Moscow

Hello from Moscow!

I was really excited to land in Moscow, it’s the first time I’ve travelled to a country whose language I don’t speak and whose population does not speak English. My arrival went smoothly, passing through customs and collecting my bags without any problems, and soon enough I was on a bus to the nearest Metro station. It was then that I realised I had no idea when to get off the bus, nor did I know what a Metro station looked like. Even though nobody on the bus spoke a word of English, I confirmed with an old lady that the station was ahead, and when she disembarked she told another lady about my predicament. This second lady was very helpful (she even spoke two or three words of English!) and we travelled together to the train station. I asked her about buying a train ticket, and before I knew it she swiped her ticket and pushed me past the barrier (and past several Russian soldiers!). Once on the Metro, I was able to figure out the cyrillic signs and make the necessary line changes to get to the hostel. Making it to the hostel had been my biggest (and most immediate) concern about my stay in Russia, so I was extremely relieved that it had all worked out well. In fact, on several occasions I’ve been the recipient of friendly and helpful advice from both random people on the streets and Russian soldiers! Mostly it has been in the form of lengthy bursts of Russian followed by a series of gestures or pointing at a spot on my map, but so far I’ve managed much better than I’d expected. My only disappointment was the inability to get tickets to a hockey game in Moscow — there were no top league (KHL) games while I’m in town, and nobody knew anything about the second division games that were scheduled during my stay in Moscow.

I enjoyed wandering the streets of Moscow both during the day and also late at night, when all manner of ad-hoc bands and performers draw crowds on the wider streets. Apparently it is not uncommon for Russians to drink both to and from work, and the availability of beer in almost every single store and kiosk has been a welcome change to Iceland (where full-strength beer was only available in special state-run stores). The streets and underpasses are filled with all manner of stalls, from clothing to CDs and DVDs to booze and cigarettes — it has been quite interesting just to wander through these stalls and take in the frantic atmosphere. The streets are also full of plaques and monuments, most of which I cannot decipher — the statues of Dostoevsky and Marx being two notable exceptions that I could identify. My inability to understand Russian also lead to the purchase of one litre of unsweetened yoghurt, whose packaging deceptively suggested that it was instead one litre of milk. My first breakfast in Moscow suffered as a result.

Minor culinary setbacks aside, Moscow has been a very interesting city to visit. I spent an entire afternoon wandering around the Kremlin (a walled citadel containing four palaces and four cathedrals). For example, the Tsar Bell is the largest bell in the world and has never been rung, while the Tsar Cannon is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest howitzer ever made (it was designed to shoot 800kg stone grapeshot, but it too has never been used). I was able to visit three of the four cathedrals, and despite having seen enough of Italian churches I found the Russian churches to be very interesting and beautiful. The Cathedral of the Archangel contains the tombs of many tsars and princes, dating from the 1300s to the 1700s, and the Cathedral of the Dormition was where all the tsars were crowned. In addition, several buildings had many kinds of relics on display, from jewellery to clothing to iconic wooden carvings. The Kremlin also contains the intriguingly-named “Secret Gardens”, which turned out to be picturesque (but also quite visible and accessible) and several areas where tourists are not allowed to enter. I discovered two of these inaccessible areas by heading in the wrong direction, causing Russian soldiers to blow their whistles and point me in the right direction, but there was no menace in their actions. Again, Moscow turned out to be a friendlier and more forgiving city than I had been dreading.

Two iconic sights that I could not help but visit were Red Square and St Basil’s Cathedral. Red square is bordered by the vast Kremlin wall and Lenin’s Mausoleum to the west; by the giant department store GUM to the east; by the State Historical Museum to the north; and by St Basil’s Cathedral to the south. It is an immense space with a large historical legacy, and the vast number of tourists with cameras did little to reduce the impact of walking into the square and taking it all in. Despite the poor weather forecast, it was warm and sunny in Moscow, and the many onion domes of the cathedral were shining brilliantly in a dazzling array of colours. I lined up at the bottom of Red Square to see Lenin’s Mausoleum. After passing the security check, I walked along the Kremlin wall, where the remains of many historical Russian figures are interred. I was able to identify Yuri Gagarin’s plaque, and I was a little surprised to note that there were three foreigners also interred there (their names, however, escape me). The mausoleum is a very dimly lit marble affair, and to reach Lenin’s body you walk down several flights of stairs (trying desperately to see the stairs in the poor light) past numerous soldiers who ensure that the visitors are silent and respectful, and do not stop for any length of time. The tomb itself is raised off the ground, in a large marble room that is illuminated from the high ceiling above, and you walk along a small marble balcony that surrounds the tomb on three sides.

