A Day In Moscow

After a rather dramatic end to my visit to Yoshkar-Ola, my train ride to Moscow was pretty uneventful. I arrived in Moscow early that morning at Kazan Station, a place I’d become very familiar with since I spent an entire day staying in the station hotel. I would once again spend a long amount of time at the station hotel, “CityHotel”, since my train to Murmansk didn’t depart until 12:30am giving me around 15 hours to kill. This time I was lucky enough to get a room with a view of the city rather than an interior room, which overlooked the train station.

My first stop would be a look around the Moscow Metro ring line. The ring line was Moscow’s first line and has some of the most beautiful stations! I was very familiar with my temporary “home station”, Komsomolskaya, since when I was younger I used to use this station every day to take the elektrichka train (a type of commuter train) to and from where I was living with my host family. Of all the stations on the nearly 62-year-old system Komsomolskaya is by far the most beautiful station! You cannot get any more elegant than this station with its beautiful golden yellow trim, incredible chandeliers hanging down and beautiful mosaics that adorn the ceilings. This should be ground zero for any tour of the metro.

The next stop along my metro tour would be the incredible Elektrozavodskaya station named after the nearby light bulb factory. The station was built during World War II, but was not finished until shortly after the war. The look of the station is very different! Instead of marble and mosaics, the station is a mix between Stalinist Art Deco and the post war look of the line’s other stations. The ceiling is the most incredible part of the station as it is adorned with six rows of circular inset lamps. This station is well worth a visit.

I continued my journey along the dark blue line going several stations north to one of the only above ground stations, Izmailovskaya. My goal was to visit the Izmailovskiy Kremlin, an entertainment and cultural center that were built in the shape of a Kremlin. I got to the station and looked around from the platform and could not spot the Kremlin. I then remembered that although the station’s name was Izmailovskaya, the name corresponded with the park, not the Kremlin and that it was up another station. So, I waited for the next train to come along in order to reach my destination.

I arrived at the next station, which unlike the other station was below ground. I got above ground and conditions were nasty. It was just above freezing that day and the snow was turning to brown wet slush. The mud puddles were looking deep and daunting. The Kremlin was not exactly next door, more or less about a half-mile walk from the station. With all the slush and mud puddles it may as well have been a few miles. After a lot of careful small baby steps to avoid slipping and creative hopping around the mud puddles I reached Izmailovskiy market where they sell all the tourist souvenirs. The place was pretty empty since it was a weekday and it was winter. Not many tourists were around at this time of year, so a lot of the vendors had packed up leaving rows and rows of empty stalls. There were still a few. I walked through the empty marketplace and the few vendors who were around were calling me in English asking if I wanted a furry Russian hat or offering me other souvenirs. I just kept walking saying “нет спасибо”, nyet spasibo or no thanks. Eventually a giant set of matryoshka dolls caught my eye. I tried bargaining with the guy, but I could not get him down to a reasonable price, plus he did not take credit cards. I eventually gave up and figured I didn’t need any more souvenirs, plus was unsure just where I’d put it. 

I eventually arrived at the Kremlin, which was totally empty since it was a weekday. Inside the Kremlin are a lot entertainment options. But I wasn’t there for entertainment options I wanted to see the architecture. Although it was not exactly as incredible as its much older cousin down south in Red Square it still had some pretty cool sights. Some of the highlights included the beautiful giant copulas that tower over the Kremlin and the tall wooden church, which is supposedly the largest wooden church in Russia. I’m not sure how accurate this is because there are some pretty large wooden

Vodka Museum

churches in Kizhi in Russia’s north. There’s also quite a large wooden church outside St. Petersburg, but who knows. During weekends and certain weekdays in the off-season you can visit two of the Kremlin other highlights, Museum of Vodka and Miniature Museum. There also is a marriage palace making this a popular place for wedding photos and parties.

Having seen most of the Izmailovskiy Kremlin I figured I’d kill some time and take another ride on the new second ring line. As I’d explained in an earlier post, the second ring line is the newest addition to the Moscow Metro system and really resembles a train line more than a metro line. I spotted what I thought was a ring line station (which are all above ground) so I started to dead reckon and walk toward it. I walked a good 15 minutes until I reached my "destination" and discovered it was just an overpass over the highway. I looked at Google maps and saw that the real station was really not that far from the overpass so I kept walking along the highway.

