Russian Safari- Moscow

Oct 10, 2014:

A 4 hrs journey from St Petersburg by a bullet train has brought us to the Russian capital city of Moscow. 

Moscow  is very different from

Petersburg. It's skyline is adorned with high-rise structures unlike Petersburg where no building is allowed to be taller than the Winter Palace.  The circular planning of this city is another unique aspect. There seem to be 10 lanes of cars on each side of the road. Despite this, the traffic moves at snails pace. 

"Beware of pickpockets", we were warned. 

We visited the Victoria Garden and Sparrow Hill on our way to Dinner at the "Darbar" restaurant. 

Our "Azimut Moscow Olympic Hotel" was not far from here and it was time to check in and have a good night's sleep to prepare ourselves for another busy day tomorrow. 

Oct 11: 

Our first halt of the day was the "Kremlin".  We were lucky to catch the Saturday's Parade. The soldiers marching through with their rifles and the rest on horsebacks followed by a display of guard of honor, is worth going miles to see. 

After the lunch at Fusion Plaza, we

reached the Red Square. It's boundaries are made up by the St Basil's Cathedral, The Kremlin Wall, The Museum and the

St Basil's Cathedral

Gum Departmental Store. 

The beauty of this locale was enhanced  by the sight of brides and grooms in their wedding gowns, tourists clicking away pictures  and girls posing for selfies.  

The shopping store was one of the most expensive ones in Russia. But the interiors were lavishly made and definitely worth a dekko. 

Dinner time at the Khajuraho - an Indian restaurant.  And it was the last night of this Russian Safari. 

Oct 12: 

It was an early checkout on this last day of the tour. An experience of the favorite mode of public transport - the Metro,

Russian Metro

was mandatory. Smooth travel is the word to describe it. Despite changing lines and tracks, the going always is smooth except for the fact that deciphering the Russian language is an impossible task. 

Arbat Street

Shopping at the Arbat street for souvenirs, followed by lunch, thus  brought to an end this highly memorable sojourn. 

It was now back to our homes sweet homes. 

We did learn something new this trip. When the transit in a city airport is more than 4 hrs, the airlines do offer some compensation. For eg, Emirates gave us Meal coupons redeemable at various outlets at the Dubai airport. Singapore airlines too offers some reasonable amount for a long transit halt at Singapore. 

Phew. Two different and contrasting cities in St Petersburg and Moscow. But the soul very much Russian. 

"People who don't travel cannot have a global view, all they see is what's in front of them. Those people cannot accept new things because all they know is where they live."

Russian Safari - St Petersburg

Oct 8th 2014:

An American breakfast to start the day with. The omlette ordered was double egged but the size served appeared to contain many more eggs. Huge would be an understatement to describe it. 

Catherine Palace

We visited the Catherine Palace in Pushkin town. It was the Summer Palace of the ruling monarchs in the past. Words and pictures would never be able to describe it.

Catherine Palace

The "wow factor" is the only adjective that I can use for it. 

I got the first feel of Autumn. Leaves turned yellow and flying off the trees. That's why I presume they call it 'Fall'. Trees bearing leaves in various shades of yellow just adorn this beautiful city of St Petersburg.

Lunch was at "Tandoori nights". And yet again to some of the famous monuments and pics galore.

The souvenir shop boasted of designer fur caps, imitation jewelry, Matryoshka dolls and Russian Vodka. 

Free coffee, free washroom and free vodka were the customer attractive features. 

We ended up just using the free services and window shopping. 

The next 2 hrs were spent in Galeria Mall. Some local chocolates were a steal. Rest all would be easily available back home. As I mentioned before too, it is Russian, Russian all the way. No signs of English anywhere. From the name of the chocolate and it's ingredients to the name of the shop. It is just impossible to purchase anything. We lost interest and waited for the coach to take us to our restaurant for dinner. 

It was indeed a hectic day. 

Oct 9, 2014:

It promised to be another tight scheduled day. After the customary breakfast, we boarded our coach. The temperatures seemed manageable today. 

Or  was it that our bodies had started getting acclimatized?  

The Heritage museum or Winter Palace is the largest museum in the world. It houses masterpieces of various artists including Leonardo da Vinci et al. It is said that even a minute spent at each masterpiece, would take a person 80 years to complete the entire museum. 

The 20 Column Hall, Peacock clock were amongst the notable features. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent visiting the

Peter and Paul Cathedral

Peter and Paul Cathedral followed by the Nicholas Cathedral. 

St Nicholas Cathedral

The highlight of the evening was undoubtedly the cruise over the Neva

and Moika rivers. The banks of the rivers are adorned by various monuments and historical structures.














The illumination at

night over the buildings gives this city a differnt outlook altogether.

It was a Gala dinner and the guests rocked and swayed to the Bollywood tunes.  

Palace Bridge

The best part of the evening was yet to come. Braving the cold and a mild drizzle, we went upto the Palace bridge over the Neva river. We were just in time to watch the bridge opening up from the centre. This is a regular phenomenon that happens daily by 1230am. Gradually, all the other bridges over this river opened up to allow cargo ships to sail through. The road is thus closed for 3-4 hrs every night. 

"Honey, I am sorry I couldn't make it home last night. I was caught up on the other side of the river" - a regular excuse given by spouses. 

Oct 10:

Breakfast and check out. A big traffic snarl created a sort of unexpectedness and we were in danger of losing out on our Cathedral visit for the day. 

Fortunately, It was not to be and the jam started clearing. 

Savior of Spilled Blood Cathedral

The Cathedral known as "The Saviour of Spilled Blood" was alarmingly beautiful. Erected by the son of Alexander II, in memory of his father who was killed in a bloodshed, this place was a photostop only. It was impossible not to take pictures of this monument from all the angles. 

Mikhailovsky Garden

The Mikhailovsky garden was highly picturesque and summed up this beautiful and romantic city of St. Petersburg. 

Russian Safari - Preview

Oct 7, 2014:

2 am: The midnight  travel to the airport and the swiftness of completion of formalities at the T2 terminal, has vastly increased the time at the waiting lounge before the boarding. 

So, it was time to grab a bite at KFC. 

St Petersburg promises to be chilly cold. Just recovering from an awful upper respiratory infection lasting for a month, it now remains to be seen whether this climate makes things worse for me. 

11 am: After a 3 hr layover at the Dubai Airport, it's now time to take off yet again. The magnanimity of this airport is beyond imagination. We did enquire about the iphone 6. The price here seems a neat 20k less than at Mumbai. But unfortunately, it's all sold out. 

3am: Occupying the window seat and having the privilege of utilizing the next seat also, is a luxury in itself. 

As soon as the flight touched down at our destination, the locals started to brace themselves against the chill outside donning their winter wear. It seemed very bright and sunny out of the aircraft though. "It's gonna be nice and pleasant." I said aloud. 

St Petersburg, the second largest city in Russia after Moscow, is a popular tourist destination.

Living true to its promise, the weather outside was extremely cold. A new city, a new country, beckons. 

All shops and establishments here, have their names written in Russian lingo. Hence it is very difficult to establish their identity. It surely is a mood deterrent . 

5pm: The Courtyard Marriott is situated on the banks of the Neva river - a 45 min drive from the airport amidst the rush hour traffic. 

9pm: We just had time enough to freshen up, sort things out in the room, and leave for dinner. We were now ready to face the dipping temperatures. Unfortunately, our protection still fell short of a comfort level. 

"Namaste" - an Indian restaurant, served us typical desi butter chicken and chicken tikkas. After almost 24 hrs of eating the Emirates cuisines, we had now helped ourselves to a sumptuous meal. 

Good night.