My Journey in Moscow

Last weekend I visited Moscow, the capital of Russia. I have heard numerous stories of how different Moscow and Saint Petersburg are, and I was able to experience that difference for myself.

A little on the differences of the two cities:

Saint Petersburg was founded in 1703 by Peter the Great and become extremely Westernized. The city is known as Russia's cultural capital. Moscow, on the other hand, was established sometime before 1147, and over the years exerted its influence to become the capital of Russia.  The Bolsheviks returned the capital to Moscow in 1918 and it has remained so since. Moscow is known as the political capital of Russia.

Moscow is huge, spread out, and extremely metropolitan. Saint Petersburg does not seem as big and is much more provincial. Moscow has its own skyscrapers and modern buildings. The streets of Saint Petersburg are lined with old buildings that are no taller than the spire on Peter and Paul Cathedral.

So the trip:

I got to ride on a train! It seemed like something out of Harry Potter. I was extremely excited. We took an overnight train to Moscow. It had 4-person compartments and we slept on the train. Then we arrived in the capital at 9:00 in the morning. A whole day for adventure! After breakfast, we had a bus tour throughout the city. Now I have already shared my opinion on bus tours, and this bus tour reconfirmed my feelings. I was unsatisfied and longed for adventure after the tour.

Bolshoi Theatre

Bolshoi Theatre

So what did I do to quench that desire? I waited in line for tickets to the Bolshoi Theatre! The theatre was founded in 1776 and opened in 1856. It holds performances of ballet and opera, and each of its companies are among the oldest and most renowned in the world. Due to its extravagant history and amazing performances, tickets are expensive and hard to get. Lucky for us, the Bolshoi has a special program for students where it sets aside a certain number of student tickets each night which cost a little over $3. We were extremely lucky to get tickets and I am very glad that we did. We saw the premiere of the ballet Eugene Onegin. It was absolutely spectacular and I loved every minute of it! Seeing a performance at the Bolshoi Theatre is just awesome in itself, but the ballet made the experience my favorite in Moscow.

Saturday I woke up early in order to go see Vladimir Lenin. His body is preserved and displayed in a mausoleum situated in the middle of Red Square. It sounds a little creepy, and it is. Well, we got there and Red Square was closed. So no Lenin for us. Instead, I saw the Duma (Russia's parliament), the old KGB building, the gardens next to the Kremlin, Lenin's Library, and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Then, it was a tour of the Kremlin!

Putin's helicopter pad

Inside the Kremlin

The Kremlin was my second favorite thing in Moscow. The Kremlin, any kremlin for that matter, is a fort that surrounded the city and protected it. Over time, of course, Moscow expanded outside its kremlin walls, but the Kremlin continued to have a prominent role. First, we toured the Armoury Chamber, which houses a wonderful collection of imperial items. Thrones, carriages, gifts, Faberge eggs. It was a wonderful collection of history and I did not want to leave the building, but there was more to see. We passed the residence of the President of the Russian Federation, although Putin does not live there. Then, we saw the building that houses Putin's office, and yes he does work there. Recently, Putin had a helicopter pad installed inside the Kremlin in order to avoid shutting down the traffic of Moscow whenever he comes, which we saw. We were also able to see "church square" and went inside the cathedral where all the Romanov tsars had their coronations. The Kremlin was filled with years of history and was a little hidden-away world of its own.


Next, some of us took a trip to the gigantic, and supposedly cheap, souvenir market. The market was outside and composed of stalls where people were selling their "wares." It was a fun shopping experience, looking at all of the stuff and trying to find the best deal. I walked away with numerous purchases that I was extremely proud of; however, my wallet was not as happy.

