Moscow, Part II

Our adventure in Moscow continues...

Prior to our trip, our Russian friends advised us to only carry photocopies of our passports while in Russia. Apparently, the local police are known to ask to see your passport, and then they will keep it until you pay them a bribe. So we heeded this tip, with the downfall that we could not get into the Ostankino TV tower (which required original passport documentation to enter). Next time, I will carry both the original (tucked away safely) and a photocopy. :)

Ostankino Tower - the tallest tower in Europe

OK, we all know Emily cannot go too long without shopping. We visited a local street market that sold everything from fresh produce to fur coats; it reminded me of the elaborate bazaars in Cairo, but colder and less touristy.


We also checked out a little more upscale shopping at the GUM, located in the Red Square. Honestly, we usually just went into the GUM to get warm in between visiting the magnificent buildings in the Kremlin and the Red Square. It is also a good place to grab a latte to combat jet lag in the afternoon. The 1890's building itself is nothing short of spectacular. The clothing stores may change with the season, but architecture like this never goes out of style.

inside the GUM

Emily ponders her next purchase at the GUM

the GUM at night (as viewed from the Red Square)

Emily read about a castle that was nestled in a wooden park area, so we took the train across town, got off at a remote stop in the country, and embarked on a trek through the woods to find said castle.

Apoptosis; the leaves had just fallen from the trees. The stark contrast between the barren black and white trunks and the colorful lying leaves, which once produced energy and life, signified the onslaught of the cold Russian winter.

the Russian squirrels look a little different than those native to the U.S.

We came upon a small log cabin surrounded by a wooden gate. Thinking this was the castle we were looking for, I opened the gate and walked inside. A man came out speaking in Russian and gesturing that they were not open for visitors, so we decided not to push our luck and returned on our path back to the remote train station.

"Is this it?"....not exactly the castle we were looking for

While waiting on the train, we realized we had gotten off at the wrong stop, so we got back on the train, rode to the next stop, and disembarked to find the castle we were searching for all along:

this castle is much better than the tiny cabin we found in the woods

a vodka distillery near the castle

Outside of the castle was an open air market selling lots of paintings and WWII memorabilia...I found an authentic old bronze SCUBA helmet that would have made an excellent decoration for the house, except for the fact that the guy wanted $1500 for it, and it probably would not meet the weight requirement for our checked baggage.

Emily bought a set of souvenir Matryoshka dolls at the market. Each one is hand painted and opens to fit the next inside of it. There are 20 in total with the last few so small (only a few mm tall), that you can barely decipher the details of the painting!

Some other random cool buildings we saw as we were walking around:

One destination which particularly piqued my interest was a former underground nuclear bunker that has been turned into a museum and opened to the public....well, sort of. It turned out to be about as welcoming as one would expect the KGB to be. At $40 each for admission, you would think they would be clamoring for customers. However, I could not successfully make a reservation on their website, nor find any real details about when they were open. I had difficulty speaking with them on the phone, so I tried to get our hotel concierge to talk to them to no avail. Finally, we decided to just show up and see what happened. Well, what happened is that we did not get in. There was a "No Trespassing" gate at the entrance, which I pretended to ignore. Then I found a small intercom buzzer at the gate so I pushed the button a received a crackly reply in hasty Russian. I have no clue what he said, but it was not exactly in a friendly tone....so, once again, we decided to cut our losses and leave before anything bad happened. Oh well, I guess it just adds to the mystique of the place.

Here we are, in a foreign land which had been an enemy of our country for most of our childhood, trespassing in the name of tourism. I love it!

Even though we did not get to tour the underground bunker, we did get to frequent the underground subway tunnel system while riding the Moscow Metro. Of all the cities I have been to in the world, I would argue that Moscow has by far the best subway system. It costs less than $1 to ride, the trains come every 2 minutes, the routes span out from the center of the city and include a large circle line to connect the outer extremes, and the stations themselves are historical relics. The stations are lined with marble and many of them house artwork and sculptures. The 1930's era light fixtures, while probably not efficient by today's standards, add a warm glow and distinctive classical feel. The trains themselves are a little old, but feel like they are built out of solid steel and function very well....they are the type of design that would make your grandfather say, "they just don't make 'em like they used to". Every time I rode the train, I could not help from being transported (pun intended) back to my childhood where I used to watch old James Bond films on VHS with my friend, Mark Lindloff.

the infinitely long escalators leading down to the Moscow Metro
(just for fun, I took the stairs up once....and was utterly exhausted at the top)

a typical Moscow Metro station

Despite the Cold War being long over, there was still a strong overtone of military prowess in the air. This feeling culminated at the Central Museum of Armed Forces. Chad and and I enjoyed checking out the tanks and missiles, while Brie and Emily waited patiently after briskly walking through the exhibits.

A quote from Chad (referring to the large missiles in the background), "You know, those probably used to be pointed at us". A sobering thought. I'm glad it never came to that.

my personal favorite - the armored locomotive

On our last evening, we decided to walk around the Red Square at night. Even though we had walked it several times prior, we just could not get enough of it. It is a real beauty at night.

the State Historical Museum (which we toured, but we were not allowed to take pics inside)

the State Historical Museum as viewed from the Red Square

the Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin - originally built in 1491

...well, as they say "all good things must come to an end", so does our adventure in Moscow.