I eventually reached my station and got on one train, which was quite crowded, so I got off at the next station and decided to go the other way. I boarded the next train going the other way with the goal of riding the entire line. I eventually decided since I’d be on a train for the next two days and was paying for a nice deluxe room at the train station, I figured it might not be the best use of time to waste 2-3 hours riding the second ring line. So, I exited at the next station and headed back to the hotel.

I returned to my room for a bit of a rest. Just as I started to settle into my room for a rest I noticed it snowing outside. I figured it was probably just a passing flurry or two and not worth anything. But then it started to actually accumulate on the cars and looked like it could turn into something. Since I love everything snow related, I figured I had to act! No way was I going to let this opportunity go by without taking full advantage of it. So, I put on all my layers and headed out to Red Square. I had been to Red Square a few other times during the snow but absolutely nothing beats Red Square in the snow!!

Interior of St. Basil's

I reached Red Square in record time and luckily it was still snowing! I have a type of record where whenever I show up, the snow seems to stop or lighten up. But, luckily not this time. Although the snow was not as heavy as I would’ve liked it still was beautiful to see St. Basil’s and Red Square in the snow. Since I’d seen everything I tried to figure out what I’d do next. I could go back to the hotel room and wait another six hours, but no way was I going to just sit around the hotel all evening!! I figured it’d been a very looooong time since I’d been in St. Basil’s and it was open so I thought I might as well spend some time looking around the interior. The last time I had been there the interior was nice, but nothing too special. But I thought I might as well see if anything was new. The inside of St. Basil’s was awesome compared to the last time! Everything inside was so beautiful and they had done an incredible job at restoring the interior with restored iconostatuses (wall of icons), mosaics and other beautiful icons.

By the time I left St. Basil’s it was dark and still snowing. The snow made the entire square so beautiful! The holiday decorations along with the giant New Year’s tree outside GUM made it even more magical. In Russia Christmas is mainly a religious holiday celebrated by the Orthodox Church and does not really concern those who are not into religious ceremonies. The main holiday in Russia is New Year’s, which has become the default Christmas holiday with a New Year’s tree, ornaments, the exchanging of presents and a Santa Claus figure whose name is Father Frost along with his granddaughter, The Snow Maiden. The conversion of Christmas into New Year’s began in the Stalin era and is still going strong today.

Once I stepped into GUM, Moscow’s premier shopping arcade/department store, the place was decorated with all types of New Year’s trees in all shapes. One “tree” that especially stood out to me was one that consisted all of traditional Russian trays of all different colors. Besides the many trays in the shape of a tree, there was one giant tree dominating in the center of the arcade. It was beautifully decorated and one of the more beautiful New Year’s tree I’d seen in Russia!

I left GUM and stepped outside onto Red Square, where you could tell the holidays were just around the corner! The ice skating rink which covers about half the square looked as if it was only days away from welcoming skaters and the New Year’s tree market also appeared to be on the cusp of opening. All in all it looked like the capital was all ready for the holidays. After looking around at the beautiful decorations one last time and taking a final glimpse of the beauty of St. Basil’s with the backdrop of snow, I bid one last farewell to Red Square and headed back to the hotel. I was sad to leave Moscow, but knew that in no time I’d be back again and walking around Red Square! 

Mari El

The City of Yoshkar-Ola in Mari El Republic

Where can you visit Prague, Italy, Brussels and Moscow in one day? The answer may surprise you! All these cities and more you can see in a city full of replicas, the city of Yoshkar-Ola in the Republic of Mari El 762 kilometers east of Moscow. Yoshkar-Ola caught my attention when in summer a Facebook friend from Kazan posted pictures of her holiday in this small city with pictures of replicas of Moscow’s Savior Tower, Bruges embankment in Belgium and other landmarks that looked straight out of Italy. I instantly looked at a map and found that it was not far from Kazan, so I figured there was no way I could miss it!

My cab

I had two options to get to Yoshkar-Ola, either I could take the twice a week elektrichka (electric commuter train) for only a few dollars or I could hire a taxi for $50. If I were to take the elektrichka it would take around four hours, if I were to take a taxi it’d be about two. Having taken the elektrichka to many different places I knew travel on it was not easy and being that the train only departed twice a week I figured it may be rather crowded and miserable. So I opted to pay $50 and hire a taxi. True it was more expensive, but the price really was not that bad considering it would be a two-hour drive.

