Moscow (Москва)

• Capital of Russian Federation
• Largest city in Europe (13 million officially, although many think its more)
• Founded in the 12th century
• Located along the Moskva River
• Interesting fact: Kremlin (Кремль) means fortress in Russian and most old cities have one. Moscow's is just the most famous.

Posts

HOBO ADVICE

MY TRIP

VAGABOND HOSTEL

UNDERGROUND MUSIC

TEACHING ENGLISH: KIDS

11 THINGS TO DO AND SEE

BEST AND WORST OF LIVING IN MOSCOW (TOP 5)

TEACHING ENGLISH: ADULTS

KREMLIN AND RED SQUARE

LENIN'S TOMB

IZMAILOVSKY MARKET

MOSCOW METRO

ВДНХ and COSMONAUT MUSEUM

PARKS

ARCHITECTURE

CULUTRE/MUSEUS (coming soon!)

Photos

MOSCOW CENTER

PATRIARCH'S PONDS

PARK AND PROTEST

Hobo Advice

Maybe I'm just saying this because Moscow is my current home, but it is one of, if not the, most interesting big cities I've even been to. Often, especially in the media, Moscow (and Russia) is portrayed as scary and/or dangerous. It is not. I have been here for nearly two years and have never felt in danger. Even noticeably less than when I lived in New York. The some goes with the people. Bottom line, visit Moscow and don't be afraid. Even though they're a bit touristy, see Red Square and the Kremlin. Go for a stroll or bike ride in a few of the parks, take a walk down Tverskaya at night and see it all lit up, and haggle with a vendor at Izmailovsky. But most of all, and I know I say this a lot, go around and explore as much as possible. Moscow is a huge city and every area has its own unique character. You'll find something interesting anywhere you go. But I recommend learning a few phrases or familiarizing yourself with the Cyrillic alphabet before you go. English is still not that widely spoken and most of the metro stations are only in Russian.

WARNING: Some of the cops and security guards are dicks. Occasionally you're be better off asking regular people if you need help.

Highlights/Overall Impressions

Good

• Moscow is HUGE
• The metros are so clean and fast
• You can see amazing history pretty much anywhere you go
• The parks are gorgeous and seem endless
• The city is decorated for any special occasion
• Georgian and Uzbek restaurants are delicious
• Anything along the river is absolutely worth going to 
• Feels much more Russian than St. Petersburg
• The city is amazing to see in May and June
• Hockey games cost about 200 rubles (3$) to go see and are absolutely worth it
• Much less of the obnoxious types of tourists than other major cities
• There are many pedestrian only streets that are great to explore
• Nearly every section of the city is different

Bad

• Winter lasts forever and can be quite cold (-30 C)
• You only see the sun about once a week in December
• Security is often not helpful
• There is an increasing number of McDonalds and Starbucks every day

My Trip

August 2015-August 2017

Unlike my other travel destinations on this website, I have actually spent two full years living and working in Moscow as an English teacher. I have explored nearly every corner of the city, made some of my closest friends here and now refer to it as a second home. Therefore it did not feel right to have it as just one segment of a larger page about Russia as a whole, as I have done with other cities where I had only spent a week in total.There is so much more I have to say and write. There are so many things I have to share. Therefore, Moscow gets its own page. And now, without further ado, here are the highlights and best parts of the city. Click through the images and see what's there!

ВДНХ + Cosmonaut Exhibition

Cosmonaut Exposition

It was an early September day when I first came across these to sites. Just a day before, I didn't even know they existed, but a local friend, Anya, suggested we meet up there for the day. She told me to look for the statue of a rocket going into the sky and said that is where I'd find her. Not knowing if it would be something difficult to spot, I agreed and hoped out for the best. As it turned out, there wasn't so much difficulty.

Away from the busy center and urban sky scrapers, the Cosmonaut Exhibition stands in a large, open area. Alongside the giant structure imaged above, there are several other features, including head busts of the first man (Yuri Gagarin) and woman (Valentina Tereschkova) in space. Even some of the space shuttles that went into orbit can actually be seen at the base of the statue complex. Plus all of this is above the Cosmonaut Museum, which is regularly open to the public and features a very important time in Soviet History.

