{MOSCOW ~ March 26-29, 2017}
PART I
“Our workshop will be in Moscow” was the information I received. And I thought: “Really? Moscow…? Moscow in March…?”
Little did I know how absolutely blown away I was a few months later!
I bought a Lonely Planet Moscow guide to be at least a little bit informed. Maybe there was something interesting to do in the evenings… Of course I was curious to see the St Basil Cathedral. I saw so many impressive images. But sometimes travel guide images and reality are worlds apart…
MOSCOW READING WHILE HAVING AMAZING BREKKIE
My hotel was in the city center near by the Red Square. Ararat Park Hyatt. Pretty fancy though. Definitely a good chance to walk to the Red Square and have a look.
I arrived on a Sunday evening and the drive from the airport took about 45 minutes. The moment I got into the taxi and we drove thru the city towards city center, I was already impressed by the beautiful architecture and the lit up facades.
The taxi was almost at the hotel when the street passed a big monument and I was able to see a glimpse of the Red Square in the distance.
THE RED SQUARE AT NIGHT
I arrived at the hotel, dropped off my bags, put on another warm under-layer and left the room to head towards the Red Square. The short 7 minutes walk from the hotel to the entrance of the Red Square was already impressive. I passed the Bolshoi Theater, walked thru a little park and had the feeling of being in Gotham when I saw the red lit up “M” of the metro stations.
M – METRO STATION
I entered the Red Square thru the “Resurrection Gate” that was between the “Museum of War of 1812” and “State History Museum”. Beautiful architecture! The facades, the colors, the details. absolutely stunning.
RESURECTION GATE – ENTRANCE TO THE RED SQUARE
And then I entered the Red Square. I have seen a lot of places in the world, but this was beyond of what I’ve seen in other big cities. Maybe because I didn’t really research a lot about Moscow. I was standing on the Red Square for a while and just looked around; taking it all in: the beauty of the buildings, the Kazan cathedral, the amazing lights of the “rym” aka GUM and in the distance: The St Basil Cathedral. I was literally blown away. One square surrounded by beautiful architecture. Each building unique.
ST BASIL CATHEDRAL
BEAUTIFULLY LIT UP rym AKA GUM
What a beautiful square. The bright lights of the GUM felt a bit like Christmas and I was waiting for the Coca-Cola Truck to arrive. I wandered around the Red Square; took photos of the St Basil Cathedral from all kind of angles as there are so many details that I just wanted to capture somehow. The Kremlin was hidden behind huge walls – all I could see was the top of the Senate building. Right in front of it: Lenin’s Mausoleum. Unfortunately there was no time for me to go inside.
LENIN’S MAUSOLEUM
Next part to explore was the GUM. The 3-story department store first opened in 1893. Entering GUM felt like traveling back in time to the 1920s. Old music is playing thru the speakers; store staff dressed in nice vintage uniforms; no bright neon lights. All in all a really nice department store.
rym AKA GUM
Now if you want to experience how it was to go to the bathroom end 19th century, then you can visit the “Historical Toilet”
HISTORICAL TOILET – rym
If you leave the GUM thru the north-west entrance you end up right beside the Red Square in front of the beautiful Kazan Cathedral. Walking along the little street – away from the Red Square – are some souvenir stores that sell the usual. I couldn’t resist getting a Matryoshka – the little wooden dolls of decreased size placed inside one another.
KAZAN CATHEDRAL
I continued my way back to the hotel thru some of the little side streets. Happy and thankful of being able to experience such an amazing place. What an evening!
…MOSCOW ~ FAR BEYOND EXPECTATIONS to be continued…