So, I logged onto Yandex taxi service and ordered a taxi. This time there was no drama as the driver pulled right up in front of my hotel. He greeted me and repeated the destination address to me. I confirmed saying it was in Yoshkar-Ola. He looked a bit surprised and said “Yoshkar-Ola….really”. I answered yes and he said “let’s go”. The drive north was not too eventful, we stopped for gas once, which gave me a chance to grab a candy bar and pop. It was snowing but unlike in Seattle where a little bit of snow sets people into a full scale panic, in Russia it’s business as usual.

We arrived to Yoshkar-Ola just before 4pm and the sun was already down. I paid and tipped him and dragged my stuff into the hotel. I only had about 24 hours in Yoshkar-Ola so I knew I couldn’t just sit around the hotel and rest. Therefore when I arrived I quickly unpacked my stuff, got back into all my layers and headed out on the town. No way was I going to waste a second here!

Having seen the pictures of all these replicas and since my hotel was in the center I expected everything to be nearby. But nothing was what I expected. I walked out of my hotel and there were just the usual assortment of low-rise buildings mixed in with apartment blocks. I wandered around for about 15 minutes expecting to see something familiar. Where were the row houses, where was the replica Savior Tower? I had google maps and remembered from the pictures and a TV show I saw about it that everything was located on the river. I looked at my map and headed toward the river. I got to the river and still nothing, only an ice hockey/skating arena. I was at a loss. I decided to turn right and sure enough I wound up in the right place.

Savior Tower Yoshkar-Ola

One of the six theaters

Puppet theater

I eventually started walking along the Bruges embankment with its row houses, which looked exactly like what I’d expect from Amsterdam or Belgium. I spent about two hours in the cold and the snow walking around taking in all the sights. The city was amazing, everything was nearly to scale and you’d never know you were in some small town in the middle of the Russian forest. Many of the buildings, especially the Puppet Theater, looked straight out of a fairy tale!! I eventually reached the city’s Savior Tower (The Kremlin’s most famous clock tower) replica. It was incredible! Although it was not quite as big as the real thing its chime was nearly the same. I was shocked at how such a small city could have so much going for it. But replicas were not the only thing unique to this city. Being such a small city of just shy of a quarter million people, you’d think they might have some culture but probably not a lot. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact the city has not one, not two, not three, but SIX different theaters! I always so appreciate Russia’s love of culture. The US could learn a lot from Russia’s intellectual and cultural life.

The next day my goal was to see the replicas in light. And they did not disappoint at all! The amazing thing about the replica row houses that were copied after Bruges embankment was how they were actually occupied. I thought when I first saw them from a distance that they likely were just empty shells, almost like a Hollywood set. But it turns out each one had some type of purpose, many home to different republic ministries and government organizations. I spent hours just walking along the frozen embankment and even enjoyed walking across the river. Who said you can’t walk on water?? It’s always soooo much fun when you can walk across frozen lakes, ponds or rivers.

Bruges Embankment

After walking around the Bruges embankment, I visited the Yoshkar-Ola kremlin. Yoshkar-Ola’s kremlin is one of the youngest checking in at about 100 years old. Much like its bigger cousin in Moscow it is also red. There was no charge to enter and that day there was a farmer’s market of sorts going on inside it. The kremlin was tiny compared to Kazan and especially compared to Moscow. One of the best parts of the Yoshkar Ola Kremlin was being able to walk along a sort of catwalks that hugged the side of the kremlin. 

Inside Yoshkar Ola Kremlin

The donkey and icon

 My next stop would be Nogotkova-Obolenskovo Square next to the Mari El National Art Gallery. The square and building looked something straight out of Italy and had a beautiful clock tower, which every hour on the hour would chime. This was no ordinary chime but the Mari chime and within a few seconds of the chime out comes a small little path with moving figures and a donkey carrying an icon from one end of the clock façade to the other. Quite a cool sight, which always draws a crowd!

