INTRO TO MOSCOW

RussiaMoscow

Apr 2

Disclaimer: This post mostly focuses on how we decided on Moscow, our flight and a summary of how and what we did.

In our post “Moscow, a bucket list destination” we will go into greater detail, with all the photos.

The decision.

Ever since we have moved to the UAE, holiday planning using public holidays has become quite a challenge because they are only confirmed and announced on short notice. On Thursday 31st October ’19, the announcement came through that we are facing a long weekend at the start of December. If we took an additional two days’ leave with that we have a week available for a getaway.

This left us with the all-important decision… Where do we go?

Our criteria:

No visa needed – We’re South African thus Visa on arrival.
Not more than 6 hours of flight time – Flight time 5h 30min.
Affordable flight, accommodation, etc. – Flydubai & Airbnb.

This led us to only one place. MOSCOW (in the winter), HERE WE COME!!!

Flight to Moscow.

I always try to state the good and the bad of any trip. The bad for us on this trip was our flight to Moscow. With a chance of sounding like a spoiled little brat that usually flies with upmarket airlines like Emirates, we were not fully prepared for this challenging flight. It was the small things that got to us.

The seats were smaller, closer and more uncomfortable than usual.
The seat in front of you had no pocket to put some of your belongings.
The food (which we rarely eat) was included in the ticket price but have to buy your drinks.
Last but not least, T had a Russian Granny in front of him that just could not get settled in. The restless granny thus ensured that my poor husband had a constant metal stab in his knee every few seconds.

On our trip back, we paid the extra fee and sat in the first emergency row. We also went prepared with our own drinks and snacks. This was a completely different experience. Our conclusion and bottom line, if you want to fly with low-cost airlines, be prepared to pay a bit extra to make it more comfortable.

Domesticated side of things.

Just a quick side note.

This trip was a little different. Usually, we would spend only about 3 nights on a spot and then move on. In Moscow, we would stay at the same place for an entire week. This turned out to be one of our best decisions.

We can use the first day to find our feet and catch up on some much-needed sleep since we had a scavenger hunt for our apartment at four in the morning in sub-zero temperatures.
We had the opportunity to settle in, go grocery shopping (aways an adventure on its own with google translate), and could do daily laundry.
Daylight is a lot less than what we are used to, which shortens your day quite a bit.
- Add to that the amount of time you need to kit up for the weather, another chunk of your day has disappeared.

Moscow by train & foot.

This trip was kinda short notice (as mentioned above) which meant I couldn’t do nearly as much planning as I’m used to. Instead, we opted for a private tour with Julia.

She met up with us at our apartment. She bought us our Troika card, and off we went. Apart from using the underground a lot, we walked about 17km on this day tour of Moscow. We soon came to realize, this was the norm since we averaged between 10 and 18 km a day from thereon. For us living in a warmer climate and used to flipflops, our newly bought cold-proof boots were a bit harsh on our feet, to say the least.

Our day with Julia.

This was Moscow in a nutshell. If you ever just pass trough and only have one day, this is definitely the way to go. For us, this was a starting point and index for the rest of our week.

Our minds were overloaded and amazed by all the information she gave us and her passion for the city definitely showed.

Our to-go list for the day consisted out of: