Moscow 1996

We flew to Moscow on 02 Aug 1996 for 3 nights with Lufthansa via Frankfurt, and had booked into the Aerostar Hotel. This hotel was only about 5 years old and was one of the first 4* Hotels in Moscow at the time. From the outside it is a really ugly Communist building all grey and looked like an office block!!!!!

It reminded me of Forte Posthouse Hotels (as they were at the time!!!!) as they looked like office buildings (in my humble opinion!!!!).

Inside the hotel was a different story as it was lovely and the rooms were quite big, nice and clean. The currency in Russia is the Rouble (but they prefer US Dollar!!!!) and it was quite cheap when we were there. A visa is required for most passport holders outside Russia. You can check on the following website TLCS

Moscow is a strange city. You have the amazing buildings of St Basil's Cathedral in Red Square which is also amazing and the Kremlin building but the other buildings are nearly all gray blocks!!! We booked a guided tour which was good as we learned a lot about the Soviet way.

The must see sights are obviously Red Square The Kremlin, Lenin Mausoleum, Resurrection Gate and the Iberian Chapel among others. Moscow is famous for the Bolshoi Ballet, this is one of the oldest ballet companies in the world. If they are ever playing in your home town, you should definitely go and see them.

There is a great underground system in Moscow, its just unfortunate that if you can't understand Russian, you will probably not be able to use it!!!!! The underground is amazing, it is like walking into an art gallery. There are beautiful paintings and Murals on the walls and ceilings.

They Russians must be proud of their underground as we never saw any vandalism while we were there in any of the stations. We really struggled with the maps and the staff did not speak any English nor us Russian, so we had to make a guess on where to get on and off.

We went to the Izmailovsky Market which is a really good place to go for Soviet Souvenirs, Russian Dolls, Bags and Jewellery among other things. Haggling is a must. There are street entertainers and food vendors and you can pick up some bargains!!!!!!

The one thing I was surprised about is was that on the streets there are people trying to sell you loaves of bread, bottles of vodka even their tatty slippers. They are
almost begging for you to buy their stuff!!!!!

We were told we should visit McDonald's as at the time it was the largest McDonald's in the world and quite famous, as years before when it first opened people were queuing for miles to get in. I thought I would set a challenge to see if I could buy something and get what I asked for!!!! Bear in mind that everything is in Russian and I don't speak Russian and the staff did not speak English I had ordered a Big Mac Meal plain!!!! (no cheese, gherkins or salad!!!!) just burger and bun. They actually got it spot on!!!!! McDonald's rarely get it right when I order in my country never mind Russia that has a different alphabet!!!!! I was very impressed!!!!!

The transport system is mainly the Underground or taxis which are fairly cheap!!!! But like in most European Cities, the drivers are mad!!!!!!

There are buses but they are not as frequent and you will probably struggle to be understood.

Moscow has changed a lot since I went in 1996, there are a lot more hotels and big names appear in concerts over there.

The next time I go to Russia, will hopefully to visit St Petersburg as that is next on my list. There are a lot more airlines that fly to Russia including British Airways and British Midland direct from Heathrow!!!!!
Other airlines are available indirect.