My view from the Ferris wheel

I continued my day by walking over to the Park of Culture and Rest a common landmark in every Russian city. And just like nearly every Park of Culture and Rest the one in Yoshkar-Ola had a Ferris wheel. And of course wherever I see a Ferris wheel I have to take a ride. But you’re probably thinking how would a Ferris wheel be working in the middle of winter and in the middle of a snowstorm? Luckily the Ferris wheel had heated compartments so it was business as usual on a Sunday afternoon. From my cabin I could see all of Yoshkar-Ola and all the replicas. It was well worth the several dollar price I paid for the privilege! 

Eventually my ride came to an end and I would set out in search of food. My goal was to reach a café that I learned about on a Russian travel show called “All The Way”. The café was called “Café Sandal” and served traditional Mari food. I was looking forward to trying the puffed up bliny (thin pancakes). I wanted to make it there badly, but I had walked so much and it was so icy! I walked a bit further and passed a McDonald's. No way was I going to go to McD's, but hunger and fatigue got the best of me and I eventually surrendered to the Golden Arches aka McDonald’s. Yes, I was that desperate!!

I regretted my decision the moment I walked in, as the place was an insane mess packed to the gills with children and their parents. I eventually found a place to sit, but a parent eventually came along asking if her kid could sit down at my table. I said yes…..and then the entire family sat down at my table, kind of inadvertently kicking me out. I eventually found a free place all to myself.  

I later tried again to get back to Sandal Café. Although I did not have a lot of time I figured I had just enough time to have a good dinner and get back in time to catch my train. So I brought up Maxim car service and ordered a car to take me to the café and then I waited, waited and waited some more. I waited about 15 minutes until it popped up there were no cars available. I gave up! I guess there must’ve been a reason I didn’t get there or maybe I needed to save up something for next time. Eventually I settled for Russian pelmini (dumplings) at the hotel restaurant, which were fine but not puffed bliny :( !

The view from my room

Having finished up a nice dinner I went upstairs to pack. My bag was overflowing but eventually I got everything packed up. I was all ready to go to the train station to catch my 7pm overnight train to Moscow, all I had to do was go downstairs and check out. Easy…….! WRONG! I walked into the elevator, the door closed and I pushed “L” for Lobby. The elevator was not moving…….hmmmm…I thought, what was going on?

My hotel, Ludoviko Moro

Then a little digital message appeared above that read “elevator not working”. I quickly pushed the open button…..no luck….I pushed the close button……nothing!!! Then I pushed the emergency button and the call button saying I was trapped in the elevator. They responded that help was on the way. Five minutes went by and nothing. Time was ticking, my train left in only a short time. Then ten minutes went by! At this point I was panicked and told them I had a train to make and was worried about missing it. I started thinking out alternative scenarios about what happened if I were to miss my train. I basically came to the conclusion that if I missed my train I was utterly screwed! They assured me help was on the way. Eventually after about 15 minutes (it felt like easily 50) they somehow forced the door open manually. I was relieved, I would make my train after all and my trip would continue without interruption. To say the least my trips are never without drama and today was no exception!

Yoshkar-Ola train station

Russia's Third City

My journey to Kazan, Tatarstan aboard the new double decker train would take just under 12 hours. I was excited as I had been on all types of different trains throughout Russia, but this promised to be a different experience! The train was beautiful and my compartment on the second floor was gorgeous. Since I always travel with a heavy bag and don’t like another person in the cabin I bought out the cabin. Since I had it to myself I put my big suitcase on the other bed. When the stewardess came around to check on me she was a bit irritated that my bag was on the other bed saying that the spot must remain “clean”. After she saw that I’d bought the cabin out she apologized and was fine with my bag wherever it was.

Kazan's Railway Station

I visited Kazan several years earlier but since I never can do things just once, I had to go back and experience it again. Supposedly Kazan had changed some since I was last there in 2011 due to the 2013 Summer Universiade, a summer Olympics type games for university students. So I was looking forward to seeing the change. When I arrived in Kazan it was mid-morning and I was in fair shape having slept most of the night on the train. In order to get to my hotel I decided against using the taxis that were right there at the train station and instead used Yandex taxis and/or the car service Maxim.

