Moscow, Russia

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Despite advice from others we flew Aeroflot to Moscow and indeed the warnings are correct. Two days before the departure date we received an email that the flight was moved to a day later and the only option was a refund. By then it was too late to move our hotel reservation, so we missed a day of vacation and paid for a hotel we could not use.

Don't trust the Internet either when you book a hotel in Russia. The hotel we booked was listed by Orbitz.com as within 3 miles of the Kremlin, but it was 50 miles away and required a $150.00 taxi ride--one way. Kim got a got a laugh out of my Internet experience and tried to do better. She used TripAdvisor.com to book a hotel 4 miles from the Kremlin and it turned out to 20 miles from the Kremlin. But at least her hotel was within a quarter mile of the Metro, which was cheaper than a taxi ($1).

We suspect that services like TripAdvisor and Orbitz rely on the honesty of the party putting in the location data (address, etc.) and possibly honesty is not always the best policy in Moscow? But life is too short to focus on what sucks about it so we rolled with the punches and had fun anyway. But my advice to you is to not trust the Internet when dealing with Russia. Instead, pick up a copy of the Lonely Planet and you will find hotels in there that are located on the map as disclosed. Then use Orbitz (etc.) to book the hotel on the Internet once the location is verified by a non-Internet source.

As you may know, Russia uses a different alphabet. http://www.xs4all.nl/~wjsn/russian.htm
So once on the subway you may have a difficult time determining which direction to go or how to transfer between lines. But if things weren't different in Russia, why spend the money to visit? So Russia beat a few days out of us trying to get within range of the landmarks and required some unexpected money, but in the end, we got what we came for--a Russian experience. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow

"Saint Basil's is located at the southeast end of Red Square, just across from the Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin. Not particularly large, it consists of nine chapels built on a single foundation. The cathedral's design follows that of contemporary tented churches, notably those of Ascension in Kolomenskoye (1530) and of St John the Baptist's Decapitation in Dyakovo (1547)." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Basil%27s_Cathedral

"Kremlin, is a historic fortified complex at the heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River (to the south), Saint Basil's Cathedral and Red Square (to the east) and the Alexander Garden (to the west). It is the best known of kremlins (Russian citadels) and includes four palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall with Kremlin towers. The complex serves as the official residence of the President of Russia." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_Kremlin

"Red Square (Russian: Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad) is the most famous city square in Moscow. The square separates the Kremlin, the former royal citadel and currently the official residence of the President of Russia, from a historic merchant quarter known as Kitay-gorod. As major streets of Moscow radiate from here in all directions, being promoted to major highways outside the city, the Red Square is often considered the central square of Moscow and of all Russia." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Square

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