Advertisement
Published: October 20th 2013
Edit Blog Post
We are back on trains...and for quite a while. From St Petersburg, we took the Red Arrow train number 1. The train was packed, not a bad idea to have booked it weeks ahead through a travel agency. And by 7.30am, we were in Moscow. Taxis are very expensive here, and can be a mess...so to the metro we went, with all our bags...not the greatest experience, but we start to be used to it!
We are in Moscow for four days, 3 nights...before our next serious adventure. Moscow is way bigger than St Petersburg, and I need to make sure the little legs of Tiffany and Leslie can survive the challenge. They did! Weather wise, we are still pretty lucky. Bright sunny day on our first day, followed by 3 days of seriously cloudy skies...but not a single drop of rain....well, at least not on us!
Our first day, and for our first morning, our aim was to walk the Red Square...and we failed! Putin is in town, and the torch of the Winter Olympic Games arrived by plane from Greece this morning. They have simply locked down the Red Square for the event...and
to our info that day, they seem to have it locked down for more than our four days in town. Sochi 2014...you will bare us the chance to see properly the Red Square.
To top it up, this means going around downtown, specially the pedestrian area...is just a mess...well, that's life. We still manage to go around the GUM. Well, that place has changed a lot since 1991....and I mean...a lot! We are not here for shopping...and in 2013, the GUM is nothing else than any other luxury mall...it was clearly more of an experience back in 1991, as at the time, it was the transition, and few "western" shops had opened, but they were just a few...in was still mainly "communist" GUM.
Our lunch was in one of our favorite place in Russia, I call Teremok. This is basically a fast-food....but they cook on site crepes and pelmenis...plus even borsh....it's good, it's cheap, and they are everywhere....don't ask me for a Mc Do in Moscow, I'de rather go to a Teremok.
Coming back to Mc Do, it was fun to walk next to the first ever Mc Do opened in
Russia...it was on Tverskaya, and back in Spring 1991, it had opened for just few weeks...and I joined the 400 meters ++ queue outside, just for the experience. The Mc Do is still there, still pretty huge, but there are no more queues outside...normal you'll tell me!
Our afternoon was spent into the Kremlin, visiting the Armory and all the treasures of Russia....nice!
Next day...we tried again the Red Square...I know, I won't stop. And to our luck, more of it was opened! We could walk to one entry...than along the GUM...and than even have access to St Basil. I believe from the outside, this is one of the most beautiful edifice in the world. This time, and a first for me, we visited the inside too. It's nice, but nothing astonishing...
Our afternoon was spent going around the Kremlin...and all the Cathedral of the Kremlin, these are the Archangel's Cathedral, the Assumption Cathedral, the Cathedral of the Annonciation as well as the Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles...that's a lot of Cathedrals on a single square! But wow, this place is beautiful...even without the sun!
I wanted to
have the pictures of St Basil by night with Tiffany and Leslie. Specially as we could have a closer access to St Basil today. Well...not lucky, due to the celebration of Sochi 2014, they would only light it properly at 10pm...way too late for us, damn it! We gave up just after 7pm!
Our next morning...the sky was even more grey...but still...no rain! We started with the Tretyakov Gallery. This is a museum of all the treasures produced by Russian artists, from paintings to icons. We don't know much about them, but it was a really cool time wandering in this beautiful museum.
Our afternoon was spent walking around, crossing the river and accessing the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Back in 1991...there was a swimming pool here, a huge outside, and heated swimming pool. This Church is beautiful, huge, and only opened back in 2000...not easy to believe it if you do not know about it...It's a brand new building! This is a beautiful church, sadly no pictures are allowed inside.
Than, that evening...Tiffany and Leslie took an evening of...rest...well...rather of computer...and I went to please myself further...a little. There
is the Bolshoi...not cheap...than there is also the Stanislavsky Theatre. I went to my first ballet there back in 1994. The place is gorgeous...the quality is amazing...and it's way cheaper. And tonight, they had the opera Carmen. That's not really for the little ones, specially when they are tired...but for me, what an evening...with a great seat on the parterre on top of it...what an evening!
Our next morning was a little more relax. We had a last proper internet access...and went for one more long walk. On the program today...the site of the "White House of Russia". This will not tell you much if you haven't been to Russia....but back in early 1991....the Communist did try to come back...and they did it with the bullets and the tanks at the "White House". It didn't last long, but it did happen...and Boris kept Russia....drinking vodka...but with the Communists out!
We also took the metro...and a little hike to one of Moscow University...just to enjoy the look out over the city. And it was already time for a last museum, this time the Pushkin museum. This place has wonders...but a third of it was closed
in preparation of an event for Moscow Fashion Week....so a less than great experience for us...
It was already time for a last dinner...and to go to pick our bags to reach Yaroslavsky railway station....for a trip of a life time...a trip of 100 hours, 5 nights and 4 days...all the way to the East...and all the way to the cold...
Advertisement
Tot: 0.068s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 8; qc: 23; dbt: 0.0468s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb