So we met the dearest lady named Olga who showed us our room and her apartment and then promptly told us she was going back to bed. We liked the idea and did the same, managing another two hours sleep before we had to get up for our orientation tour around Moscow. We were haggard, in looks and energy levels, but we were keen to check out the capital so when Kate, our guide, arrived we headed out.
The first thing Kate showed us was the metro system. Now I know most metro systems are definitely not worth writing home about, but this one is awesome and deserves a mention. For starters this metro system is the second busiest in the world, second only to Tokyo. Some six or so million people pass through the metro every day so the trains come every three minutes at the most. The stations themselves are works of art. Every station is different celebrating victories, commemorating historical events or just stunning for the sake of it. In my favourite one there are even marble columns in every archway and in another bronze statues depicting the ordinary people who fought to defend Moscow during WWII that the locals rub for good luck.
So Kate took us around, pointed out to us all the major sites and left us with the knowledge that we would need to explore on our own.
As one of those fortunate things you don’t plan for but it just turns out that way, we had arrived a few days after Moscow’s birthday. Most of the celebrations had been finalised and the ridiculous crowds had already gone home but one event that was still playing was the Moscow International Military Tattoo held in the most famous Red Square. So we brought tickets, went home to sleep some more and then around 7pm made our way back into the city to witness the closest thing to a military parade in Red Square that you can get outside of May Day.
We had the best of the non-VIP seats, sitting on the side where we could see St Basil’s Cathedral and the Watchtower, the most famous tower on the wall of the Kremlin. When we arrived we were handed little flags to wave when instructed by the usher that I found incredibly hilarious. It was like a ‘cheer now’ sign for the audience. We noted, with a little concern, that the Russians were very prepared with blankets and thick coats and sure enough by the time the spectacle began we were freezing.
Military bands from all across Russia, Europe & the Middle East came to play to celebrate Moscow’s birthday. It was absolutely stunning. The Russians were sharp and brilliant; the Scots were the Scots; the French were fun, standing in the form of the Eiffel Tower; the Ukraine Presidential Band got the audience vote with their dancing and the Police Band from Bahrain were very unique. And to end it all off the Russians brought out an amazing drumming band and then a beautiful fireworks display over the cathedral. With the stunning backdrop and the sheer reality of where we were we had the best night. Incredibly, the latest we’ve gotten home so far on our trip and it’s in Moscow. We did find this amusing as we caught the metro at 11:30pm.
To be honest there isn’t a whole lot to see in Moscow except for the very centre of the city, the Kremlin. Within the walls of the centre of Russian power are a few museums, cathedrals and park areas open to the public.
We brought our tickets and went inside to see the Armoury, a collection of the most precious articles in Russian History. There were halls and halls of the most intricate artwork; massive bible covers that sparkled with diamonds, amethysts and finely weaved gold; original Faberge eggs made from real precious gems that were actually given as Easter gifts to the royal family, one including a working miniature model of the first train to run on the TransSiberian; the crowns worn by the Tsars throughout the ages; complete dining sets with intricate plates, ladles, soup canteens and candlesticks; and even around fifteen carriages, the most glamorous of which belonged to Empress Elizabeth and was made of carved oak overlaid with gold. The whole time I was walking around with my mouth open. It is the most elaborate display of wealth and regal history I have seen in my life, and I’ve been to the Tower of London.
From there we headed to the cathedrals where the Tsars held their coronation services and a host of important Russians are buried. They were beautiful, as we’ve come to expect. We also checked out the ‘Secret Garden’ and it was there that I started to realise that autumn was coming to Russia! I am seriously excited about that.
We left the Kremlin, walked back to Red Square and noted a few things there that we found interesting. For starters the very heart of Soviet power is now taken over by commercialism seeing that the building opposite the Kremlin across Red Square, is now a massive designer mall and McDonalds is situated right outside. In fact we read somewhere that when the first McDonalds was opened in Moscow there was a line 5km’s long.
Secondly we find it amusing that wherever there is a monument or a fountain people love to throw money. At the very heart of the city is a monument called 0km’s where we found an elderly couple collecting the coins AS the people threw them. The lady even had a ribbon with a magnet on the end to make it easier for her to pick them up!
We hung around Red Square until night time, checking out the mall, taking random photos, drinking vodka and hot mulled wine with spices, and just enjoying the vibrant atmosphere.
On our final day we had a few hours until we had to catch the train for our next leg in the TransSiberian. Andrew had read a book called Gorky Park years ago so we decided to head there to check it out. Gorky Park is basically like Lunar Park in Sydney; a ‘Royal Show’ that never closes. Aside from the bumper cars with Russian flags on the back it was very tacky and a little gloomy, like the final day of the show. Even the music at the entrance was dreary so there wasn’t a festive atmosphere in the place at all. We left pretty quickly but it was funny to see.
So we headed home, said our goodbyes to Olga and made our way through the gorgeous metro system to find our train that would take us the 1,670km’s to Ekaterinburg, capital of the Ural region and heart of the Russian mining industry but for us a way to break up the really long train journey East.
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