Moscow, October 2018

What do you really know about Russia? – the infrastructure, the buildings, the culture and the language – it is a world by its own. I was very fortunate an opportunity to visit Moscow came up with work. The global engineering firm I was working for had a competition where 14 engineers from four offices in the country would get the chance to make a study visit to Moscow. To get this opportunity the applicant had to write about a building that was built in the 20 centuries and explain why it inspired you. I wrote about one of the seven wonders of Russia. Then three directors picked the lucky winners.

To get a Russian visa is a whole other story.  I had to visit the Russian embassy with my passport, a postal order of €70, a note from my residency stay in Moscow, evidence of my residency in the current country, a form from the embassy that I had to fill, print and attach a photo and proof of insurance. I thought I could pay for the visa in the embassy, but no I had to find a postal office and pay for a postal order. I had to hand over all the papers including my passport and come back when it was ready to be collected. The Russian embassy was quite hard to get to.

Day 1 – Wednesday – Moscow

Nine of us decided to travel to Moscow two days before the study visit. Since we were a big group it was hard to book everyone in just one hostel. Therefore Mari, Pally, Con and I stayed at Hostel77 and Sandy, Caty, Dan, Cony and Ken stayed in Friend House. 

There was an urgent medical issue with one of the travelers in the plane that was about lift off, hence the plane didn’t know if they should lift off or turn back. There was only one lane for the lift off, hence the rest of the planes were also delayed. We had a connection flight from Frankfurt, but missed it since it was one and a half hours delay. When we arrived at Frankfurt airport there was a big promotion of the October fest. Lufthansa rebooked us with the next flight to Moscow and compensated us with €10 for a warm meal.

We arrived late at Moscow Domodedovo Airport and Sandy, the Lithuanian girl that could speak Russian, talked to a cab company at the airport. We were then showed to two taxi drivers outside the airport. We split into two groups and one of the taxi drivers took us to our hostel. The taxi driver was listening to some Russian trans music – I have never heard that type of music before, but it had a nice beat to it. We were let off at what seemed to be a dodgy, dark alley and after a few rounds in the dark, we finally found the dodgy, hidden hostel.

We packed up and changed cloths when we received a text from the other group saying they wanted to meet at the Starlite Diner for some burgers. We went over and found ourselves entering a 70s diner. We couldn’t find the others and decided to take a booth and some of the group members started ordering food. Con took note to how you could order Guinness in a bottle and that it was twice the Irish prices. We got another text from the other group saying they were in the diner and some had already gotten their food. Con took a tour in the diner and found them sitting at the very back. We switched seats and joined their table. I ended up ordering the Elvis burger. It was far the best burger I have ever tasted in my life. All the combinations in the burger worked and after every bite I found myself drooling for more. We went to the kiosk next to the diner to buy water and snacks and then went back to the hostel.

Day 2 – Thursday– Moscow

We ended up going to a supermarket down the road – the supermarket had some nice, expensive alcohol and in general looked very organized and vintage. I tried to find a place to have breakfast and was recommended a place called Café Pushkin – let’s just say you had to know some people to be allowed to get in. We went over but never entered because it looked suspicious. We turned back, because we passed by a cozy restaurant called Varenichnaya and decided to have breakfast there instead. We got some color pens to color the drawing on the table, while we were waiting for our food. It didn’t take long until we received our food, we were the only once in the restaurant. The food wasn’t bad for the price that we had to pay. It took a bit longer to get the bill.

We strolled around the city and found a Christmas market with cheerful music and a variety of food stands. We met the other group just outside the Lenin’s Mausoleum and decided to visit the mall to take out cash and then decided to buy the pumpkin ice cream. Pumpkin seemed to be a big thing in Russia. We then went to red square and bought a ticket to St Basils Cathedral. The interior was as mesmerizing as the outdoor architecture. At the very top floor, there was a choir that would sing amazingly every ten minutes. We decided to continue our journey to Gorky Park to see the music fountain. The boys wanted to buy some beer for the park, we went to a supermarket and bought some drinks and snacks. We came across some other nice parks and architecture on our way to Gorky Park. We found a statue of a pirate, churches, bridges and parks. There were plenty of guards surrounding the parks, we were not allowed to enter the parks with drinks. The boys drank their beer and we finally got to enter Gorky Park. We had to walk for a while until we saw the music fountain and it was even lit in the dark. Sandy and I bought some candy-floss from a candy stand that was close by and we just sat there listening to the music and observing the fountain.

