Holidays in Moscow

Before I even came to Russia, I had some opinions about it already. I imagine there are many people who think of Russia as this city full of crazy, impolite, often angry individuals who have questionable taste in fashion. They might also believe that Russian cities are polluted, underdeveloped and with a visible presence of communism in the architecture, society, and politics. So since St. Petersburg is known as the most European and cultural city in Russia, I was looking forward to experiencing “real Russia” during my trip to Moscow.

I went to Moscow together with four other exchange students, namely Raphaelle, another French girl Caroline, Czech girl Barbora and our one and only man Oskari from Finland. So it was quite fun, every time somebody asked us where are you guys from. Caroline and Barbora took the train to Moscow in the morning, but Oskari, Raphaelle and I flew there in the evening. It was not the easiest flight, as the place for legs were extraordinary small in the Utair plane making the travel a bit challenging for us. But we kept it fun by coming up with this idea of a Gossip Club, where we agreed to share the juiciest gossips with one another and keep them in Utair plane forever. 

After landing, we came up with another fun idea – a mission to get to the hostel as cheap as possible. Even though we were advised to take an express train or a taxi, we did not give up on finding a better (cheaper) way. And we succeeded. Since our hostel was located basically on the Red Square, getting there was not that hard. All public transportation was going that way anyways.

When we reached our hostel, it was almost the midnight. I was quite excited and proud about the hostel that I booked for us. It was in the heart of the city center, and for six days we paid only 45 euros. The reason for this low price was probably the fact that we stayed in a 16-bed room. Since I had never tried staying in a hostel before, I thought this is going to be the best and most hardcore way to start. And it certainly was hardcore…not so sure about the “best” part though.

Hostel. View from my bed.

So when we arrived, we were invited to follow the guy upstairs to the reception. While going up the stairs, we passed several strange looking people eating fish and drinking in the stairway. The room, where we were supposed to sleep was packed with people. Every bed was occupied, and it felt that we will have to sleep head to head with absolute strangers. There was no space for our things, and all of us were assigned the second-floor beds. At first, I thought I would have preferred the first floor, as there you can hide yourself a little better and have at least some sort of privacy. But when I felt how shaky the beds were, I would never fall asleep there being scared for being killed by my upstairs neighbor. It was also shocking to see that there were only two bathrooms and two toilets for the entire hostel, so I became quite worried about my hygiene for the following six days. 

Fortunately, it was a beautiful and warm night, so Oskari and I decided to go and explore our surroundings. This is when I was totally blown away from the beauty of Moscow. The Red Square was magnificent during the night. Since trees and flowers surround it, the fresh smell of lilacs and sounds of birds singing that night were breath-taking. We kept walking, and we could not stop being amazed by the harmony and cleanness of this city. I never imagined Moscow like this. Since it was a Friday night, many bars and clubs were open along the way. We noticed strange scenery with fancy big cars parked nearby with a driver waiting inside in each one of them. How posh. 

Eventually, we had to return and begin the first night at the hostel, which for me was the worst. I could not fall asleep as every time my downstairs neighbor moved, I flew up the bed. But the worst part was the smell and an absolute lack of air. Next morning I could not wait to get out of there and breath normally again. At least I learned that for me to be able to sleep there, I had to tire myself up during the day so much that I cannot move anymore and collapse in the bed until morning.

Beautiful gardens inside Kremlin

And it worked. Also, looking back to this experience at the hostel, it was not that bad after all. It was even funny because there were many strange people. I mean it was funny for us, who did not experience them directly, while Caroline had to deal with several. There was one guy who kept going after her saying in his broken English that Paris is not the most fashionable city anymore because now it is New York. When she tried to answer him in Russian that she respects his opinion and that she simply does not care about it, he did not give up to repeat it. From then on, he kept calling her Pariž, so some nights when we arrived very late, and the lights were already off, you could hear him calling through dark “Pariž…Pariž, is that you?”. Then there was another older guy who tried to convince her to marry him. That happened after the midnight in the toilet, and we could hear this conversation in the sleeping area. He was presenting himself as a famous poet, holding a paper bag that said “my poems”, in which we guess he kept his work. Next day this guy was in an argument with other guests, as they were accusing him of ripping apart some rules from the wall. It made sense, because Caroline did remember him disappearing for a second and coming back with a broken piece of paper where he wrote down his address for her. Not that she asked. 

