Once upon a time in Moscow - Part 3 - The good things / Однажды в Москве - часть 3 - Хорошие вещи
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Architecture and the city centre (Архитектура и центр Москвы)
So my last post was a bit negative, but fear not, I have many good things to say about Moscow as well! A few unfortunate incidents hasn't changed my opinion about Moscow or Russia at all. The entire centre of Moscow was extremely beauitiful, and I am a huge fan of Russian architecture, I basically spent each day drooling over beautiful churches and buildings, I love how colourful and different it is, it's really unique. And to be able to walk on the Red Square has always been a bit of a dream for me (yes, fangirl mode here). Such a historical and beautiful city centre, it's one of my favourite capitals in the entire world for sure. I also explored different areas of the city, not just the centre. I think that Moscow (minus the centre) looked much more "Soviet" than St. Petersburg, and the soviet architecture is also very interesting to me (although not as beautiful as the architecture on the Red Square).
PS! This post will include more photos than usual, and not as much text.
My photo / Свое фото.
I try to be respectful by not running around taking a bunch of photos in Russian churches, even if they are huge tourist attractions. Instead, I try to just observe what is happening around me, and pay attention to all the beautiful details and decorations, as well as just watching people (tourists and locals both included). This photo is from St. Basil's cathedral (Собор Василия Блаженного). Russian icons are really beautiful, and I think Russian Orthodox churches are much more beautiful than Lutherian or Catholic churches (and I always visit churches when I travel)! I was just overwhelmed by it all, no words can describe how beautiful it was to me, the architecture is just impressive. I also listened to a religious chorus singing in Saint Basil's cathedral, which was equally overwhelming (I love classical music, I love folk music, and I love orchestras and a live chorus, and I LOVE Russian language, so it was perfect for me).
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I obviously had to take a look at the Bolshoy Theatre, which looked really nice from the outside ... unfortunately I didn't get to go inside, or see a play, but it's on my to-do list. Have any of you seen a play here? Which play would you recommend seeing?
Breathtaking museums (Захватывающие музеи)
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As I already explained in my first post about Moscow (part 1 - introduction), I gave a summary of important places I visited, along with a few museums. I visited "Museum of The Great Patriotic War" as well as "Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics", as well as churches in the centre, not to mention the Kreml Armoury (but I was not allowed to take photos in here, which is a shame because I want to remember all the beautiful things in there, I'm very interested in the tsar families and general history of Russia, so this was a bit of a shame). All of the museums and places impressed me so much, especially the museum of the great patriotic war, I was speechless after it, and I will never forget it. I'm also into astronomy and space, so obviously I loved the museum of Cosmonautics! I took 100's of pictures in each museum, and you'll be thankful that I'm not going to post them all, although I wish I could, just for the sake of memories... I'm not going to post any photos of the Cosmonautic museum, because I think you all know what it's all about.
Museum of The Great Patriotic War (Музей Великой Отечественной Войны)
My photo / Свое фото.
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My photo / Свое фото
Museum of the Great Patriotic War, especially the memorial hall with the crystallized "tears", and the books of the fallen soldiers really touched me, I spent a lot of time going through everything in this hall, and I felt sad when I left... I even read the children's letters during the war, and it was a really sad experience, although it was a very rewarding experience to see all the photos, belongings and letters of people from the war. I think few people outside Russia truly realise how many lives were lost in Russia during the war...
ГУМ
My photo / Свое фото.
Very beautiful "shopping centre", although the shops themselves didn't interest me that much. The art, the architecture and the beauty of it all, as well as some nice coffee shops was what occupied me the most in here. Also, it was where I hid from the guy following me. Haha. For shopping, I prefered the smaller and more local shops, and they were also much cheaper. But if expensive brands are what you like, you should definitely go here.
Summary
I'm aware that there are plenty of more places to see, and many museums I did not visit, but I'm saving that for the next trip! So this was some of my impressions from Moscow, and some of my strongest memories, although I did more during my stay - I went shooting, and I also attended a Korpiklaani concert with my Russian friend on the last evening in Moscow (which was AWESOME)! I also got to attend a student party in a university dorm (I am pretty sure I wasn't even allowed to be there...), as well as trying homemade borscht that my friend's mum cooked - best borscht I ever tried, much better than the ones in restaurants. Also most importantly - Russians during this trip was very hospitable, and I am grateful that some of my acquiantances and friends invited me to join their adventures. All in all, it was a great trip... :)