Pally had left earlier to meet up with some of his friends, since he was working in Russia before and made some friends during his stay. He recommended us to get dinner at any of the restaurants in the street at the rear of Bolshoi. We found a food court with a variety of food choices. Mari and I ended up ordering something Lebanese. After having finished our food a man comes up to our table and tells us that we must leave immediately. We looked at our watches and I thought that maybe everything closes at seven o’clock. However, nobody was leaving and we asked him why we had to leave and he told us that there was a risk for an explosion. Next thing you see people start heading to the exist. Sandy and Caty came back saying they weren’t allowed to buy any dessert. The building was evacuated, but everyone including us decided to sit on a bench just a couple of meters from the building.

We took the metro back to the city and tried to find somewhere to keep ourselves warm. We found a place called hidden bar. To our happy surprise it was an underground bar with live jazz performance and strong cocktails. The live performance finished at eleven, by that time we had talked to some people at the bar and was recommended to visit Mendeleev Bar, a noodle bar with a hidden underground club. We went around the corner and found the noodle joint, next to the cashier were two security guards and behind them was a curtain. They did a security-search on the boys and then opened the curtain. We took stairs down and found a dark thrilling club with loud music. It was hard to find seats but we eventually did find some seats close to the restrooms. We ended up staying there just before three and then went up to order some noodles.

Day 3 – Friday –  Moscow

Mari, Pally, Cony and I had “a cop of pleasure and flirt” in the hostel, tea sorts in Moscow. We then moved our belongings from the hostel to Hotel Novotel, near Kievskaya metro station.

Before heading to the Hotel to meet the others, we went to another Starlite restaurant just across our hostel, to have brunch. I ordered some pancakes and an egg omelet. The waiter was in shock when I ordered two menus – he kept asking if it was only for me. I started wondering how big the dishes were. To my surprise I got two large plates with pancakes and omelets – I now understood why he was in stunned. Anyway, my goal was to finish everything. They didn’t have any butter which for me was a major disappointment – I like my pancakes with some butter and syrup. I can happily say I finished everything that was on the plates. The omelet went down easy because well it is a mix of egg with good stuff. I had a bit of struggle with the pancakes because it was too fluffy and dry. Mari and I shared a room, we were so exhausted from last night and took a nap, I then went to have a swim. There was literally nobody in the swimming area except from me.

We meet the others in the lobby and went in to town. We were to meet a group of engineers from the Irish, Polish, Russian and Turkish office in the red square. The red square is massive, it can probably fit millions of people. It was hard to find everyone – we didn’t really know how everyone looked and didn’t have a sign or flag for recognition. The red square is like a new sight in the dark, it is mesmerizing to see the ginger bread buildings lit in the dark. Each engineer was given a building to present, in today’s tour the following buildings were presented: State Historical Museum, Lenin’s Mausoleum, GUM department store, St Basils Cathedral, Kremlin, Grand Kremlin Palace, Ivan the Great’s Bell Tower, Iberian Gate and Chapel and Bolshoi Theatre. Some of the presenters didn’t show up, but we improvised by having someone in the group read what they had written.

We had to split into smaller groups for dinner, since we were around 25 people. Mari, Cony, Con, Sandy, Caty, Ken and one of the Russians went to an Italian restaurant called Trattoria Venezia for some nice Italian food. Apparently, it was the Russian guys favorite Italian restaurant in Moscow. We ordered some table wine to our food. The waiter was nice and the food was amazing so we stayed for some desert and more drinks. By that time Sandy, Caty, Ken and the Russian guy had left to meet the others in a pub and Dan had turned up in the restaurant and joined us for a Russian shot. Just across the road was a Russian restaurant called Lepim | Varim and they had a sign stating they served “young and beautiful Russian food”. 