ВДНХ

Anyway, that informational tangent aside, Anya and I didn't go into the museum that day. Instead we walked past the exhibition to the giant park behind it. Named ВДНХ (also located at the appropriately named ВДНХ metro stop), the park greeted us with a large, granduous columned gateway. Inside, everything was incredibly lively. Small food shops and well maintained gardens lined the walkway as numerous exhibitions were taking place. One in particular involved a large group of people putting together a house mad out of cardboard. It got our attention, so naturally we got involved.

Alongside that, there were tons of monuments and fountains dating back from the Soviet era, each being a tribute to one of the republics. The park continued to stretch back, with more stages for performances and monuments here and there, but eventually they stopped and the parked turned into a forest with pathways and trails. Human construction stopped and nature took over. I later went on to visit the place throughout the year, and whatever the season, there was always something going on. Personally, now, I recommend winter because they open up a large ice skating rink in the center that's open for the public.

Underground Music: Moscow's Hidden Gem

Sometimes you have to search

When I travel or live some place new, one of my favorite ways to experience and immerse myself in the culture is to find and go see local music. However, when I first moved to Moscow in 2015, this became a bit of a problem. Although I was already aware that Moscow (and Russia in general) is not well known for having a great music scene, it seemed nearly impossible to find good venues that had something other than electronic music or generic pop. Throughout the weekdays, I would scour the internet, looking for something interesting and unique, but every place recommended, particularly the expat bars, was more generic than the last.

However, once I started making local friends and getting the inside word, things started to change. Drastically. I still remember one day complaining about this to one of my Russian friends, saying that the whole city seemed to be void of descent music. I must have come across as if I were in a state of despair because she quickly responded, “You just haven’t been here long enough. Come with me this weekend and I’ll show you what Moscow’s music is really like.” Semi-hopeful, I agreed.

The band was named after its lead singer, Karl Hlamkin, and the location was called Сады Вавилона (Gardens of Babylon), a small bar tucked away in an alcove near Тверская улица (Tverskaya Street). As we approached, the walkway was dark and fairly deserted to the point where I began to wonder if we had the directions right. But then I began to hear something. It sounded like some type of brass horn, maybe a trumpet, and it grew louder and louder. Then came a booming raspy voice, full of energetic intensity. Excited, I pushed open the door, not quite sure what would be on the other side. I stepped in.

Suddenly, my entire surroundings came to life. In front of me stood a room full of people, drinks in hand and dancing their hearts out. But the people weren't the center of attention. That glory belonged to the band on stage. They had a certain style and form of showmanship that would never be found in one of the ex-pat bars, and were equipped with powerful brass horns to back it all up. Two bearded skinny guys, one with a trumpet and the other with a saxophone, stood on the edges of the stage while a drummer, a bassist, and a girl with short, dark hair, holding maracas, performed with a joyous, edgy intensity.  Then, of course, there was the lead singer: Карл Хламкин/Karl Hlamkin. He was by far the oldest in the group, singing with a deep voice, wearing a winter cap, gray stubble, cigarette in mouth and a shirt with a face that resembled Jack Skeleton from Nightmare Before Christmas. He was giving the energy and performance everyone came to see. There was nothing to prove, the room was already his. He knew it, and he delivered.

Karl Hlamkin

Dobranotch

From this point, my perception on Moscow music did a complete 180. I started hearing about punk bands at Китайский Летчик (Kitaisky Letchik), ska bands at Сады Вавилона (Gardens of Babylon), grunge bands at Smena Bar and recently just saw a Balkan-style brass band called Dobranotch at a Serbian bar. Moscow is crawling with good music, you just need to take the initiative to ask around find it.  Maybe it will in back alleys or quite literally underground in some discreet bar. The styles and performances can be different, but everything I saw from then on shared this energy and apparent passion for the music they were making and performance they were giving. Each one of these bands seemed so creative and seemingly spontaneous to the point where I felt as if they were getting a read from the crowd and playing accordingly. It is hard to pinpoint the specific reason. Maybe it's because the main stream music scene is that bad, the counterculture backlash so genuine and exciting. Whatever the reason, however, Moscow's underground music is absolutely one of the secret gems of the city.

