Chambers of Zaryadye (aka the Palace of the Romanoff Boyars)

Today, we went to the Chambers of Zaryadye or commonly referred to as the Palace of the Romanoff Boyars. When we arrived at 11:30, the cashier told us to come back at 12:30. So, we went out onto the courtyard and noticed some people who appeared to be touring the palace. I went up to the door where we saw the people and asked if we could come in. She told me I needed to have a ticket. I told her we tried to buy a ticket but were told to come back an hour later. She told me to wait and went in and called the cashier and told her to sell us some tickets. While my group was getting impatient with me, as I tried to negotiate on their behalf, they were duly impressed with the results, given that the only language spoken was Russian (and I must confess a lot of charades)!!

My camera batteries were both dead, so I had to take my pictures with my cell phone, so check back next week and I will post some of them (Acia is the only person who can download cellphone photos).

It was a very interesting tour, and certainly an unpretentious palace. Any of us live better than the boyars of the 16th and 17th centuries. Small doors, narrow stairways, and beautifully arched ceilings added a bit of quaintness to our experience. I was most impressed with the "svetlitsa," a room dedicated to needlework. Here is a brief description of, what must be, Russia's oldest museums:

Chambers of Zaryadye is one of the first museums in Moscow, situated not far from Kremlin on the territory of the former boyars Romanovs estate. The progenitor of Russian tzar dynasty M.F.Romanov was born here. In 1856 one of Romanov posterity - Emperor Alexander II ordered to restore the old building and to found a museum in honor of his noble ancestors. The Museum was opened in 1859. In the course of centuries the exterior and designation of the chambers have changed several times and at present the chambers are a rare monument of the Russian civil architecture of the 15-17th centuries.
The Museum in the chambers is the only museum depicting the ancient Russian mode of life on the authentic monuments of the 16-17 centuries. All the premises are decorated as typical interiors of a rich Moscow house. In the cellars one can see the household premises and the repositories of valuables. The house is divided in two parts - men's and women's. There is dining room, the boyar study, library and a room for senior sons in the men's part. In the women's part one can see a boyar woman's room and "svetlitsa" - a room for needlework.

We had lunch at Sbarro's (the lines were too long at McDonalds). We then walked back to the Tverskaya metro station, just for the heck of it, and headed for home. It was a cool fiftyish or so, with a very light mist, just as we were getting on the metro. Along the way we stopped in at the Ritz-Carlton hotel which is just off Red Square. Moscow is one of our possible venues for the next Mission Presidents' Seminar. The basic room charge is $37,500 roubles a night, or about $1,530 per night based on today's rate of exchange. Who said Moscow was expensive!! I don't think we will be staying there!!

In the afternoon we had a nap and then had a homemade meatloaf sandwich for dinner. Since then I have been working on the blog, while Chris works on tomorrow's spaghetti dinner.