Vistors since July 2010: A morning in Moscow (May, 2010)

Red Square, view North with the Lenin Massoleum.

“Why don’t you stop over for the day in Moscow during the return trip from Sakhalin Island to Amsterdam,” I was told by Russian colleagues. It would cut the 20 hour journey in half.

Moscow now has a comfortable train that takes you from the Sheremetyevo Airport to the Belorusskay Railway Station close to the centre in only 35 minutes. Another three stops in the metro and you are at Red Square, provided you take the right metro line. With all the signs in Cyrillic and a poor metro map from the a Novotel with Latin and Cyrillic names, this is not easy to figure out.

Highlights of Moscow are Red Square with the Lenin Massoleum, the Kremlin with its Medieval Churches and numerous shops.

Advise is to get a proper, detailed city map, with clearly marked metro lines, else you are wandering, like I did.

Sakhalin Island to Moscow

Travelling from Sakhalin Island (North of Japan) to Amsterdam via Moscow is a long trip, you spend around 20 hours in the plane and on airports and cross 9 times zones.

From Sakhalin Island to Moscow is a 9 hour flight across 7 times zones. The onward flight from Moscow to Amsterdam would take another 7 hours, including the 3 hours transfer time.

Leaving at 16:00 h Sakhalin Island and arriving in Moscow, at 18:00 h your biological clock is still at 1:00 h at night. Now you are desperate to find a hotel with a bed.

The Novotel at Moscow Sheremetyevo is an overpriced but descent four star hotel with good beds and very dark curtains. A quick meal and you will sleep from 21:00 h until 6:00 h in the morning.

Map of the down-town area of Moskou with the Kremlin, the Bolshoi and the churches. Click on map for large, single view.

Moscow on Saturday morning

The traffic in Moscow is surprisingly low on Saturday morning. A comfortable train takes you from the Sheremetyevo Airport to Belorusskay Railway Station which is close to the centre in only 35 minutes.

Escalator at the Belorusskay Metro Station, looking down some 70 m.

Belorusskay Metro Station escalator, looking back up some 70 m.

Impressive ceilings at the Belorusskay Metro Station.

The metro is famous, with its large, very clean underground stations, with ceilings you normally find in palaces. Very long excalators with wooden hand rails and bright lamps with a 1930’s design brings you down. From the Belorusskay Railway Station to Red Square is only three stops by the Metro.

However, I was on the wrong line, not the N-S number 2 but the circle line number 5. Metro line numbers and metro entrances were missing on my poor Novotel map I thought, they were on the legend, also the colour was different.

The number 5 line entrance is South of the station, near the main exit, and the number 2 line to the North-East. There is a bridge crossing the railway tracks that takes you to the numer 2 entrance.

A quick translation of Maya … something into Cyrillic that was on the signs went wrong as there were two similar names with many “a” 's for different lines. In hindside, Kras... is very different, but the names are long.

Metro line signs list the upcoming stations, nearest one first. Once you know this, there are only 4 choices when you are on a transfer station . Knowing the metro line number reduces this to two options. This turns out to be very easy.

The final problem is the exit the street, taking a long escalator brings you up and a forced exit. I couldn’t figure out signs for a street exit and to what street as I did not have a detailled city map. Once you are at ground level, you can’t get back, and need to buy a new ticket. Don’t take the long escalator up when you need a transfer, it will be an exit to the street level some 50 m higher.

Getting on the wrong train is easily corrected, just go back, there are trains every 2-3 minutes. After switching to another line, I ended up at the Kuznetsky Most Station close to the Bolshoi Theater and this is very close to Red Square. Again I took the wrong exit, ended up in a small street not marked on my map and wondered if this was the right metro station but streets names were clearly marked and distances are small down-town.

From the Kuznetsky Most metro station to Red Square

Traffic is nearly absent at 9 AM on Saturday morning, unlike what you hear about Moscow during week-days. All the business types with their cars must have gone to their Datshais. The Metro on the other hand, was busy. Shops open at 10:00 h but until 13:00 is remains very quiet. Are the Russian’s party animals recovering from Friday Night?

Still unsure about my location, I followed a group of Japanese tourist, most likely they would be heading for the Red square.

Passing the Bolshoi Theater I was impressed by its size and reputation. It features in Sergei Bondarchuk's epic movie War and Piece from 1967. I should go to a performance on my next visit.

Bolshoi Theater.

Bolshoi Theater announcement of ... what? Poster at the underpass near-by.

Next to the Bolshoi is the Tsum department store. Very, very chique, but also very, very empty, hardly any shoppers on Saturday, not even at noon..

Street are very clean and there are no street sellers. Until Poetin came to power, this area was known for street sellers and hookers, especially on Tverskaya Street where the Marriot is.

In those days Russian’s also had tricks to get money out of foreigners. Someone would drop 10 dollars, a foreigner would pick it up and offer it back, and an accomplish would testify that not all the money was returned and so the owner would demand the missing money. If you didn’t comply, a policeman, who participated in the scam, would be called and you would be paying or else.

It is safer now in Moscow and cleaner, but this comes at a price. Prices have gone through the roof over the last seven years and are now similar to those in Western European cities.

Red Square

Red Square has three churches, of which the St. Basil's Cathedral, is most famous.

The 16th century St. Basil's Cathedral, with its colorful onion domes and detailed brick work, is one of the most widely known symbols of Russia. South side of Red Square.