Anyway, hare are a few of my favorite finds so far. Please enjoy!

(p.s. I do not own the rights to these films)

Vagabond Hostel

Fall 2016-Spring 2017

It is really hard for me to write a post about Vagabond Hostel (currently on about my 10th attempt) and frame it in a way that truly reflects the impression it made upon me. I do not mean to sound cheesy, but to me, Vagabond was not just a hostel, but my home and my community. I felt more welcome there than literally anywhere I've visited or lived since leaving home for college. And considering all the flats, rooms, guesthouses, and other hostels, this is pretty substantial.

To be honest, the first thing that drew me to Vagabond was the name. It sounded like a stopping place for wanderers from around the world, so I initially made a booking for five days. I thought this would be good and give me a chance to either stay if I liked it, or go find a new hostel if I didn't. I stayed... for over five months.

I am not sure how it happens, but somehow Vagabond always seems to attract the most amazing and interesting people through its doors. Maybe it's the staff. First off there's a slender curly-haired guy named Nikita, who is always down for helping you learn Russian and cooks the most wonderful breakfasts. Then there's a blond girl with an asymetrical haircut named Yulia who can make you laugh until it hurts, and Roman the bearded and tattooed artist. Needless to say, this crew soon became my closest friends in the city.

And then there is Robert, the owner and founder of Vagabond. If anyone deserves the credit here, it's definitely him. This haven for wanderers, artists, musicians, and locals looking to escape the hustle of the big city was Roberts dream and he tirelessly works to improve on his already amazing creation by bringing in weekly free concerts, daily free breakfasts, hostel dinners, and birthday celebrations if there happens to be one. And on top of all that, it was the creative environment at Vagabond that compelled me to create this blog in the first place. So, Vagabond will always have a close place to me.

Parks

2015-2017

There is an ongoing debate in Russia over which is a better city, Moscow or Petersburg. People often go back an forth, but in one category, Moscow absolutely reigns supreme: Parks. Moscow's parks are enormous and numerous. They are so vast that when in ones like Kolomenskoye, Tsaritsino, Sokolniki and Izmailovski, you can no longer tell you're in a big city anymore.

Unfortunately, the park that gets the most attention, Gorky Park, is in my opinion, the least exciting. It's not that Gorky Park is bad or not worth visiting, but the other parks are so much nicer. Gorky is kind of generic and filled with tourists, like parks in most big cities. You can see buildings and there are vendors everywhere.

Compare that to Tsaritsino. Here there are hills and valleys as lush and green as the open country. There are trees everywhere you look, along with fountains, lakes, and most notably, an old palace. Right in the middle of everything sits an old palace that has been converted into a museum. It is awesome, and I highly recommend going there to anyone. There is no city feel here, and it is so big and open, you feel like you're going on an adventure with every section of the park you explore. And this is just one of them. Each park has its own character and personality.

Personal Favorite: Kolomenskoye

You know that place in your town that you consider 'your place'? The place you go when you want to unwind, escape the stresses of everyday life, or just to be at peace by yourself. For me in Moscow, that place is Kolomenskoye Park. And while it's only one of Moscow's many huge green-space areas, this one stands out above all for me for a couple of reasons. First of all, it's huge. If you're deep in the thick of it, it really doesn't feel like you're in a city any more. Instead of buildings, the landscape becomes hills, grass, trees, and old wooden buildings which all come down to the bank of the  Moskva River. The view is gorgeous all year round, but that isn't the ultimate feature that makes the park stand out. What separates Kolomenskoye from the rest of the parks is, instead all the unique features and quirks it contains.

