Yet another red eye flight, this time to one of the largest countries in the world: Russia. Yes, a brand new destination to add to my list, I'm visiting Moscow for the first time! Unfortunately, it's a work trip which means I will have very limited time to roam around. That said, my 3 nights there should afford me at least some sight seeing activities.
Upon arrival at Domodedovo Airport, my boss and I were immediately whisked into a pre-booked car and drove direct to our hotel in the city. The airport was located rather far away, and the drive allowed for a scenic drive of the countryside, as well as the flowering spring views.
The hotel of stay was Courtyard Marriott, and this was my first Courtyard where there's an actual courtyard that served as the lobby area! The glass roof poured in the warm sunlight and brighten the trademark yellow walls. It was a welcoming sight.
After quickly checking in, it was a simple salad lunch within the hotel's restaurant before heading directly out to office for meetings.
Along the way to and from meetings, I had a glimpse of the city, and what beautifully futuristic the new CBD looked! All the blooming spring flowers added the extra touch of romance to the journeying as well.
For dinner, it was a random street side pick near to the Courtyard Marriott, and I had local Russian dishes. Borscht, a red colored soup that is essentially a cabbage beetroot and meat soup, was served first. I didn't like the taste of it, especially with the raw pork belly by the side that was tough to chew and swallow. The main course was a stew like mutton plate that reeked of strong mutton stench smell, not the type of sheep I'd like to swallow as well. It was almost a force fed dinner for me and essentially the end of trying new Russian local dishes for the trip!
After dinner, it was a stroll within the vicinity. As my hotel was located within walking distance of the Red Square, all the major attractions are within walking distance. I walked past the famous Red Square and had a glimpse of the Kremlin and Saint Basil cathedral before stopping at Bolshoi Theatre. This is the most famous performing theatre in Russia and is also the venue to world famous Swan Lake ballet. The golden glow of the building against the darkening blue clear sky and the trees dangled with truffle-like white flowers brought about a magnificent yet romantic vibe, and a great end to my first day in Moscow.
Day 2 started early with a visit to my office as well as another site inspection (including a not too memorable lunch at the office canteen) before I was given the afternoon off to explore the Red Square with a local guide. The walk started from the hotel and we walked passed a Roman Orthodox Church that is small yet filled with intricate design. My guide took a quick pit stop for a little prayer before we continued the walk towards the direction of the Red Square.
At the edge of the Red Square, you really did feel rather small. Even though these buildings were hundreds of years old, they were still imposing. Apparently, even those many of the buildings were red, it was not call Red Square based on the colours. Red is also the same word as beautiful in Russian, hence it is called Beautiful Square. Upon entering the Square via the State History Museum, you really couldn't disagree more. The striking Saint Basil Cathedral stood in a walkable distant in front with the Kremlin flanked on the right. On the left was the high end mall of GUM with its glass covered walk ways.
In view of my very limited time, the guide brought me to the Moscow River nearby and onto a bridge to enjoy the 'inside' of the Kremlin. From the bridge, the walls of Kremlin were low and you could see many of the beautiful buildings inside.
It was a brief stop at the Red Square outer walls for a change of guards ceremony before embarking on a walk through some narrow alleys and walkways within the Red Square vicinity.
Nikolskaya street was a pleasant wide walkways flanked by historical buildings on both sides. It is now a walking mall filed with shops. Walking along this street allowed one to experience how a rich aristocrat would feel in the olden days. Well, it's still mostly for the rich to shop as well amongst tourists. From here I entered the main entrance of Gum, essentially 3 rows of historical long blocks with glass roof connecting all the buildings, allowing for a climate controlled walking street with natural sun rays pouring in. Although the shops are mostly modern setups such as Samsung etc, there is a certain unexplained grandeur to the entire place. I had a pistachio ice cream there as well, their local ice cream. It was quite sticky, similar to the Turkish counterpart.
After a rather hurried experience, I bade my guide goodbye and headed for my dinner with my local stakeholders. The restaurant is a nice cosy set up by the name Boqua Pectopah. I had a glass of local fermented drink that felt a bit fizzy and sweet with a tint of alcohol. Appetizer was crab salad with traditional recipe, nice touch that it was served shaped like a crab! This was followed by a shot of true blue vodka that was chilled to freezing temperature. It was the coldest shot I'd ever had, but was also the tastiest vodka! The main was marinated veal tenderloin that was easy on the palate with the fragrance of the grill. Oh, not to mention a side dish of mushroom and fries that was so huge it could be a main by itself!
As it was still early after dinner when I returned to hotel, I took time to explore the city solo. First up, St Andrew Church that sat beside my hotel. It was a very nice chapel and a session was on-going at the time. Beautiful cups of tulips could be found everywhere on the compound as well.
Next, it was a brisk walk to the shooting area, Tverskaya Street. I found a high end supermarket that had very intricate interior design that reflected the glory of the past.
As it was spring time, it could be found everywhere flowers and flower sculptures along the street.
Very nearby without 10 minutes of walking, I returned to the Red Square again. This time, I was not bounded by time to explore it. Well, until I was tired for the bed that is.
Red Square at night was beautiful. It was really not crowded due to a recent celebratory parade and holiday season. So I almost had the whole Square to myself (amongst a few hundreds others). There was a sense of romance everywhere I turned, a calming peace. The cool evening spring air helped lift the mood as well. I walked around the square, essentially followed the same path I took in the day, to experience the grandeur once more.
Stopped by a convenient store to grab some local chocolate and after the purchase, I saw the sky lit with fireworks! Must be some celebratory going on then. Boy was I lucky. But i could not stay for long as the sky started drizzle and I had to almost run back 1km to my hotel!
The next day was a 3/4 work day as we tried to wrap things up quickly on a Thursday. This was my last work day in Moscow. After work, it was about trying to spend my rubles on items I wanted to grab. Basically vodka and caviars.
I returned to the supermarket at Tverskaya Street and grabbed 2 museum sized bottles. Didn't know what was nice, so based it on the design of the bottles. I mean, if they could invest so much in the bottle, the content couldn't be half bad right?
Next, I rushed back to Gum to grab the caviars (which turned out not to be that tasty at all when I had them back home). I grabbed a quick dinner at a cafe there before going underground.
Yes, underground. Who could miss visiting the famous subway stations of Moscow? I had no clue the stations to visit. Even if I knew, I would know how to get there. All signs were in Russian. Hence, I randomly took a line and stopped at every single stations. Theory said the stations were meant to be underground bunkers in case of war, hence they were designed nicely so the refugees would feel good there.
Each station was uniquely designed and many had a harvest theme or very communist sculptures plastering the walls. I stopped for 5 stations before I decided to return at Victory Park station. It was not easy to navigate back since the station personnel could not speak English, and given there were like 4 tracks in the station, I was lost for some 20 minutes until I found a kind soul who spoke English. She directed me back to the Red Square station, and I made my way back to familiar territory.
Along the way, I stopped by a convenient store to load up on some local chocolates as gifts for friends back home.
Last day on Friday morning. I woke up late and had a quick breakfast before heading out to explore the immediate vicinity. The Church of Great Ascension of Christ was 10 minutes walk away and was a humble looking church. However, I was captivated by the floras there. Jesus indeed has blessed the grounds richly!
After this short side trip, I rushed back to the hotel for my ride to the airport. Along the way, tulips could be seen everywhere. It was really a beautiful sight this trip to Moscow!
