Monday, April 13, 2015

K is for the Kremlin


When you hear the words 'the Kremlin', what visions are conjured up in your mind?

For me, it has always been something mysterious that I associated with hiding under my desk during safety drills in school.  That is what happens when your childhood is spent under the shadow of the Cold War.

I certainly was not prepared for the grandeur and beauty I saw when I arrived there, even though I had seen pictures in books and movies.  The Kremlin is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Here are only a select few of the buildings in the Kremlin:
The tall Poteshny Palace, constructed 1652 

The Arsenal on the left (with a view of three of the towers) constructed and reconstructed, twice, 1702 - 1828

A Soviet Era star on a tower

The Soviet Era State Kremlin Palace, where we saw a ballet.  Possibly the cleanest building, inside, that I have ever seen.

The Senate Building, built 1776-1778

Gardens, not what I expected to see here, but lovely and understandable in the grand design


The Tsar's Bell, all 200 tons of it.  The broken piece is on the other side swamped by children looking at it.  
Soldiers marching in front of the Great Kremlin Palace, built 1849

A view across the Moskva River from inside the Kremlin walls

Tolkien Bonus:  K is for Khazad-dum, the greatest of the Dwarf-halls and the home of Durin's folk.  Its Elvish name was Moria.


12 comments:

  1. Gorgeous pics, especially the first one!

    morgankatz505.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks. With almost 1,000 pics on this trip, it was really hard to choose.

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  2. I like them all, too, especially the soldiers on horses.

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    1. Seeing the soldiers was really cool. They were actually part of a marching band that went on to play for us in front of the cathedrals.

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  3. the garden looks lovely and the view of the river is gorgeous :)

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  4. I never realised the Kremlin was a series of buildings, always imagined just one place. and as you say, somewhat dour and dismal.

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    1. Yeah, it was quite the surprise. I guess it would be like thinking only the White House and Congress were in D.C.

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  5. I also thought "Cold War" whenever I heard about the Kremlin. The buildings are beautiful and those domes must just glitter with all the gold on them

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    1. Instead of the Russians coming here (except for my Moscow native neighbors), I went there. Who would have thought it possible?

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  6. I certainly remember the Cold War and bomb shelters... I'm surprised by the Kremlin, I expected something much more grim and austere.

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    1. I had a friend in school who had a bomb shelter in her front yard. Everyone else was very envious. And to think the Russians had all that glamour in the Kremlin.

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