Miss Swan Goes to Washington: Miss Swan Goes to Russia: Part III

Let's take a jaunt into the Red Square to visit the Kremlin...

Ladies and gentlemen, we are inside the Kremlin

Can I first say though that navigating ticket lines and times in Russia is more confusing than hearing my dad explain the stock market? Holy smokes. But the gold-domed churches inside are spectacular, and the armory was well worth all the confusion.

Here's a tid bit on Russian Orthodox churches and what the domes represent:

single dome = church devoted to Christ
3 domes = church devoted to the Trinity
5 domes = Christ and the 4 evangelists
7 domes = 7 gifts of the Spirit
9 domes = 9 orders of Heavenly Powers. Whatever that means.
green = trinity, blue = Spirit, gold = Christ

So next time you see a Russian Orthodox church (because I'm sure you run into those all the time), you'll be able to impress all your friends and tell them all about its symbolism.

It made me a little sick to look at all the treasures in the armory and know that the rest of the country was starving while the royals were having family scripture study from a diamond- and pearl-encrusted bible. Some of the tsars were just kids when they assumed power, and had a secret door in the back of the throne where an advisor could whisper responses to them. No pictures allowed inside, but here are the grounds:

Pop quiz: what do the domes on these two churches represent?

This photo courtesey of Samsung

Dome-heads

I am 100% a bandwagon photographer

The Swan Bell

We were always on the hunt for good borscht

I know I look like a grandma in this picture - don't mention it. I tried to rock the babushka scarf that we got in the 'Christ the Savior' cathedral, and it didn't work.