From Russia with love – part II

I chose a hostel for Moscow as well – the Youth Hostlu Asia, which is a bit out of the centre, but close to the subway station, which is extremely important, for Moscow has one of the best subway systems in the world; and if not THE best, than at least the most beautiful, for many stations seem to be like grand concert halls with stories about the time they were built in – the Soviet Union. The first line with 13 stations was opened in 1935 already.

It’s just a colosac city you could spend months in without really being familiar with it. It has 12 million people spread over 2.500 km2 so it doesn’t seem all that crowded.

It is advised you start exploring the city in the centre of power – in Kremlin or better said on the Red Square with the mausoleum of V.I.Lenin the funder of the Soviet Union. The centre alone can take more than a day to see, with the cathedral of Saint Vasilij from 1588, the shopping centre GUM from the late 19th century, the world renowned Bolšoj Theatre, the seat of the former KGB – Lubyanka, the underground shopping mall and numerous museums.

And this is just the centre! Moscow has the typical soviet architecture, where everything was huge and had to look monumental. So the highway around city (which has in various section from 8 to 10 lanes in each direction) is over 100km long. There are numerous railway stations in the city and even four international airports. The railway stations were probably competing which one would be more popups! And then there are recreation areas and huge parks. And not to be only wide, Moscow also features the TV tower, right next to the fair (which is humongous like everything else) with the height of 540 meters. Built in 1967 it was the highest tower for 9 years and is still the highest tower in Europe.

Russian history, like the history of almost whole of the Europe, is in many ways connected to the World War II and so you can visit the park of victory in Moscow, dedicated to the military victory achieved. There is also a bit smaller open-air museum of military equipment nearby.

There are also some other buildings that boast the Soviet power built in the style of the Kiev hotel next to the red square. There’s the foreign ministry building and one of the biggest universities in the world – the Moskow Lomonosov University (named after the Russian scientist). It is a 240m tall building with 62 floors that was the tallest building in Europe since it was erected in 1953 until 1990 and still remains the tallest educational building in the world. But not all strategically important buildings reach such heights, there are also deep under the city. They say there’s a whole other city underground, safe even in the case of a nuclear strike against the capital. Remembering times when the Soviets had to fear even a nuclear strike against their country, we can understand why this would be made and it would be really interesting to sneak a peak in the underground hideouts.

But there is a part of the underground accessible to everybody – that’s the subway metro system with 12 lines, 185 stops and over 300 km of rails and the third most frequented metro in the world (topped only by the ones in Tokyo and Seoul). It has 2.4 billon rides, for a ticket has no time limit.

But let’s stay atop of things and see the famous Arbatska street, packed with souvenirs, restaurants, bars and street performances. It is one of few streets in the metropolis that is completely closed off to traffic and is a popular gathering places for people of all ages.

But not only the Soviet, Moscow also holds great pearls of the royal car Russia and its history. Most of it is behind the walls of Kremlin and outside some churches, monasteries like the one in Kazan that’s also a part of the Unesco world heritage list.

But a city is not a city if it hasn’t got a river, never mind if it’s smaller than Volga or Neva… it’s there and it shares the name of the city.

And Moscow is not only interested during the day. It’s even mightier at night in the many spotlights, just made for admiring it. I’ve rented a car to see it and it really helped, but I also used the car to visit the cities of the golden ring to the north around Moscow. The underground railway system only runs until 1 AM and you can’t really see the city at night if you don’t have your own set of wheels (the taxi would just be too expensive).

So Moscow awaits you: you just have to decide to go!

The golden ring above Moscow

The golden ring above Moscow are the cities of Vladimir, Suzdal, Ivanovo, Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Pereslavl – Zalesskiy, Sergiyev Posad and Rostov. These and a few smaller towns have millennia of history behind them and all have important monasteries and town centres dating back to the previous turn of the millennia (from around 1000 AD).

All the cities have walled monasteries, churches with golden roofs and everything else making them special.

To get to see them all you need your own transportation or be a part of an organised guided tour, that unfortunately takes too long (at least on my tight schedule) so I used the car.

Jaroslav

So if you cannot make the tour of all the cities, I’d decide to suggest at least Jaroslav, with 600.000 inhabitants on the river Volga, where Kotoroslja flows into it.

Just recently they celebrated their 1000th birthday of the city with rich history. First settlements date back to 5-3 centuries BC. The town with such a name first appears between 988 - 1010, when the city was funded in the time of Yasolsav ruling the land of Rostock. Yaroslavl is also the oldest city on the river Volga.

The best way to reach it is by train from Moscow (about 3-4 hours ride), but you can, as I did rent a car and also visit other cities of the ring and be the master of your own time.

If you, however, are not on a limited budget, you can even take a river cruise from Sankt Peterburg through Moscow to Yaroslav. The river and canal cruise is a great and romantic, but expensive, adventure.

There are also other cities worth a visit, so at least sneak a peek through my gallery, but if you had only one city to visit, I’d suggest Yaroslav.

Some tips for visiting Russia:

• You’ll need to get a visa, which is easily done by filling out the form (with black ink) for a tourist visa at the consulate of Russia. All you need is a valid passport, a picture, an international medical security and a letter of invitation (which any hostel you’ll stay in can grant you).
• Who to reach Russia? It’s easiest to find a cheap airplane ticket through some of the portals. You should arrive at Moscow and leave via Sankt Peterburg (or vice versa)
• Connecting city and the airport – use the frequent public transport, which is the fastest way to reach the centre (especially in traffic jams if you use the rail system). Besides, Taxi is really expensive unlike the public transport. The maršrutkas of Sankt Peterburg take you around the city for a euro or two.
• Traveling Russia? There are great rail connections around the country. Despite the numerous trains, you should still reserve a ticket at least a day ahead, for the crouds are huge.
• Where to spend the night? The Youth Hostel network is very well spread out and you can see it at www.youth-hostel.si and find the hostels you’d like to book (from cheaper to those who can stand shoulder to shoulder with 3* hotels.
• Eating in Russia? On working days (usually between 10 AM and 5 PM) most restourants (including some international pizza chains) have the »business lunch«, a two course meal with dring priced between 3-7€, which is really cheap for Russian prices – a regular price for a similar meal could be double. There are also some of local fast food chains, like the “Kartoška«, where they sell baked potatoes in aluminium folio topped with butter, sour cream, ham… Original and tasty.
• When to travel? You’ve probably hear of the Russian winter – so you would know that winters are not the best time of the year to visit Russia. Especially not the more northern cities like Sankt Peterburg. Especially during the polar winter, where there’s pitch dark between 4 PM and 11 AM the next day, with only bleak light in between. You can only dream about sun during those days. It’s just the opposite to the polar day in May and June, when you can see the bright nights when sun doesn’t set at all. And that’s also the time I’d most suggest for visiting Russia. But you can visit also in August, or basically anytime during the summer, when Sankt Peterburg is bright until around 11 PM.