For starters, there's a full apple orchard in the middle of the park. I kid you not, thousands of trees stand in rows and from mid summer to late autumn, you can go pick some whenever you want. And they're good too. My friends and I actually used them to make a pie which, despite my lack of cooking skill, still turned out delicious. Then, for drinks, vendors often serve (mead) or mulled wine which is heated and served warm during the winters, thus helping you bear the cold.

I could explain more, but I'll let the pictures above do the talking. (click to go through and see all of them).

Lenin's Tomb (Гробница Ленина)

Location: Red Square

Have you ever felt the urge of seeing a taxidermodied communist revolutionary from the early 1900s? If so, you and I were thinking the same. And thankfully, Moscow offers you this opportunity (from 10:00am to 1:00pm most days). When I has first arrived, Lenin was temporarily closed for a few months for repairs, leaving me to assume his arm fell off or something like that. Either way, it meant I had to wait.

But then, one day in early November, I noticed something. A line of people was starting to form in Red Square next to the building labled ЛЕНИН (Lenin). Could this be my chance? I did not hesitate and ran to the line, and to my pleasant surprise, it started moving, and within twenty minutes I was at the front. As I walked towards the entrance, I looked to my right and saw the graves of many former Soviet leaders from Stalin to Brezhnev, Revolutionary leaders, and even to Americans, John Reed and William Haywood. This was it. Russian history of the 20th century lying under my feet. Then I walked through the doors.

Right in the entranceway stood a guard. "Shhhhhhhhhh!" he said rather loudly, beckoning me, and everyone else, to be quiet. I obliged, then headed down a long, dimlymlit corridor, past another guard, and then reached a large room emminating a reddish glow. Now I know, this was it! Vladimir Ilyaich Ulyanov was just a few steps away. I walked I walked in, and there, in the center of the room, lay a glass casket, and in it a man. He was bald with a whispy light brown beard. his eyes were closed and his body seemed a bit waxy (although that could have been just from the red lighting of the room. But one thing stood out more than anything, he was short. And I mean really short. 5'5'' (165cm). In my mind, he had always been this powerful, towering figure, but here, he was just a little fella. Interesting. I guess people really were smaller back in the day.

Izmailovsky Market

Moscow's Second Kremlin

On the outskirts of the city in the northeast corner lies a second Kremlin made entirely out of wood. And while this may sound interesting in and of itself, it happens to be home to the largest outdoor open market in Moscow (probably all Russia as well), where you can buy literally almost anything from Russian dolls and hats, to old Soviet memorabilia, to chess sets and jewelry, to honey and vodka, to Beatles albums (which my dad bought) and pretty much anything else one of the vendors found in their basement. Occasionally, and I kid you not, I have even seen refurbished uniforms from the Second World War, so the sky's the limit on what you can expect to find.

The market is fairly limited on the weekdays but on Saturday and Sunday it stretches on for hours, so you can pretty easily lose yourself wandering (as I have done multiple times) gazing at the extensive variety of people's accumulated stuff. Most of the vendors know very little English aside from numbers, so a knowledge of some Russian can be enormously helpful especially when haggling, which brings me to my favorite aspect of the market. Everything can be haggled down. Literally everything, and it is expected that you do. And most of the vendors are willing to get into long discussions on price, so if you have the patience, or are just looking for another odd way to practice Russian (the main reason I often went here), you'll walk away spending far less than you would at any gift shop within the city.

Teaching English: Part One (Kids/Teens)

(This is just my experience teaching. If you want how to, go to the Workingman's Wisdom section)

When I first began, I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I had never thought an actual class before back in the US, let alone another country, and my first class was to be just a week after I landed. I had no idea if my student's would listen or understand. I did not know how their comprehension of English would be, I didn't know if I would be able to keep control of the class, and I had no clue whether it would be enjoyable or a disaster. It seemed almost too much to take in, and it was hard to get the thought of "what am I doing here?" out of my head.