I first tried Yandex taxi. I’d used the service before and it was pretty solid. I entered in my destination and pushed send. I waited a while for my taxi but figured everything was fine. Just when I was about ready to call the competition and cancel my order, it popped up on my screen that my taxi had come. Wait what I thought………I looked around for the license plate number and make of the car and I saw nothing. I looked everywhere and no sign of the taxi. Finally I received a call from Yandex saying they were connecting me with the driver. That’s always dangerous for me as the drivers always speak very fast and I have a hard time understanding them. This time was no different as the driver was nearly yelling into the phone asking me questions I could not understand. I explained to him in clear Russian exactly where I was. He said he’d try to find me.

After several calls to clarify exactly where I was he never found me. I tried the next car service, Maxim, and ran into similar problems. It was not as if I was in a remote place, I was standing on the sidewalk nearest the train station. Finally I furiously gave up and decided to take a regular taxi that’d charge me many more times the rate I’d’ve gotten with Yandex or Maxim. It wasn’t that I couldn’t afford a taxi, it was pride and the feeling of not getting ripped off that made me avoid a regular taxi in the first place. But I figured the day was moving fast, so I may as well just eat the cost and my pride and get to my hotel.

To my surprise my hotel was only three blocks from the train station and in all the time I spent wrestling with the car services I could’ve been there. I guess that’ll teach me to do my research! I gave the hotel name to the taxi driver, which was an Italian name, Hotel Giuseppe. He had no clue about the name. I may as well have said Hotel California and maybe I would’ve had as much a chance of getting there. Luckily I had my phone and was able to read him the address.

Finally after a morning of extreme drama and the ordeal of just getting there I was finally in my room! Unlike in Moscow where I put down my stuff and took a nap I was not going to let time slip away from me in yet another city. So after a brief time in my room I set out to see the city. The location of Hotel Giuseppe could not be any better!! It is located only steps away from Kazan’s Kremlin and about two blocks up from the pedestrian shopping street. My first stop would be Kazan’s Kremlin.

 

Kazan's Kremlin

Kremlin or Kremel’ in Russian means fortress so although the most famous kremlin is located in Moscow, there exist dozens more kremlins throughout Russia. Unlike Moscow’s kremlin, which is red, Kazan’s is white, however there was a time back in medieval days when The Kremlin was white. Unlike Moscow’s Kremlin, which costs about $10 to enter, Kazan’s is totally free and easy to get into. It’s not quite as big as its sister in Moscow and maybe not as glamorous but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a lot of things to see.

The first highlight of Kazan’s kremlin is similar to Moscow, a famous clock tower, The Savior Tower. In Moscow The Savior Tower is best known for it chime and how on New Year’s Eve it rings 12 times to usher in the new year. But unlike in Moscow where their tower is red, Kazan’s is white. Once you pass underneath The Savior Tower, two buildings inside the Kremlin really stand out to you, The Annunciation Cathedral and The Qol Sharif Mosque. Both are stunning, but the mosque with its incredible blue and white minarets definitely takes the cake as the more incredible of the two. It is also the newest addition to Kazan’s kremlin having been built in 2005. One of the most incredible facts is that the mosque’s dome was so heavy that it had to be helicoptered in order to complete the mosque. Unlike many landmarks, which are beautiful on the outside and ho hum on the inside, the mosque’s inside does not disappoint, see picture at bottom. The beauty is absolutely incredible and costs nothing to enter. Even better you are free to take photographs wherever you like, which many orthodox churches prohibit. As for The Annunciation Church it is very beautiful but just does not have that wow factor that the mosque does. Besides the mosque and cathedral, the other real highlight inside Kazan Kremlin is what is known as The Leaning Tower of Kazan, Söyembikä Tower, just a few meters beyond the mosque and cathedral. It was built during Ivan The Terrible’s time and along with the mosque serves as the city’s most well known landmark.

Although Kazan is not quite as big as Moscow that does not mean it lacks a lot of the big city amenities Moscow has. One of its best qualities is a fairly new metro built in 2005. The stations are flawless with some beautiful Islamic art. The metro gets you to both of Kazan’s most well known landmarks, the kremlin and its pedestrian shopping street, Baumana Street. The price cannot be beat, about 30 rubles which translates out to about $0.50. For access to Kazan Kremlin from the metro, you need to ride to the end of the line to Kremlyovskaya station. Right outside of the station is a great statue of Kazan’s symbol, the dragon and a wonderful view of the mosque towering above the kremlin, an excellent spot for a photo!