Helicopter parking lot for Putin

Anyways, the first three days in Moscow were fantastic. The weather was sunny and warm, and we were very lucky with every decision we made along the way. So we began with the Free Walking tour, where we learned a lot about the history of Moscow, different buildings, and traditions around the center. As every Free Walking Tour, also this one was educational and very interesting. After we had finished the tour, we went inside the Kremlin. I would say it reminded me a little bit of Vatican. I am not entirely sure why, but maybe because it was also like a city within a city so different from the rest of the Moscow. We learned that guards are the only people that officially live inside of Kremlin, so it was unusual to see fitness area in the scenery together with gorgeous gardens and ancient buildings. Well, and, of course, not far from the “gym” there was also a helicopter parking lot for President Putin. 

We also visited this massive shopping center “GUM”, where the poshest shops are located. Tourists love this place not because of the brands, but because of the beautiful design inside. All the shops were empty, but the hallways were crowded with people taking pictures and enjoying the view. We liked the place as well, but not only because of the design. We also loved the ice cream that was sold inside. Not only its taste took us directly to heaven, but its price did not influence our wallets. It was insanely cheap, only 78 cents. Even in the regular grocery store, the price for ice cream begun from 1,20 euro. So we took full advantage of this mysterious price and ate almost one or two ice creams a day. 

@GUM with my ice cream

We finished our day with a walk on Arbat Street, which is this very long and lively walking street in Moscow. At that point, I realized that St. Petersburg is clearly missing a proper walking street for pedestrians. There is nothing nicer than enjoying a warm evening with your friends in such a dynamic place as Arbat street. There were entertainers and musicians every five steps on our way. And they were often so good that we just kept stopping to enjoy their performance. It was a very magical and positive energy that I got before returning to the hostel and falling asleep like dead. 

On Sunday, we began our day with seeing Lenin’s body at his Mausoleum situated in Red Square. Surprisingly this is something that people can do for free, so the line, of course, was quite long. Yet, we managed to see him in less than 40 minutes, as at one point security divided the two lines in three, and they did it in the middle, where we were standing. So basically we went in front of many people who were theoretically supposed to go inside first. It was a strange experience as he was so visible and close to us. He really looked like asleep and at one point I thought he takes a breath. It was quite unpleasant but at the same time unique experience, which lasted for about two minutes, as we were not allowed to stop and stare, and God forbid – take pictures.

Saint Basil’s Cathedral 

After this, we decided to visit the Saint Basil’s Cathedral which was situated few steps from Lenin’s Tomb. The luck was on our side that day, as without us even knowing, the entrance for students was free that day, allowing us to save almost 8 euros (= 10 ice creams). This Cathedral features vivid and colorful onion-shaped domes of many sizes, which actually belong to 9 different chapels. It was a very impressive visit and something I can recommend to everyone traveling to Moscow. 

The same day we also managed to visit Tretyakov Gallery, which has one of the largest collections of Russian art. Barbora and I took the audio guide, so we spent several hours wandering around and listening to the stories about different paintings and their authors. Listening to these stories made our visit so much more enjoyable. 

Business Centre

Finally, we ended our day at the Business Centre. We were recommended to visit this area, and I am so glad we did. It was so impressive, with countless skyscrapers in every form and shape. I could not stop being amazed about the designs and heights of these buildings. The warm and pleasant evening made this experience even better. We were also suggested to visit this one restaurant called SIXTY, located on the 62nd floor. When we found it, we first were a bit worried about the way we looked and whether we will be able to afford anything in there. Thankfully, our group was treated nicely no matter the fact that we visually did not belong there. We were seated at one of the best tables with a magnificent view. Before we even made any order, the window in front of us begun opening in a rhythm with a show type of music in the background. We were basically in the first row of this great experience. Fortunately, the prices were quite democratic, and we ended up having a nice dinner with the best possible view, especially because soon after the windows were closed again, a glorious firework began lasting for about 10 minutes. 

