23 June 2018, Saturday
After an almost 8-hour train ride from St. Petersburg, I arrived at Moscow’s Leningradsky station at 6:42am. From the railway station, I walked to the connecting Metro station, Komsomolskaya, and bought a three-day travel pass for 415 RUB (S$9.65). I thought it would make sense to get the three-day pass because a single ride ticket already costs 55 RUB (S$1.28). Based on this alone, I could already tell that Moscow is more expensive than St. Petersburg, where a single trip costs 45 RUB (S$1.05).
Like Stockholm, some of the Metro stations in Moscow are also beautiful and works of art in their own right. The Komsomolskaya station is one of them. The station platform is flanked by graceful white marble arches. The creamy yellow ceiling has beautiful white decorative motifs and bronze mosaic art patterns. The picture is completed by simple but elegant chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. I missed a couple of trains just to take some photos of the station.
One thing you should know about taking the Metro is that on the platform, the station names are written only in Cyrillic and not in English, so I had difficulty figuring out which platform (the left or the right) is the correct one I should take. I asked random people passing by and thankfully, they were most helpful. One tip is to approach the younger Russians as they are more likely to be able to speak some English, as not all the older folk can do so.
To overcome the problem of recognising the station names that are written in Cyrillic, another useful tip is to take a photo or download an image of the Metro map that contains both the English and Cyrillic station names onto your mobile phone, so you can cross reference the photo any time.
Besides that, the Moscow Metro is actually very easy to use. Like all the other Metro systems in the world, the different lines are colour coded. Where you have to transfer to a different line, just look out for the directional stickers pasted on the ground and signboards overhead to get to the right direction. It’s pretty fool proof. Just note that you have to climb some stairs to get from one line to another. Escalators are only from the platforms to the main entrances and exits.
Speaking of escalators, the Moscow Metro is one of the deepest in the world, along with the ones in Stockholm and St. Petersburg. This means that it takes a long time to ride the escalator from the ground level to the platform level. I didn’t time it, but I think it took around two minutes. However, this is compensated by the high frequency of the trains, which arrive every two minutes. Thus, the trains never feel overcrowded despite the high number of people using them.
From Komsomolskaya, I took the brown Circle line (Line 5) two stops to Novoslobodskaya and changed to the gray Line 9, and alighted one stop later at Tsvetnoy Bulvar. From there, I walked to my accommodation, Godzillas Hostel, arriving at 7:35am.
(Update: Godzillas has since renovated and it is no longer offering dorm rooms)
Godzillas Hostel Moscow
Address: 6 Bolshoi Karetny side-street
Room type: 6-bed dorm room
Price: 9,600 RUB (S$214.12) for 4 nights
Website: https://godzillasrooms.com/
As check-in wasn’t until 2:00pm, I wasn’t able to get my bed yet. However, I asked if I could take a shower and the staff said yes and gave me a towel. I took a nice long shower to freshen up and I felt much better after that, especially since I didn’t sleep well last night on the train as the Brazilian guy was snoring so loudly I had to put on earplugs for once. Thankfully, he disappeared halfway during the train ride (maybe he went to the restaurant car) so the snoring lasted for only half the ride, but it was still an uncomfortable ride due to the cramped space on the upper deck.
After my shower, I deposited my big backpack at the hostel and went out to explore the city. My first mission was to have some breakfast as I was starving. The hostel recommended a 24-hour café nearby called Coffee Haus. I ordered a cup of strong Americano coffee and a cheese & herbs pancake (actually a crepe) for 300 roubles altogether. It wasn’t very filling but it was good enough to boost my energy.
I then took the Metro and alighted at Teatralnaya, one of the stations near Red Square. Along the way, I passed by Nikolskaya Street, which was adorned with rows upon rows of overhanging lights, making it look as if Christmas was around the corner. This is a premiere shopping street and Moscow’s most famous department store, GUM, is located here.
After a short while, I caught sight of a striking red building, the State Historical Museum. Due to the FIFA World Cup, Red Square was being barricaded and there were security checks in order to enter. After the checks, I walked past the State Historical Museum and into Red Square itself. To my right was the Kremlin and not too far ahead was the iconic St. Basil’s Cathedral. There were some World Cup festivities occupying the left side of the square but that did not diminish the wonder of seeing the two Moscow landmarks in the flesh. Being in Red Square was one of those “OMG-I-can’t-believe-I’m-here moments” and it took a while for me to fully absorb it.
When I arrived Red Square at 9:20am, it was still relatively quiet but I could already see the crowds coming in. I decided to start queuing for tickets to enter St. Basil’s Cathedral, which opens at 10:00am. When I joined the queue at 9:35am, I was the 10th person in line, which was great.
St. Basil’s Cathedral was constructed between 1555 and 1561 by the order of Russian tsar Ivan IV, more commonly known as Ivan the Terrible. It was built to celebrate the defeat of Kazan in 1552. It is considered to be Moscow’s most iconic landmark. The cathedral is shaped like a bonfire rising into the sky, a building that has no parallel in Russia.
Admission to St. Basil’s Cathedral normally costs 1,000 RUB (S$23.26) but holders of a FIFA Fan ID are entitled a discounted rate of 700 RUB (S$16.28). I felt it was still quite expensive, considering that entry to the Church of Savior on the Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg costs only 250 RUB (S$5.81). At 10:00am, the doors opened and I entered excitedly.
St. Basil’s Cathedral was not what I was expecting at all. Instead of a big main hall with high ceilings and natural light streaming in, I walked into a dimly lit building with many small chambers leading from one to the other, like a maze. The chambers contained exhibits and artefacts (it is now a museum) and there was no sign of a church anywhere. The other visitors looked as lost as I was. After walking around the chambers a few times, I finally found a narrow staircase that led to an upper floor.
