Moscow
Monica's Photos
Monica's write up (more complete): here
I expect to see chess in Red Square, Izmayovsky Park and Gorky Park. But, I did not see it anywhere. Is chess out of fashion in Russia? Retired world champion, Garry Kasparov, head of the anti-Putin party, the Other Russia, still plays occasionally. Could it be a political act to play chess in Russia?
Moscow was a very clean city with an excellent subway system. Everyone was friendly to us.
We arrive at Terminal F, stop at a bankomat (ATM), and follow signs to the train station, the Airport Express. Most of the signs are in Cyrillic, but Cyrillic is phonetic, not overly difficult, and the sign translates to "Airport Express." We are the last ones onto the 2 p.m. train, which has first class chairs even for those of us not in the business class. It is a comfortable 35 minute ride to the subway station.
We walk to the Belorussky subway stop, which is on the circle line, transfer to line 3 and stop at Izmaylovsky Park, where we find our hotel, Izmaylovo Vega. The hotel complex served athletes at the 1980 Olympics. Check in is easy. We are on the 10th floor. They give us an ethernet cable for internet access. As with Asia, a room key must be inserted into a slot to provide power to the room.
I send an email to our translator/orientation guide, Nailya. She meets us at 5:30 and shows us around the Red Square area. She dispels some of the stereotypes about Russia.
In the morning, we have a big buffet breakfast (included). There are fish, meatballs, orange juice, coffee, beets, cabbage, pancakes, eggs, sweets and drinking yogurt. Also, a woman is playing bouncy music on a keyboard. Most people here are international athletes, participants of the 2010 Rugby series.
We take the subway to Revolution Square and stand in line for Lenin's tomb, where he continues to remain unburied. Our bags are efficiently checked. Nearby, we see markers for Yuri Gagarin, Joseph Stalin, Andropov and others.
We walk past flower gardens where actors are posing as Lenin and Stalin for pictures. We cross bridges giving views of the Kremlin. We walk past the British Embassy and the headquarters of an oil company.
We tour Saint Basil's which is only one or two floors plus basements and towers. It is a beautiful 16th century building. The towers are impressive to view from the inside, as well as the outside.
We see a replica of Mir at the cosmonaut museum. Here we see statues of various explorers such as the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, and taxidermy of the first two dogs to survive space travel.
Nearby is Victory Park where we see sand sculptures celebrating the end of World War II. Signs celebrating victory in World War II are throughout Moscow.
We go to the Bolshoi ballet and see hammy opera singers perform the Tsar's Bride. There are four acts and three elaborate set changes. All of the performances are excellent regardless of billing. A mural on the ceiling depicts scenes from famous operas. Afterward, we go to a restaurant that Nailya recommended for goulash, piroskas and soup.
Monday morning, we walk amongst nature in Izmaylovsky Park, viewing rabbits and squirrels. Russians are standing in fields wearing Speedos to sunbathe. We see a small group of men smoking and drinking as we enter and exit.
There is a junky souvenir area near the hotel. It has elaborate towers and from a distance looks like Disneyland, but is poorly maintained and mostly abandoned. Someone wants to sell me a fur hat for 500 rubles, then 2 for 500 rubles, then 200 rubles, but I see no value in a fur hat.
On our final night, we go back to our favorite restaurant for kibbobs, latte, piroshka, vodka and tea. It rains for two hours, then we retreat back to Red Square for final pictures.
I brought a recorder, so will be reviewing the sounds of Gorky Park, our nature walk and subway rides. Overall, it was a pleasant trip. We looked like Russians-- some even asked for directions-- so fitting in was not an issue.
Monica's write up (more complete): here
I expect to see chess in Red Square, Izmayovsky Park and Gorky Park. But, I did not see it anywhere. Is chess out of fashion in Russia? Retired world champion, Garry Kasparov, head of the anti-Putin party, the Other Russia, still plays occasionally. Could it be a political act to play chess in Russia?
Moscow was a very clean city with an excellent subway system. Everyone was friendly to us.
We arrive at Terminal F, stop at a bankomat (ATM), and follow signs to the train station, the Airport Express. Most of the signs are in Cyrillic, but Cyrillic is phonetic, not overly difficult, and the sign translates to "Airport Express." We are the last ones onto the 2 p.m. train, which has first class chairs even for those of us not in the business class. It is a comfortable 35 minute ride to the subway station.
We walk to the Belorussky subway stop, which is on the circle line, transfer to line 3 and stop at Izmaylovsky Park, where we find our hotel, Izmaylovo Vega. The hotel complex served athletes at the 1980 Olympics. Check in is easy. We are on the 10th floor. They give us an ethernet cable for internet access. As with Asia, a room key must be inserted into a slot to provide power to the room.
I send an email to our translator/orientation guide, Nailya. She meets us at 5:30 and shows us around the Red Square area. She dispels some of the stereotypes about Russia.
In the morning, we have a big buffet breakfast (included). There are fish, meatballs, orange juice, coffee, beets, cabbage, pancakes, eggs, sweets and drinking yogurt. Also, a woman is playing bouncy music on a keyboard. Most people here are international athletes, participants of the 2010 Rugby series.
We take the subway to Revolution Square and stand in line for Lenin's tomb, where he continues to remain unburied. Our bags are efficiently checked. Nearby, we see markers for Yuri Gagarin, Joseph Stalin, Andropov and others.
We walk past flower gardens where actors are posing as Lenin and Stalin for pictures. We cross bridges giving views of the Kremlin. We walk past the British Embassy and the headquarters of an oil company.
We tour Saint Basil's which is only one or two floors plus basements and towers. It is a beautiful 16th century building. The towers are impressive to view from the inside, as well as the outside.
We see a replica of Mir at the cosmonaut museum. Here we see statues of various explorers such as the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, and taxidermy of the first two dogs to survive space travel.
Nearby is Victory Park where we see sand sculptures celebrating the end of World War II. Signs celebrating victory in World War II are throughout Moscow.
We go to the Bolshoi ballet and see hammy opera singers perform the Tsar's Bride. There are four acts and three elaborate set changes. All of the performances are excellent regardless of billing. A mural on the ceiling depicts scenes from famous operas. Afterward, we go to a restaurant that Nailya recommended for goulash, piroskas and soup.
Monday morning, we walk amongst nature in Izmaylovsky Park, viewing rabbits and squirrels. Russians are standing in fields wearing Speedos to sunbathe. We see a small group of men smoking and drinking as we enter and exit.
There is a junky souvenir area near the hotel. It has elaborate towers and from a distance looks like Disneyland, but is poorly maintained and mostly abandoned. Someone wants to sell me a fur hat for 500 rubles, then 2 for 500 rubles, then 200 rubles, but I see no value in a fur hat.
On our final night, we go back to our favorite restaurant for kibbobs, latte, piroshka, vodka and tea. It rains for two hours, then we retreat back to Red Square for final pictures.
I brought a recorder, so will be reviewing the sounds of Gorky Park, our nature walk and subway rides. Overall, it was a pleasant trip. We looked like Russians-- some even asked for directions-- so fitting in was not an issue.
Labels: travel
posted by David Rasmussen at 2:55 PM
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