Moscow Nights
As you may have heard me say in the past, one of my motto's is to travel somewhere new each year. We knew we would have the time to travel for about a month, the difficult part is always deciding where to go. One of those places that has always been on my list to travel to was Russia. The country has a certain mystique about it, and the amazing architecture that we have been seeing since long before the Tetris title screen. Russia it would be, and since we were already flying that far, lets throw Norway into the trip too.
After doing some research into an assortment of travel companies and guided tours (cause we were a little nervous about traveling solo in the old CCCP), we started looking in to the Volga river cruises that run between Moscow and St Petersburg. Digging deeper and requesting info from Trip advisor and anyone I knew that even had a hint of a Russian accent, we ended up with the Russian company Volga Dreams. Their itinerary of 3 nights staying in a 5 star hotel in Moscow, 6 nights on the ship, and 3 more nights in a 5 star hotel in St Petersburg just seemed so much better than anything else we had seen. I reached out directly to the company, and after weeks of exchanging info, they offered a very special package called the Imperial tour, it is offered very infrequently and gives special access to key sights and had a few extra perks... looks like we are going to Russia!
Moscow, Russia
5/25
It all started with a whole lot of flying, 9 hours to Amsterdam and 3 more to Moscow. At least KLM has a great private entertainment system with tons of movies, shows and music to distract you from the fact that your butt is really sore until it goes numb. We arrived in Moscow on a stormy afternoon, and learned a lot about lines. Long slow lines at Passport control, but by the time we got through our bags came out right away, and our driver from Volga Dreams was there with a sign to load up our luggage and take us to our hotel.
As soon as the plane lands, you clearly know you are in a foreign land, it's one thing to not understand the language, it's a whole other thing to not even understand the alphabet. Not sure if it was because it was 6:00pm there but the next lines we learned about were traffic. Basically a crawl the whole way...
At least some things you can still figure out.
An hour and a half later and we were at our hotel. The Ararat Park Hyatt hotel in the heart of Moscow. To say it was a nice hotel would be a drastic understatement, this is not the type of travel hotels we are used to.
After settling in and meeting with our tour guide Anna Bistrzhizkaya, to outline our next few days we headed up to the 10th floor rooftop for a dinner at the Conservatory overlooking the city, and the seemingly never ending sunset. Right in front of us was the Bolshoi Theater and all around us you could see historic government buildings including the Kremlin and Red Square, and a variety of Modern neon lit buildings and old onion domed structures.
A distraction from the view was the chill (so they provided us blankets), and the hunger (so we ordered some appies), Norine went with the lighter crab bruschetta while I chose the assortment of shashlyks and Kabobs. Tomorrow we learn about Russian tipping etiquette, when signing to the room or credit card, there was no tip option, apparently you're supposed to pay that in rubles, oops. Still, it was a great way to start our time here before going to sleep and trying to get our body clocks adapted to the 9 hour time difference.
5/26
As agreed, we meet in the lobby just before 9:00 and meet the other members of our Imperial tour group. There is 11 of us; Candace and Dave from Iowa, Karl and Frances from North Carolina, Don and Barbara from Huntington Beach California, Andy from Atlanta, his sister Orlyn from Massachusetts, and Karen from Tennessee... All American, plus us two Canadians from Vancouver.
Our tour starts out as a walking tour, since our hotel is right in the heart of Moscow, it's a block away from the Bolshoi Theater. We are in the neighborhood of the Metropol Hotel, and just down the street is the former KGB headquarters.
Metropol Hotel 
KGB Headquarters (FSB)
Just a few minutes walk and we are standing in front of the world famous Bolshoi Theater.
The Theater is a very impressive building as you walk up to it, once you enter it's even more impressive. My attention was drawn by a group of 4 people that mysteriously joined our group, 2 women and 2 men. One seemed to be with the Theater company as she kept darting off and getting us access to different areas you don't normally see. The other woman appeared to be from the Volga Dream company... but the 2 guys dressed like American tourists, one wearing a Blackhawks shirt, were most definitely not from Chicago. They wandered around our group taking pictures and chatting, I am pretty sure we had KGB members on our tour, I kept whispering this to Norine. The rest of our group thought it was pretty funny when we mentioned it later... but I am pretty sure I am in photos at the FSB building in Moscow now.
After wandering around the Red and Gold clad theater (yes, real gold), we were then taken to the Practice stage. It was a complete re-creation of the main stage where they can practice. I was surprised by the soft spring to the stage surface, makes sense for all the leaping around those ballerinas do.
