The Largest European City
Moscow, home to over 12 million people, is a city worth exploring. It's fast paced, park filled, cathedral central, and the cleanest city. There's a lot more English spoken in Moscow compared to Voronezh, and the majority of important signs have an English translation. I hope to visit again!
~My Adventures of Moscow~
The Moscow Metro:
Also known as the most beautiful underground on Earth. The Metro is filled with amazing architectural designs and marble flooring. It's like a whole new world on it's own. Not only is it the fastest way to get around the city, but it's also a hot tourist spot. Some tourists will even pay to have a tour around the awe-inspiring underground beauty. I loved how fast the Metro was, but I wasn't a big fan of the loudness.
Our Hostel:
Originally our group has a reservation at Hostel 5, However, when we arrived they had given our rooms away to someone else. Thankfully the lady at the front desk pointed us in the direction of a new Hostel, the Makarov Hostel. Unfortunately the price of this hostel was 1175 rubles compared to our original 115 rubles. What made the price jump 1000 rubles? That's still a mystery to me. The hostel was fairly clean, but perfect for a cheap nights of rest.
Gorky Park:
A park filled with culture, lots of leisure activities and probably my favorite place in all of Moscow. Gorky park just celebrated it's 90th anniversary in August. It's the perfect place to eat an ice cream, hang out with friends and family, walk along the river, or bike ride. Which is exactly what I did. I had the greatest time biking around the park exploring the many different activities that are available for FREE. After biking and walking around the park, we took a nap on a huge beanbag that was at the park. If I lived in Moscow I would spend every weekend here at this park.
Red Square:
Through centuries Red Square has been and still is, the heart and soul of Russia. In the 1400's, Red Square was the 'ghetto' of Russia, home to criminals and drunks. Ivan the 3rd cleared out the area, but it still remained the center for mobs, and public executions. Red Square transitioned to a place of remembrance of war and victory. 'Krasnyi', the word for 'red' in Russian, originally meant 'beautiful' but has since switched meanings to 'red' in contemporary Russian. 'Red Square' became the official name in the 17th century.
Red Square is filled with beautiful and meaningful buildings including: St. Basil's Cathedral, Kazan Cathedral, Kremiln Wall, Lenin Mausoleum, Statue of Minin and Pazharsky, Resurrection Gate and the Iberian Chapel, GUM shopping center, Labnoe Mesto.
St. Basil's Cathedral:
Moscow's most famous building attracts millions of visitors each year. The official name is, 'The Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin by the Moat'. The Cathedral was built from the orders of Ivan the Terrible to remember the capture of Kazan from the Mongol forces in 1552. The Cathedral took 8 years to complete. The architecture of this Cathedral is breathtaking, and saved the building from being torn down. Stalin wanted to demolish the building for massed parades throughout Red Square, however Pyotr Baranovsky, an architect, refused. The Cathedral was saved, but Baranovsky spent the next five years in prison.
Today the Cathedral is a museum, which allows you to tour the inside. It costs 700-1000 rubles to walk through the Cathedral. The Cathedral is also open on Sunday for services.
The Kremlin Wall:
In 1917, two tombs were built under the Kremlin wall to hold the remains of 240 casualties of the Revolution. It then became a tradition to bury Soviet heroes beneath walls of the Kremlin. In 1925, there was no more room under the walls in which VIP's were then buried inside the walls. The Kremlin Walls is a grave site for hundreds of fallen soldiers. Stalin's body is also buried within the walls of the Kremlin.
Unfortunately I didn't go inside the fortress, but the outside and surrounding area was massive. I loved all the different buildings from a white and gold Cathedral to the 'Russian Whitehouse'.
Tsaritsyno Palace and Museum:
The Tsarityno Palace is in the southern part of Moscow. This palace was a dream! It was crazy to imagine that at one point it was someone's home. The palace was built as a suburb home for the Empress Catherine the 2nd. The originally building was almost complete when the Empress came to inspect it. The building was not to her liking and was ordered to be torn down and restarted. The rebuilding was still in process when the Empress died and the palace was abandoned and unfinished, 200 years later it was finished.
Boat Ride on the Moskva River:
Our group of teachers met up with the group from Moscow and did a 2 hour boat trip on the Moskva River. Our boat took us through the center of Moscow. We passed by the Kremlin, St. Basil's Cathedral, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the Monument to Peter the Great, Gorky Park, and many other beautiful buildings. It was such a relaxing ride with beautiful views.
8 Hour Bus Ride:
Probably the worst part of the trip. Coming home, we left Moscow at 10:30pm to travel through the night. As we looked at our tickets, I thought I was going to be sitting by myself, I was stoked. I bragged about laying on two seats, jokingly making other jealous. Well to my surprise, I wasn't sitting by myself. A young Russian man was sitting next to me. We rode for about 10 minutes when the bus stopped and the driver started speaking Russian. All the passengers got off the bus expect for all of us, the Americans who can't understand. After sitting there looking at each other and the bus driver continuing to talk to us, we realized that we were supposed to get off. Lalee, one of the teachers, was already asleep. The bus driver leaned over her and in Russian said, "Good morning, welcome to Voronezh" and some other words that I didn't understand. We were all laughing about what he said. Finally we realized that we were being transported from the train station to the bus station, where we would reboard the bus and head home. We're all getting pretty good at guessing what the Russians are saying to us.
Advice from an English speaking girl traveling in a Russian speaking country:
Researching and knowing the history of the places your visiting makes the experience 789x times better...even if you have to translate everything you read.