Red is very much the theme of the room, as there are bright red marble emblems in the wall, and the tomb itself is gently bathed in a red glow. Lenin’s body is covered in a black cloth, and only his head and hands are visible. The skin is quite pale and you can see the fine lines of wrinkles on his face, his left hand lies flat on his thigh and his right hand is clenched in a fist (I am not aware if there is some meaning to this). The atmosphere is very stern (soldiers quickly silence any murmurs) and there was a palpable sense of reverence. I left the mausoleum by walking up more flights of dimly-lit stairs, squinting in the relatively bright glow of day and surprisingly awed at the experience. I was not the only person affected, as I saw a Russian lady emerge in tears. I returned to the security check under the pretense of collecting my bag, but instead I visited the mausoleum for a second time (and skipping the very long queue). If anything, the second visit was even more moving than the first.

I visited the world-famous Bolshoi Theatre (“bolshoi” means “big” in Russian) but it transpired that it was undergoing renovations and could not be seen in its full glory. I then visited the giant statue of Peter the Great — one of the tallest outdoor sculptures in the world — which was apparently so unpopular at first that there was talk of pulling it down. It was not possible to get close to the statue due to construction works, so I ended up scrambling through the construction site and climbing up a fence to take several photos. From the statue, it was a relatively short walk to Gorky Park, which was full of standard amusement park rides and stores, although everything was closed. The streets along Gorky Park were filled with an endless number of stalls selling all manner of paintings, including marvelous winter landscapes and copies of many famous works. After enjoying the fine weather (yes, more good weather in Moscow!) I caught the metro to Universitat in order to see the Moscow State University building — the tallest of seven huge towers that Stalin ordered to be built after World War II, and the tallest building in Europe until 1990. The building is amazing to see in person, unfortunately my photos do not manage to capture this.

As I walked through a beautiful park on the way to the Vorobyevy Gory metro station, I spotted a huge sports arena across the Moskva river. It turned out to be part of a sports complex, and I went in search of an ice rink that might have public skating sessions. I located a rink and eventually found an open entrance, whereupon I was talked to in rapid-fire Russian. Something about a ticket was mentioned, and all I could do was respond in English. It transpired that I had found a Division 2 hockey game, something I had been unable to do all week!! Luckily, the only entering spectator spoke English, and he somehow convinced them to let me in for free. We got to know each other and we met twice more during my stay in Moscow — to watch an indoor soccer game and a game of “bandy”. Bandy proved to be a mixture of ice hockey, field hockey and soccer, which is played on an ice rink about the size of a soccer field! It was very interesting to watch, and to note the similarities and differences between the two forms of hockey.

I was very excited to visit the Museum of Cosmonautics, which is located under the giant “Monument to the Conquerors of Space” (a monument that celebrates the achievement of the Soviet space program). The monument itself is a fitting tribute to the successes of their space program, and the surrounding parkland was full of related statues (including one of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space), a monument showing each of the planets orbiting around the sun, and many plaques commemorating individual events that occurred as part of the space program. Unfortunately, the museum itself was closed for renovations, which left me extremely disappointed (and considering returning to Moscow at some point to visit the museum). I did manage to spend several hours at the Museum of the Revolution (renamed to the mouthful “State Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia” in 1998) which covers Russian history from 1850 to the present day. It was a fascinating museum and I would loved to have stayed for longer, but I had to leave for an opera (“The Demon”) at Novaya Opera. The tickets were much cheaper than I had expected, so I had bought a front-row seat for a mere AU$18!

The Novaya Opera building looks nice on the outside, but on the inside is a spectacularly extravagant interior, filled with marble stairs, golden railings, sparkling lights and lots of Russians dressed in their finest clothes. I, on the other hand, was somewhat under-dressed for the occasion, but this only resulted in the occasional glance from other patrons (who were sipping champagne and eating caviar before the show). The theatre hall itself was pretty without being ostentatious, and the opera proved to be a fantastic experience. The music was powerful and majestic (and even cataclysmic when the Demon was on-stage), the staging and costumes were beautifully done, and the singing was incredible even though I did not understand a word. The performers and orchestral pit earned a huge applause from the audience when it was over, and I could only agree with that sentiment. I may not see another opera in Russia, choosing to see an opera in a language I can understand instead, but this was the first opera I had ever seen and I was highly impressed.

One afternoon, It began to rain heavily while I was walking the streets, and so I went in search of shelter. The Gorky House Museum not only provided (free!) shelter, but also allowed me to explore the stately home that was awarded to Gorky after his return from fascist Italy. While only encompassing several rooms, the house was a refreshing change to standard museums — there was a very intimate feeling when exploring the rooms, rather than the more clinical museum atmosphere. I completed my day by trying a savoury pastry from one of the many stores in the pedestrian underpasses. I had no idea what was in the pastry when I bought it, and I was still uncertain about its contents after I had eaten it. Whatever the filling was (and perhaps I’m better off not knowing) it tasted great and was also very cheap. While in Moscow, I also tried several “blini” (large crepes wrapped around a sweet or savoury filling). The chocolate blini and condensed blini may have been calorific suicide, but they were worth it!

Best wishes wherever you are!