In the summer of 2018, Russia hosted one of the, if not the biggest, events in the world. Thirty two nations came together to fight for the title of the world champions in soccer, or football. It had been eight long years of waiting, as the announcement of the host country was made back in 2010. But finally, the moment that the whole world was waiting for has come and people from all over the globe flooded the host cities in Russia to participate in the action. From Brazil to Japan, Australia to Portugal, Morocco to Mexico, fans flooded the streets of Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities to watch their national teams battle for the crown. I was lucky enough to be in Russia during the world cup and attend the games in Moscow and Kazan. In today's blog post, I want to share some of the photos that I took during the trip to share some of the atmosphere in the city, as well as, show you one of the major cities that hosted this year's world cup.
When I think of Moscow, I think of the beautiful architecture that can be found around the city. Moscow is a good example of a city that combines old and new within one city. In Moscow, you can see highrises next to the buildings from the 18th century and it would look organic. The main attraction in Moscow is obviously Kremlin and the Red Square. Red Square is considered to be the city center and its history is dating back to 15th century. If you make your way to the square and then walk within a two mile radius, you will find a lot of different places that are worth visiting. There is a promenade by the Moskva River, a newly built park called "Zaryadye", a garden by the Kremlin that is open to public, Nikolskaya street which became the main street during the world cup and attracted thousands of fans, and many other places that are too numerous to list.
The architectural beauty, however, is not confined to just a center of Moscow. The Russian capital has numerous spots around the city which are worth visiting. You have an exhibition park complex called VDNH north-east of the city, an observation deck called "Sparrow Hills" that offers you a beautiful view of the Luzhniki stadium that hosted the world cup final and one of the most prestigious universities in the country, Moscow State University. Due to my busy schedule (attending world cup games takes time, you know), I can only show you the fraction of what Moscow has to offer. However, Moscow is a good example of a city that can offer something to people interested in different things. If you are an outdoor enthusiast, there are numerous parks to visit. If you enjoy night life, you can go to hundreds of different bars and clubs which are within the walking distance of each other. If you like architecture, then there is definitely a lot you can see in even a short period of time.
One topic that deserves a separate spot in my post is the Moscow subway, or what we call Metro. It first opened back in 1935 and is still growing. Every year there are stations being added to the already huge system of underground railroad tracks. What is unique about Moscow metro is the fact that every station looks different from one another. There is not a single station that would look identical to the other and each station has its own personality and a story. Given that majority of the stations were built back in the Soviet era, most of the stations feature some sort of a Soviet or a Communist propaganda and decor. New stations that were built recently feature a more modern design that includes glass and metals, rather than marble. Below are photos of just few stations that I took during my trip.
Another fun fact about Moscow metro stations is that some of them have very cool traditions and anecdotes. For example, when you are going towards the center of the city, the voice that is announcing the upcoming stations is male. However, if you are moving away from the city center, then the announcing voice is female. On one of the stations in Moscow metro, there is a statue of a dog (picture below). It is considered to be good luck to rub its nose, so everyone who passes by can't keep himself from doing that! There are many stories and rumors, some are true and some are not, that surround Moscow metro. Therefore Moscow metro is rightfully considered an art object and is a must-see attraction if you are in the city!
Besides the traditional architecture that is found around Moscow, which includes pre-Soviet and Soviet style, there is a district in Moscow which looks like it came straight from the future. I am talking about the "Moscow City" complex located within the city limits and which features skyscrapers of different forms and shapes. The project started back in the early 1990s and was designed to be a business center that would attract different businesses and companies from across the world. The project is not complete as of today, however, there are already a lot of buildings that have been built. One funny fact is that "Moscow City" was proposed as a site to build the Trump Tower in Moscow.
Even though there are already some buildings that have been completed, most of them stand half empty as rent and upkeep is pretty high. The high costs of maintenance do not attract businesses and residents, therefore, the complex had not lived up to expectations just yet. One of the ideas that might be implemented is to move all of the government services and agencies to the area and occupy the buildings with the government agencies. While this might not happen, the idea actually makes sense as it would help with filling in the empty office spaces and bring all of the different agencies within the walking distance. As of right now, however, "Moscow City" is just a cool spot in the city to visit and enjoy some of the modern architecture.
One of the things that I enjoy about Moscow is the fact that there are numerous parks around the city where you can go for a walk and spend an afternoon or an evening in. You have a wide variety of these parks, as some of them are large and offer entertainment, such as different rides and cafes, while others are just parks in the true sense of the word and there is nothing besides the beautiful nature. I tried to get the most of my trips and offered my friends to meet up at the parks instead of cafes or restaurants because it offered me an opportunity to see how these parks have changed since the last time I have been there or to see something new. I can tell you that there are a lot of beautiful parks and public places in Moscow that I have not seen and in the grand scheme of things I have seen very little. However, I have captured some of the places I have visited while on my trip and hope you can enjoy them through my photos.
The final topic that I wanted to talk about in my blog post is not something that is unique to Moscow as I have heard other cities do the same, however, that is something that I have experienced for the first time while in Moscow. During my trip I had a pleasure of visiting what is called a "cat cafe". This is a cafe that serves nothing but regular black coffee, tea and some small snacks such as crackers or waffles. The main attraction are the cats that become your buddies while you are there. The cafe I visited was decorated to represent a regular apartment. You had the kitchen area, a living room area and some other small rooms that had tables and chairs to sit on. While you are at this cafe, you pay an hourly fee and get access to the snacks and beverages which you can eat and drink in whatever quantities. I chatted with an owner of the cafe for a little and he told me that they take in cats that have been abandoned and left on the streets or cats from families that can no longer provide for them and give these cats food and shelter. There were approximately 25 cats in the cafe I visited and all of them have been rescued by the cafe owners.
The moment I grabbed some coffee and sat down at the table I got my first visitor. It was a pretty interesting experience as these cats definitely had unique personalities as the one that came to me from the beginning was very open to being petted and jumped on my lap almost immediately. Some other cats did not even bother to move their heads towards me as I was walking around as to show me that they did not care about me one bit. One of them even started to playfully (or maybe not) scratch my hand as I tried to pet him before getting up and moving to another side of the room! It was definitely a lot of fun to be at that cafe and get to know the people who run it and the cats that were there. The owner told me that all of the cats in the cafe are open for adoption and that some of the frequent visitors adopt some of the cats that they like the most. I thought that this cafe was an amazing idea and that the money raised by the owners goes towards a really good deed. I actually got in touch with the cafe recently to send them the photos I took and they told me that all of the cats on the photos have been adopted! It is nice to know that these beautiful cats found families that would love and care for them.
Clearly the photos above have not captured even a fraction of the things that are there to see in Moscow. I hope that you enjoyed reading about this beautiful city and some of the attractions and sight-seeing destinations. I think the world cup was a good event that brought a lot of tourists to the country and the local residents embraced the tourists and the people who came to visit. Hospitality is an important part of the Russian culture and while it might seem that Russians are generally cold and distant, once you get to know the people, you will understand that it is not the case. I hope you get to see and experience Moscow at some point in your life!
