To start with our flight into Domodedevo airport was uneventful; the children were angels and everything went very well. That is, until we actually departed the airplane! Instead of directing the passengers toward customs and immigration, we were all let out into the departure terminal! No one spoke a word of english, and everyone of us spent an hour or so searching for a way out. Finally we ran into a passenger who spoke English and Russian and figured out what had happened and directed us back through the gate and down to customs and immigration. The Russian police had to then round up everyone else and bring them through as well. I can only imagine the work it must have been for them to compare the flight manifest to passport control and figure out if they had not signed anyone into the country!!!
Our hotel (Marriot Tverskaya) was in the center of the city, and it took us about 1.5 hours to reach it from the airport. We had previously arranged for pickup and dropoff to the airport, so we didn't have to worry about catching a taxi or barganing for prices, etc once we got there. The hotel was ok....pretty typical Marriott, although be aware that the gift shop in the hotel is insanely expensive even compared to the tourist market. If you can book your tour guides beforehand, DO IT! The internet prices for moscow tour guides, although not including transportation or entrance fees, were $15.00. The hotel charged us $50.00 (not including the above stated fares). It was rediculous! Every time we got into a taxi cost us R1000 (R meaning Rubles; the Russian currency). The exchange rate was about to 25R to $1 or 55R to 1 British Pound. Everywhere on the web i read before said to be aware of this, and HAGGLE your pants off, but in the end, we couldn't find a way around it, even by using the non-official taxi's. So good luck to you if you try it! If your a tourist only, I would suggest a hotel much closer to the Kremlin, so that you can avoid the taxi's as much as possible.
We did a very short trip, only 2 days for tourist things, but we saw quite a bit. Our first day out we hit Arbat walking tourist street, and then went to Izmalovsky tourist market. Arbat is famous, but it's just a street with souvenir shops on both sides and a few kiosks in the middle. There is a McDonalds (which we did not try) and the Moscow Hard Rock Cafe there as well. Izmalovsky market though, was amazing! The entire market is 
outdoor stalls, the architecture of the whole building was 
breathtaking. It was worth going there even if you didn't want to buy anything at all! Some stalls even sold food. If it wasn't for the -10C temp and the cold noses of the children, I could have stayed there all day! I found it very interesting that Moscow still has a very 'military' feel to it. Right next to the matryoshka dolls you can buy a gas mask, hand painted gun shells, or other military regalia. The police in the streets (and definately in the Kremlin) appear more military than American or British police personnel. They reminded me of the German Politzei. I had planned to try to make it to Novodevichy Convent and Monastery -but due to the cold and the children's schedules, we didn't make it there.... maybe next time.
Our second day we packed in quite a lot. We started with a guided tour of the Kremlin, 
the armory and the Diamond Fund. Inside the Kremlin, we saw all the cathedrals, the worlds largest bell and the worlds largest cannon. We were dissapointed to learn that under no circumstances could you take pictures inside any buildings in the Kremlin. So we have no pictures of anything but the outside of these buildings, which are quite amazing in themselves. 
We bought a book that shows a bunch of pictures of the insides of the Cathedrals, Armory, Diamond Fund, etc, and I will scan those pictures in and post them to the moscow set of my Flickr account. Check it out if you want to see some great photos.
the armory and the Diamond Fund. Inside the Kremlin, we saw all the cathedrals, the worlds largest bell and the worlds largest cannon. We were dissapointed to learn that under no circumstances could you take pictures inside any buildings in the Kremlin. So we have no pictures of anything but the outside of these buildings, which are quite amazing in themselves. 
We bought a book that shows a bunch of pictures of the insides of the Cathedrals, Armory, Diamond Fund, etc, and I will scan those pictures in and post them to the moscow set of my Flickr account. Check it out if you want to see some great photos.
Aparently, the worlds largest canon and the worlds largest bell, have never actually worked. They were built by Tzar's who wanted to be remembered by something. Most others built Cathedrals, these two built huge objects! Be careful of the Moscow 'police'. They blow their whistles if you step off of the sidewalk onto the street inside the kremlin.
We left the Kremlin and walked along it's outer walls, past the tomb of the unknown soldier and the huge underground shopping center, in search of G.U.M department store.
It was cold, and we decided to stop in the cafe and get a hot chocolate. Our guide told us that the building was built in 1893 and except for a brief stint as an office building, has always been a shopping mall. Today it is filled with high end shops for the rich and famous. It was impressive to say the least. Our hot chocolate was exactly that.... it came in a glass, but should have come in a bowl with a spoon, as it was like thick warm chocolate pudding. It was delicious though!
It was cold, and we decided to stop in the cafe and get a hot chocolate. Our guide told us that the building was built in 1893 and except for a brief stint as an office building, has always been a shopping mall. Today it is filled with high end shops for the rich and famous. It was impressive to say the least. Our hot chocolate was exactly that.... it came in a glass, but should have come in a bowl with a spoon, as it was like thick warm chocolate pudding. It was delicious though! G.U.M. forms nearly 1 part of the entire Red Square . Other sightseeing interests in Red square, include Lenin's mausoleum, Kazan cathedral, The State historical museum, Resurrection gate, Lobnoye Mesto, and my favorite, St. Basil's cathedral.
St. Basil's.............I could have taken 1000 photos of you, and stayed by your side for days at a time. It's obvious that I revel in your colors, spirals and domes. In my opinion,you pale the Taj Mahal. (gulp...to admit that and be married to an Indian... I'd better sleep with one eye open!) And Kazan Cathedral! You just look like a giant gingerbread house. I wanted to touch you just to see if you were made of candy and icing!
As we drove around Moscow on our way to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior; we passed hundreds of amazing architechtural wonders. Every where you look in Moscow, there are amazing domed buildings, immense statues and arctitectural feats. We took as many pictures as we could through the taxi window; but there are so many that we couldn't get. Someday, maybe we will be able to go back (during the warm season!) and spend more than two days in this magnificent city! Moscow I loved you! I'll practice my Russian for the next time I can step foot in your beautiful city.
No comments:
Post a Comment