That was two years ago. It was not a disaster. And looking back, I realize that working in Russia as a teacher (first with kids aged 9-18 and later with adults) has had a substantial effect on my time in the country, and myself overall as a person. It's hard to summarize all the classes and all the experiences into a few concise paragraphs and then draw out meaningful conclusions for you the reader, but here goes!

I spent the entire first year working for the company English First at a kids school on the outskirts of the city. My classes differed in ages from 9 to 18, and, along with my first instruction being to only speak English, it wasn't without its stresses, and I have since come to realize that nothing makes you want to hit your head on a wall more than trying to discipline a group of a dozen nine-year olds. But, that said, with every stress, there were at least two joyful, rewarding moments that made me genuinely happy with my decision to take the job in the first place. Honestly, had it not been for the school's administration, I would have gladly stayed a second year (but that's another story)

The first thing that struck me was just how intellectually curious some of my students were.  For example, I had a class of twelve and thirteen year olds who were so interested to to learn about the American educational system, about who I was as a person, and my perceptions of life in Russia. I went in expecting just to teach the language, and ended up involving myself in culture sharing discussions, which helped us bond in ways I know would have been impossible had I stayed in the US. It kind of broke down the barrier between teacher and student and I actually got to learn a little about who they were as people, which made the act of teaching infinitely more fun.

As the year went on, I began including more and more open discussions and, I don't mean to sound cheesy here, were among the most rewarding parts of the whole job. I mean, I got to moderate a debate between groups of seventeens as they went back and forth over the benefits and drawbacks of globalization, and I got to listen to a twelve year old explain, in perfect English, how she hoped to work as a clothing designer for homeless and poor people with the hope of improving their livelihood as much as possible. I even enjoyed working on Saturdays (yes, I had to work Saturdays. Damn management!) for these kids. It turned out my two favorite classes were Saturday morning and no matter how hungover or how bad of a mood I was going into work, they would always put a smile on my face and have me laughing within five minutes.

Unfortunately, all good things had to come to an end, and I had no idea how sad it was going to be to say goodbye. But on my exit, I promised to return, which I did during the winter of the following year.I would describe the occasion, but the pictures below show how that went better than words.

The card they made me. It is awesome!

This was right when I entered the door, Hence the coat.

Teaching English: Part Two (Adults)

After my first year was complete, I ended up leaving my first job at English First and chose to work for a tutoring agency instead of a proper school. I enjoyed teaching (most of) my classes the previous year, but I wanted a change from the regimented 8-9 hour work day as well as a little more freedom to develop myself as a teacher. The school had be teach lessons solely out of a book and give regular exams. This way, I would be more like a freelance tutor, teaching classes periodically throughout the day with gaps in the day to do as I please, so I decided to give it a try.

Naturally, as there is with everything, there were a fair share of pluses and minuses with the transition. On the bright side, I got what I was looking for: more freedom and a flexible schedule. For example, one work day could be classes from 10:00-12:00, 4:00-5:30, and 6:30-8:00. Each would be in different locations, which did help me explore much more of the city, and the time in between was mine to do as I pleased, which definitely helped me develop more of a social life and take part in much more that the city had to offer.

I also have to admit, it was significantly easier teaching adults than kids (for the most part). I never had to worry about discipline, and I could now teach most of the lesson through conversation, whereas last year I had to do regimented activities and exercises. These features were all better, but there were several drawbacks, and the main one, to me, would be that adults are generally far less fun than kids. Yeah, I didn't have to yell at anyone to be quiet and pay attention, nor did I ever feel like I was about to pull my hair out from stress, but there were significantly less times in which I laughed and left a class with a huge smile on my face. And, looking back, this all gave me much more of an appreciation of just how creative kids can be, and depresses me a little bit on how many people lose it.

That said, I'm definitely glad I had both experiences. It would be hard to choose which one was better since they were both so different. I guess the best summary I can give would be this: teaching kids definitely has higher highs and lower lows. Adults are pretty much always in the middle. But between the two lifestyles, living as the freelance tutor definitely beats the regimented work schedule. That I can say for certain.