Moscow

One of the world's great cities, Moscow (Russian Moskva) is the capital of Russia. Moscow is the political centre of Russia, but also the country's leading city in population, in industrial output, and in cultural, scientific, and educational importance.

Moscow has been the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church for over 600 years. Unfortunately a lot of the beautiful orthodox churches was reconstructed into museums and even swimming pools, or they was simply torn down after the revolution.  Nevertheless, Moscow retained a number of functioning Russian Orthodox churches in addition to a few other Christian churches and Jewish and Muslim places of worship.

Moscow covers an area of about 386 square miles (878,7 square kilometres), its outer limit being roughly delineated by the Moscow Ring Road. Most of the area beyond this highway has been designated as a Forest-Park Zone, or greenbelt.

Among the most famous Moscow streets are the famous Arbat street and the Kutuzov avenue.

You can find  every period of Moscow's development from the 15th century to the present in the buildings that remains in the Moscow centre.

Moscow is a busy cosmopolitan city. It is easy to find the same kind of services as you will find in any other western city like; internet and email, western style restaurants, hotels etc. Amazingly, Moscow is much more expensive than many western people expect when  they visit the city.

A good quality hotel room will cost from $100 to $300.00 per night.

Restaurant meals are on par with those in New York in cost, but not necessarily in quality.

A taxi ride is similar in cost to those in any major city. While there are dispatched taxis, most any car headed in your direction will give you a ride. To get a taxi step to the curb on the side of the street going in your direction and wave your arm at your side, it is rare to have to wait for more than 30 seconds on a busy street in Moscow. Agree on the fee ahead of time, and if at all possible have a Russian do the talking and negotiate the price. Remember even the taxi drivers are beginning to understand the market economy!

Moscow has the worlds busiest METRO (subway) system. It carries nearly 4 billion people a year. You will never need a schedule, during busy times the trains run in each direction about every 90 seconds. During non peak hours the trains will run on about a 5 minute schedule. There are many English newspapers and maps available, most of them are free. They will have a METRO map in them. (or you can see it here)

Russian cultural performances and exhibitions are truly world class. Famous Bolshoy Theatre. The Bolshoy (meaning big) is within easy walking distance of Red Square and the METRO. Pick up a copy of the Moscow Times, it has a good listing of current plays, concerts, movies and other activities to see.

Housing in Russia is very different than that in the Norway, USA or many other countries. Nearly all Russian people live in an apartment. The apartments are in large buildings usually from 10 to 15 stories high. The buildings are constructed of concrete and date from the 30's to the 80's primarily.

Because housing is in short supply it is not uncommon for 3 generations to share an apartment, or even a couple of married siblings and their parents. Russian families tend to be small, one or perhaps two children.

Moscow has central hot water and heat. This means that you have a device for controlling the temperature in your apartment called a window. In the summer the hot water plants may be shut down for maintenance for up to a month. All this aside, one of our favourite ways to stay in Russia, if staying for more than a few days in a single city, is to stay in an apartment rather than a hotel. The apartments are more roomy, less expensive, and it is kind of nice to be able to stock the fridge, and make a cup of tea in the kitchen when you want to. There are businesses starting in the major cities that find apartments for western visitors short term.

We can continue and continue to tell you about Russia, but sometimes it's better to see it once and to experience this great and beautiful country......