So.. We came back home today from our three-day Moscow trip (13th-17th November). It was really nice, the city was awesome, full of beautiful old buildings and it was much cleaner and calmer than I expected.
We left from the Helsinki railway station with the daily train, "Tolstoi" at 17:42, the train arrived @ Moscow at 8:30 the following morning.
I tried to fill the customs declaration forms in the train, and the custom officers didn't even take a look at them.. Not even when we came back. Great.
Of course I had to try the hat rack as well x)
The old Arbat Street where I bought myself a T-Shirt, Russian and SU flags and we went eating in a restaurant.
MID - The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs building (I think?). One of the "Teeth of Stalin" buildings.. They looked great and they were huge!
A modern house next to our friends' renovated Soviet era -apartment building where we stayed (it was all new inside so don't worry ;))
Old alighten buildings in the evening
One of the Kreml towers in the evening with a nice red star on it :) The houses around the Red Square and Kreml looked awesome in the nigth.
Oh Evert. Thanks for posting..such a fine trip you had. Maybe someday you can go back..in the summer...But It looks great right now....smiles...
Diana...
Evert...You are so lucky to get to travel the way you and your parents do....I just KNOW they will get around to briging you to America one of these days! Jo
What an educational tour that appears to be. How long was the train ride for you?
Evert, what a wonderful trip.
I am amazed that all your photos show absolutely NO street trash.
:)
Actually I am the one who chooses where we go, so maybe one day I'll bring my parents to the US ;) Hehe. I really would liek to come there, maybe in a few years. We haven't decided where we'd go next Summer, we have to think.
I think these pictures are completely different than the stereotypes of Russia? :D But you must remember that Moscow is Moscow, the capital of the country, and there are rural areas where things are so out of hand and people are very poor and nothing works..
Here are the Finnish and EU flags in the Finnish Embassy where my friend is working.
A war-time mosaic in one of the great looking Subway (/Metro/Underground) stations. I think this was at Oktobrskaya.
Another Mosaic.. from the Soviet Era. Sickle & Hammer
A bad picture of one of the Subway stations.. Don't remember which one.
Did you know that the Moscow metro system is the largest one in the world? It's huge.. And all the stations look different. The trains were very noisy compared to the ones of the world's smallest metro, HELSINKI :)
A nice looking old building somewhere near the Red Square
Wow..
From the other side
The Moskva-Warehouse
Wow all of the photos are beautiful.
Thanks for the tour Evert, I am very glad to see it surpassed my expectations. Somehow, I had always imagined it to be bleak and colorless and perhaps still war-torn.
Your 4th photo looks alot like a street in Prague, have you been there as well? Would you say they are repainting all over or just in popular areas? I love what they do with the pastel colors in paint, do you have any idea of what the influence is?
Again, thank you for posting (:
Vi
Thank you, Evert. Most pictures I have seen have always been in black and white. Great pictures you are sharing
here.
yes it sure is great...so different then I thought..thanks....smiles..
Diana
The architecture is beautiful but my favorite is the mosaic tile work. That is some magnificent workmanship.
Great pictures, Evert.
I like the lady with the red hat!
Thnaks.
Violabird - Why war torn? WWII was long time ago. And think how effective they were in the Soviet Union ;)
We drove near Prague, but we stayed in Czech Republic, in a beautiful city called Svitavy in 2002. Here's a photo of mine of the city centre: http://davesgarden.com/ej/showimage.php?eid=38786
The lady with the red had is the friend of mine :)
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Here's my Chicken Kiev in a restaurant, it was very good, although it looks plain.
Looking good and pretty, it is healthy food. I love that, I like to make broil chicken with green salad. =P
Evert, I've really enjoyed these photos! I didn't know the subway system was so extensive there...I bet they're glad for it in winter! I like the one of the warehouse, especially. That Chicken Kiev looks really good, too. Mmmmm.
Thanks Evert. Those are great photos. The fourth one looks like a street scene from Germany or Austria. I am always amazed at how clean the streets, highways, and subways are in Europe.
Evert, great shots of your vacation in Russia.
I wonder where you will go next? Turkey?????
cheers
VDNH theme park from the Soviet Era as you can see ;) It was set up for showing things around all the Soviet states. We took a ride around it, but the weather was miserable, cold and gray, and we didn't really feel like spending a lot of time there.. But I saw it anyway ;) There were a lot of great looking buildings.
At the gate of the park.. The Russian flag.
Some older people want the Soviet system back.. they hold their small parades every week. We happened to be near the Kreml just the right time when they came
Hilarious thought my mom. :D
Wonderful pictures. The parade of older folk is interesting, some day I'll be an old folk....wonder what I'll be protesting.
Thanks for sharing.
I still have plenty of photos left.. I feel bad I got too lazy and never posted the rest of them here. So I'll do it now :)
Here's a nice looking golden statue from the Arbat street..
Here's the rocket monument from the Soviet theme park. It was huge :) It was made for the first Soviet space-flight I guess, and there was a Soviet space museum under it. However, we didn't go there.
Wasn't hard to guess who there was at the base of the monument.. Lenin was leading the people to a better, brighter tomorrow again, I guess :]
The monument...
