Rostov Kremlin

I visited the quiet and pleasant little town of Veliky Rostov on a sunny and mild summer day in June 2018 during the Football World Cup in Russia.
I took the train from Jaroslavl early in the morning to V.Rostov train station. From there I walked past the Church of St.Nicolas ("Храм Николая Чудотворца На Всполье") to my accommodation, a beautiful old palace that was converted into a hotel.
Shortly afterwards I went into the city center to the Rostov Kremlin...to be honest, my jaw dropped when I saw this fantastically beautiful Kremlin...delightful...like something out of a fairy tale...a true joy and feast for the eyes...absolutely impressive.

I bought an entrance ticket and spent almost 2,5 hours inside the kremlin where I examined every nook and cranny, stuck my long nose into every corner and tried to open every door.The white and blue colors of the Kremlin are overwhelmingly beautiful to look at from the viewing platform of the Kremlin tower, which you can climb up.Within the Kremlin there were various exhibitions, hidden rooms (my advice, try to open every door, even in hidden places)and some small churches. I enjoyed the small garden of the Kremlin, where I had a coffee. Simply magical. There were hardly any visitors, not a single foreign one.

Then I left the kremlin and visited the nearby cathedral. After that I went to a cafe near the kremlin entrance gate where I had a bottle of tarchun and some very tasty bliny(kind of …

Site visited in April 2019. 

Upon suggestion by a discerning member of this site, I decided to stop at this TWHS on my way from Moscow to Yaroslavl by train. 

The first thing I'd like to mention on this trip was the imposing facade of the Yaroslavl Train Station in Moscow, from which my train left. On the way I skipped Sergiyev Posad WHS, as I had visited it before, but I stepped out of my train at the train station of this city to pay proper respect to my Japanese grandmother who is buried somewhere unbeknownst to me in this city. 

Arriving at the Rostov train station, I found a bus waiting and hopped on. Make no mistake, this is not our typical hop-on, hop-off bus, but it pretty much went straight on a dirt road to the town center near the Kremlin.

If you approach the Kremlin from the center, you'll be first lured into the Assumption Cathedral right next to the Kremlin. As you exit this impressive Cathedral, you'll notice a gate on the Kremlin wall close by. This gate is not the front gate, but the side gate of the Kremlin. In hindsight I would recommend entering the Kremiln from the front gate, which is further down the paved road from the center. 

This Kremlin is not in a perfect condition, but the white structures against the blue sky was marvelous. In fact I can't think of any prettier Kremlin than …

I think I had my first real encounter with Russia in Rostov. I was walking from the train station to the city along the principal road and was fighting hard to pull my luggage: The main road to the town center was a dirt road. Frankly, I am only used to see those for agricultural purposes or for pedestrians. Not as principal roads of a city.

Rostov itself is pretty sleepy: little tourists, little traffic, little entertainment options. But it has a great Kreml in the middle of the city outshining in white and blue all other buildings of the town.

OUV

Not sure if the list needs yet another Kreml with plenty of them inscribed already. But: Rostov felt distinct from all other sites I saw on my brief foray into Russia. It really felt like a fairy tale castle.

To me it would make for a nice addition. Be advised though that I tend to be more lenient with sites I visit at the beginning of my trip. Rostov was my 2nd visit on my Russia trip ...

Getting There

Rostov is close to Yaroslawl and can be combined as a visit from Moscow. The connections being as they are I think you will not manage to do that as a day trip. The trains don't run all that often. Also, be aware that getting a train ticket in Russia is quite an ordeal, so have some buffer time wise. I …