In just one blog it is impossible to do justice to the crazy and manic city that is Moscow. The four day continuous assault on our senses meant that we had little time to sit and rest, and even less time to sleep.
Moscow is brilliant. It's crowded, everybody always has somewhere to be, and everywhere you look you are bombarded by modern capitalist icons in a city that has still very much retained its Soviet strings.
Keen to avoid the stress and anxiety that is associated with arriving in a new city, our first step upon arrival was to join the Moscow Free Tour in order to help orient ourselves around the main sites. It happened to be 'Russia Day', a popular public holiday, so there were celebrations all over the city and many tourist attractions were closed. There were thirty tourists on our tour from all over the world, and it was a relief to be able to talk to other native English speakers, something we hadn't been able to do for nearly a month. The tour was lead by a friendly and enthusiastic young Russian girl named Elena, and we saw many of the main sites (from the outside), including Red Square, GUM (State Department Store), St Basil's Cathedral, the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier, the Old English Court, Romanov Chambers, the remains of the old walls of Kitai Gorod, and the Church of All Saints that was used during the Soviet times as a KGB killing chamber. Elena had some fascinating stories and insights into life in communist Russia, courtesy of her parents, as well as her own well-researched knowledge and liberal opinions, which she shared freely, mixed with subtle humour:
"In Russia we have always had freedom of speech. Just not always freedom after speech."
"An American and a Russian were arguing in a bar about who had more civil liberties: the Americans under Barack Obama or the Russians under Vladimir Putin. The American said, 'In America, I can go to Washington DC, I can approach the White House, and I can say that I hate Barack Obama, and nothing bad will happen to me'. The Russia exclaimed, 'it is the same in Russia; I can go to Moscow, I can approach the Kremlin, and I can say that I hate Barack Obama, and nothing bad will happen to me either.'"
Moscow Free Tour
After our free tour, we headed to the World Heritage Listed Novodevichy Convent and Cemetery. It was built in 1524 to commemorate the taking of Smolensk from Lithuania, but is more well known as the place that Peter the Great imprisoned his half-sister. The grounds of the convent are blissfully peaceful, and the highlight is the main Smolensk Cathedral, with internal walls and ceiling covered in 16th century frescoes. As we were searching for the cemetery, we watched the ominous rain clouds approaching. We were reassured however, because Elena had told us with conviction that it had never ever rained on Russia Day, because each year the military sends helicopters into the sky to spray chemicals that deter the rain. Well, perhaps the military missed this year's memo, because minutes later the rain started and our umbrellas were out in a flash. We arrived at the cemetery (which is apparently only for the most prestigious Russian deceased) with fifteen minutes until closing time, so we only managed to locate Boris Yeltin's grave among the thousands that were there. We were disappointed not to find Chekhov, Gogol, Eisenstein or Khrushchev; however, we were also keen to make it back to the Metro to escape the rain.
As we had found Elena's morning tour so insightful, we decided to join her evening Communist Moscow Tour. After a day of walking many kilometres resulting in sore feet, we were a little apprehensive of another two hour walk, but the intrigue of the tour took the better of us. We saw some fascinating places, including the KGB headquarters, the soviet court where 40,000 death sentences were handed out in only a few years, the Bolshoi Theatre (now noted for its ballet but also previously the location of the signing of the Soviet constitution in the early 1920s), and the office where Lenin worked. We also walked down the most expensive street in Moscow, visited the most beautiful supermarket in all of Russia and paused briefly in Pushkin square to admire the famous statue and the second largest Macdonalds in the world. We were amazed by the civil engineering feat that took place in Tverskaya Ul: At some stage during his reign, Stalin decided that this street needed to be made wider. Miraculously, and without the use of modern technology, the buildings along the street (masterpieces in themselves), were raised and placed on pulley systems which moved them anywhere from 12-50 metres backwards (often with the occupants still inside). Their foundations remained strong and the street today looks like it was designed that way. Amazing!
