Hi everyone!
Moscow is a gigantic and beautiful city. I have found it to be much cleaner than St. Petersburg, and the buildings to be in a much less dilapidated sate.
We are staying again in an absolutely ginormous (if that’s a word) hotel! I've never seen a hotel this size in my life! It’s shaped like a hollowed out rectangle ant it’s so large that they have 4 reception desks- one on each side! As I look into the “hollow’ area, or courtyard, it looks to me to be about 2.5 football fields in length. I've determined that this hotel alone can sleep at least 5,000 people per night! But, this kind of hotel is typical of the Stalinist building of the 1950’s—built for efficiency, capacity, and no beauty whatsoever.
But, our hotel is in the absolute perfect location! As we walk out of the door to the bobby nearest us, we gaze out upon St. Basil’s Cathedral , the Red Square, and the Kremlin. Our hotel is literally across the street from St. Basil’s!
The sites her in Moscow have been amazing. But, I am awfully glad that I do not live here. Moscow is very much a “police city”. The police are like power maniacs here or something. Our first experience was almost immediately upon our arrival in Moscow. We hired a driver to take us from the train station (we had arrived very early in the morning) to our hotel. As we drove, a police on the corner waved his hand and the driver pulled over. It turns out, the policeman just wanted to “check the driver’s papers”- no other reason to pull him over!
Policemen can also stop you while you’re walking around and ask fro your “documentation”—such as our passports. This happened to my father when we were trying to go see Lenin’s tomb. A policeman stopped him and asked him for his passport, which he didn’t have because the hotel took it in order to “register” the passport (whatever that meant, I don’t know, but it seems typical here, and this is a country where you don’t ask questions about things like that, or else you’ll get in trouble). So basically, my dad ended up distracting the policeman by asking him all kinds of questions. He kept asking him where he needed to go store his back-pack, since it was not allowed to be taken into Lenin’s tomb. The police officer eventually conveyed the directions to my dad, and then was so happy he had actually been able to help my dad, that he forgot about the passport thing and let my father go! The police don’t just ask foreigners for documentation. We saw the police a lot in the metro stations asking even Moscovites to show their papers!
There are policemen everywhere! And they often stand around, and literally blow whistles at people when they don’t like what you’re doing. That means, they blow the whistle when you cross the street two feet away from where they want you to cross, or when you go through a gate that’s opened with no signs and unguarded, but for some reason they don’t want you there. The whistles get blown at little kids the most—for things like running and playing in sprinklers. If I had to live here, I’d probably end up punching one of these idiotic police officers, which would of course get me arrested. But, seeing this just makes me realize all the freedoms we have in the USA—that many people lack in other countries. I mean, gosh, China wasn’t even this bad and they’re still Communists! Then, you have to realize that the police are probably not even half as strict now as they were during Communism! I can’t even imagine what it was like to be here then!
If you go to Moscow, you must not miss the Ulitsa Arbat. This street is a pedestrian haven and very welcoming to foreigners. For those of you who live in Boulder, you can equate it to Pearl Street Mall, except that it is about 4 times longer! There are hundreds of shops, bars, cafes and restaurants which line the street.
There are also hundreds of temporary stands in the center of the street where you can buy anything from souvenirs to sunglasses. Ulitsa Arbat is also full of artists. On the sides of they street, artists try to sell their paintings, or plenty will draw a perfect portrait of you. Many musicians line up along the street and play their songs. You’re likely to see several bands, so guitar players, some violinists (some very young, like 7 years old!), and perhaps even a small orchestra! Along the Ulitsa Arbat you may also see dancers, gymnasts, or a many who will take your photo with a large snake. You will probably also pass the area where people stand to sell their pets—usually cats and dogs. Surely you will see old women selling beautiful flowers.
I've visited many streets similar to this one all over the world—pedestrian streets dominated by shops, restaurants, and street performers. But, never have I seen a street as unique as this one. I have also never seen a street filled with so many talented artists—whether they be painters, drawers, musicians, dancers, gymnasts, musicians, or comedians (of course, it’s hard to understand the comedy when it’s in Russian!). This street is the culture and heart of today’s Moscow and it should not be missed!
Brittany
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