That evening I decided to try something new food wise. I had noticed a Turkish Café on the pedestrian street and my friend from Turkey, Tulay, had always encouraged me to try Turkish food so I figured this would be a good choice. When I walked in I was rather amazed at the interior decorations. Instead of pictures of such famous Turkish landmarks as Istanbul’s Haga Sophia or Blue Mosque or the capital city of Ankara they had pictures of New York City landmarks!! What the hell I thought. Last I checked I was in a Turkish restaurant not an American one. Despite the confusing décor, my meal was delicious, Turkish kebabs with yogurt. To this day I still yearn for good grilled kebab drowned in yogurt. If you want to try some delicious Turkish food, the name of the café is pretty simple to remember, Turkish Café, on Baumana Street about halfway down the pedestrian mall. Prices are reasonable and seating is widely available.

The pedestrian street has some wonderful shops that have a wide array of Russian souvenirs and uniquely Tatar and Muslim like souvenirs. I picked up a small replica of Kazan’s Kremlin Savior Tower and a green prayer rug. I stumbled upon a gigantic huge life size matryoshka doll right outside the store. It was beautiful! I so wished could have bought it, but it was likely not for sale and would be just a bit hard to fit inside my suitcase since it was the size of about half a dozen suitcases. Someday maybe, who knows!

The following day I would visit a rather unusual landmark, The Temple of All Religions about 20 so miles outside of town in a small village. The temple is incredible with a combination of colorful copulas and domes. According to an article on the American news site, The Daily Beast, the eccentric architect and psychic supposedly saw Jesus Christ appear to him on the banks of The Volga. Christ gave him the order to construct this incredible temple and he devoted 20 years of his life to building this stunning landmark. Unfortunately the temple is not open to the public. Supposedly you used to be able to make an appointment to go inside, but appear those days are long gone. So, you will just have to enjoy the view from the outside. I recommend if you want to see the temple to take a taxi from town, which should cost a bit over $10 round-trip. Ask the reception at your hotel for a taxi to The Temple of All Religions or find the address and enter it into Yandex car hire or Maxim car hire.

Another eccentric landmark I hit up on my trip to Kazan was The Kazan Family Center viewpoint. The name sounds benign enough, but the actual building itself looks like a huge and very tall UFO that landed out on a spit of land. It was not exactly central to the city itself so it’d take some planning to get to. I really did not feel in the mood to take a taxi and it looked pretty far to walk so I figured I’d take the Kazan Metro and walk the 15-20 minutes from there.

After taking the metro and walking 15-20 minutes in the cold wintry Kazan weather I finally arrived at my destination. My goal was to go up to the top of the UFO the Family Center to the viewpoint for an excellent look at the city. Last time I was in Kazan this building wasn’t yet constructed, so this would be a new experience. I was excited and looked forward to getting a great view of the city. I arrived and noticed several limos in the parking lot. Then I noticed a bride and groom walking around taking pictures. No big deal I thought. That is until I got inside. There in the lobby area was a huge party going on. I noticed a security guard and asked how I got to the viewing deck. He said it was closed for the wedding! CRAP I thought, I walked all the way here and it is closed for a wedding. WTF! I was quite angry. Not sure why I was surprised, in Russia it seems everything is always difficult. Things are always either closed, forbidden or just impossible. I could’ve retraced my steps back to the metro but I decided I’d use my angry energy to walk the two miles back to town instead.

 

Inside the mosque

Kazan's leaning tower

Kazan is an incredible destination and should be on the top of everyone’s must see list when considering a trip to Russia!!! If you want to go to Kazan, check out the city’s information site at http://kazantravel.ru/en/. I can guarantee, you will not regret your decision to visit Russia’s “third city”.
 

Polar Night

Leningrad Station

My journey north to the Port of Murmansk, home of Russia’s Northern Fleet and north of The Arctic Circle began quite late at night, 12:40am or so to be exact from Moscow. I had once again stayed at The CityHotel in Kazan’ Station like I had a few days before when I was leaving for Kazan, see my entry “Should I Stay or Should I go” for more information about my stay then. However this time my train was departing from across the street in Leningrad Station. This meant I had to lug my bag down the stairs from the hotel into Kazan station, then down into an underpass, back up the underpass stairs and up some more stairs just to get in the door of Leningrad station. No wonder I always come back from these trips a bit trimmer and stronger. Nothing builds up strength like dragging a 20kg + bag through Russia!

