The capital city and the home of Russia's government. And what we also discovered, a clean, well maintained city with a definite European feel. The traffic is horrendous though. Moscow is very proud of its Metro system and it's also the most efficient way to get around.
Our host, Sergei, offered to pick us up from the train station. What hospitality! We thought maybe we would be travelling via metro, however Sergei arrived in a small hatchback. A light game of tetras with out luggage and we slid off into the traffic.
We really have been super lucky with our Airbnb accommodation so far. And this round was no different. Sergei is a wonderful and welcoming Host! He rents out 4 of the rooms in his massive 5-bed apartment. The whole place has been renovated in a modern hipster type style, with exposed brick feature walls and minimalist/functional furniture and accessories. Both bathrooms, side by side, had a massive shower with a large rain shower head and heated floors, luxury!
We got settled and then headed off to get aquainted with the Metro. We needed to go a few suburbs north to collect train tickets for a later leg of our journey, as you can't buy Russian international train tickets online. We had arranged for someone locally to buy our tickets from Ulan Ude to Ulaanbatar at a station. On the way back to the apartment with found a lovely grocery store and stocked up on supplies for the next few days as well as some tasty ready-made meals for dinner. It was still raining and perfect weather to just chill out at home.
We woke up the next morning feeling super lazy and really just happy to be doing not much at all. We were now 4 weeks into our trip and quite a large part of that taken up with solid sightseeing. We wanted some time out. We had sightseeing fatigue. We were not even really interested in planning what we wanted to go see/do. The only thing on the list was the Kremlin, which being a Thursday, was closed. That was
tomorrow's agenda. So what to do today? Oh, I don't know...
Eventually, around
1pm, we left the house and walked down to the city centre to check out Red Square and St Basil's Cathedral. We were a little disappointed to find a temporary stadium set up in Red Square which obstructed the grandness of the space and the ability to stand in the middle and view both ends at the same time. The north-west end is lined by State Historical Museum and the south-east end by colourful St Basil's. Oh well, we would need to be creative and imagine this. Another short walk and we were at Marketplace, just like the one in St Petes, for a late lunch. To cap off our cruisy day, we went one metro stop to check out what Sergei had recommended as the most beautiful Metro station. There are over 150 stations throughout the city and many are grand elegant beauties with marble facing, frescos and gilded works of art.
The Moscow Metro is not only one of the best in the world but has to be most beautiful.
Day 2 was to a day to explore the Kremlin. Red square and the Kremlin are the historical, geographic and spiritual heart of Moscow and have been for nearly 900 years. The Kremlin is the kernel of Moscow and the whole country. We started off by deciphering the system on how to buy tickets for each of the individual sections inside the Kremlin. Tickets to some sections are sold for timelsots, to regulate the flow of people through the popular areas, but are only available 45mins prior to the time slot. And there is only one ticket office for the whole site. We secured tickets to the Armoury for
1pm. And then to a different line to buy tickets for the general site and churches. This ticket is valid for anytime so we headed off to check out the grounds and churches. As you enter through Trinity Gate Tower you certainly get the impression you are entering somewhere powerful and important. As you can imagine, the whole site is impeccably maintained and well presented. First up was the Assumption Cathedral, apparently the most important church in pre-revolutionary Russia and dates back to the 15th century. Next, Archangel Cathedral, where centuries of tsars and tsarinas are laid to rest. And lastly, Annunication Cathedral with an overwhelming amount of iconography. All 3 cathedrals are rich with beautiful colourful frescos. Out in the yard is home to the oversize tsar cannon and bell, both of which are too large to serve their intended purpose. After a picnic lunch in the gardens, we headed off to the Armoury, founded in 1511 to manufacture and store weapons, imperial arms and regalia for the royal court. Later on, it also produced jewellery, icon frames and embroidery. We ogled the treasures while listening to the supplied audio guide. Definitely a highlight was one of the last rooms where Royal carriages are displayed. Ranging from the early 17th century through to the 20th century and such a grand display of prestige and beauty.
We did go back to the ticket office to enquiry about tickets to Ivan the Great Bell Tower. Unfortunately, it is forbidden to climb the bell tower in the rain. And given the overcast weather and impending threat of rain we were told that it unlikely that we would be allowed to climb to the viewing platform in the tower. We were absolutely spent from being in the crowds all day so were more than happy to call it quits for the day. Before heading home, we stopped by the tomb of the unknown soldier and paid our respects.
Our last day in Moscow was a Saturday, Parkrun day! Moscow has about 20 park runs to choose from. We chose one in Gorky Park, Moscow's main escape from the city. We trekked across town on the subway and arrived in plenty of time for
9am start. There were a out 30 other runners and we received a warm welcome. A nice course on the banks of the river and plenty of other people out and a out being active. Despite the cold and being totally unfit, we had a great morning out. Upon returning to our neighbourhood, the main roads and most side streets were closed in preparation for the big party to celebrate Moscow's birthday - 870 official years. It was a little every to walk down the middle of an
8 lane main road that is normally packed with traffic.
We returned to the apartment and had a great chat with our host while we cooked and ate breakfast/lunch. We had a few hours to kill before heading to the train station, so we wandered around and soaked up the atmosphere of all the celebrations. Steph also stopped for massive lunch despite only eating breakfast
at 11.30am!
All-in-all, Moscow was a great stop off our adventure. We saw the sights we wanted but also had some well-needed down time.
