For The Love of Travel

A half day tour of the the Kremlin Armoury Chamber today – since 1508, its been in charge of producing, purchasing and storing weapons, jewellery and various household articles of the Tsars. The finest Muscovite gunsmiths, jewelers and painters used to work there. In 1700, the Armoury was enriched with the treasures of the Golden and Silver chambers of the Russian Tsars.

Alexander 1 nominated the Armoury as the first public museum in 1806, but the collections were not opened to the public until 7 years later.

After the Bolshevik Revolution, the Armoury collection was enriched with treasures taken from the Orthodox Church sacristy, Kremlin cathedrals, monasteries and private collections. Some of these were sold abroad on behest of Stalin in the 1930s. In 1960, the Armoury became the official museum of the Kremlin. 

No photos were allowed to be taken inside unfortunately. And legs needing a break after all that SLOW walking pace, so back to rest at hotel. And salivating, thinking about seafood repast this evening.

Sakhalin restaurant is a jewel of a seafood restaurant with shells, crabs, shrimps and fish from the Far East of Russia – with a breathtaking 360-degree panoramic view of Moscow (and its at the top of my hotel!).

Russian regional products combined with Mediterranean/Asian dishes and cooking techniques, form the basis of a new style of MediterrAsian cuisine.

Novodevichy Monastery occupies a very specific place in Russian history. On the grounds surrounded by the Kremlinesque walls, which were built to act as a fortress, are four cathedrals including the majestic four-onion globes of Smolensky Cathedral which dates back to 1524. It was at Novodevichy that Peter the Great imprisoned his sister Sophia and executed her supporters from the Streltsy rebellion. 

Close-by, the vast Novodevichy Cemetary. Anyone who was anyone is here. Russians adore statues and immense monuments and it’s a fascinating place to explore. Notable graves include Chekhov, Eisenstein, Khrushchev and Yeltsin. 

The Tretyakov gallery houses 1300 works of Russian art from the 11th till the early 20th century, beginning from pre-Mongolian icons and mosaics and ending with landscape, portrait, historical paintings and masterpieces. The works of the great artists Kiprensky’s “Portrait of Alexander Pushkin”,  Vereshchagin’s, “Triumph”, Vastnetsov’s “Bogatyrs” (Warriors), Aivazovsky’s “The Black Sea”, and “The Rainbow”, particularly took my fancy.