We headed to the metro station to meet the others. They were in a hurry, but I didn’t see the reason in rushing. Next thing I know they were two blocks ahead of me and I was walking alone. A black car started to slow down and drove along my side.  The driver said something in Russian, but I ignored him and continued walking. He continued speaking in Russian, I told him I couldn’t speak Russian. He drove a bit further and stopped the car, I passed by and continued ignoring him, he then accelerated the car. Fortunately, I found the others waiting for me just outside the metro station, they were shouting and waving at me to come over – it was hard to see them in the dark.

We meet the others in a busy, loud pub with two floors. I found myself talking to Mari, Ken and one of the Russian boys. To be honest it felt we were talking for ages and after a while I got to tired and headed back to the hotel. I found our lost Russian guide Serge at the metro station. He joined us on the trip to act as our translator and guide, but he never showed up during our tour. He was drunk and said he thought the trip was badly organized, hence he decided to meet his friends instead. We arrived at the hotel and the receptionist didn’t want to let Serge check in. The receptionist wanted Serge’s passport in Russian and not in English. I told the receptionist that Serge was travelling with our company and that I could vouch for him. He was then allowed to check in.

Day 4 – Saturday –  Moscow

I woke up and went for an early swim, this time it was one more person in the swimming area. I then went to the sauna. A man entered the sauna shortly after me and he initiated a conversation. He was a psychologist who apparently was flown in to Russia to help famous sportsmen to overcome their fear and anxiety. His questions were quite odd – he asked me if I feared anything in life. He had a very calm appearance, it almost felt like I had a session with him. To be honest it felt strange to sit there and be analyzed by a stranger. I went back to my room to change and then had breakfast with Mari. 

We meet most of the group in the lobby waiting to go for the next study tour. Apparently, a number of people didn’t get back until late night and weren’t responding to any texts or calls. We headed in to the metro station. Today’s tour was going to be about the Russian infrastructure. We visited the following stations and buildings: Kievskaya Train Station, Mayakovskaya Metro Station, Rusakov Workers Club, Komsomolskaya metro, Red gate and Tsentrosoyuz building. The metro stations were built as a palace for the people.

For lunch, we went to a Russian pub called Glavpivtrest - it was reserved for us. The interior was like a cabin in the woods. I ordered some dumplings and the food was amazing. We then continued our tour and saw the following buildings: Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, TACC, The Pertsov building, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Melnikov House and Narkomzem building. We met the rest of the group that drank one to many at Melnikov House.

Dinner was reserved at Odessa mama, we had placed a three-course order beforehand. We were divided into two tables. The waiters kept brining dishes but not in the order, they brought the starter and main all at once. It became a bit messy, nobody seemed to know what they had ordered and on top of that they had made wrong in serving chicken instead of turkey. After the mess we got our dessert, it was the same story with serving the desert. We ordered some table wine and got Russian snaps to the dessert. Over all the food explanted and the atmosphere was perfect. It even was someone’s birthday and the staff went to the extreme length in turning off the lights.

We decided to head into town – to be specific we wanted to go back to the noodle bar. Someone suggested we would divide into smaller groups, because they probably wouldn’t let us in if we were a bigger group. We arrived at the noodle bar and the security guards were harder this time. He starred at our faces and then did a security-check on the boys and then would let us in. The other group wasn’t as fortunate as us, they weren’t allowed in. Hence, we decided to have one drink and then meet them at another bar of their picking. One of the Russian girls in our group sat next to me and initiated a conversation. She kept saying how beautiful I was and was asking how the guys from my home country was. She was saying how in Russia there are more girls than men, hence it was hard for women to find a good man. The Russian men had the option to pick and hence the Russian women would go to the extreme length in trying to look perfect. Then we met the others in the other bar, it wasn’t as nice and busy as the noodle bar and most of the customers looked depressed, but at least we were all together in one place.

Day 5 – Sunday–  Moscow

We packed our bags and checked out, but left our bags in the hotel’s storage room. We went in to red square and bought a ticket to enter Kremlin. We were met by beautiful orthodox churches, where the towers were made of gold. I was mesmerized how the churches were beautifully design both inside and outside that I lost track of where everyone where. We met at back at the hotel and had to rush to the train to take us to the airport. I lost track of everyone again and found myself finding my way to the fast train where I met them. Fortunately, we made it to our flight but the connection flight was delayed again.