Part 1 of 4
I joined a group of 24 people, from Austin and San Antonio, on a trip to Russia.
We arrived at Moscow's Domodedovo airport in the afternoon. We met our tour guide Yulia (Julia in English) and transferred to Hotel Katerina Park. Katerina Park offers free breakfast, free wi-fi, and a free minibar. This is the first hotel I've stayed that offers a free minibar. We then had a welcome to Moscow dinner at a traditional Russian Restaurant and explored Old Arbat Street. In Moscow, sunset is around 10:17pm (which means it isn't dark until 11pm) and sunrise is around 4:47am. Made for some very long daylight. Moscow is the capital of Russia, and is Russia's largest city with 11.5 million inhabitants. Many people live in country towns outside of Moscow and commute into the city for work.
The next day we started with a panoramic tour of Moscow, visiting the Moscow State University (one of the 7 sisters in Moscow - they have the same exterior shape), World War II Memorial, the Red Square, and the Moscow Kremlin. At the Red Square, we visited the St Basil's Cathedral and then had lunch at the GUM - Russia's largest department store. The exterior design of St Basil's Cathedral fits my initial image of Russia with colorful onion shaped domes. Russians hold their cathedrals in high regard. The main reason for the onion shaped domes is it would allow the snow to roll off instead of becoming stuck on the roofs. Too much snow can damage the roofs due to excess weight. We also got treated to a choir performance at St Basils. It was interesting, if a bit unsettling, to be standing in the middle of the site of many Russia military marchings. We also got to see the changing of the guards. In the afternoon, we visited the Moscow Kremlin including the Czar Cannon (world's largest cannon) and Czar Bell (world's largest bell). Before the bell could be cast, a large hole developed as a result of a fire in 1737, and the bell never rang. We concluded the afternoon at Cathedral of Christ the Savior. In the evening, a group of us had dinner at a nice restaurant/bar/dance place near the river. After dinner we danced a couple of songs. We weren't the best but we enjoyed ourselves. And at least we had the courage to go out on the dance floor.
The next morning we visited the Tretiakov State Gallery, with a large collection of Russian art and artifacts. We then had lunch at My My (pronounced Moo Moo), a cafeteria style Russian restaurant that Yulia recommended. We did a tour of the Moscow subway. Some of the stations, especially the ones built between the 1930's and 1950's, are like art museums with statues, mosaics, and marble floors. Russians are proud of their subway system. Afterwords, we checked out the Izmailovsky Flea Market featuring Russian souvenirs.
My favorite Russia pictures
I joined a group of 24 people, from Austin and San Antonio, on a trip to Russia.
We arrived at Moscow's Domodedovo airport in the afternoon. We met our tour guide Yulia (Julia in English) and transferred to Hotel Katerina Park. Katerina Park offers free breakfast, free wi-fi, and a free minibar. This is the first hotel I've stayed that offers a free minibar. We then had a welcome to Moscow dinner at a traditional Russian Restaurant and explored Old Arbat Street. In Moscow, sunset is around 10:17pm (which means it isn't dark until 11pm) and sunrise is around 4:47am. Made for some very long daylight. Moscow is the capital of Russia, and is Russia's largest city with 11.5 million inhabitants. Many people live in country towns outside of Moscow and commute into the city for work.
The next day we started with a panoramic tour of Moscow, visiting the Moscow State University (one of the 7 sisters in Moscow - they have the same exterior shape), World War II Memorial, the Red Square, and the Moscow Kremlin. At the Red Square, we visited the St Basil's Cathedral and then had lunch at the GUM - Russia's largest department store. The exterior design of St Basil's Cathedral fits my initial image of Russia with colorful onion shaped domes. Russians hold their cathedrals in high regard. The main reason for the onion shaped domes is it would allow the snow to roll off instead of becoming stuck on the roofs. Too much snow can damage the roofs due to excess weight. We also got treated to a choir performance at St Basils. It was interesting, if a bit unsettling, to be standing in the middle of the site of many Russia military marchings. We also got to see the changing of the guards. In the afternoon, we visited the Moscow Kremlin including the Czar Cannon (world's largest cannon) and Czar Bell (world's largest bell). Before the bell could be cast, a large hole developed as a result of a fire in 1737, and the bell never rang. We concluded the afternoon at Cathedral of Christ the Savior. In the evening, a group of us had dinner at a nice restaurant/bar/dance place near the river. After dinner we danced a couple of songs. We weren't the best but we enjoyed ourselves. And at least we had the courage to go out on the dance floor.
The next morning we visited the Tretiakov State Gallery, with a large collection of Russian art and artifacts. We then had lunch at My My (pronounced Moo Moo), a cafeteria style Russian restaurant that Yulia recommended. We did a tour of the Moscow subway. Some of the stations, especially the ones built between the 1930's and 1950's, are like art museums with statues, mosaics, and marble floors. Russians are proud of their subway system. Afterwords, we checked out the Izmailovsky Flea Market featuring Russian souvenirs.
My favorite Russia pictures
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