Blogs from Moscow, Northwest, Russia, Europe - page 10

Arriving aroud 9pm we decide to get a taxi to the hotel so had to negotiate with the dodgy taxi drivers, our 5 star hotel (probably the first one I have ever stayed in) was located a few kilometres away in a beautifully restored building. Our room is lovely, comfortable and modern, I dont think they see many people wander in with backpacks. After check in we enjoyed a few drinks at a local bar before crashing out. Next morning we headed down to the Hermitage which is truly an amazing museum, the palace is so beautifully decorated it is a piece of art itself, comparable to the Monet and Da Vinci it houses. My favorite areas would be the central asia and caucasius sections and knights and armour section. We went to look at the ... read more

After travelling for a day and a half we arrived at Domodedovo Airport south of Moscow and after the usual airport confusion purchased a ticket on Aeroexpress train to Paveletskaya station where we ended up taking a taxi to our accommodation near the Botanichesky Sad metro station. The "hotel" is more like a hostel with small private rooms in an old appartment building but it is quiet and cheap and has a small supermarket and bar next door. Our first attempt at the metro was successful but daunting, there are no English signs anywhere so trying to orientate is difficult and few people here seem to speak English either, this country will certainly be a challenge. We travelled from our closest metro Kitay-Gorod where we were immediately confused but after getting instructions found our way to ... read more

We left Vladimir and on a Sapsan train which meant no cabin just conventional seats. It only took 1 hour 45 minutes to get into Moscow where we headed down to the metro. Steph was brilliant at sorting out the route to our hotel in the Arbat district just off the main pedestrianised street which stretches 1.25 km to the outskirts of Red Square. We checked into the sumptuous Mercure hotel and then headed out for a walk. The lure of Red Square was too much so we walked down Ul Arbat with its cafes, restaurants, shops, street entertainers and musicians,past the tomb of the unknown soldier and entered the square through the Resurrection Gate. The huge imposing walls of the Kremlin dominate the square with Lenin's mausoleum in front of them, the massive GUM shopping ... read more

One of the first conditions of happiness is the link between Man and Blog shall not be broken - Leo Tolstoy – Another misquote methinks (Ed) Despite being told that the weather will improve today, it looks like it is going to be another trip inside a deep freeze! Domestic freezers should not exceed a certain temperature or else the food can possibly receive 'freezer burn'. The outside temperature is minus 20 so to minimise further risk it was time to bring out the ‘balaclava'. I put the headpiece on then Roisin came and straightened it out. I felt like I was 5 years old again and my mum had to make me look as less of a ‘git' as possible before I could rush out and join my mates in the snow!!. That was the ... read more

Own only what you can carry with you; know languages, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn – I always seem to have a torrid night when I am away from home and know I have to get up at the crack of dawn for onward travel. I find I am constantly checking my alarm clock. Last night was no exception. It feels like I have been awake half the night. I'm sure I managed to doze off at some stage but it wouldn't be long before I'd check my watch again then check the alarm. Only 2:20am. It feels like I have been in bed for ages. At 5am, my alarm sounded. I sat on the side of the bed. Still blurry eyed and trying to suppress a ... read more