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After Paris we had a short stop at the halfway house in England again after which we departed for our last stretch of winter abroad, Russia. Luckily for us, the extreme weather predictions of -20's was gone and Russia's spring started. We flew via Germany to Moscow. At the airport, we realised we never googled how to get to our pre-booked hotel in Moscow. Thank goodness for free wifi at the airport, so we figured out we had to take the 45min overland train into Moscow, then hop on the subway, change trains twice and then take a bus and walk for a bit to the hotel. We did not worry too much as we've been doing this for so long already... Until we got out of the overland train into the subway station. What a shock, hundreds or rather thousands of people going and pushing in all directions, no-one speaks English, we are the only tourists there, it was insane! I've read in the Lonely Planet guide that there are about 11million people in Moscow of which 9million use the subway every day. We did not realize that it is literally how many people are in the stations and on the trains! It took us a while to figure out the Russian train station names in the Russian alphabet and where we have to get off and onto another train, but we nevertheless got to our destination. That alone was a miracle.
The next heart attack came when we entered the building of our hotel, or the place that looked like the picture we got on the website, only to find it completely deserted except for an empty table, a chair and a notice in Russian with the only thing we could read being 8:00 - 16:00. And it was precisely 18:00 when we got there. The first thought that flashed through my mind was that this is it, for the first time during our trip, we are going to be stranded, in the middle of nowhere in Moscow, with a hotel that is empty and absolutely no-one that speaks English! Another miracle happened and someone came walking down the stairs. We showed him our hotel's name on a piece of paper and somehow managed to understand we have to go outside, keep walking for a while and look on our left for a hotel and we found it! You'll see in the pictures that even the hotel's name is in Russian script, so we would have missed it anyway!
At check-in, I received our pre-booked tickets for 2 ballet performances: for one of my favorites, Don Quixote, at the State Classical Ballet Theatre and one for the Bolshoi Theatre. Great excitement existed as this was one of my big ticks!! The service we got from the BalletandOpera booking company was so impressive that we also used them to book tickets for the Russian circus.
But before we went to all these performances, we optimized the very effective and busy subway system of Moscow and explored the city. And what a beautiful city it is! We were really surprised. The Kremlin with its cathedrals, the Red Square with all its history, the Red October district with all its clubs and funky pubs, the broad main road with its designer stores and fancy hotels, all the beautiful theaters. We were really surprised with how much this city has to offer and how incredibly pretty everything was. Even the Russian girls and guys were drop-dead gorgeous with their straight blond hair and see-through icy blue eyes... There was police/army men all over the Kremlin and Red Square, all beautifully dressed in ankle-length dark blue coats and Russian fur hats. They looked like they received the authority they deserved. The Russians in general are not very approachable, smiling people, but once you ask someone for help, they would really try to understand and help you.
At the Kremlin, we visited all the cathedrals. They were stunning inside and outside. The beautiful gold pointed roofs amazed me every time I walked pass one. Inside were beautiful art, most of it telling the stories of Jesus' life on earth. What amazed me throughout this trip is that everywhere in the world are the most beautiful Christian churches, whether it being Catholic or Orthodox, everybody believing in the same God and telling the same life-story of Jesus. We really believe in the only Almighty God that is way bigger than we can ever imagine, but still is Christianity such a small portion of religions all over the world. We really have to pray harder for all the rest...
We also visited the Armory. This is where all the precious gems and gifts are kept that the kings and queens all over the world gave to the Russian Tsar's. And what a treasure it is! I felt like I was wandering around in one of those movies where the pirates found these amazing treasures and gold and diamonds and silver, etc. I enjoyed the display of coaches that was actually used by the Tsar's, some even had ski's for wheels for traveling in the Russian wintertimes. They really look like the ones used by Cinderella and all the fantasy movies! Charl enjoyed the selection of guns and wartime weapons that was on display. We were amazed once again and realized how rich these Russian rulers must have been/or still are. In the Red Square we wanted to visit Lenin's mausoleum, but it was under construction unfortunately, probably patching up his balsam for the next year. We are really intrigued by the Russian's role in the world wars and their rich history. We are definitely going to do some reading when back home. This is all so interesting and we now have a frame of reference. The plan was originally to read about all these countries and their history before we get to them, but with this trip of ours happening in less than 3 months, we were constantly just reading about our destination we are in and maybe the next, just what to see and where to stay and how to get around, it was crazy!
The highlight of the week for me was definitely the Don Quixote ballet performance. The dancers were excellent especially the main ballerina. She was gorgeous and danced the part with the best stage personality and technique that I've ever seen. I can see why ballet and gymnastics and ice skating and acrobatics almost come naturally for the Russians, they are all extremely slim with really long legs and arms and really really flexible. The show in the Bolshoi came 2nd as it turned out to be more of a contemporary show than a proper ballet. So one day I would love to go back to Russia with my mom to see the proper Bolshoi Ballet Company perform Swan Lake in the Bolshoi Theatre. The circus was also fun, it was my first circus performance ever, but coming from Africa, we are not really fond of hippos rolling over onto their backs and bears riding bicycles...
Another highlight was tasting proper Russian vodka. It is delicious, you can actually sip it as it is kind of sweet and definitely do not have to mix it with something like orange juice. In Russia, the men has to drink it as a shot while women can sip it and you get a pickle or two with to eat after the shot. Really delicious.
The subway turned out to be another one of our highlights, believe it or not! But first, to get into one is kind of dangerous... usually there is a small boom that prevents you from just walking through without swiping your card. Not in Russia. Here the gaps are empty, but you still have to swipe before you can go through. Again was I amazed by the discipline of the Russians, until I experienced first-handed why they oblige. If you walk through without swiping, the metal footplate detects that there is weight on it and huge metal bars shoot out from nowhere in milliseconds, leaving absolutely no mercy for a human's limbs such as knees and wrists that are in the way. Not that I did this on purpose! Being the lefty that I am, I swiped with my left hand and walked through the wrong opening and BAM, OUCH!!! That as scary, you never know what to expect in a communist country!
The first subway station was opened in 1935 by Stalin. He instructed that he wants the stations to be beautiful, almost like art galleries. So every single station is decorated with some form of art, being it beautiful chandeliers, mosaic works, sculptures, paintings, you name it. It just amazed me that everything is so well preserved, there is nothing missing or broken or even dirty. Some of these underground subway stations were used as shelters and meeting places during the world war.
We really enjoyed Moscow and I cannot wait to return! Maybe to St.Petersburg in RTW trip2 and again to Moscow with my mother!
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