We opted to return to our hotel after the tour rather than brave the chaos of the Russia Day celebrations. Red Square looked more like a nightclub and we could hear the fireworks from our hostel as we watched the celebrations on television.
On our second day in Moscow, we arrived early at St Basil's Cathedral, expecting to encounter similar queues to those we experienced in St Petersburg. Instead, we walked straight in, and were able to enjoy the beautiful interior of the cathedral at our leisure. Rather than being one large and open space like other churches in Russia, the cathedral consisted of ten small chapels, each as beautiful as the previous. The echoes of the acapella quartet who were singing on the second floor resonated through every room and it was spine chilling.
We put our less than successful afternoon behind us, as the night I'd waited months for had finally arrived... we were on our way to see the ballet performance 'Lady of the Camelias' at the Bolshoi Theatre. Thanks to my nan's generosity, we had secured tickets to one of the most prestigious ballet theatres in the world. Both the interior and exterior of the theatre were exquisite. The architecture was amazing and the amount of gold dripping from every corner and every balcony was dazzling. Given that we've both been living out of backpacks for nearly four months, we were impressed with our efforts to wear appropriate attire for this night. Richard in a nice shirt and me in a dress and stockings, we arrived to find that sitting next to us, in front of us and behind us... actually everywhere.... were women whose dresses had more gold sparkles and diamontes than the theatre itself, whose high heels came up to my hip, and who had spent more hours sitting at the hairdressers, beauty parlour and botox clinic than I've spent sitting on trains in Russia. This made the experience of people-spotting almost as entertaining as the ballet itself. The dancing was exceptionally high quality and the sets and costumes were exquisite.
Sculpture Park
Richard was counting down the hours until the 2:00am kick off of the England v Italy World Cup game. After watching Australia concede their first two goals the previous night at the hostel, before going to bed in frustration, we headed to a local sports bar to watch the England game on the big screen. The bar was full of English and Italian football supporters, and had a good atmosphere, but that unfortunately didn't help England's plight and we walked home at 4:00am in silence.
We awarded ourselves a sleep-in on our final day in Moscow. This was a wise decision, as we listened to the thunder and rain outside. When we finally checked out of the hostel at midday, it was overcast but not raining. We took a train to just outside of Moscow, to the World Heritage Listed Church of the Ascension. Plain as far as Russian church standards go, with no mosaics or frescoes, and just a coat of plain white paint, the excitement came as we arrived at the church grounds and had lunch in a little cafe. An apocalyptic thunderstorm hit with a vengeance, the heavens opened and we were met with horizontal rain and monstrous gusts of wind. We ran as fast as we could, and took shelter in the Church of the Ascension (the irony is not lost on me, trust me). After admiring the white paint (and little else), we wondered how else we could entertain ourselves until the weather eased. After a long time, we realised the rain wasn't planning on stopping any time soon, so we braced ourselves and started the long walk back to the train station, praying our umbrellas didn't become lightning conductors.
Our final stop was the Gulag Museum, free on the third Sunday of each month (bonus!); it was a sobering account of life in Russian gulags under Stalin's reign.
We are now on a train bound for Kazakhstan and are taking the time to reflect on our month in Russia, a country famed for its difficulty for tourists. Well, we survived, and have had an amazing time, and we are sad to say goodbye to the beautiful sites we have seen. We are not however, shattered to say goodbye to the rudeness, abruptness and coldness of many of the people we have encountered over the past thirty days. Of course, there have also been many wonderful people, who have been so kind and generous, and it is because of these people and their beautiful country that we will leave with fond memories forever.