Having seen the two main theater spaces, it was backstage, where we got to peak into the displays and intermission areas.
The biggest thrill for Norine, was to see the costume designers and seamstresses at work creating the garments for the upcoming shows. On display was numerous costumes from past performances, the detail was amazing and surprising. Norine joked of running away to work in this department.
Just when you think you have seen all the spaces, you discover there is additional stages for different sized events. Tucked around the curve of a narrow hall is this beautiful stage setup, with customizable floors and seating that allows it to convert from a small performance stage to a ballroom. The level of craftsmanship in just the hardwood floors was incredible.
As a special benefit to our group, they allowed us to return to the main theater and sit in the boxes next to the President's box, and watch part of the rehearsal for the orchestra. How special to experience this in the fabled Bolshoi Theater.
After leaving the Theater, it was another short walk to Red Square. Before entering the Iberian gate into Red Square we see a plaque on the ground, Kilometer Zero is where all distances are measured from in Moscow. Tourists are standing in front tossing a coin over their shoulder to try to please Lady Fortune. If their coin lands on the plaque, Lady Fortune has blessed them with good luck. Apparently it's bad luck to pick up the coin, but there is a couple people standing around eagerly picking up the tossed coins and fighting over them.
Zero kilometer of the city of Moscow
As you walk through the gates it's surprising just how big this square is. On one side of the square is the Kremlin walls, the other side of the square is the historic GUM shopping centre. The deep brick red building is the State History Museum is part of the entrance into the square, and at the far end is the unmistakable Onion domes of St. Basil's Cathedral.
Iberian Gate Kazan Cathedral
GUM Shopping Center (ГУМ) State Historical Museum
The square is massive, and we only got to see one end of it before being whisked away for lunch. We were encouraged to come back later and explore on our own as it was so close to our hotel. At the far end of the square was the symbolic St Basil's cathedral... we looked at it longingly as we were led away to get back in our bus.
One thing I noticed is that as we drove around, we seemed to end up right where we started, apparently one way streets and construction means to turn left, you have to circle the entire Kremlin and Red Square to get back where you were. This meant a lot more driving around in traffic to get where we were going, but at least the buildings and sights were interesting to look at.
It was interesting to pass the official TV and Newspaper buildings such as Pravda, apparently they get as much respect as FOX News does in the US. "There is no news in 'Pravda', and no truth in 'Izvestiya' (another leading Soviet newspaper during Soviet times)."
Heck, even the cars were interesting to look at, I was very surprised to see they weren't all Ladas... Oh Hollywood, always misleading me.
After doing a complete 360 of the city we arrived at our lunch destination Lunch at Aragvi restaurant. The menu consisted of authentic Georgian food, and later I would learn it used to be the KGB's favourite restaurant. It was also our first experience of the odd Russian custom of not letting you take your coat with you. A mix of a unique salad, lamb kebabs and lemon sorbet for a very tasty Georgian meal.
After lunch it was time for some more driving around in traffic to get to the historic Novodevichy Cemetery and Convent. This park like cemetery is full of statues and monuments in tribute to the Russian leaders, actors, scientists, poets and musicians that are buried there. Many famous names such as Boris Yeltsin, Nikita Khrushchev, Anton Chekhov and many other historical Russian figures are memorialized here. Fresh flowers adorn the graves as it is Russian tradition to visit their past.
Although it was a very somber place to visit, it was very much like a museum park, the sculptures and tributes were very interesting to see. From one type of museum to another, we left Novodevichy and headed to the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, actually the 19th and 20th Century European and American Art.
This would be an opportunity to see the collected artwork of famous impressionists and master painters from around the world; Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, Camille Pissarro, Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, André Derain and Henri Rousseau. I'll let you figure out which is which...
Honestly, I took this picture because that was my face after an hour of looking at these paintings. I mean it's not like we're looking at Russian Icon paintings, am I right? I'm sure we'll get to see a couple of those later in the trip.
Did I mention that we had to check all of our coats again, theres something about coats that these Russians don't like. Throughly exhausted we headed back to the coat check, and back to our bus for some more driving around in circles around the Kremlin.
On the river bank near the Kremlin, is the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, it is the tallest Orthodox Christian church in the world. The original church here was destroyed in 1931 by Stalin, who had plans for a grand Palace of the Soviet legislature. They started, but never finished because of World War II. After the Soviet Union collapsed they rebuilt this church over a five year period starting in 1995. Now you know.
Our final tour stop for the day would be at the Baroque palace style restaurant, Tvrandot. It was a very elegant restaurant, of course we had to turn over our coats first. Even the bathrooms were a work of art.
