Mighty Moscow

Passport.

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Copy of passport.

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Visa.

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Copy of Visa.

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Invitation.

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Hostel booking confirmations.

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Directions to hostel.

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Registration details.

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Cyrillic alphabet sheet.

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This check-list constantly niggled in the heads of James, Chris and myself as we ventured over to the mysterious land of Russia. "Dont count your chickens" was the theme of Tuesday the 3rd November, our date of departure.

Thankfully, after an early morning train to Copenhagen and a really easy check in, followed by a bit of a run to the plane (just to wake us up), we made the plane. Several hours later after a stopover in Latvia, we stepped foot in our destination: mighty Moscow, capital of Russia.

"Welcome to Mocba" was about the only thing written in the Roman alphabet and in English for that matter. Helloooo cyrillic. Hello RUSSIA. Hello difficulty. Despite the lack of knowledge of the language, we somehow managed to secure ourselves tickets into town.  I have to say, we were certainly not the most relaxed we'd been in our lives, having heard that Russia was a somewhat dangerous place alongside being unfamiliar with the language. Big word of advice: learn cyrillic before you go to Russia. It helps. 


After a slightly longer journey to the hostel, due in part to myself leading everyone onto the wrong train, we finally made it to the Godzilla Hostel; our home for the next week. The city was much safer than expected as well as our accommodation, funnily enough being located right next to the Police HQ, probably the most dangerous group of people in Russia. Lovely.

The metro (Московский метрополитен) experience basically summed up the culture in Moscow for me. Everyone stares. No one talks. Surprisingly quiet for the mere 7 million people that use it each day. You stick out like a sore thumb if you speak, let alone speaking english. You could certainly feel the oppression that the Moscovites had experienced over the last century. Although they seem pretty intimidating and serious, they still take a lot of pride in their appearance, particularly the older women. It seemed like they were all stuck back in the 1940s. Being Winter, they were all rugged up in their long fur coats and gorgeous detailed hats. I have so much appreciation of fur now and my idea of Russian fashion, which I once perceived as bland and boring, has changed completely. It is so classic and incredibly practical. I must note their KILLER heels too. Totally want some. Russians have a thing for shiny things too - both valued for their looks and because they are waterproof.

The metro wasn't just interesting because of those who used it. It is known to be one of the best in the world and it certainly lived up to its name. The trains were incredibly frequent - every 90 seconds during peak hours and up to every 3 mins throughout the day - there isnt even a timetable! Aside from this the stations were gorgeous! Was fun hopping off the train and discovering a whole new station with a completely different theme each time you traveled somewhere new. I would describe them on a whole as being very grand, displaying ornate socialist realist art. The use of the metro was incredibly cheap - only 22 roubles ($1 NZD) for a single ticket anywhere you want to go, making as many changes as you want! Interesting because it is considered the most expensive place to live. Also a really safe place too - surprising considering the bombings in the metro in 2004 by Chechen terrorists which Im sure you have heard about.

It wasn't only the underground that was grand; what you saw when you emerged at the top of the deep tunnel was too. Moscow is a very large city, housing nearly 10 million people. Its a lot bigger than you would expect. Although it has an industrial side to it, there are many gorgeous buildings scattered among the landscape. The architecture was certainly very different than I had ever seen before - much more oriental looking than I had expected. 

Of note are the churches. St Basil's Cathedral, situated on Red Square, was like no other church. As pictured to the left, the shape of the building with its onion domes, along with the colour and patterns used, creates a dramatic exterior. Inside was equally as crazy - together there were 14 little rooms, each winding up the domes you can see. It looked like someone had just taken some paint and a paintbrush and in a dream state, just gone crazy. Painted flowers and birds alongside heavy gold detail dominated. There were many more Orthodox churches like this before Soviet times, however many were destroyed by Joseph Stalin in an attempt to modernise the city.

Another church of note is the Cathedral of Christ our Saviour. I wont forget this church either. It was HUGE. Stunningly white white gold domes characterised the exterior. The interior was out of this world. Huge. Gold. Mosaics. Icons of Mary everywhere. Candles. And two levels - the bottom including an art gallery. It wasn't just the church that was breathtaking, but the journey to get to it. It was at the end of a bridge that joined the two landmasses separated by the river. I wont forget walking over that bridge.

From the bridge, you could also see the other main features of Moscow, including St Basils as mentioned as well as the triangular shaped Russian Parliament known as the Kremlin. It includes four palaces and four cathedrals, all enclosed in a massive red wall and towers. It is the official residence for the President of Russia and previously for the Soviet Union. You could compare it to the White House i guess. Usually you can pay to go in and see the buildings however the whole week we were there it was closed due to the two public holidays that coincided with our trip.

One was the October Revolution Remembrance Day. The October Revolution, otherwise known as the Red Revolution refers to when the Russian Provisional Government were overthrown by the Soviets in 1917. The Soviet Union was then created following the Russian Civil War (1917-22). The history with the place and with Russia in general is fascinating. Have a read. On the Remembrance Day, I went to the Kremlin with some guys from Sweden and America I met in the hostel, to try and get in to see the protests and parades that they had been preparing for throughout the week. Unfortunately the whole vicinity around the Kremlin was closed off, policed by a gazillion military dudes and their trucks. Although only veterans were allowed in which we were clearly not, it was quite a sight and definitely worth being in such a historically significant place on such a historically significant day. The picture on the left shows the tankers heading up into Red Square.   Another day we did actually get to see Red Square. With some knowledge of the history athough it looked really beautiful, it felt somewhat austere. Making it so was seeing Lenin's body in his Mausoleum (Tomb) situated on the Eastern side next to the Kremlin wall. He has been embalmed and on display since 1924! So weird.