After our free tour, we headed to the World Heritage Listed Novodevichy Convent and Cemetery. It was built in 1524 to commemorate the taking of Smolensk from Lithuania, but is more well known as the place that Peter the Great imprisoned his half-sister. The grounds of the convent are blissfully peaceful, and the highlight is the main Smolensk Cathedral, with internal walls and ceiling covered in 16th century frescoes. As we were searching for the cemetery, we watched the ominous rain clouds approaching. We were reassured however, because Elena had told us with conviction that it had never ever rained on Russia Day, because each year the military sends helicopters into the sky to spray chemicals that deter the rain. Well, perhaps the military missed this year's memo, because minutes later the rain started and our umbrellas were out in a flash. We arrived at the cemetery (which is apparently only for the most prestigious Russian deceased) with fifteen minutes until closing time, so we only managed to locate Boris Yeltin's grave among the thousands that were there. We were disappointed not to find Chekhov, Gogol, Eisenstein or Khrushchev; however, we were also keen to make it back to the Metro to escape the rain.
Novodevichy Convent
As we had found Elena's morning tour so insightful, we decided to join her evening Communist Moscow Tour. After a day of walking many kilometres resulting in sore feet, we were a little apprehensive of another two hour walk, but the intrigue of the tour took the better of us. We saw some fascinating places, including the KGB headquarters, the soviet court where 40,000 death sentences were handed out in only a few years, the Bolshoi Theatre (now noted for its ballet but also previously the location of the signing of the Soviet constitution in the early 1920s), and the office where Lenin worked. We also walked down the most expensive street in Moscow, visited the most beautiful supermarket in all of Russia and paused briefly in Pushkin square to admire the famous statue and the second largest Macdonalds in the world. We were amazed by the civil engineering feat that took place in Tverskaya Ul: At some stage during his reign, Stalin decided that this street needed to be made wider. Miraculously, and without the use of modern technology, the buildings along the street (masterpieces in themselves), were raised and placed on pulley systems which moved them anywhere from 12-50 metres backwards (often with the occupants still inside). Their foundations remained strong and the street today looks like it was designed that way. Amazing!
The most beautiful supermarket in Russia
We opted to return to our hotel after the tour rather than brave the chaos of the Russia Day celebrations. Red Square looked more like a nightclub and we could hear the fireworks from our hostel as we watched the celebrations on television.
On our second day in Moscow, we arrived early at St Basil's Cathedral, expecting to encounter similar queues to those we experienced in St Petersburg. Instead, we walked straight in, and were able to enjoy the beautiful interior of the cathedral at our leisure. Rather than being one large and open space like other churches in Russia, the cathedral consisted of ten small chapels, each as beautiful as the previous. The echoes of the acapella quartet who were singing on the second floor resonated through every room and it was spine chilling.
St Basil's Cathedral
The rain started and didn't stop for the rest of the day. Wet and cold, we lined up for an hour for entry into the Kremlin. There were winding queues everywhere, no signs, and pandemonium among a sea of hundreds of confused tourists (Russian and foreign alike). We knew that tickets to the Kremlin Armoury only went on sale 45 minutes before each tour time slot, and so we tried to time our joining of the queue to coincide with this. The queue moved more slowly than we anticipated, and when we arrived at the front an hour later, with 30 minutes until the next tour time, we were told very abruptly that 'nyet' there were no Armoury tickets left. Trying to ask how on earth we were supposed to get tickets, given that joining the queue much earlier would have meant getting to the front with more than 45 minutes to spare and hence too early to buy tickets, the ticket seller simply bashed a sign that said '45' and we assumed that the only way to secure tickets was to fluke arriving at the ticket window exactly as the time clicked over the 45 minute mark. We were waved away and it was made clear we were wasting yet another rude Russian's precious time. We found it preposterous that such a small number of tickets were available and that the only way to secure them was to predict the speed of the queue with perfection. And even more frustrating, the only way to find any of this out was to queue for an hour in the first place. We walked away, amid a crowd of similarly bewildered tourists, and although we failed to get Armoury tickets, we were still permitted entry into the main Kremlin grounds (and I felt absolutely no guilt at all in presenting Richard's Melbourne University staff card for 'student' discount entry). The grounds were underwhelming. The office buildings were guarded by police, and the moment someone stepped off the narrow path (even to let someone get past), whistles start blowing from every direction. We visited some of the churches in the grounds, beautiful in their own rights but soured by the fact that despite huge grand doorways at the front of each one, hundreds of tourists were being forced to cram single-file through side doors, meaning that entry and exit consisted of pushing, shoving and frustration all around. The three cathedrals we saw were the Assumption Cathedral, Annunciation Cathedral and Archangel Cathedral which is the resting place of Ivan the Terrible. All were undoubtedly more crowded than normal due to the heavy rain outside. We made a hasty and grumpy exit and headed back to the hostel to escape the atrocious weather.
