Moscow Musings: Freezing My Toes Off and Finding Unexpected Beauty
okay, so. moscow. right? i just got back and i’m still thawing out. seriously. i just checked and it’s…a proper arctic bite out there right now, hope you like that kind of thing. like, the kind where your eyelashes freeze together. glamorous, i know.
I’m a touring session drummer, you see, and this gig - a weird corporate thing for some oligarch’s birthday - landed me in the heart of *Russia. Not exactly my usual scene of smoky clubs and late-night jams, but hey, a gig’s a gig, right? Plus, the rubles were looking pretty good.
I’m not gonna lie, the initial shock was…intense. Everything’s so grand, so imposing. Like, the Kremlin is massive. I spent a good hour just staring at it, trying to wrap my head around the history. It’s overwhelming, in a good way. I mean, you can check out some historical tours on TripAdvisor if you're into that sort of thing: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g298466-Activities-Moscow_Russian_Federation.html.
I stayed in this tiny apartment near Tverskaya Street. It was…cozy. Let’s go with cozy. The building itself was gorgeous, all ornate carvings and peeling paint. Classic Moscow. If you get bored, Saint Petersburg is just a short train ride away - apparently, it’s even more ridiculously beautiful. I’ll have to check it out next time.
Speaking of neighbors, the lady next door, Baba Anya, kept trying to feed me pickled everything. Seriously, everything. Pickled cucumbers, pickled tomatoes, pickled beets… I think she thought I was starving. I managed to politely decline most of the time, but she did slip me a jar of something unidentifiable once. I’m still not sure what it was.
“Don’t trust the pigeons,” a very drunk man told me outside a bar near Red Square. “They’re spies. I’m serious.”
I’m pretty sure he was just very drunk, but it stuck with me. The pigeons were suspiciously well-fed.
Food-wise, it was…an experience. I tried borscht, of course. And pelmeni. And a lot of things I couldn’t pronounce. I found this amazing little cafe on Arbat Street - check it out on Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=cafe&find_loc=Moscow,+Russia - where they made the best blini I’ve ever had. Seriously, melt-in-your-mouth good.
I did a bit of wandering around, trying to soak it all in. The GUM department store is insane - like, a shopping mall inside a palace. And the Bolshoi Theatre…wow. I didn’t get to see a performance, but just walking past it was breathtaking. I found a forum with some local tips: https://www.reddit.com/r/Moscow/.
Someone told me that the metro stations are works of art in themselves. And they weren’t kidding. Each one is different, with mosaics and sculptures and chandeliers. It’s like riding a subway through a museum. I spent way too long just riding around, admiring the architecture.
“The babushkas know everything,” a street artist told me while sketching portraits near Sparrow Hills. “Ask them for directions. They’ll tell you where to find the best dumplings and the cheapest vodka.”
I didn’t ask about the vodka, but I did take his advice about the dumplings. Best decision ever.
Honestly, it was a trip. A freezing, slightly bewildering, but ultimately amazing trip. I’m already thinking about going back. Maybe in the summer this time. Definitely need to pack warmer socks though. And maybe learn a few Russian phrases. “Please don’t feed me pickled beets” seems like a good place to start.
Oh, and one last thing: I heard that the VDNKh* park is incredible, especially during the holidays. Apparently, they put up the most insane light displays. I didn't have time to go, but it's on the list for next time. You can find more info here: https://www.visit-moscow.com/en/places/v-dnkh