Retake

Day 492

I was up early again and packed up. It turned out that that wasn't needed though, the hostel didn't have anyone coming in to take my bed so they were letting me stay in the room for the day. It was quite nice. After breakfast I headed to the Kremlin.

There wasn't much of a line at the ticket office and the line into the Kremlin was short as well. Despite this the guard wouldn't let me in, he just kept pointing in the distance. He was really quite rude. It turned out that I was meant to go to the Armoury first. There was no line here and in no time I had my free audio guide and was exploring.

The Armory is a massive collection of treasures amassed by the Russian state and church over the last several hundred years. The guide was a bit stupid and it was often hard to tell just what I was meant to be looking at. There was a case of Faberge eggs. Apparently they all came with some kind of prize inside. I guess that's where KinderEgg got the idea from. The most interesting item was the double throne of Peter the Great and his half brother Ivan V. There was a hidden area where their regent, Sofia, could whisper things to them. There were also several beautiful gowns including Catherine the Greats coronation gown.

Getting in the the Kremlin from the back way is easy. It only took a minute. The Kremlin is the headquarters of the Russian Church and the government. Just walking in was breathtaking, but the crowds were terrible. They were so bad that it was almost unenjoyable to be there.

The first cathedral I went into was the Annunciation Cathedral, built 1489, was the royal families private chapel. The icon paintings were amazing. Next up was the Archangel Cathedral built in 1508. Several royals are buried here, including Ivan the Terrible. He wasn't really terrible, just very strict and quite possibly a bit mentally unbalanced. There were several groups in the cathedral making it impossible to get around so I just left. Photos were not allowed anyway.

I then checked out the displays in the Patriarchs Palace, as well as the 12 Apostles Church. I was really tiring of the crowds and even the icons at this point. Well, the crowds more than anything.My next stop was the Church of the Deposition of the Robe. It was quite small but had some nice wooden sculptures in it. The last real stop was the bell tower, this had a small art exhibit in it. The crowd was like a monster at this point.After walking by the Senate Building I exited thru the Kutafya Tower, the main gate. The line looked really horrendous at this point and I was glad to be leaving.

On the way back to the hostel I stopped for lunch. I also saw the Lenin impersonator from the day before drinking a coffee and chatting on his cell phone.

After organizing some pictures I spent the rest of the day hanging out at the hostel. I stepped out briefly for a kabab, but mostly just sat around until midnight.

After carrying all my my crap to the metro I promptly got on it going the wrong way. I figured it out after two stops and fixed the problem. I had quite a wait at the train station and sat down in front of what I thought as the platform info board. After some time it hadn't changed and I realized that it was just a really big schedule. I then moved to the right place to wait for my train.

This was my last and worst ride in Russia. It was freezing cold and when I tried to shut the window no one would help. Later on two of the guys in my section got cold as well and they had to both close the window, that's how difficult it was. Eventually I managed to fall asleep.

Confusion

Day 491

I got myself up early and had the yummy hostel breakfast. I then walked the 15 minutes to the Kremlin. Yesterday when I had walked by the line had been massive. Today there wasn't a line at all. The guard spoke to me in Russian and when I gave him a confused face he told me in English that it was closed but would be open at 11 the next day. I must have still looked confused because he asked me if I spoke English. I was confused though, Lying Planet had said that it would be open. Stupid guidebook.

Irritated I walked back to the hostel to regroup. I watched a movie online and then contemplated going to a monastery. I decided against it in the end. Instead I went to check out the pedestrian only Arbat St. Over lunch I wrote in my journal and then moved onto a German beer place to finish up. I really wanted to get up to date and didn't stop until I was at the day before.

That evening I just sort of hung around the hostel and read. Sometimes I chatted with the other people around, but there wasn't a whole lot of people to talk to. In the end I just called it an early night.

Trifecta

Day 490

I was up shockingly early and didn't have to complete for a shower. I then headed straight to Red Square.

After a short walk I was in line to see Lenin, the last of the on display dead communists. The line took about 20 minutes and after checking my camera I was in. I had him all to myself. It was creepy, but he was definitely a dead person, not like Mao. After visiting Lenin I walked by the burial spots of other communists, including Stalin. I didn't have my camera and I can't read Russian anyway so it didn't know who was who.

After getting my camera back I was really in Red Square, I couldn't believe it. I was in Red Square, I have to write it again to make it real. My first stop was the State History Museum. The building was really interesting and each room was decorated differently. Nothing was in English so after glancing at the objects I moved on.

I then crossed the square to St. Basils Cathedral, built in 1561. If one building defines Russia this is it. It was amazing but crowded so I didn't stay long.

As I headed out I passed a look alike Lenin and Czar Nicholas, you could get your picture taken with both. I also passed Stalin. Peter the Great and Catherine the Great were also there, it was just weird because they lived during different time periods.

My last to do was a train ticket. Luckily there was a girl nearby who spoke English and helped me. I ended up with a very late train out on Friday night.

That evening I went with a Russian girl who was in my room for a beer. She was frustrated with the Czech visa procedure, she was trying to go to school there to live closer to her boyfriend. We chatted for a bit before calling it a night.

The End

Day 489

My train was set to arrive in Moscow at 6:30 am. For unknown reasons everyone was up around 5. I tried to sleep but they were too loud. I ended up just sitting there thinking about how this was the end of the transiberian for me. I couldn't believe that such a huge travel to do had been checked off of my list. Once in Moscow it was only minutes before I found the metro and was on my way to the hostel. When I got off I felt like I had to walk forever, but it was really only 10 minutes. I checked in and jumped right into the shower before having some breakfast.

Once I had eaten I headed out to the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. This foreign art museum was one of the best I had been to in ages, plus pictures were allowed. There were Greek statues, pieces from Syria, India and even some mummies. The European collection consisted of icons and statues and bits of cathedrals. There were also copies of Michelangelo's David and the Peita in the Vatican. The array of states was breath taking. I must be back in Europe now because I'm loving the art again.

I was about to head to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior when I saw a Peter the Great statue that I had thought was in the Crimea in the distance. I thought screw the church, I wanna see Peter. After a lot of walking I finally got a good angle for pictures. The statue is a bit funny, Peter is bigger than the boat!

After some lunch I stopped at the State Tretyakou Gallery. Lying Planet had said hat it was all icons, but it was actually Russian art for the past really long time. It was quite good, but no photography allowed so I had to write down the names of the paintings I liked.

When I was done my dogs were really barking. Before going back to the hostel I picked up some food for the next few days.That night I found out that the hostel was brand new and run by an American. For decoration and fun there were stuffed rats and sharks hanging around. It was quite funny when the rats got into the candy bowl. My internal clock is very confused right now. In the last 15 days I've been in 6 different time zones and the long train rides with little to do besides sleep didn't help much. I was out really early that night