Ten totally subjective notes from my visit to Moscow, the capital of Russia, last week.
- The flight to Moscow on Estonian Air is a delightfully short one.
1. The flight from Tallinn to Moscow takes just one hour 15 minutes. Unfortunately it’s not a daily route, and I had to fly back via Stockholm.
From Moscow Sheremetyevo International Airport it’s about 30 km to the city. Your best bet is the Aeroexpress train, which costs 250 roubles one way and takes half an hour. Unfortunately, there’s a 2 hour break in the schedule between ca 10 and 12 AM. If you arrive ca 9.30 Moscow time as I did, and have to wait a bit in the passport control and customs, then it’s a hard choice. Whether to try to kill two hours in the airport, or to take a cab, which costs many times more, and is really not any faster, because the traffic on Leningrad Road is usually heavily congested.
2. Many currency exchange points in Moscow city are open for 24 hours. I do not talk from personal experience, but some locals told me that at night the exchangers drop the value of dollars/euros by a few %. It’s a sure thing that at night the clients are just the people who *really* have to get roubles. You know, the party must go on, the girl needs one more drink etc etc. The ordinary guy exchanges his dollars during daytime.
I was told that usually people keep their hard-earned savings in western currency and exchange roubles just for daily needs.
For European visitors the exchange rate of the rouble is at the moment very comfortable. It’s good time to consider visiting Moscow, which is usually one of the most expensive capitals in the world.
- Nice colourful birdhouses on the balcony of a Moscow city house. The place is near Estonian embassy.
3. Small automatic payment kiosks can be found in many places. Local people pay their phone or internet bills in those using cash (roubles).
4. The distances in Moscow are appalling. Better schedule some 1,5-2 hours for transportation, if you need to use Moscow subway and to change lines several times. The subway (Metro) is working very well, one way journey (you can change lines as many times as you need) costs 22 roubles.
- Kish-Mish oriental restaurant at Novyi Arbat.
5. There is a surprising amount of Japanese restaurants and eateries in central Moscow. I had time to try out just one of them, named Japosha. The service was not great, but the miso soup tasted fine. But if you are from US or Western Europe, you’d better try out some Azeri or Uzbek food. I bet that this stuff you can’t find in London or NYC. Do names like Sesh-Besh or Kish-Mish ring a bell?
6. I noticed a kiosk with a banner “Address Bureau” or something similar. During Soviet times it was a place where you could ask for the home address of any people living in town. It was not open, and I’m still wondering if such a service really exists in 2009? Is there any demand for a place, where a clerk looks up someone’s home address in a thick book? This should be the age of Google (there are of course Yandex and Rambler in Russia), and of personal data protection.
7. In newspaper offices in Moscow you’ll find that security precautions are taken very seriously. There are checkpoints, metal detectors etc. But if taking into consideration several high-profile murders of journalists in Russia, this is very natural
8. The Moscow City Government is using some of its resources for an extensive PR campaign. You can find billboards with the pictures of government at work – social services, street improvement etc. Also there are names and reception schedules of local officials.
9. The small vendor stalls are everywhere. They offer various goods: jewelry, watches, knives, lingerie, small icons, T-shirts with “Che Burashka” or “I’m your free sex instructor” banners. Many such kiosks can be found in or near subway stations.
- Arbat.
10. Car parking in Moscow seems like total chaos. On smaller streets, there are many parked cars in the middle of street! Even just beside the famous skyscraper of MID – Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
PS. Just one more note – I saw several Moscow girls walking around, wearing foxtails, of brown or silver colour fur, as accessories. Where’s the PETA in Moscow?
