Moscow

St. Basil's Cathedral and part of the Kremlin, seen from Moscow river. Red Square is on the other side of the Cathedral.

After four days on the train, we arrived in Moscow at 4:00am and, after some time on the internet and a coffee, got the Metro to our accommodation.

Getting off the Severobaikalsk - Moscow train at 4am. This photo is about as blurry as I felt!

Moscow! Yaroslavski vokzal (train station), our terminus station; next to it is Leningradski vokzal and across the square Kazanski vokzal.

The view from the departure lounge where we blearily searched the internet for accommodation.

But first we came out onto this scene, big and wide and demonstrating at least three prominent Russian architectural styles!

Outside the train station, with Kazanski vokzal visible on the left and ahead, one of Stalin's seven skyscrapers, inspired by the Empire State Building. This one is the Leningradskaya Hotel.

Where do you start with Moscow!?

I'm not generally a fan of big cities, but Moscow has always been an exception. And now, like Russia everywhere, it's in much better nick than the 1990s, people are happier and there are eateries and drinkeries everywhere, so it's not just fascinating, but also pleasant.

Moscow has got so much; so much history, so many varieties of blood-letting and suffering; so much architecture, from the ever-increasing number of churches in Russia's beautiful style, some 600 years old, some five years old, to the massive walls of the Kremlin and the expanse of Red Square, grand Soviet architecture celebrating the life of the workers, 19th century European-style buildings and of course the miles of Soviet-built apartments; so many public spaces and parks, where on a warm summer's afternoon life seems only pleasant; so much of everything, so many sides, so much richness that it's hard to say what it really is!

So, I feel some trepidation in trying to describe Moscow, so instead of running through everything we did or attempting a grand synthesis of the city, I'll pick out a few random thoughts and leave it at that. As always, I'm happy to write more, so, dear reader, send me a message and I'll add another section as your heart desires!

Московский метрополитен - The Metro

The Moscow Metro is justifiably famous - the older, more central stations put many opera houses and theatres to shame! But, not only are the stations an architectural wonder, but the service is incredible - you rarely wait two minutes between trains, with a little counter at the end of the platform showing how much time has elapsed since the last train departed. The Metro is co-ordinated with Moscow's comprehensive bus, tram and trolleybus system, so getting around Moscow is easy by public transport. Interestingly, however, the Metro, though still fabulous, was showing more signs of wear and minor neglect that when I was here in the 1990s - about the only thing that seems in worse condition than in those times.

Metro photos

Here are some random shots of the Metro, giving a small taste of its grandeur! If your appetite is whetted, trawl the internet for more and better photos and check out the Wikipedia page

And this is just the little bit at the top of the escalators!

Random shots of Moscow

I accidentally put my camera on 'movie digest', which takes small sections of video every time you take a photo, so here is an hour or two of our day in blurry video grabs!

Парк Горького - Gorky Park

Gorky Park is a large park near the centre of Moscow, right on the river, a river which has a surprising amount of green space along it.
Always a nice, large space to get a break from the city in, it has been transformed into a wonderland of relaxation - walking through it on a sunny weekend afternoon felt like I'd dropped into a forgotten take of Pleasantville, the US film where the characters enter a mythical 1950s American Nirvana.
People were playing badminton, eating ice-cream and listening to live jazz, having a beer in a beer garden, paddling on the small lakes, doing line dancing or salsa, playing music in small groups and just generally enjoying the good life.
We went to meet a couchsurfing group who meet every week for a language exchange, a chance for people to practice their English, German, Russian or whatever else they might want and spent a lovely few hours chatting with a big group of welcoming locals.

Entering Gorky Park from the main entrance

Not the best photo, but here, a big group of people line-dancing with great enjoyment!

With some of the language exchange people we met in Gorky Park

Красная площадь - Red Square

Everyone knows Red Square, the cliched Moscow place, but it is actually really beautiful and impressive. Bordered on one side by the huge walls of the Moscow Kremlin, with its various buildings behind, and Lenin's mausoleum in front, on the other by the GUM department store, with, at the main entrance the State historical museum and the restored Kazan cathedral and at the other end the beautiful, asymmetrical towers of St. Basil's cathedral.

Looking south-east along Red Square to St. Basil's Cathedral.

And looking back in the opposite direction, with the State historical museum at the other end.

Just to prove we were there!

The magical towers of St. Basil's cathedral

Looking from the southern end of Red Square, just in front of Moscow river.

At the northern end. The church on the right, the Kazan cathedral, is less than ten years old, a replica of the original torn down in Stalin's time. Beyond is the Kremlin.

One of the Kremlin tower gates that provide access to the ancient fortress capital.

Still proudly (or not!) flying the Communist red star.

Lenin's mausoleum. Behind him are buried his wife, Stalin and various other Soviet worthies.

