Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Shortly after I completed my abandoned buildings tour I came down to reception to talk to Vanda about staying a few extra hours at The Pushkin Hotel until my train left that evening to the legendary city of Kazan, Tatarstan. She told me the other day that we’d try to think up some solutions so I did not have to pay too much to stay till that evening. When I came down she did not look like her usual happy self. I asked her “how are things”……..she paused and said “bad”. I asked her what the matter was. She said I would kill her when I heard the news. She said The Pushkin was all full up for several days and that I’d have to leave at checkout, which would mean I’d have about 10 hours of time without a place to stay. She was quite disturbed, worried and did not want me homeless for ten hours. Vanda frantically tried to think up all types of different scenarios but to no avail.

I was a bit panicked too, but luckily I had a solution in case there were no cancelations and I was forced out of The Pushkin. For my return trip from Kazan, Tatarstan through Moscow I had a 15 hour layover between trains and I had booked a hotel at the train station called “Gorod Otel’” or “City Hotel”. Their check in and check out time was pretty flexible, so I suggested that I stay there in case I needed a place to rest. Vanda quickly called them and indeed they had room, so we made a reservation. She said she’d try her best to get me a room at The Pushkin so I did not have to move.

The next morning came, but there were still no cancelations, but she still was hopeful she could pull something off. An hour or two later after breakfast there was a knock at my door it was Vanda. She said she had found me a room but that I’d have to move from my nice suite to a much smaller room. I was open. We went upstairs and she showed me two different rooms and indeed they were small…………no bigger than a nice coat closet. Plus, they would cost a lot more than “CityHotel” over at Kazan Railway Station. I said I’d give it a thought. At that point her shift was over and she was leaving which meant it was time for one final goodbye. I gave her a big hug and kissed her goodbye………feeling sad that I wouldn’t see her for another few months.

After a fair amount of time weighing my options I figured I may as well save the money and move across town to the Kazan Railway Station. So after a week of being at The Pushkin I somehow gathered up all my stuff cluttered around the room and headed to the railway station. I got to the railway station and after going around and around trying to find the hotel entrance I finally found it tucked away in a remote corner of the station. I was glad I found it………..the bad news though………it was up at least several flights of stairs and my bag weighed at least a ton! They had a little ramp on the side of the stairs to help you, but that did little good just made my bag tipsy and fall over. So like the famous Greek legend of syphisis, who kept rolling the rock up the hill only for it to fall down, I kept rolling my bag up the stairs and the small ramp only for it to fall over and for me to try it again. After several attempts I finally made it up the stairs to the hotel! The staff there was very welcoming and I was glad I spoke Russian because without that skill, I’d be in deep trouble, as they spoke zero English!

I checked in and they escorted me to my deluxe room. It was a nice room and would do well for my 9-hour stay. It had a view over the train station, which was ok since I was only going to be spending a few hours there anyways. I actually enjoyed my view, as it was entertaining to observe from above all the people scurrying around the station and listening to the non-stop announcements on which trains were arriving and which ones were departing. I’ve been to a lot of different train stations in Russia in my life, but for some reason Kazan Station just felt a bit different. It was more frantic and had a unique atmosphere to it. It may have been due to the fact that all the trains from the south come into Kazan Station, i.e. Chechnya, Dagestan and Ossetia, three places that fair or unfair have a reputation as being bad places.

Kazan Station

VDNKH Fountains in summer

Once I got settled into my room I went out to one of my most favorite places in all of Moscow, VDNKH. VDNKH is a type of Soviet world’s fair like park with all types of buildings, exhibits, statues and relics to remind one of bygone times. There you have different pavilions from the ex-Soviet republics, which profile the republic’s native culture. Some of the other highlights include a fountain with 15 golden statues in a circle to represent the ex 15 republics. During summer months when the fountains are on it is quite the sight to see.

Unfortunately, the fountains were off and they were constructing an ice skating rink around it, so I only caught a glimpse of them from afar. But the other buildings were still there in all their glory. However, it wasn’t always so glorious. Shortly after the USSR collapsed in the early 90s the park began to decay and many buildings were left to rot. Only recently did the government start to take an interest in revitalizing the park and bringing it back to its former glory days. To me this park holds a certain nostalgic value, as it was the first place I ever visited when I first came to the Soviet Union in the summer of 1991. Today I can safely say VDNKH is back to its past glory days and serves as a favorite place for Muscovites to visit during their free time and during summer when its jammed with people!

I returned to my hotel room tired from all my walking around and freezing from the chilly weather. After coming back so cold I learned that it’s better to air on the safe side and layer than under layer. What seemed like a century’s worth of time quickly evaporated to no time and before I knew it, it was time to pack up my bags and hop aboard the new double decker train to Kazan that would take overnight. I looked forward to my next adventure! My journey was just starting!

Kazan Station entry