One of the many stations along the road to Murmansk

The road to Murmansk was going to be a long one, well over 24 hours by train, but luckily I had bought out the entire cabin, all four places, so the journey would be a lot more pleasant. No way was I going to be stuck with three strangers in a cabin the size of a medium sized coat closet. Plus the amount of luggage I was lugging around, one heavy bag and a backpack, I likely would have needed to sleep on top of my luggage if I somehow wanted to fit into a cabin with three other people.

Early the next morning we arrived at our first major stop, St. Petersburg Ladozhskiy Station, for a record 90-minutes. Normally stops are no more than a half hour or at very max 60 minutes, so I was a bit surprised by the length. Ladozhskiy Station, is the only station in St. Petersburg that is not a terminus meaning trains can go straight through without having to stop. Our time at Ladozhskiy was a welcome one as I was able to get a nice breakfast at a coffee shop and stock up on some groceries before we started our long haul all the way north to Murmansk.

Ready to go north!

There are many things I love about riding the rails in Russia, but it’s probably the journey and all the stations you stop along during that journey. I guess that old saying “it’s not the destination, but the journey” really rings true in this case. Stations along the journey come in all

Kandalashka Station

types of different colors, shapes and sizes. But not all stations are created equally. Some are rather ordinary and bland with nothing more than a boring Soviet like building with a few platforms, whereas others can be masterful pieces of architecture. My favorite station by far on the route to Murmansk has to be Kandalashka station just north of The Arctic Circle. I enjoyed it most due to its beautiful red building that resembles more of a ski chalet than a plain old train station. Even the train stations in the biggest city of them all, Moscow all have very unique features and holds high architectural value.

Murmansk train station

After a very long 36 hours of riding we finally pulled into Murmansk. Although it was cold, the temperatures were not all that frigid considering that we were at 69° north. To put Murmansk’s latitude into perspective the US-Canadian border in my home state of Washington is at 49° north, so I was quite a bit far north. Thanks to the Gulf Stream though Murmansk stays pretty warm during the winter and its waters stay ice-free thus serving as the perfect base for Russia’s Northern Fleet.

When I arrived at around noon I noticed there was not a lot of light, but I assumed that was because it was cloudy plus it’s in the north and there’s not much sun light during the winter anyway. Later on when I got to my hotel I looked up when sunrise and sunset was. I googled “Murmansk sunrise” and it popped up “sunrise January 11^th, 2017”….. WAIT…..what? January 11^th??? No way…I mean I knew we were north but really? Sure enough after doing some more investigation it turns out that the sun had set a few days before I came and will not rise again until January 11^th, which is where the term “Polar Night” comes from. And people back home complain about how “dark” it is during winter! Next time I hear people complain about how “dark” Seattle is during winter, I’ll tell them it could be worse, just consider Murmank, where the the sun is down for an entire month and a half. However, just because the sun never rose did not mean we were without light. Some beams of twilight came through just like what you’d expect before sunrise making for semi-light day, but that wasn’t much, about three hours.  

Murmansk at about 2pm

After recovering from what I like to call “train lag”, the next day I went out to explore. The city was quite small and very compact with not a lot to see. The main drag, Leninsky Prospect or basically Lenin Street stretched for about a kilometer and made up the center. Unlike in Moscow there were no fancy luxury stores or restaurants, not like I need any, just the basics. There was amazingly enough a McDonald’s to which I guiltily admit to eating at. Hell, I was tired and didn’t want to spend a lot of money so I gave in and went across the street to the world’s most northern McDonald’s. Say what you may about McD’s but the food is always reliable and the price can’t be beaten. 

Leninsky Prospect

 My first stop on my three-stop tour would be The Memorial Complex to the Soldiers and Seamen Who Died in Peaceful Time about a mile north of town. This memorial was obviously dedicated to those who served in the navy and to soldiers who died during times of peace and was in the shape of a giant lighthouse. Inside were marble plaques with the words “Forever Memory” inscribed on them with the Russian and the flags of St. Andrew next to each other. The lighthouse structure was a bit odd sitting there in the middle of a Russian neighborhood with giant gray apartment blocks surrounding it. Not exactly the type of place you’d expect to find a lighthouse! But then again Murmansk was not exactly St. Petersburg with grand European architecture and magnificently beautiful palaces! 