Orthodox church North -Eastside of Red Square with continuous daily cermonies for Russian tourists.

Orthodox church North-East side of Red Square with continuous daily cermonies for Russian tourists.

Orthodox church North side of Red Square.

Lenin Masoleum.

Lenin Masoleum, with Lenin's name in Russian: Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (Russian: Владимир Ильич Ленин )

Typical giant red wall of Red Square, a symbol of the size of Russia. Lenin's massoleum on the left.

Unfortunately, Red Square was not the giant empty space next to its impressive red wall, interrupted only by Lenin’s mausoleum. Temporary tents for some event were being set up which prevented a proper view. They were also hiding one of the largest shopping malls in Europe, the Gum Department Store, see web link [1] , in a building from 1893, with glass and steel ceilings, typical of those days.

No Faberge eggs here, not even the cheaper ones, and I was told to try it in the Tsum department store near the Bolshoi..

Gum deparment store on Red Square, note the 19^th century glas ceiling.

Gum deparment store on Red Square

Gum deparment store on Red Square.

At 10 AM it was already a pleasant 23 degrees Celsius and had a cappuccino on one of the trendy terraces outside the Gum department store, still with very few pedestrians.

Moscow is known to have lots of “sharply dressed” women with 10 cm high needle heels, trying to duplicate the French and Italians but all they can go by are pictures from fashion magazines and perhaps the Russian-made international Fashion TV channel. Models are not people and you need extreme diets to look like them. Now they look like overdressed girls, also common in the USA.

I would expect them here but it was disappointing, I only got a few shots. They are probably still at home recovering from their office jobs with bossy managers, and may not come out until at night.

Shopping doesn’t seem to be their favorite as the shops were deserted. Perhaps they do it in between or after office hours and the lucky ones head for their Datsjas in the weekend or prices are simply too high.

I saw only one shopping girl. She had a smart BMW and parked it illegally on the side walk to do some quick shopping. Side walks are also to be used by cars in Moscow, not just for parking.

Kremlin

At 11:00 h the ticket shop of the Kremlin had a small line-up. Unfortunately, a Japanese tour guide speaking Russian fluently was ahead of me and bought around 40 tickets. This was a long and irritating 10 minute wait in the sun. Other Russian’s, mostly middle aged ladies, waiting in line were surprisingly calm. Try this in Western Europe.

There is no museum in the Kremlin and apart from majestic buildings from the 18th and 19th century, which are closed, the main attraction is the medieval (15^th centuuy) Russian Orthodox churches around a square, the “cathedrals”, see web link [1] , as they are called. They look impressive and are symbols of orthodox Russian empire about to expand, beating Poland in becoming the dominant country in Eastern Europe.

The “cathedrals” from the 15^th century in the Kremlin.

The “cathedrals” from the 15^th century in the Kremlin. Line-up for a high-ranking visitor, a president, premier or mayor?

Inside one of the “cathedrals” from the 15^th century in the Kremlin.

Despirte their name, “cathedral”, the churches are small, having a square shape and side wings on one or three sides like the Roman Catholic churches. This feels more intimate and the numerous gold artifacts’ create an atmosphere like in Buddhist and Hindu temples.

Some 20 guards were being inspected and later formed a line up. The public was also waiting. Somebody from the government was probably expected, a president, premier or mayor?

I saw a similar line up at the same square for the Tsar in 1812 in Sergei Bondarchuk's epic movie War and Piece from 1967. Must an important religious and political ceremony.

Fabergé Eggs

My hunt for Fabergé Eggs as a present, the second purpose of my visit, didn’t go very well. So far none, not even the licensed, very expensive one.

I was going to have lunch near the Kuznetsky Most metro station I came on. A web site mentioned that they could be found around this metro stop, which also has many French and Italian designer stores, but didn’t say in what shop. Wandering to the Kuznetsky Most Metro station on Kuznetsky Most Street, I saw some interesting book stores and small inside market place with second hand, cheap looking artefacts and jewellery. I hesitated to go in as it looked like a cheap antique market.

Jewelry Market on Kuznetsky Most street with Fabergé Eggs.

Jewelry Market with Fabergé Eggs, no sharply dressed Russian ladies.

Fabergé Eggs.

Wandering through the basement, at a dead end, I did find a single stall that sold Faberge eggs. Finally I found them, the nice imitations, ranging from 1200 to 5000 Roubels. Unfortunately, the sales woman didn’t want me to take pictures.

I carried on to another section on the street level and this turned out to be a jewelry market. Again only one stall sold eggs. It had a good collection and a bought a basket full of the smaller ones, ear rings and medallions’ in different colours.

I was very lucky that day, I could have taken another street but the hint came from a website that claimed you could “hunt for Faberge eggs” in this area.

After so much effort and the lady accepting cash Euros, I decided to buy a basket of 10 eggs (“doosje eitjes”) as a single egg buying with my last Roubels seemed too small a reward for finding them.

The basket (“doosje”) of Fabergé eggs.

I had dinner in the Organic Indian restaurant next door and sent and SMS reporting a successful egg hunt. I took the metro and train back to the station.

One last concealed shot of a sharply dressed girl at the railway station, a nice picture. She noticed I took it, despite my 15 times zoom and concealed movements, on the look out for being watched.