Our view from Restaurant SIXTY

The following days were not as amazing anymore, mainly because of the weather and us becoming more and more tired. The hostel with 16 people snoring, farting and moving every day, is certainly not the best place for a good night sleep. Anyways, the beginning of this day was hot and almost humid. We went to VDNKh Park, where people can visit different museums and exhibitions in connection to Achievements of National Economy. Unfortunately, that day everything was closed, but we could still enjoy the parks, including one nearby where everything connected to space was honored. There were many statues with cosmonauts, such as Yuri Gargarin and even with the famous first dog in space – Laika. 

After wandering around the sights, we decided to return to the center and visit a small monastery which the guide in the first day recommended us to visit. It was a place where people from this monastery bake pastry and sell it to the visitors. When we sat down for this mini meal, a storm that was afterward called - the craziest in the last 100 years began. We could see it is pretty bad, but we would never imagine that it took 11 people lives that day. Fortunately, we were sitting in the holiest place at that point, and we felt very safe. When the weather calmed down a little bit, we decided to split, so while Raphaelle and Caroline went for some touristic activities, the rest of us chose to go home and have a nap. 

The next two days were rather calm and slow as well. The weather continued to be shitty but at least not as bad as the day before so that we could keep up with our touristic activities. On May 30 we went to a small city called Sergiev Posad, located about 1.5 hours away from the center. It is an ancient town known for the 14th-century Holy Trinity monastery complex. I am so glad we went there because it was a very special place. Very calm and at the same time so impressive with a rich history behind. On May 31, our most important visit was the Armoury Museum located inside the Kremlin. It was an interesting museum to visit and learn more about the history of Moscow.

Sergiev Posad from a distance

On the final day, we all split. Barbora and Caroline went home with the train before the noon, Raphaelle stayed at the café to complete her online examination, and Oskari was dealing with severe food poisoning back at the hostel. So I decided to take the hop on hop off bus and hear more about the city. It was a bit of a failure, as at first I was stuck in a traffic jam for about half an hour and audio guide kept talking about the things that we have not yet even seen. The traffic in Moscow was quite crazy, so I am glad it was my only time when I had to move through it. Drivers were kind of aggressive and kept hitting their horns to one another. Anyways, I then decided to jump out and see the famous Pushkin Museum, which took me around three hours in total. When I was done, I could not locate the bus stop anymore, so I ended up walking all the way to the point where I started. It was raining like hell by the way. But since it was not that far, I was all right. I decided to take another round and surprisingly the circle was very short. I felt like taking this bus was not worth my money and time, but at least I am glad that I saw the Pushkin Museum. Well, I am happy I saw the new part of it with one of the largest exhibitions of works from such artists as Manet, Van Goh, Monet, Picasso and many others. 

I was also trying to enter the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the tallest Orthodox Christian church in the world. But it was simply impossible. We had been trying to do it already days before, but because of some religious festival, the entrance was not possible. The guards around kept sending us further and further until we gave up. On my last day, I was hoping that the festival will be over, and I can finally enter this mysterious place, but because of the infinitive lines, I gave up. And it was also kind of the time for me to return and go to the airport.

At the airport, we arrived rather early, so it was definitely not a pleasant surprise to learn that our flight had been delayed for 4 hours, meaning we were stuck in an airport for 5.5 hours in total. We were all exhausted, and the thought of the small, uncomfortable plane which would only take off only at 1 am was unbearable. So the trip did not end on the most positive note. Yet, I will remember it as a fun, mind-blowing experience, which I can sincerely recommend to others.