Moscow Myths
Moscow, Russia - April, 2003
Spy books, thrillers and names such as Red Square, Kremlin, KGB and the former Soviet Union make a visit to Moscow stomach-churning exciting but instead of being dark, scary and intimating the city is colourful, beautiful and fun.
Red Square is an enormous rectangle and its cobbled surface undulates with age like a castle esplanade.
Moscow’s Red Square is without doubt the most breathtaking part of the city. The word “red” has nothing to do with the colour of its buildings or communism but is an old Russian word that means beautiful and it certainly is. Red Square is an enormous rectangle and its cobbled surface undulates with age like a castle esplanade. Over the years it has witnessed many historical events but now just provides the perfect arena to stare and photograph the extraordinary buildings that surround it.
Red Square is incredibly colourful and its buildings are red, mustard or orange accented with gold but the most striking is St Basil’s Cathedral with its nine opulently decorated domes each boasting a different height and pattern. The city’s most famous building is of course the Kremlin although from the square all you can see is one side of its high walls.
The word kremlin means citadel and Russia has seven in total. Moscow’s Kremlin is almost triangular in shape and surrounded by red-bricked walls complete with turrets and clock tower. It is the historical heart of the city and from the outside its size is an optical illusion as behind its walls lie three museums, four cathedrals, five palaces, a bell tower, government offices, the President’s official residence, army barracks as well as the world’s largest bell and cannon and there is still room for a beautiful cherry tree garden overlooking the river.
The Diamond Museum and the Armoury are two of the Kremlin’s museums. The Armoury has nothing to do with weapons but the name of the safest building they had to store their valuables. The highlights of the visit are the collection of Faberge eggs and the Tsars crowns, thrones and carriages. One royal carriage instead of having wheels was a sleigh and would have been pulled across the snow by 16 horses. The museum’s large halls are filled with glass cases containing treasures such as Catherine the Great’s coronation and ball gowns, gifts of silver and gold given by emissaries from all over the world and church chalices and icons studded with precious stones.
The interiors and altars of the four old cathedrals that surround Cathedral Square are covered with faded paintings depicting saints and are lit by chandeliers. Tombs of the Tsars, the smell of incense and the muskiness of age create a slightly eerie atmosphere. In stark contrast one of the newest additions is a 1960’s concrete building with the grand name of The State Kremlin Palace and is a venue for ballets and concerts.
You enter and leave the Kremlin through a high walled drawbridge from Aleksandrovsky Park. These gardens run the length of the second side of the Kremlin with the changing of the guard beside the tomb of the Unknown Soldier taking place every hour. On the other edge of the park fountains sit on top of an invisible shopping centre located three floors underground and the Roman style balustrades are a popular place for friends to hang out.
On the other side of Red Square, opposite the Kremlin and the polished marble tomb of Lenin, is a building that could easily be mistaken for a palace but it is in fact a shopping centre. The GUM, pronounced Goom, was originally the State Department Store and once inside you realise it is the birthplace of shopping centres.
Split lengthways into three parallel arcades each hall is three floors high and covered by an arched glass roof that fills the building with sunlight. A fountain sits in the centre and stone stairways and arched walkways take you from floor to floor and balcony to balcony. The addition of a couple of escalators and modern shop interiors is all that’s required to make this 1890’s building appear brand new.
As you look at GUM’s façade you will see three arched entrances although the outer two are now restaurant terraces. The Bosco Café spills out onto Red Square on the left-hand side and the main entrance is found in the Max Mara section of Bosco’s clothes shop in the first arcade. To have lunch right next to Red Square is an incredible experience and the salads, pastas and patisseries are all delicious. Its well worth the wait for a table or better still reserve one in advance.
Another venue for lunch is just a short walk from Red Square. The Arbat is a long pedestrian street filled with identical stalls selling tourist memorabilia such as fur hats, Russian dolls, old army officer hats and enamelled eggs. There are also several cafes and restaurants but signs in English are few and far between and several restaurants could be mistaken for antique shops.
We opted for what appeared to be the most tourist-friendly as it resembled an old American diner and was appropriately named Route 66. However, looks can be deceiving as the young waitresses didn’t speak English but luckily the menus did so we pointed and smiled and enjoyed the comings and goings from our window seat.
Russia doesn’t have a “pub” culture with the first pubs opening in the 1970’s. In Russian pubs you don’t speak to strangers and a beer costs four times more than from a street vendor. So the streets and parks are Russia’s real pubs and located outside every Metro station or open space you will find small grocery shops, newspaper booths or hot dog-like stands selling beverages, cigarettes and snacks. Groups of young ladies sit and drink Gin & Tonic out of large cans and cargo-pants are favoured by the guys so they can transport two cans of beer in the leg pockets whilst drinking the third.
Moscow is one of Europes great cities and easily competes with its counterparts of London, Paris and Rome and has all the ingredients for the perfect long weekend.
