Moscow

We spent 4 days in Moscow, which wasn’t enough considering the amount of stuff there was to see and do in Moscow. After Riga, Vilnius and Nida, it was good being in a big city again. What can I say, I guess we’re just city slickers. And Moscow is massive. At a population of over 13M (some say it’s upwards of 15M), Moscow houses c. 10% of Russia’s population. The city is organized in quasi zones based on the ring road the area falls within. Naturally, we spent most of our time within the central zone, which housed the Kremlin, among other things.

To be perfectly honest, Moscow wasn’t what I expected. I was ready to have to defend myself, using my Swiss army knife, against a steady onslaught of vodka infused Russian-mafia henchmen. Alas, the city was actually really modern and safe, people were helpful, and we didn’t have any dodgy encounters until the last day (more on that later). All that practice with the knife was for naught!

On the first day, after getting our bearings we drifted towards the Kremlin, the red square, and St Basil’s cathedral. The underground metro in Moscow is amazing – spacious, underground caverns with some really fancy décor. Very-unclaustrophobic, very un-tube like. (Oh, and the drivers weren’t on strike). One challenge, though, was figuring out station names, as everything was in the Russian alphabet, and there were no English names at each station. On the other hand, there was FREE WIFI ON METRO TRAINS! Which meant we could continuously google translate our lives as they unfolded.

Underground stations with character!

The iconic St. Basil’s Cathedral

We had amazing weather on all four days – clear blue skies, and a balmy 20-30C throughout. On the second day, we visited VDNK. I still am not particularly sure what the Russian name of this place is, or how to pronounce it as VDNK is an acronym. Anyway, VDNK was a massive outdoor park with huge paved streets and a number of buildings that housed exhibitions and museums. It was incredible, each building had sculptures, and art, and monuments. Given my fascination for all things mechanical, we visited the museum of astronautics, and a robotics exhibition. My favourite monument throughout our travels would have to be the monument at the astronautics museum I think. Really basic, stark almost, but beautiful in its simplicity.

A slightly blurry, but still awesome monument

The fountains at VDNK

Beautiful facades on massive museums

Art, art, … art?

Pixel people lining the main walkway in VDNK

On the last day, we visited Gorky park with friends, and had lunch in the park. Gorky park is Moscow’s central park. A place for all Muscovites to gather and bask in the sun. Gorky had mass yoga sessions, a skate park, paddle boats, some cool shops and exhibitions and was generally very lively.

Living the park life in Gorky

More Gorky! Fun Gorky!

Cherry dumplings at a cafe in Gorky park

Honourable mention: We also visited the National history museum.

Food, drink, bars and restaurants

Given that Moscow is a nice, normal-sized large city, there were plenty of places to go for food. The only challenge is that service staff at most places only speak Russian – so a phrasebook or really good charades skills are recommended. Side note – Even though most people don’t speak any English, English music, on the other hand, is ubiquitous. And not just 80s and 90s pop like in Scandinavia, but really up-to-date, pushing the envelope pop/alternative music.

Some places we visited with friends, or by ourselves:

Rhythm and Blues café: http://rhythm-blues-cafe.ru/

The outdoor section had a great band, and some great ambiance. Plush seating in a gritty, industrial, graffiti covered area. Definitely recommended.

Beer and blues, always a good Friday night!

Our waiter really earned his tip, climbing a narrow flight of stairs for this aerial view!

Avocado: http://www.avocadocafe.ru/

When you need to load up on your veggies, this vegetarian/vegan restaurant is a good option.

Hashtag tofu!

Krisis Zhanra: http://www.kriziszhanra.ru/

Live music most days, decent food, great beer.

Minions, McD’s, classic cars, and malls, among other things.

The only dodgy bits:

Right, before wrapping up, I’ll describe the only dodgy bit of Moscow we encountered – the train station! Our train was at 2345 hrs, so we reached the train station in time for dinner. From 8pm onwards, the area outside the station was a smorgasbord of every kind of drunk person imaginable. From the well-dressed salaryman getting home after half a bottle of vodka, to your regular homeless person who by 9pm was ready (or forced) to call it a night. When I was checking the platform number on the board, a middle aged lady, completely drunk, just toppled over beside me. Someone helped her up, but then she decided to just lay down again, for a power nap obviously. Across all socio economic classes, across gender and race, one thing united the people of the Yaroslava train station like nothing else: Vodka.

That being said, it was still pretty safe, just a bit edgier that the rest of our time in Moscow! Moscow was one of N’s favourite cities so far, and we look forward to visiting in winter. Way too much to cover in 3-4 days.

———-

Travel facts
Cumulative cost of travel so far
GBP: 523 plus EUR: 1308 plus RUB:16,000
Accommodation
Fligel Hotel, booked on booking.com GBP88
Moscow spending:
RUB 16,000