Russia, Day 18

Day Eighteen 

Awoke very early.  We took the metro to the Kremlin.  We bought our tickets, first, for the Armory Museum.  There seemed to be a bit of confusion at the ticket window, but when we got up there, there were no problems.  After getting our tickets, we walked along the Kremlin wall to the Armory entrance.  Upon entering, we notice some construction going on.  We eventually made our way into a building (the Armory), past some souvenir stalls and to the entrance to the museum.  They gave us a very high tech audio player, which was to be our guide. 

Up the grand stair case, the tour started.  We saw almost all displays.  The Armory was truly a showcase of Russian history, Czar affluence, military weaponry and aristocratic dresses and outfits.  I was amazed at how elegant the museum is.  I also had my eye on all the tour groups that were moving around in herds throughout the rooms.  Truly seeing all the exhibits and appreciating their significance would take much longer time and more resources than I could call upon.  We got a very good taste and were extremely impressed with what we saw. 

After the Armory, we walked along the Kremlin wall, across Alexander Park to the changing of the guard.  This is the same guard changing we saw our first few days, when we were with Jon.  However, considering that it was almost the top of the hour, it made sense to see it again.  Kade posed in front of some lovely garden flowers and I took a fabulous photo.  I also agreed to carry our camera.  We made a couple of other “rest stops” in order to bide some time for the Changing of the Guard to start.  We sat down one last time, in an ideal spot.  As I was waiting for the guards to start their ritual, I glanced around and took note of the scores of Asian tourists in the park.  I also was acutely aware of the sun bearing down and of my hunger.  We had had no breakfast!   

The changing of the guard came and went.  We then walked over to the Menage, where were looking curiously at three boa constrictors that were swimming in a fountain.  They owned by a man who was using them as “circus animals” to make some extra cash.  Sometime later, Kade asked me if I had the camera.  I said, “Yes.”  After reaching it my pocket, I realized that “yes” was very presumptuous.  I then worriedly asked Kade if she had it.  She looked in her purse and it was not there.  We walked quickly over to the spot near the Changing of the Guard, hoping to find the camera on a ledge where were sitting.  It was not there.  We then retraced our steps, stopping briefly at two points where we possibly could have left it.  No luck!  We then sat in the last spot, hoping a “good soul” would walk up with our camera or have a guilty conscience and put it back.  If they really wanted to, they could see Kade’s image on the disk and they could spot us.  Why would someone take our camera except for nefarious reasons?  We blamed each other and blamed ourselves.

Despite our bad mood, we had to eat.  We went into the underground mall and ate some lunch.  Our minds were still on that lost camera, but we had to feed our tummies.  After eating, it was back outside.  We even walked back over to the spots again.  Well, we resigned ourselves to the inevitable:  the camera was long-gone.   

Back in line for Kremlin tickets, we started looking for Dilya and her mom.  They were scheduled to meet us for an afternoon tour.  We passed through a security checkpoint and a guard was in a good mood.  The guard and I had a laugh.  Kade and I went to the meeting spot and sat on the steps of the Palace of the Congress.  Minutes eventually turned into an hour.  There was no sign of Dilya.  Being that we didn’t have a mobile phone complicated matters further.  After waiting till we could wait no longer, we started the tour by ourselves.  Several of the churches were being restored.  We didn’t manage to go inside a couple.  The murals and relics were lovely.  There were also many tombs of famous patriarchs.  The Kremlin buildings were impressive.  Besides the churches, there were huge government buildings.  We walked along the walls of the Kremlin.  One wall was high above the Moskva River and sensational views.  We sat on a park bench and rested.  I ate some very good ice cream.  Sometime later, sore legs and all, we walked past the world’s largest cannon and bell and back towards the entrance (or exit).  Oh, I did have a chance to view the Kremlin building where Stalin stayed when he worked late.

Back on the metro, we were relieved to be going back to the hostel.  We were exhausted.  At the hostel, we were informed that we had to move back to a private room.  Initially I was upset with this, but soon realized it was a booking issue and not something we could alter.  I did have a chance to talk over things with Katai.  We started mending fences.  We also got good news regarding our train ticket.  We even got a significant refund – almost enough to replace our lost/stolen camera.  The gods were smiling.     

Considering our rejuvenated mood, we decided to go back to the Uzbek restaurant that did us right the fist time.  This time, along with the chicken shaslik, we ordered some tomato salads, some black tea and a dessert plate.  It was all very good and worth the price.  

Close to midnight, Kade prepared some instant noodles with crab meat.  We invited a middle-aged Peruvian woman we had befriended to join us.  The camera fiasco and the botched meeting not withstanding, the day was a splendid one.

What's inside the Moscow kremlin? (PHOTOS)