Anti social behaviour normally associated with groups of people hanging about drinking in parks or street corners is non existent and on Friday nights they are joined by business men and woman celebrating the start of the weekend. Surprisingly, Moscovites are softly spoken and like joking about themselves and appear almost shy. They also don’t pry or ask questions which leaves you to do all the interrogating.
The city’s streets are gigantic sometimes up to eight lanes wide and with no markings they resemble fast flowing concrete rivers. In Moscow the car is king and pedestrians are almost invisible even at designated crossings and subways are the only safe way across the street. Some subways also lead to the metro station and although dimly lit they are spotless, busy and safe with the occasional busker and booths selling everything from sandwiches to CD’s.
Moscow’s underground or Metro system is legendary and we gladly accepted our guide’s offer of a tour. These underground palaces are the city’s meeting place, especially in winter, and where better to meet a friend than under high ceilings decorated with murals, chandeliers and paintings. As with most undergrounds the lines are colour coded and switching from one to the other is relatively straightforward. The only complication is that all the signs and station names are in Russian so it helps to have an idea of where you are headed. Although with trains coming every 56 seconds it’s easy to ride a few stops and then cross to the opposite track and go back the way you came.
The cost of a ticket anywhere on the metro is 70 Rubles (approximately 20p) and buying a ticket is simple. In each metro station there is a manned kiosk inside the entrance where you can buy your ticket and you enter through a barrier similar to the London underground. The only thing to watch out for is the escalators as they travel significantly faster than the ones back home.
After you’ve explored the city underground you then need to enjoy the views from the highest elevated spot. From the front of the Moscow State University on Sparrow Hills the city is laid out before you like a gigantic 3-D map. The university building is equally awesome and is one of seven buildings in the city built in the same gothic style and from this vantage point it’s easy to pinpoint the others.
The city’s other infamous building is the former KGB office but you won’t find it mentioned on any map and instead of being up a creepy dark alley or side street it sits behind a large roundabout just along the road from the famous Bolshoy Theatre. It’s easy to walk or drive past this stone building with its own clock unaware of what it once was and only its insignificance and history justifies a photograph.
Evenings in Moscow are equally memorable and there is no better place to start than to have caviar and vodka in the Baltschug Kempinski Hotel’s bar. Black caviar is delicious, addictive and four times the price of red caviar but you have to try it at least once in your life and where better than sitting in a bar diagonally opposite the Kremlin.
The hotel is located on the other side of the Moskva River which forms the third side of the Kremlin. The citadel’s stone walls sit between two identical bridges that offer incredibly romantic views and the sun appears to rise and fall over this section of the river turning the sky pink over the Kremlin’s golden domes.
Another favourite way to spend the evening is at The Moscow State Circus but we weren’t expecting our taxi to pull up in front of a theatre in a busy street Parents with young children accompanied by grandparents, couples and tour groups made up the audience and when we entered the building we were met by the most unbelievable spectacle.
In the entrance hall a camel was lying on a rug next to a fully dressed chimp and two lionesses. We then saw two brown bears, a leopard and a crocodile. After staring in disbelief for several minutes we climbed the stairs and encountered a tiger as well as a black bear and lion cub. Each animal had its own photographer and trainer and queues of people waited for the chance to sit rigid next to their favourite and have their picture taken.
Upstairs we found ice-cream, popcorn and candyfloss along with clowns twisting balloons, joke stalls selling hats with daggers through them, spectacles with boggling eyes, fluorescent tubes, animal shaped balloons and a bouncy castle. The overall affect was enough to get any child or adult hyper before they reached their seats.
The performance stars at 7.00 pm and the auditorium and circus ring was about the size of an average theatre with lighting, live orchestra and ropes all promising a memorable night. The show included the most spectacular jugglers, acrobats, trampoline and trapeze acts interspersed by slightly surreal animal acts that made the circus quaintly old fashioned.
On our last night we had dinner in a stylish restaurant called Bisquit. The entrance next to the Van Cleef & Arpels shop was so discrete that our driver had to check with the doorman that we were at the right place. The décor was an unusual mixture of antique and modern and the seating was made up of red and gold velvet club chairs and comfy banquets set against walls adorned with large mirrors and candelabras lit the room. Heavy drapes between the restaurant and the adjoining bar gave the room a luxurious feel and the flowers, red-glass accessories and “lounge” music created the perfect ambiance.
The model-like waiters came with just the right amount of attitude and became more endearing as the evening progressed and by 9.00 pm the restaurant started filling up with Moscow’s beautiful people. Much to my delight the menu included a delicious Beef Stroganoff and when we left at 11.30 pm the place was buzzing, the lights dimmer and the music louder. It was the perfect end to our visit.
Moscow is one of Europe’s great cities and easily competes with its counterparts of London, Paris and Rome and has all the ingredients for the perfect long weekend. It is a city just waiting for travellers to discover its new image and in exchange for the slight inconvenience of obtaining a visa you will be rewarded beyond belief.