We were lucky enough to see the Kremlin Armoury too. It started producing and housing tsars jewels, weapons and household articles in 1508. It became a museum in 1808. It is now home to Western European and Eastern applied art produced between the 5th and 20th century. I went in here and felt like I was lost in a fairytale. Featured are Faberge eggs, crown jewels, biblical possessions (my favourite being bibles decorated in jewels and enamel), ceramics, crocheted gifts, old royal clothing, gold and silver tableware, thrones (including Ivan the Greats), carriages, crowns and armoury of course. INCRED. I mean, look at the detail on the axe to the right for goodness sakes!! It certainly highlighted the royalty that characterised Russia for so long - something I had never thought about. Plus opened up my eyes to the creativity and talent in the world. Flip.

My other favourite museum in Moscow was the Modern Museum. It is actually my favourite modern museum of those i ever have seen. Ironically I actually stumbled on it as I was walking into town from our hostel. I was greeted with neat statues outside (one pictured). Inside there were photo exhibitions as well as modern art that was not weird as many places are, but just really neat. What stood out to me most was the use of materials and layering. Many of them were 3D.

If you are interested in seeing some great artwork that exude energy, feeling and insightful perspectives, check out:

Yuri Kuper - sparkles and layering in a simple environment

Tatyana Nazarenko - strange use of colours and odd perspective

Dmitry Plavinsky - incredible collage - subtle but so detailed. Mixed media, oil, acrylic.

Sergey Sherstink - use of bold colours, canvas, acrylic.

Dmitry Aleksandrovitch Prigov Vikenty Nilin - print on metal, velvet, cardboard scrolls, on boxes, xrays, cartoon strips, 3D cut outs, using Duct tape, plywood.

Ilya Piganov

Irina Nakhova - mixed media on paper, use of black lines very striking.

Rustan Khamdamov - use of lines and colour outstanding

Lev Meshberg -  predominantly painting in white tones on board

Barreto Guillermo - mixed media, collage on canvas. Great use of extra thick canvas - strips and drips of paint. Printed letters Old School.

Konstantin Zvezdochyotor - digital print and bronze marker on canvas

I was so blessed with who I met at the hostel. Among them were four beautiful girls from England who were studying in St Petersburg, Russia on a language exchange. They were in Moscow on holiday for the week. We went to Sergiyev Posad together, a little village with a big monestry, about 70kms outside of central Moscow. The monestry was incredible. What i loved most was seeing both the heavy Orthodox religion and superstitious nature of Russians in action. Inside the monestry many people were lining up outside buildings to either pay their respects and confessing their sins to icons or filling up their bottles with "holy water". As they left a building they would do the Sign of the Cross about five times and bow. Was quite a humbling experience. They all did it with complete reverence. Although I am a Christian and do not focus so much on those "religious" acts, it was still neat to see faith in action.


To get to the monestry we had to walk through the little town. It was blimin cold! Check out the icicles! So cool! Literally and metaphorically!

I also visited the Novodevichy Convent, located south west of the city centre. It ended up being a bit of a mish getting here as I really wanted to walk around the river (right) and past the 1980 Olympic buildings to get to it. I was less than excited when i turned the corner after 30mins of walking to see a MASSIVE fence, stretching inland from the water for miles and policed by scary guards with fur hats. I managed to get to the convent in the end after walking through some derelict Russian backstreets...alone. 

Prior to this i visited the State Moscow University on Pigeon Hill, one of the "Seven Sisters" that Stalin introduced during his reign. It was fascinating to experience the weathly youth culture of Moscow first hand.  Beamers, Mercs, Porsches, hummers and the like lined the main street, spilling out onto the footpath. Turns out the footpath is not actually for pedestrians, its a parking space. The kids that owned these cars certainly had no problem displaying their wealth (left).

A highlight for me was getting caught a snow storm. As I was walking down Arbat St, one of the oldest streets in Moscow, it started to snow. Exciting for someone who has never actually seen snow flakes falling from the sky before. I was like a little child. Darkness set in by the time I got to the Borodinsky Bridge. Here views expanded out to the new (2001) Bohdan Khmelnytskyi pedestrian bridge distinguished by its glass canopy, to the left, and the Russian "White House" to the right. I wont ever forget the feeling of standing in the snow storm marveling at the city lights and the energy around me. I then visited the "new" part of Moscow - skyscrapers piercing the snow clouds lingering above. 

Other sights I saw:
All-Russian Exhibition Centre (Всероссийский выставочный центр): now a trade centre, but initially built for different industry trade fairs and to show the different architectural periods throughout Russian history. The grounds are bigger than the Principality of Monaco with approx. 400 buildings!
Old KGB HQs: ie. it was the national security agency for the USSR.
Izmailovsky Park: Moscows biggest flea market. Housed in the craziest buildings! Full of Russian dolls and old Soviet nick-nacks, artwork, antiques, fur hats (check out mine).
Tretykov Gallery & adjoining streets (old church ruins)
Bolshoi (Grand) Theatre - THE theatre of ballet and opera. Think Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake, the Nutcracker, plus Giselle, Romeo and Juliet.... they all began here.

Probably saw tonnes of other important places, but my mind cannot think any longer. I'm a bit over this post, just like the Russians pictured. 


I wont forget the place though. After all it was exhilirating, raw and bold. Spasibo (thank you) Mocba.