When I reached the second floor, I realised that St. Basil’s Cathedral actually comprises of several small churches within the building. The biggest one, the Church of the Intercession, was in the centre, with eight other smaller ones surrounding it. The churches were all quite similar, with a large multi-tiered altar as the centrepiece, beautifully-painted murals and decorative elements on the walls and a high spire topped by an “onion bulb” (as seen from the outside of the cathedral).
As I was one of the first few to enter, I had the luxury of time and space to take as many photographs as I wished. There isn’t a lot of room inside so that is why they have to control the queue and restrict the number of people entering the cathedral. I can imagine the queue moving quite slowly as a result. By the time I was done with my visit at 10:45am, I saw that a long line had formed around the cathedral waiting to enter, so it was good that I came early.
I lingered at Red Square for a while to soak up the atmosphere. The crowds were out in full force now. Many people were dressed in their national football jerseys and had their flags draped over their shoulders like a cape. People were taking photos with each other and everyone was in a celebratory mood. Football really brings people together.
After that, I popped in to GUM for a look but it consisted of all high-end shops so I was out in a jiffy. I then took the Metro to the FIFA Venue Ticketing Centre near Dobryninskaya station to collect my match tickets. I felt quite relieved when I finally held the two match tickets in my hand.
For the record, I had purchased tickets to the Denmark vs France match at Moscow Luzhniki Stadium on 26 June 2018 (Category 3, US$105/S$142.53) and the Switzerland vs Costa Rica match at Nizhny Novgorod Stadium on 27 June 2018 (Category 3, US$165/S$223.98). I was lucky that I successfully balloted for both matches and got them.
I think it helped that these matches were indicated as “Medium” and “Low” demand on the FIFA website during the balloting process. I intentionally picked these two matches so that I had a higher chance of getting them, as compared to the “High” demand matches involving the favourites such as Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Germany or England.
After a quick meal at McDonald’s, I headed back to Godzillas Hostel for a rest as I was still feeling very tired. After a short nap, I had dinner nearby at a restaurant called Grabli, as recommended by the hostel staff. Like the Marketplace in St. Petersburg, Grabli is a Marché-style canteen with many dishes on offer and you can pick any item you want. I ordered a pork cutlet with cheese topping, mushrooms, potatoes and a bowl of soup and it cost 542 RUB (S$12.60).
I then decided to go to the FIFA Fan Fest to check it out. Unlike the one in St. Petersburg, which was located in the city centre right beside the Church of Savior on the Spilled Blood, the Fan Fest in Moscow was located quite far away. After alighting at the Universitet Metro station, it was a long, 30-minute walk to the entrance of the Fan Fest.
As I kept walking, I wondered how far more there was to go. I was getting bored and I saw a Russian guy who was also alone so I decided to talk to him. His name was Viktor and he spoke some English. So we walked and we talked and the journey to the Fan Fest became much more interesting as a result.
The Fan Fest in Moscow was HUGE and now I understood why they had to locate it further away from the city centre, because they needed a big space that could accommodate maybe 25,000 people or more. There were many big screens all over the place and of course, many food and drink stalls conveniently located within a short walk to satisfy the fans’ thirst for beer. There was also a super-sized official fan shop that sold the largest range of World Cup and team merchandise. The atmosphere was excellent.
Viktor was meeting some friends here and he invited me to join them. It took a while for him to locate his friends because of the enormity of the venue. Eventually we found them, and Viktor introduced me to Katia and her 4-year-old daughter, and Katia’s sister. They were all very warm and friendly and made me feel very welcome. However, Viktor and friends did not stay long at the Fan Fest as they were adjourning to a pub in the city centre to watch the upcoming match.
They asked if I would like to join them there and I deliberated for a long time. Eventually, I decided to remain at the Fan Fest because of the effort to get here, and also because I wanted to soak up the atmosphere here. I regretfully turned down their kind invitation for now, but we exchanged numbers and said we would keep in touch and maybe meet up again after the match.
As I walked around the Fan Fest, it was clear that everyone was having a good time. There was a DJ spinning music on the main stage and people were dancing. Others were showing their tricks and skills with a football and random people were taking photos with each other. The energy was infectious. I had a couple of beers, mainly to collect the plastic cups so that I could bring them home as souvenirs.
At 9:00pm, the match between Germany and Sweden started and I sat down on the ground (which was covered by a mat) to watch it on the big screen. There are many places to watch the World Cup on TV but the Fan Fest is the best place to do so. It was just more fun watching it with 25,000 other people, cheering and groaning every time a team scored or missed an easy opportunity.
As the match entered extra time, I decided to make a move before the Metro train got crowded. When I left the venue, the score was still 1-1. Moments after I stepped out, I heard a huge roar and I knew that Germany must have scored. Dang, I shouldn’t have left early! This World Cup has been full of late goals and I should have known better.
As I was quite tired, I decided to go back to the hostel to rest. I texted Viktor to let him know that I wouldn’t be joining them tonight. He later texted me back and invited me to join him at Tsaratsyno Park tomorrow, where a huge festival would be taking place to celebrate International Yoga Day.
I had earlier bookmarked Tsaratsyno Park as one of the places to visit in Moscow, so I didn’t mind going there. And yoga sounded good, after all the beers I’ve had the past few days. I felt like I needed to “detox” a little and spend some time in nature, so I accepted his invitation. I have a few days to spare in Moscow and I was planning to keep it light and relaxed, so this was perfect. That’s tomorrow’s programme sorted out then!