The table they provided was 2 people too small for our tour group, so we decided to split up our group by nations... all the Americans sat at the table of 10, and us 2 Canadians had our own private table for two. The meal was spectacular, it was our first serving of caviar as part of the appetizer. The Black lumps are just mashed potatoes... coloured with octopus ink. All wrapped up with an amazing piece of cake.
Our stomachs full, we were all dropped back at our hotel, and after relaxing our feet for a little bit, we headed back out to see Red Square at night. Not once did it feel unsafe, just another historic city, with lots of tourists and amazing sights.
Bolshoi Theater and shopping mallThat translates to Beer Restaurant
Red Square has a whole different look and feel at night, with the shopping Center wrapped in lights, and Lenin's tomb all lit up.
Nothing prepared me for the feeling of seeing St. Basil's Cathedral and its many coloured domes illuminated. We both just kind of stood there staring for a long time. Eventually we snapped out of it and wandered around to see it from all sides.
It was getting late, time for a couple more pics, some window shopping, and a quiet walk back to our hotel... It's still hard to imagine that we were standing right there next to this symbol of Russia that we have seen so many times since we were kids..
5/27
Today was all about the Kremlin, we all loaded up the bus and headed over the Fortress that makes up the official residence of the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. The grounds contain government buildings, palaces, and cathedrals, all surrounded by walls and towers.
In London the guards at Buckingham palace are very stoic, tourists try to get them to break a smile or move... at the Kremlin, a tourist tries to snuggle in beside a guard to get a picture, and he just pushes him away, things are different here.
After entering the walls of the Kremlin, our first stop is the armoury chamber, where a variety of historical elements are on display; crown jewels, thrones, Catherine the Greats dress, royal carriages and sleighs, and finally the world famous Fabergé Eggs.
The Fabergé eggs were created by the House of Fabergé between 1885 and 1917, much like a Kinder-Egg, they have a surprise inside, but these ones are laden with gold and jewels. Of the 65 known Fabergé eggs, 57 have survived to the present day. Ten of the imperial Easter eggs are displayed at Moscow's Kremlin Armory Museum.
The Diamond Fund was our next stop, a collection of diamonds, gems and gold, including the 190 Carat Orlov diamond. Some are crafted, most are in their natural state, but for some reason we can't take pictures... oops. You are locked in this series of three connected rooms, I am scolded in Russian for trying to leave through the in door, I must wait for the out door to be opened, apparently both doors can't be open at the same time... oops. 10 minutes was more than enough to look at this exhibit, maybe it's just me... oops.
The next part of our Kremlin tour, the Grand Kremlin Palace, was anything but boring, although the government provided guide did her best to make it so, "And now Ladies and Gentlemen, come look at this, Ladies and Gentlemen...", I haven't been called a Gentleman this many times in my life. Before we could go anywhere though, we had to check our coats.
Throughout the Kremlin palace we are followed/led by a guard, he was stone faced as he walked slightly ahead or just behind our group. He would open doors to let us in rooms, then close the doors behind us. We finally had to ask Anna about him, "How was that guard, he seemed kind of angry?", her reply, "no he was actually very nice, he let us go into rooms that tourists normally don't get to see, he's Russian, they're just like that. In Russia if you're smiling, you're untrustworthy". That made us smile and laugh. oops.
The grandeur of each room as we moved throughout the palace was stunning, there was no fake gold paint in this building. We were given special access to the adjoining Teremnoy Palace, which used to be the main residence of the Russian tsars in the 17th century. Apparently this area is not normally open to the public, but we are the Imperial group ;-)
There's a distinct difference between the newer elements of the palace and this historic palace, all of it is stunning. The formal hall is a room that is seen in so many government broadcasts, and I know I'll be watching now whenever I see a ceremony of dignitaries in Moscow.
Just when you think it can't get any more grand, you enter the rooms leading to the throne room. I think most of us in our group had to remind each other to close our mouths.
Exiting the palace places you in the heart of 'Cathedral Square', This square consists of three Cathedrals, two churches, a bell tower, and the Kremlin palace. Oh, and a bajillion tourists... some of our group went back later to look around some more.
The main structures in Cathedral Square are; The Cathedral of the Dormition (aka Assumption) (1475-79), The Cathedral of the Archangel (1505-08), The Cathedral of the Annunciation (1484-89), The Church of the Deposition of the Robe (1484), Church of the Twelve Apostles (1653-82), and The Ivan the Great Bell Tower (1508). It's all a little confusing standing there figuring out which is which, so I'll just show you pictures of cool looking Cathedrals and churches, and let you sort them out.