*Don't forget to check out my photos in the 'Image Gallery'*
-Laura Burke (soon to be Frazier)
~My Adventures of Moscow~
The Moscow Metro:
Also known as the most beautiful underground on Earth. The Metro is filled with amazing architectural designs and marble flooring. It's like a whole new world on it's own. Not only is it the fastest way to get around the city, but it's also a hot tourist spot. Some tourists will even pay to have a tour around the awe-inspiring underground beauty. I loved how fast the Metro was, but I wasn't a big fan of the loudness.
Our Hostel:
Originally our group has a reservation at Hostel 5, However, when we arrived they had given our rooms away to someone else. Thankfully the lady at the front desk pointed us in the direction of a new Hostel, the Makarov Hostel. Unfortunately the price of this hostel was 1175 rubles compared to our original 115 rubles. What made the price jump 1000 rubles? That's still a mystery to me. The hostel was fairly clean, but perfect for a cheap nights of rest.
Gorky Park:
A park filled with culture, lots of leisure activities and probably my favorite place in all of Moscow. Gorky park just celebrated it's 90th anniversary in August. It's the perfect place to eat an ice cream, hang out with friends and family, walk along the river, or bike ride. Which is exactly what I did. I had the greatest time biking around the park exploring the many different activities that are available for FREE. After biking and walking around the park, we took a nap on a huge beanbag that was at the park. If I lived in Moscow I would spend every weekend here at this park.
Red Square:
Through centuries Red Square has been and still is, the heart and soul of Russia. In the 1400's, Red Square was the 'ghetto' of Russia, home to criminals and drunks. Ivan the 3rd cleared out the area, but it still remained the center for mobs, and public executions. Red Square transitioned to a place of remembrance of war and victory. 'Krasnyi', the word for 'red' in Russian, originally meant 'beautiful' but has since switched meanings to 'red' in contemporary Russian. 'Red Square' became the official name in the 17th century.
Red Square is filled with beautiful and meaningful buildings including: St. Basil's Cathedral, Kazan Cathedral, Kremiln Wall, Lenin Mausoleum, Statue of Minin and Pazharsky, Resurrection Gate and the Iberian Chapel, GUM shopping center, Labnoe Mesto.
St. Basil's Cathedral:
Moscow's most famous building attracts millions of visitors each year. The official name is, 'The Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin by the Moat'. The Cathedral was built from the orders of Ivan the Terrible to remember the capture of Kazan from the Mongol forces in 1552. The Cathedral took 8 years to complete. The architecture of this Cathedral is breathtaking, and saved the building from being torn down. Stalin wanted to demolish the building for massed parades throughout Red Square, however Pyotr Baranovsky, an architect, refused. The Cathedral was saved, but Baranovsky spent the next five years in prison.Today the Cathedral is a museum, which allows you to tour the inside. It costs 700-1000 rubles to walk through the Cathedral. The Cathedral is also open on Sunday for services.
The Kremlin Wall:
In 1917, two tombs were built under the Kremlin wall to hold the remains of 240 casualties of the Revolution. It then became a tradition to bury Soviet heroes beneath walls of the Kremlin. In 1925, there was no more room under the walls in which VIP's were then buried inside the walls. The Kremlin Walls is a grave site for hundreds of fallen soldiers. Stalin's body is also buried within the walls of the Kremlin.
Unfortunately I didn't go inside the fortress, but the outside and surrounding area was massive. I loved all the different buildings from a white and gold Cathedral to the 'Russian Whitehouse'.
The Tsarityno Palace is in the southern part of Moscow. This palace was a dream! It was crazy to imagine that at one point it was someone's home. The palace was built as a suburb home for the Empress Catherine the 2nd. The originally building was almost complete when the Empress came to inspect it. The building was not to her liking and was ordered to be torn down and restarted. The rebuilding was still in process when the Empress died and the palace was abandoned and unfinished, 200 years later it was finished.
Boat Ride on the Moskva River:
Our group of teachers met up with the group from Moscow and did a 2 hour boat trip on the Moskva River. Our boat took us through the center of Moscow. We passed by the Kremlin, St. Basil's Cathedral, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the Monument to Peter the Great, Gorky Park, and many other beautiful buildings. It was such a relaxing ride with beautiful views.
8 Hour Bus Ride:
Probably the worst part of the trip. Coming home, we left Moscow at 10:30pm to travel through the night. As we looked at our tickets, I thought I was going to be sitting by myself, I was stoked. I bragged about laying on two seats, jokingly making other jealous. Well to my surprise, I wasn't sitting by myself. A young Russian man was sitting next to me. We rode for about 10 minutes when the bus stopped and the driver started speaking Russian. All the passengers got off the bus expect for all of us, the Americans who can't understand. After sitting there looking at each other and the bus driver continuing to talk to us, we realized that we were supposed to get off. Lalee, one of the teachers, was already asleep. The bus driver leaned over her and in Russian said, "Good morning, welcome to Voronezh" and some other words that I didn't understand. We were all laughing about what he said. Finally we realized that we were being transported from the train station to the bus station, where we would reboard the bus and head home. We're all getting pretty good at guessing what the Russians are saying to us.
Advice from an English speaking girl traveling in a Russian speaking country:
Researching and knowing the history of the places your visiting makes the experience 789x times better...even if you have to translate everything you read.
*Don't forget to check out my photos in the 'Image Gallery'*
-Laura Burke (soon to be Frazier)
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