The Kremlin
We put our less than successful afternoon behind us, as the night I'd waited months for had finally arrived... we were on our way to see the ballet performance 'Lady of the Camelias' at the Bolshoi Theatre. Thanks to my nan's generosity, we had secured tickets to one of the most prestigious ballet theatres in the world. Both the interior and exterior of the theatre were exquisite. The architecture was amazing and the amount of gold dripping from every corner and every balcony was dazzling. Given that we've both been living out of backpacks for nearly four months, we were impressed with our efforts to wear appropriate attire for this night. Richard in a nice shirt and me in a dress and stockings, we arrived to find that sitting next to us, in front of us and behind us... actually everywhere.... were women whose dresses had more gold sparkles and diamontes than the theatre itself, whose high heels came up to my hip, and who had spent more hours sitting at the hairdressers, beauty parlour and botox clinic than I've spent sitting on trains in Russia. This made the experience of people-spotting almost as entertaining as the ballet itself. The dancing was exceptionally high quality and the sets and costumes were exquisite.
The Bolshoi Theatre
With our sights on the Lenin Mausoleum, we began our third day in Moscow with the aim of adding our fourth dead communist to our list. After only twenty minutes of queueing, and none of the hype of our previous experiences with Mao or the Kimmies, we were ushered into the mausoleum. I'm not sure how much the blind man in front of us saw, apart from constantly tripping up the steps while being pulled along by his friend, but we saw a peaceful albeit waxy figure of a sleeping Lenin, before being herded out the other side. We were then able to walk along the Kremlin wall to view the necropolis where Stalin is buried.
Then, knowing we were fools, after yesterday's ticket palava at the Kremlin, we lined up again in an attempt to purchase Armoury tickets. As the queue moved forward inch by inch, we watched the clock like hawks... firstly we were sure we would reach the window too early, then we were convinced the line was moving too slowly and we'd miss out once again. Through nothing short of a miracle, we stepped up to the ticket booth at precisely the 45 minute mark for the next tour. Low and behold, we managed to buy two tickets (which by the way were very expensive), and then we ran to the Armoury like we'd just won golden tickets to the Willy Wonka factory. We then had to join two more separate queues, and despite our 'tour' time being 2:30pm, it was 3:00pm by the time we were allowed in (a full two hours after we'd joined the first queue). We had many tourists coming up to us and pleading to know how we managed to get hold of the tickets. We explained the ridiculous process and watched sympathetically as each time they walked dejectedly away.
The Armoury was fantastic. Definitely worth the cost of the tickets, but I am still deciding if it was worth the stress and debacle of the queueing process. We saw millions upon millions of dollars worth of jewels and diamonds, encrusted upon all sorts of relics and treasures acquired by the Russian State and Church over hundreds of years, from jewellery and ornaments to Peter the Great's throne and Catherine II's coronation dress. Unfortunately photography was not permitted.
Despite being in pain from yet another day of kilometres of walking, we then headed to Gorky Park and the Art Muzeon Sculpture Park. Both were brilliant, although no remedy for sore feet - they were both set on massive grounds along the Moscow River. The Sculpture Park housed many old soviet statues that used to grace the city's streets, but are now only worthy of tourists' eyes in a non-prominent area of the outer city. Gorky Park is obviously the place to be seen in Russia. Hundreds of Russians were enjoying the weekend twilight, with an abundance of activities on offer: picnics, rollerblading, cycling, skateboarding, table tennis, dancing, paddleboats, performances and restaurants. I hired rollerblades for an hour, a little nervous because I couldn't say 'safety gear' in Russian, but fortunately I stayed upright.
