Moscow Stories and Tips

Quote: Before we left, my mum organised a 'Bring & Buy' sale to raise funds for the trip. The idea was to sell enough junk to pay for our Trans-Siberian railway tickets. Friends and family gave vast quantities of goods for sale at the event, displaying…

Quote: The train was just like any other and the cabin pretty standard, but somehow, to both of us, it was the most exciting place in the world. Grinning so much that my cheeks ached, I had the distinct feeling that our journey was officially underway.…

Quote: Following Thom’s lead, I had decided to get a haircut—a shaved head, no less. Our Rough Guide listed a place with English-speaking staff that might help to avoid embarrassing mistakes. We set about finding it, suffering from the usual problem of trying to read road…

Quote: It’s raining in Moscow, and it’s putting a real downer on things. The Kremlin just isn’t as exciting as it should be, and our first impression of Russia is not what we’d hoped. A quick piggy-back ride past St Basil’s Cathedral, and we marched off again…

Quote: The best way to get around Moscow is definitely by Metro. It is so cheap (400rub for 60 trips) and extremely efficient. At busy times there is a metro every 40 seconds and even late at night there is a metro every 5-6 mins. You…

Quote: Sitting in my flat, planning our route around the world, there were two destinations I couldn't wait to lay my eyes on: China and Moscow. I'd heard so much about Russia, and since reading Martin Cruz-Smith's Gorky Park, I'd become a big fan of the Soviet…

Quote: Within Lonely Planet's Moscow Guide, there was a section called "The Great Moscow Police Tourist Rip-off." Mention of this scam didn't appear within the Rough Guide to Moscow, and I didn't see it take place for the first 2 days I spent wandering around the…

Quote: As you exit customs to the main floor of Sheremetyevo 2, you'll be greeted by a barrage of annoying, pushy taxi drivers who want very badly to charge you around $50+ dollars to take you to your destination. There's a much cheaper route to…

Quote: Our biggest problems were before we got to Russia, in getting our airplane tickets. Screw up was piledupon screw up by both Orbitz and Lufthansa. At one point I counted 18 phone calls needed to get Orbitzto understand that their computer and Lufthansa’s…

Quote: The usual sources of tourist information have dire news about public restrooms in Russia. On the whole,we found the facilities better than we expected.Some charged a fee, 5 to 8 rubles (20-30¢). Many were free. All were clean, but many look shabby. They ranged from…