Day 37: Red Square, Moscow, Russia

Saturday, October 22, 2016

The train ride from Vladimir to Moscow is a quick two hours. As soon as I arrived at Fasol Hostel I noticed that there would be a free guided tour of the world-famous Red Square, leaving shortly at 11:00 a.m. I hurried to drop my bags on my bunk and join the group. Turns out, I was the only one who signed up, so I got a private tour with the amazing Rossana, an Italian world traveler who is fluent in Italian, Russian, English and a few other languages.

From the Moscow train station, the metro is a short walk away. First I had to figure out the ticket vending machine, then it took me two tries to get on the right Metro train to Sretensky Bulvar in the Basmanny neighborhood, just two stops away. By the way, there are guided tours of the most beautiful metro stations in Moscow.

With a little help from a friendly mom, I found Arkhangelsky Pereulok, but not the exact address, 11/16 Bldg. 3. No sign either. I asked another nice English-speaking woman for help. She buzzed a nearby hostel, and found out that FaSol is in back, through an archway. Someone told me it's illegal for Russian hostels to post signs on the street. I don't know why, but it explains why it's so difficult to find hostels in Russia.

Molte grazie to my new Italian friend Rossana, a volunteer guide at Fasol Hostel. I got lucky and spent two afternoons exploring Moscow with her, before she moved into an apartment. Now the hostel has a new volunteer guide, but he or she couldn't be as wonderful as Rossana.

The walk from the hostel to Red Square is pleasant and takes maybe 20 minutes. Like Fasol's ad says, you feel like a local living in the Basmanny neighborhood.

As I've explained in an earlier post, those letters are not the name of a fraternity. It spells Cafe in Russian.

All around the world, cities are setting up bike-share programs. Unfortunately, it's not usually possible for tourists to rent the bikes because you have to become a member first. The beauty of the program is you don't have to return the bike to its original location. Any bike station will do.

Entering the historic center of Moscow is a treat for architecture buffs like me.

Another great example of historic architecture. Almost Venetian in style.

This friendly, smiley woman wants me to pose for a picture with her and give a generous tip. The guy in the brown coat has the same intention. Similar costumed people are milling around all the most famous sights. Same thing in Hollywood, Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, Beijing, all around the world.

The Kazan Cathedral was originally built on the square in the 17th Century and demolished by the Soviets in 1936. Miraculously, blue prints of the building survived so that it could be rebuilt in 1990 after the fall of the USSR.

An inside detail of the Kazan Cathedral.

Moscow's State Historical Museum on Red Square. Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to go inside.

The line to Lenin's Masoleum wasn't very long this time of year, although I've heard that in summer it can take an hour or more.

No photos are permitted inside Lenin's Masoleum, and there are plenty of guards and soldiers to make sure you don't. However, if you google it, plenty of images come up. Like Rossana said, Lenin looks like he made a trip to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. Some Russians feel it's time to bury Lenin's body, but Vladimir Putin is hesitant to do it. I found an interesting YouTube video, made as a school project, about the preservation of Lenin's body.

That's century-old GUM Department Store (Glavniy Universalniy Magazinon) on the left and St. Basil's Cathedral on the right.

A closer look at the story-book St. Basil's Cathedral. I couldn't confirm it online, but Rossana told me it was designed by an Italian architect. After its completion, Ivan the Terrible asked him if he thought he could build an even more beautiful cathedral, to which the Italian said "Si." So Ivan had the architect's eyes gouged out so that no cathedral more beautiful could ever be built.

School kids on a field trip to Red Square. Since the USSR ended in 1990, this area and most of the buildings around it, have been added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. The Kremlin is right next door.

Some kind of construction going on at Red Square. It reminded me of the Jewish priests climbing the scaffolding in the classic 1973 film "Jesus Christ Superstar."

I look Russian, right? This is the first country where people keep coming up to me and speaking a language I don't understand at all. They often look confused or annoyed when I can't answer. Actually, my grandparents on my mother's side had roots in Kiev, so it makes sense.

After the tour, I invited Rossana to lunch. She picked out the perfect place, kind of cafeteria style so I got to pick out a few small Russian dishes and sample them. Yum! I love beets and cabbage and so do the Russians. Then I went to the Central Children's Store, built in 1957, the year of my birth, that specializes in children's stores. 

The children's mall had a little photo booth, so of course I had to try it out.

A family of tourists posed for their picture. I'm guessing they're from one of the "-istans" like Uzbekistan or Kazakhstan.

I found a nice pedestrian zone. I think it was Stoleshnikov Lane, but not sure.

If you read Russian you probably know the name of these two gentlemen in the pedestrian zone.

GUM Department Store as night approaches. Time for me to find my way back to the warm and friendly hostel.

Back home, Rossana asked me to pose with props for a little photo project she was working on for the hostel.

I was amazed to learn that Fasol Hostel has only been open since December 2015. They're very organized with electronic keys, rooms with individual plugs and reading lights, a nice big communal kitchen and plenty of bathrooms and shower rooms, complete with shampoo and soap. In fact, most of the Russian hostels have been amazing and reasonably priced. I wish it was that easy to backpack around the U.S.