Red square from the river

Московский Кремль - The Moscow Kremlin

The Moscow Kremlin (Kremlin is a Russian word which describes a fortified complex of buildings and there are smaller kremlins in many parts of Russia, Ukraine and Byelorussia), that famous and mysterious centre of Soviet power is open to tourists, but I'd never been inside. Well, it's a bunch of buildings with a wall around, all very grand and interesting, but most of them, unsurprisingly are off-limits to visitors as are many areas of the grounds, so it wasn't the most memorable experience, but now I can say I've done it as the tourist mantra goes!

Across from the Bolshoi theatre and Red square is Revolution square, with this statue of Marx as centrepiece.

Marx with the State historical museum and Kremlin towers in the background

Inside the Kremlin

Inside the Kremlin looking out to the west

The Kremlin from the river

Along the northern wall of the Kremlin is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The guard changes every hour.

...and put Monty Python to shame!

The Bolshoi theatre

St. Basil's Cathedral

Going inside St. Basil's cathedral was another touristy thing I hadn't done in Moscow and it was very impressive. Each dome actually represents a separate church, so inside is actually quite small, with lots of staircases and curved walls and tall, thin towers, each with different decoration, some simple, some intricate.

Inside St. Basil's

Looking back across Red Square

Looking back across Red Square from one of the main entrances

Listening to the sublime sounds of a male choir in St. Basil’s Cathedral

Retracing old steps

I went back to find the student housing I lived in for a few months in 1992 for a little trip down memory lane. This whole trip to Russia, but especially Moscow, where I have spent a three months over different trips, has been partly an exploration of myself, remembering places I'd been, feelings I'd had and the person I was two decades ago.
It was with some surprise that when I got out at the very familiar Metro station Leninsky Prospekt (Lenin Avenue) that I was unsure which direction to turn!

Leninsky Prospekt metro station.

I'd thought it'd be pretty easy to find, but things had changed a lot - lots of new buildings, perhaps some demolished, that it was very hard to get bearings. It was one of those moments when you feel the passing of time, when a world you had, dimly, in your head proves to have vanished.

But other things were still there and not easily forgotten, such as this gigantic memorial to Yuri Gagarin on Leninsky Prospekt!

But, after much wandering around, we did find it, almost unrecognisable, with two new buildings next to it and an underground car-park entrance. Not much to look at, but of such things are memories made!

The next day we had a wander around Moscow Sate University, where I spent a month living and studying in 1996. It doesn't have the same resonance for me as the Leninsky Prospect area, but it was nice to have a squizz again. Some extremely unfriendly security chaps wouldn't let us in to wander around the buildings, but we did have a look around the outside of this, one of the Stalin skyscrapers, then down a wide avenue in front of the entrance to a kind of square overlooking the river and Moscow centre beyond then down through a small forest to the riverbank where we caught a boat back into town in the early evening.

The local Metro station, Universitet.

Moscow State University!

The main entrance, which looks out onto a wide pedestrian avenue, at the end of which is the river and a view of the city.

Looking across the river to Moscow.

Walking down to the river.

Out on the river at the other end of Moscow.

Novi Arbat

We stayed on Novi (new) Arbat street, a well-known shopping street. Well, it once was, but now I suspect all that remains are the big buildings and some mid-level shops. The prestige stuff is far away.
Anyway, it's one of those typical wide, busy Moscow streets that you can only cross by underpass.
At one end it is joined with Stari (old) Arbat a famous pedestrian area; when I was here it was full of street stalls selling souvenirs, books and music; now it's much more upmarket, with most of the souvenir selling going on from shops and cafes linking the length of it.

Along Novi Arbat.

Building art in typical grand Soviet style. The sign says "October".

A big change in Russia is the widespread appearance of eateries and bars of all kinds. Here is the Dzon Bool Pab, an English pub, just next to Stari Arbat.

More Moscow

The 'Beli Dom' or White House, the former parliament of Russia (and, before that, the Supreme Soviet of Russia), now housing the government of Russia.

At the underpass just outside of Pushkinskaya metro station. Niamh did a short Russian language audio course and one of the key phrases was "Could you tell me where Tverskaya street is?" And here it is!
Tverskaya is one of the large streets that start at Red Square, the centre from which all of Moscow radiates.

Looking down Tverskaya towards Red Square.

The main post office in Moscow and hence Russia. When I was here in 1992 I came here to make (very expensive) international phone calls. Now you can have a video discussion across the world on a hand-held device!

This once-great institution is now much-reduced, leased out in part to mobile phone companies and private renters.

On Kuznetsky Most street, just off Tverskaya. It's now pedestrianised. This is just behind the Bolshoi theatre. In one of those quirks of memory, I distinctly remember buying piroshki (a Russian savoury filled pastry) off an old lady on the corner in the right of the photo; and, nearby, buying a few Russian-made shirts, including a paisley one I still have. The streets were very different then!

The same street from further back. On the far wall "I love Moscow"!