Alyosha Monument

The next stop was another somber memorial, Alyosha Monument dedicated to those who died in The Great Patriotic War (aka WWII) defending the Arctic. As I was walking there it suddenly hit me that all the places I was going to see were memorials of some kind or another. Yet, I was not about to sit in the hotel all day and watch TV or surf the Internet. 

***EDITOR'S NOTE: the following text turned out double spaced due to a bug in the program, apologies in advance***

The final stop along my tour of Murmansk would be “The Waiting Woman” statue, likely dedicated to the many women who await their husbands to return from being at sea. There was no formal address to the statue and I couldn’t find it on google maps, but after some real digging I found a website that did provide an address, so I plugged it into google maps and started walking. I kept following the instructions, but eventually came to the address, which was no more than a giant cluster of huge Soviet block apartment houses. I looked and looked and looked some more but never could find it. I eventually gave up and called a cab, as I was way too tired to walk back the three or so miles to town. In hindsight I should’ve asked a local, but I guess I’m just a typical guy……doesn't like to ask for directions!

My next adventure wouldn’t come until the following day when I visited the nuclear icebreaker Lenin. The Lenin had been in service from 1959 until 1989 when it was retired eventually being converted into a museum in 2005. Every day at 12 and 2pm there are guided tours in Russian, so I decided to take the 12pm tour. It was not a long walk from my hotel to the port, after all I could see the port from my room. Unfortunately because I used Google maps to go there by foot it routed me the long way around to the ship through the rail yards of Murmansk and through the port area. It was not exactly a problem, just that there was a much simpler and quicker way.

The Sea Station

I got down to the area with a fair amount of time before they started the tour at noon. When I reached the Sea Station where cruise ships and ferries depart from, a Chinese girl frantically came running up to me and said in English, “do you speak English”. I said yes and she said that she had lost her phone in the snow and could I help her. I said sure and started hunting around in the deep snow. It seemed hopeless, like finding a needle in a haystack, but we kept looking. Eventually I found a small glow on the edge of a snow bank and sure enough it was her phone! She was overjoyed and hugged me.

After finding her phone in the snow we both moved onto join the tour of the Lenin nuclear icebreaker. Along with around a dozen people we stood out in the snow waiting for them to let us on board. Eventually after a good ten minutes of freezing they finally opened. I asked for one ticket in Russian and amazingly enough was given the Russian Federation Citizen rate even though I’m not a citizen. Not sure why as usually they’re pretty strict on who gets the Russian rate and who does not. And even though I speak pretty good Russian my Scandinavian-American looks somehow give me away. 

Our tour began in a giant very official looking conference room with a large wooden table and a nice looking hardwood floor. There we’d be briefed about all the information about the ship and its history. The tour guide described in detail the ship and its long history and gave an overview of what we’d be seeing that day. One of the most interesting facts was that it only took the ship a few days to reach the North Pole. He also told us all about Fidel Castro’s visit aboard the ship many years ago, which was appropriate since Castro had just passed away a few days before. 

Once we finished with the orientation we moved onto look at other parts of the ship. Our first stop was to take a peak down inside the room where they actually used the nuclear material to power the ship. To make it look real they even had some mannequins covered in HAZMAT suits.  Other highlights included looking at living quarters, captain’s quarters (which were quite spacious), the engine room and up to the bridge. 

 
But one part I found the most interesting was the on-board hospital. The hospital was not exactly spacious but had a full operating room and a place for patients to recover. The equipment they used looked fairly ancient even for 1980s standards. The guide told us that the hospital was used not only for those aboard but as a sort of mobile hospital for villages and different missions along the ship’s route. To top things off there was also a whole dental office next door. It really emphasized to me that the ship was like its own self-contained floating village. 

When I arrived in Murmansk the day before I was pretty distraught over the fact that there was nothing to do and I even contemplated flying to Petersburg a day or two early . But after seeing all the monuments, the nuclear icebreaker and having survived a day trip out to the Arctic Ocean I was convinced, Murmansk was a real diamond in the rough and a place I was overjoyed that I had visited. For anyone with a desire to get off the beaten path and see a different sort of place I highly recommend Murmansk!

Murmansk