Europe Summer 2017: Russia 1 – Russia-gate(way)

RUSSIA

     Given all the political turmoil between Moscow and Washington over alleged Russian interference in the presidential election campaign of 2016, people have asked why I would want to go to Russia “of all places”. The answer is simple enough—like the proverbial mountain, because it's there—and complex enough: had never been there; curious to separate fact from fiction; discover what the Russian people are like besides caricatures; see the Kremlin and the Winter Palace and last but not least attend some performances and the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theaters.

Moscow – September 5, 2017

Aeroexpress train at Domodedovo Airport

central Moscow

        Arrived at Domodedovo Airport, Moscow's third and newest airport, from Thessaloniki around 13:00. Scrutiny of my U.S. Passport was quite a bit longer than Road Buddy's but I finally got through Immigration. The weather was colder than we had become used to in Greece and it started to rain. Caught the Aeroexpress train to Paveletskiy Railway Station in town and a taxi from there to our hotel the Kuznetskiy Inn not far from the Kremlin and the Bolshoi Theater .

taxi ride into downtown Moscow

"Stalin" era architecture
(from taxi window)

        We were a little apprehensive about entering Russia given the current political climate. And going into any big unknown city for the first time is always a steep and stressful learning curve. The taxi ride was bumper to bumper as the rain got heavier even though they have 10 lane roads running through the city. Things began to look bleak when we were shown to a smaller room than the one we had booked and we were confused about setting up the Wi-Fi connection. It took some negotiating to get the Wi-Fi working and arranging a room change to the larger Studio we had booked.

Kuznetskiy Inn

        With a few basics settled we went out to get some cash from a difficult to find ATM (Bankomat in Russia) machine and have dinner at a place called Marrakesh. The food was good but it was raining pretty heavily when we left sans raincoat or umbrella. We were pretty soggy and discouraged after a trying transit day by the time we got back to the hotel.

September 6

the promised Studio we booked

       After a decent night's sleep things improved during the course of the morning. Got the days plan getting oriented worked out. Discussed anew changing our room to the Studio we booked instead of the basic double they gave us. The front desk clerk and the manager hemmed and hawed claiming no Studios were available yet. So, I said: “Very well, you can charge us for the cheaper basic double until you find the Studio we booked.” That did the trick. Suddenly, a Studio magically appeared although it “needed to be cleaned” but would be ready later that day. They agreed to move our bags to the new room while we were out taking care of travel business.

        Moscow is not an easy town to get acquainted with. The city is big and sprawling with 10 lane roads cutting through the city. Very few sign are in English, especially in public transportation such as subways and train stations.

"Are we having . . .  

. . .  fun, yet?"

        First of all, we had breakfast in an elegant brasserie next door to the hotel. Happily the prices were not as extortionately expensive as we had expected and the food was well prepared and presented with super attentive (not to say hovering) waitresses whisking away your plate as soon as it was empty.

tub of butter with a film of real gold leaf

ham and eggs art work

area around Leningradsky Railway Station

chandeliers in the subway

busy ticket office

    The weather was still gray and rainy when we battled the subway system. We had considerable difficulty finding a ticket window and negotiating the complicated maze of the subway, but finally succeeded in getting on the correct train to Leningradsky Railway Station to buy tickets to St. Petersburg via high speed train. The ticket sales office was crowded and it took over an hour to buy tickets. 

many ornate subway platforms

    After finally getting our tickets to St. Petersburg we boarded the subway back to our own neighborhood and discovered some new streets with a larger variety of restaurants and bars and a convenient little market to buy our can't-do-without in-room pre-breakfast wake up coffee and snack. Stopped off in a bar and had a couple of cocktails to cap off a very busy and productive day of orientation.

       Our room was changed as promised to a more spacious and comfortable Studio, so things, having plateaued from the initial very steep learning curve in the initial phase of learning the ins and outs of a new town, were settling down and getting a bit more normal. 

our spacious and comfortable Studio home for the next week