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Moscow, Russia After touring and thoroughly enjoying the beautiful country of Bulgaria for eight weeks, we boarded a Russian Aeroflot plane and flew into the capital of Russia, Moscow. This mysterious country had always been a fascination to me, having lived through much of the cold war. As a child, I was bewildered and yet frighten by the very mention of the Soviet Union...As an American we were led to believe that they  were the evil empire and wanted to
dominate the world. Now it seems that America is spreading its influence
across the globe and is fast becoming, what many view as, the new evil
empire. While Russia is striving hard to change its image and may even
someday join the European Union, the USA is waging war around the globe in
a bitter struggle for oil and strategic influence. But, enough of
politics...
While still in Varna Bulgaria we spent several days and paid a huge fee of $250 for our thirty day visa's for Russia. Obtaining the visa's were not easy or cheap and there were only two of us, myself and my son. We had been a four member crew, but having lost two of our female staff due to some minor family crisis back in the states. We lost one member, Maryam Haley, from San Diego Ca. in Feb. while touring in Melbourne Australia due to a family situation in the States and our other co worker, also a female, Crystal Meilunas, had to cut short her tour and travel back to Miami in August of this year. I guess these long trips and crazy schedules, not to mention our hair raising adventures, have a tendency to send the females packing...what a shame. Just joking, so all you overly sensitive females out there...don't send me your hate mail...OK? Humor is life's comfort zone...remember? After landing in Moscow at midnight and being generously given a short tour of the Red Square by the taxi driver, we arrived at our designated lodging. We had made email arrangements to stay with a Russian family in their apartment, located in a massive Gothic looking building, built by President Kruschev in the fifty's, the Ukraine Hotel. Half of the building had been converted to impressive apartments. while the other half remained a luxury hotel. Our seven day stay with our hosts was totally memorial as they were absolutely the greatest people. Sascha, his beautiful wife, Lena and their two young boys shared their home, their humor, their time and everything they owned, with us. Everything worked out so well, that we have to give them much of the credit for our successful tour of their fascinating city....the great Moscow. The first and pretty much every day in Moscow were spent exploring the countless museums, armory's, military buildings, huge fountains, palaces, Parliaments, art and culture centers. Our favorite walk was around the gigantic Red Square. Having been the main courtyard of the Kremlin, it is huge, it was often used to parade their war machines and even their nuclear armed missiles. Just being there was an overwhelming experience and each moment a photographic fantasy. Next...the war museum! The modern and inspiring war museum displayed well preserved German
and Soviet war vehicles, tanks, artillery cannons, small arms, uniforms,
countless relics and other armaments from the second world war. I was
dismayed to learn just how many Russians, civilian and military, had died
defending their home land...over twenty million We enjoyed our daily walks, even though the weather was often cold, wet and windy, but even under those conditions I was amazed with each new discovery. The main section of the city is built along the banks of the beautiful Moscow river, which cuts through the heart of its culture center. Following the river made our strolls easier and led us to most of the major attractions. It would be impossible to explore every inch of this historical metropolitan on foot, so on frequent occasions we jumped on the world famous Moscow subway. It was absolutely as beautiful as described and even more than imagined. It's rare paintings, open cathedral ceilings, marvelous statues and deep underground passageways were as endowed as any world museum. Masterfully acoustical, it was favored and frequented by local and traveling musicians. Solo guitarists to entire bands played everything from jazz to Mozart. On several occasions we were surprisingly serenaded by a twelve member classical band. While the artistic magic contributed to the subway's beauty, it remained an extremely functional, fast, comfortable and affordable means of transportation. The interior of the underground tunnels were designed and built to be one of the strongest underground structures in the world. In the long cold war it served not only as a rapid transit system, but as a bomb shelter, built to withstand even a nuclear attack. One of Moscow's greatest attractions just may be under ground. It will definitely carry you through Moscow and do it with style. Our stay was made even better when our host family invited us for a weekend trip to the country. On Saturday morning we packed into their Nissan and drove about 50 kilometers from town. In the major cities of Russia, especially Moscow, many of the professional people earn enough money to afford a small second home, or Dasha as they refer to it. Most Dasha's are in the not so distant country side, offering the families some warranted peace from their jobs in the city. This quiet time is spent harvesting their gardens, hiking in the forested hills and just spending quality time together. It was great just being in Russia and made even greater as we were invited to share even more of the everyday lives of these unique people. We felt totally accepted and it became even more apparent the first night, at their Dasha, as we were asked to share the steam and sauna room with him and his wife, Lena. Their motto was "Off with the clothes and turn up the heat." I guess the old saying..."When in Rome...or Russia...do as they do...had new meaning. Russians are refreshingly open people with far less hang-ups and so after some prodding and friendly persuasion, there were were...all naked and chatting away. The next morning, after coffee and some breakfast, we headed
outside. We went to admire Sascha's old cars and the women of their
family, his wife and mother, who resided at the Dasha, picked vegetables
from their garden in preparations of a I was so impressed with our new Russian friends and their unbiased acceptance of us that I will never forget them. As humans...they are a fine example of how people should be and their beautiful city, Moscow is totally unforgettable. Our time was limited and we could only spend a week in this cultured wonderland and like always...it was just not enough time. Moscow is truly one of the most marvelous cities on earth and fortunately, our next journey would take us to another of the world's greatest cities... Saint Petersburg...the Venice of the North! Russia is a fascinating country and the city of Moscow is a living memorial of time. Walk the streets and wide boulevards of this multi-cultured city, wander around the impressive Red Square, visit the many galleries and ride the unparalleled Moscow subway. While you're here, try to get to know some of the local people and witness their strengths and passion for living. After Moscow you will definitely want to see more of this historical country...and just a few hours north, by train, you can explore another of Russia's wondrous citys...Saint Petersburg. Truly one of the most unforgettable cities on Earth."Bon Voyage" from Travelers Digest. Review written in October 2003 by the touring editor; Mike Smith Review written by the touring editor; Mike Smith. This editorial in its entirety is the sole property of Travelers Digest and may not be distributed, sold or copied without prior written permission of Travelers Digest and/or its licensed representatives.
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people! Its hard to even imagine
such a huge number. Knowing that each and every number represented a human
being was staggering and quite sickening. The war museum's large,
multi-floored interior was overwhelmingly decreed and illustrated. The
exterior of the building was just as grand with it's impressive flower
garden and towering memorial statue, giving the entire scene a surreal
appearance.
unique and tasteful Russian
dinner. Their Dasha was a two storied wooden cabin surrounded with several
outbuildings, one of which was the sauna & steam room, the two storied
garage with his shop below and a pool table on the second level. Next to
the garden was another very small building called an
outhouse..."toilet" for all you city dwellers. Of course they
had indoor bathrooms, but an outhouse is used while working outdoors to
prevent the tracking of mud, etc. into the house.