and embroidered with gold and silver thread, and even their bibles were
bound in gold and gemstones. Irena is very knowledgeable and her stories bring
the exhibits to life. I’m amused by the story of the two brothers who were made
joint rulers while still very young and had a double throne constructed for
them with a hidden opening in the back so that their elder sister – literally
the power behind the throne – could whisper instructions to them when dealing
with affairs of state. I also learn that Ivan the Terrible should properly be translated
as Ivan the Awesome, although he beat his son to death in a fury after arriving
unannounced at his home and discovering his son’s wife with her head uncovered
– which I feel merits the “terrible” label.
After the armoury we explore the churches of Cathedral
Square and the giant bell and cannon, neither of which were ever used except as
displays of wealth and power. The Kremlin is an architectural treasure-trove,
with curvaceous churches, ornate domes and elegant palaces. And plonked in the
middle is a hideous 1960s monstrosity in concrete and glass, built as a
convention hall for the soviets and now a concert hall with, according to
Irina, rather poor acoustics.
The Kremlin tour over, it’s time to set out alone. Irina has
kindly written me instructions explaining how to reach the Tretyakov Gallery by
Metro. She suggests I eat lunch at the food hall in the underground mall that
runs along the side of Alexander Gardens. I choose some sausages and mash, for
which I am charged by weight. My journey to the gallery is uneventful, apart
from being asked for directions, but it’s quite a speedy visit as Julia has
invited me to the office and she’s expecting a call about 4pm to let her know
I’m ready to be picked up and walked there. I get back about 4.10 but when I
try to call her the number won’t work. When I’ve exhausted all the options I
can think of I google the address and copy it in to Nokia maps. It says it’s 7
minutes away so I set off, finding it quite easily. Julia is so surprised to
see me, and slightly horrified that I attempted it. I decide not to mention
that I took myself off to the gallery, or that I’m planning to return to Red
Square to see it after dark.
From the office I go straight to Alexander Park to buy the
obligatory snow globe and fridge magnet at the kiosks I had noticed earlier, as
well as some snacks and sweets to bring home, from the nearby supermarket. The
evening sun casts a golden glow over the buildings and I wander round the park
and take photos, then move on to Red Square to find Gum is illuminated in the
style of Harrods. It’s dusk now and I want to stay until it’s really dark, but
I’m aware that I still have to get back to the hotel, eat dinner and pack and
tomorrow will be a long day. With my sensible head on I head back and treat
myself to the first vodka of my visit while uploading my photos to the netbook.
It costs 500 Rubles – about £12.
After dinner and a quick Skype home I go to bed, but the
room’s too hot, the air conditioning won’t stop humming and I don’t get much
sleep.
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