This is part 2 of a series about my recent trip to Russia; part 1 is here.
I traveled to Moscow from Washington Dulles airport via Frankfurt. The flight times weren't too bad; about 8 hours to Frankfurt, a 1 hour stopover, then about 3 hours to Moscow. I was a bit worried about my connection because the stopover time was so small, but Frankfurt is efficient and I had time to spare. I ended up arriving in Moscow at around noon.
During my trip research, I noticed that many people talked about getting ripped off by taxi services, so I arranged private transportation through my travel agent for all airport, hotel, and train connections. My private car whisked me efficiently from the Moscow Sheremetyevo International airport to the Metropol, a 5-star hotel right across from the Red square.
The Metropol is an old-fashioned hotel with a feeling of "old Russian opulence". The rooms themselves aren't particularly luxurious, but the entrance hall is impressive and they have a small orchestra that plays during dinner times. Even your breakfast is accompanied by a harpist!
When I checked in they asked for my passport which apparently is then registered with the local officials. This is normal procedure and I got it back a few hours later.
I didn't sleep at all on the flight to Moscow so I immediately took a 2 hour nap to get refreshed for an afternoon walk around Red Square. When I awoke I booked a personal tour guide for a couple of trips around Moscow as well as getting tickets to the local Circus and Ballet. When I travel I like a combination of guided tours, local events, personal walkabouts and some night clubbing, so I made sure I didn't over-schedule my 4 days in town.
When I left the hotel to walk around Red Square, the first thing I noticed was that the weather was glorious. Most people think of snow and rain when they think of Russia, but apparently August is a great time of the year to travel there and most of my trip was 75F and blue skies.
The next thing I noticed was that the people were in generally good physical shape and dressed fairly casually; I was expecting more high fashion in the streets of Moscow. Relative to cities like New York and London, there were not as many tourists as I expected; maybe this is due to the additional visa requirements.
Walking into Red Square was an awesome feeling. The buildings of the State History Museum and St. Basil's Cathedral are impressive when viewed on TV, and in real life they are stunning. The cathedral is especially beautiful, with towers topped by colorful swirls.
During my walk, I was constantly on the lookout for the various characters described by the hilarious Exile Field Guide; I definitely saw a few Trophia Minigarchias!
After a few hours of wandering around, I ordered a drink and a snack from one of the fine restaurants by the side of Red Square. You can sit outside and watch the world go by, which is an enjoyable thing to do when you're in an exotic place like Moscow. I was relieved to see that the portions of food were sized according to European sensibilities; about half the quantity of a typical America portion.
After an hour or so relaxing in the restaurant, I headed back to the Metropol to prepare for a night on the town.
This series will be continued in part 3.
Your pictures are great, I just finish two books that had a lot to due with Russia and it's great to see the your photo's upon reading about these different places.
Posted by: L | Sep 22, 2005 at 09:05 AM