We had a late lunch at Dr. Zhivago in the Hotel National which was opened in 1903, Lenin lived in this building after the Kremlin was damaged in 1917. Many dignitaries have stayed here, and it was used as a set for the movies Russia House and Back in The USSR. The lunch was quite good, including a little more caviar and a very strange soup with chicken innards, yum?
We had the rest of the day to explore on our own, so we headed back to Red Square and St Basils Cathedral again.
We weren't sure if we would be able to go inside, but we found a ticket booth, sorted out enough Can-ussian to figure out what to pay, and walked to the entrance, right behind a giant Chinese tour group. It could have been really bad, but once we were inside, their guide had to stop and explain what a certain Icon meant, and we skirted past them all.
Unlike most of the cathedrals we have seen both here in Russia and throughout Europe, this one was very different. It was a series of small connected rooms, each with a different style, a different level of restoration, and a winding staircase that takes you up through the cathedral. We were both so happy that we took the time to explore inside the cathedral because it was so unique.
One of the highlights of our trip was stepping into one of the rooms and a group of 3 men, dressed like your typical European coffee shop customers, started singing old Russian hymns. The sound in the room was haunting, I am pretty sure I stood there the whole time with my mouth open. I didn't even think to record or take a picture because it was so hypnotic. After they finished they did have CD's available.
After a brief tour through the GUM shopping Center, and discovering there was nothing we needed or could afford in these high end shops, we tried to find a bathroom. After wandering to the farthest end of the mall and going up two flights of stairs, there was the longest bathroom lineup we had ever seen, I am pretty sure it was the Chinese tour group that we got past at St Basil's again. So we held our bladders and headed back to the hotel for the evening. A good time to rest our weary feet for our last day in Moscow.
5/28
On our last day in Moscow, we had to have our luggage ready to go outside our room early in the morning, and then head down for our last free breakfast in Moscow, and out to the bus for another day of touring around before heading for our ship.
Our main destination today was the State Tretyakov Gallery, a museum focused solely on Russian art. It got it's start in 1856 when Pavel Tretyakov started acquiring paintings drawings and sculptures by Russian artists of his day and in 1892 he presented his collection of approximately 2,000 pieces to the Russian nation.
Some of the paintings seemed like your typical royal portraits, some portrayed the regular citizens of Russia, some were very natural, and some were quite haunting. From the smallest to the largest, it gave a great insight to the Russian culture over the last many centuries.
The Church of Saint Nicolas in Tolmachy is attached to the Tretyakov Gallery, and dates back to the 17th century. We weren't allowed to take pictures in the church, apparently the Our lady of Vladimir icon is such a treasure they don't want anyone to see it outside of the church walls, or perhaps you just need to buy the souvenir postcards from the gift shop? It was interesting to be both a tourist and a witness to a wedding at the same time, so we quietly observed the art and the building, and snuck out the back door..
After killing our feet wandering the Tretyakov Gallery, we loaded up the bus and went to Cafe Pushkin for lunch. Cafe Pushkin is a traditional Russian menu restaurant based on a baroque mansion of the early 1900's. Another opportunity to have some caviar and delicious food.
Our final adventure in Moscow would be the Moscow subway, this is not your ordinary transit system, each station is a work of art. They were built for transportation, but also as fallout shelters, but mostly it seems they were built to showcase the artistic abilities of their people and become patriotic showcases of the Russian nation.
We descended down the incredibly steep escalators as a group of 12 into the first station, it was nice, but after getting off a few selected stops we were amazed at what these stations were like. Again, we are all standing there with our mouths open, luckily no-one got lost from our group by missing a train, or getting carried off with the crowds. Anna is a very talented cat wrangler.
The first section was built in 1935 and as of today has over 250 stations. I think it would take a while to figure out where all these lines go and connect, but the signage is actually pretty good, in both Russian and English.
The architecture is vastly different station to station, the ceilings and walls are filled with mosaics depicting the times they were built, one station was like a church with its stained glass... we could have rode all day checking out all the different stations, but our cat wrangler Anna gathered us up without losing anyone, and we headed up the super steep escalators back to street level and loaded into our bus.
Having three days in Moscow as our first exposure to Russian culture, architecture and tourism gave us a new perspective on what Russia was, having our guide Anna tell us more personal stories and background behind the people and what we were looking at allowed us to learn so much more about the people and the history than we could have imagined, the trick is remembering half of what she told us.
With awe and so much information stuffed into our brains, our bus heads to the harbour and our ship, the MS Volga Dream.