Then, knowing we were fools, after yesterday's ticket palava at the Kremlin, we lined up again in an attempt to purchase Armoury tickets. As the queue moved forward inch by inch, we watched the clock like hawks... firstly we were sure we would reach the window too early, then we were convinced the line was moving too slowly and we'd miss out once again. Through nothing short of a miracle, we stepped up to the ticket booth at precisely the 45 minute mark for the next tour. Low and behold, we managed to buy two tickets (which by the way were very expensive), and then we ran to the Armoury like we'd just won golden tickets to the Willy Wonka factory. We then had to join two more separate queues, and despite our 'tour' time being 2:30pm, it was 3:00pm by the time we were allowed in (a full two hours after we'd joined the first queue). We had many tourists coming up to us and pleading to know how we managed to get hold of the tickets. We explained the ridiculous process and watched sympathetically as each time they walked dejectedly away.
The Armoury was fantastic. Definitely worth the cost of the tickets, but I am still deciding if it was worth the stress and debacle of the queueing process. We saw millions upon millions of dollars worth of jewels and diamonds, encrusted upon all sorts of relics and treasures acquired by the Russian State and Church over hundreds of years, from jewellery and ornaments to Peter the Great's throne and Catherine II's coronation dress. Unfortunately photography was not permitted.
Despite being in pain from yet another day of kilometres of walking, we then headed to Gorky Park and the Art Muzeon Sculpture Park. Both were brilliant, although no remedy for sore feet - they were both set on massive grounds along the Moscow River. The Sculpture Park housed many old soviet statues that used to grace the city's streets, but are now only worthy of tourists' eyes in a non-prominent area of the outer city. Gorky Park is obviously the place to be seen in Russia. Hundreds of Russians were enjoying the weekend twilight, with an abundance of activities on offer: picnics, rollerblading, cycling, skateboarding, table tennis, dancing, paddleboats, performances and restaurants. I hired rollerblades for an hour, a little nervous because I couldn't say 'safety gear' in Russian, but fortunately I stayed upright.
Gorky Park
Richard was counting down the hours until the 2:00am kick off of the England v Italy World Cup game. After watching Australia concede their first two goals the previous night at the hostel, before going to bed in frustration, we headed to a local sports bar to watch the England game on the big screen. The bar was full of English and Italian football supporters, and had a good atmosphere, but that unfortunately didn't help England's plight and we walked home at 4:00am in silence.
We awarded ourselves a sleep-in on our final day in Moscow. This was a wise decision, as we listened to the thunder and rain outside. When we finally checked out of the hostel at midday, it was overcast but not raining. We took a train to just outside of Moscow, to the World Heritage Listed Church of the Ascension. Plain as far as Russian church standards go, with no mosaics or frescoes, and just a coat of plain white paint, the excitement came as we arrived at the church grounds and had lunch in a little cafe. An apocalyptic thunderstorm hit with a vengeance, the heavens opened and we were met with horizontal rain and monstrous gusts of wind. We ran as fast as we could, and took shelter in the Church of the Ascension (the irony is not lost on me, trust me). After admiring the white paint (and little else), we wondered how else we could entertain ourselves until the weather eased. After a long time, we realised the rain wasn't planning on stopping any time soon, so we braced ourselves and started the long walk back to the train station, praying our umbrellas didn't become lightning conductors.
Church of the Ascension
Our final stop was the Gulag Museum, free on the third Sunday of each month (bonus!); it was a sobering account of life in Russian gulags under Stalin's reign.
We are now on a train bound for Kazakhstan and are taking the time to reflect on our month in Russia, a country famed for its difficulty for tourists. Well, we survived, and have had an amazing time, and we are sad to say goodbye to the beautiful sites we have seen. We are not however, shattered to say goodbye to the rudeness, abruptness and coldness of many of the people we have encountered over the past thirty days. Of course, there have also been many wonderful people, who have been so kind and generous, and it is because of these people and their beautiful country that we will leave with fond memories forever.
Vodka shots to farewell Russia
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