After we dropped our treasures off at the hotel and relaxed for a little while, it was off to dinner, followed by pictures on Red Square. Moscow actually gets dark, as it is further south than Saint Petersburg. It was nice to feel and see the night. We took a stroll down Arabat Street in order to soak in the darkness and the Moscow atmosphere. The street is closed off to cars, and is lined with numerous little cafes and shops. All of the shops were closed by the time we got there, but there was still plenty of sights and sounds to take in. Along on the street, there were a lot of street performers hoping to make some rubles. From singers, to poetry readers, to a man who juggled and claimed he could ride a flaming unicycle (we stopped to watch, but after 15 minutes, several dropped pins, and no flaming unicycle, we left). Moscow was very pretty and alive at night. It was a fun experience, and I am little sad that I will not truly be able to see Saint Petersburg lit up in its nighttime splendor.

Cosmonautics Memorial Museum

Cosmonautics Memorial Museum

Sunday morning I woke up sick. No fun, so I went back to bed. I managed to drag myself out and get ready in order to go to the Cosmonautics Memorial Museum. It was definitely worth the venture out of bed. I was able to see the first two living creatures that traveled to space; the Soviets stuffed the two dogs who are now displayed in their own glass cases. There was also a lot on Yuri Gagarin, who was the first man in space. The Russians adore him, as they should.


After the museum, I went back to the hotel to sleep off whatever it was I caught. After a nap and several hours of the news, I was finally beginning to feel better. I felt much better on Monday, and was totally fine by Tuesday when we got back to Saint Petersburg. For those of you who were concerned, I am completely better. Relaxing in the hotel was kind of nice, because I did not completely wipe myself out while in Moscow and was able to enjoy the adventures on the last day in Moscow.

Tree houses and adventure courses

Buran space shuttle

Monday, three of us explored two of Moscow's parks and the Borodino Battle Panorama Museum. The Battle of Borodino was the largest and bloodiest day during the French invasion of Russia and the Napoleonic Wars. It was a decisive battle that eventually led to Russia's defeat of Napoleon. In order to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the war, Franz Roubaud was commissioned to paint a panorama depicting one of the events of 1812. The panorama has been on display for almost 101 years. On a completely different note, Moscow's parks are amazing! A park in Moscow is no ordinary park. First, we wandered through Gorky Park, one of the city's most famous parks. There were large fountains, a pond where one could rent paddle boats, carousels (we passed two), restaurants, and a spaceship. Yes, a spaceship. It is a test-unit, so it never had an actual trip to space, but it was still cool to stand next to! The second park we visited was next to our hotel. The previous night it hosted an Italian festival. This park has its own walking trails, multiple restaurants, and a mini-park full of tree houses for children. The parks were also extremely clean and well-kept, which just added to their marvel and splendor.

Inside St. Basil's

Mexican food!

In between the two parks, my friend and I headed back to Red Square and went inside St. Basil's. St. Basil's is the iconic picture of Russia that almost everyone knows. It is the on with the numerous swirled-spiraled domes sitting in Red Square. The cathedral is gorgeous on the outside and just as gorgeous on the the inside. All of the walls were intricately designed with multiple patterns, I do not know how people found the time or patience to do such a thing. After St. Basil's, we were hungry, so we wandered into one of the malls next to Red Square. And what did we find inside? A Mexican restaurant! Of course we had to eat there for it was such an exciting find. The two American girls received chips and salsa compliments of the chef and a delicious quesadilla. Now, it may not have been the best Mexican ever, but it was Mexican in Russia and we gladly took it. Here is a little anecdote on Russian cuisine: When the waitress brought out the chips and salsa, she pointed to one of them and explained that it was spicy. Well, it really was not, it was quite delicious. I have decided that Russians have a low tolerance for spicy food, because there is rarely spice on their meals. So my friend and I were grateful for a little kick to our plates.

St. Basil's at night

After a nighttime bus tour through the city, including night pictures of Red Square, it was back to the train station. This time the train did not hold as much charm, but it was still cool and a nice place to sleep for the evening. I spent four days in Russia's capital, which of course is never enough. But I was able to see the highlights and I thoroughly enjoyed myself (besides the whole getting sick ordeal). Moscow was definitely a wonderful adventure and chapter in my journey in Russia!