Moscow - Glance through visited places

Duration of stay: 23rd till 24th October 2015

Moscow is the last city stop of our 4^th leg. We did not over-stressed ourselves with hectic itineraries, knowing clearly that we shall return to the city again to continue a special train ride “Trans-Siberian Railway” from Moscow to Beijing. The Trans-Siberian Railway traverses nearly 9,300 kilometers of Russian territory to Vladivostok on the Pacific coast. So, our places of visit are rather short if we were to compare with other visited cities thus far. We arrived at Moscow Kurskaya railway station vide Sapsan train, took a cab to Element Hotel, check-in, had dinner and headed to the Red Square. It was a cloudy night and due to some unexcused reason, I failed to take a panorama view of the Red Square. Below photo was snapped by the local website exactly what I pictured in my head for an entry photo. I hope the owner would not mind me sharing it here in my blog.

Panorama photo by http://www.moscow-driver.com

Our itineraries includes St Basil’s Cathedral which is located in the Red Square besides visiting Kremlin’s Wall & Tower and Moscow Kremlin. We visited the red square on the night we arrived as it is not very far to reach from the hotel we stayed. These place, the square is a must visit destination when in Moscow, being famously known as a collective red buildings in the red square. We have included a visit to few important Moscow Metro Stations which have been shared by few of Malaysian travelers in their website that very much caught our attention. We are both truly fall in love with a beauty of those stations.

St Basil Cathedral

Moscow is a capital and the largest city of Russia, with 12.2 million residents within the city limits and 16.8 million within the urban area. It possessed the status of a federal city in Russia, situated on the Moskva River in the Central Federal District of European Russia. It is the most populated inland city in the world. The city is well known for its architecture, particularly its historic buildings such as Saint Basil's Cathedral with its brightly colored domes. With over 40 percent of its territory covered by greenery, it is one of the greenest capitals and major cities in Europe and the world, having the largest forest in an urban area within its borders more than any other major city even before its expansion in 2012.

Kremlin's Wall & Tower

The city has served as the capital of a progression of states, from the medieval Grand Duchy of Moscow and the subsequent Tsardom of Russia to the Russian Empire to the Soviet Union and the present contemporary Russian Federation. Moscow is considered the center of Russian culture, having served as a home of Russian artists, scientists and sports figures and because of the presence of museums, academic and political institutions and theaters.

The most beautiful Metro Station in Moscow

Moscow is the seat of power of the Government of Russia, being the site of the Moscow Kremlin, a medieval city fortress that is today the residence of the President of Russia. The Moscow Kremlin and Red Square are also one of several World Heritage Sites in the city. Both chambers of the Russian parliament (the State Duma and the Federation Council) also sit in the city. You may have seen what featured in the red square from numerous Hollywood movies. I had a dream to visit the Red Square after watching those movies too, which usually wanted to portray how bad the Russians are. It does created some bad thought in my mind for a while but after my arrival, I eliminated those feeling absolutely. Russians are friendly people just like many others in this part of the world, trust me.

Passing by city parks while searching for 3 listed Metro Station by Anne

The city is served by a transit network, which includes 4 international airports, 9 railway terminals, numerous trams, a monorail system and one of the deepest underground rapid transit systems in the world, the Moscow Metro. Moscow Metro is the 4^th largest in the world and largest outside of Asia in terms of passenger numbers, and the busiest in Europe. It is recognized as one of the city's landmarks due to the rich architecture of its 200 stations. Visiting the Metro stations is another must should you  have arrived in the city, I must say.

The deep escalator in 1 of the station

Well, you may see now that the above are all practically places that we've visited during our 2 days 1 night stay in the city. Due to a rush to reach the hotel on our arrival, we have carelessly accepted a private taxi which charge extremely high rate. Let's not elaborate here. It's better to speak or write good memories rather than unpleasant one as those unpleasant incidents would not happened without Allah's blessing. Suffice to say, Allah has protected and ensured our safety during that long 16 days on our 4th leg trip which we are more grateful and feeling blessed.

While having lunch at the mall within the Red Square, we've been kindly approached by a Russian lady on the next table offering her help to take our photos. She was with a friend and their children having lunch too. Both ladies are very beautiful. We also met a Philippines, working in Moscow as a cleaner that approached us after he saw us having difficulties communicating. English is not a common speaking language in Russia, so he has volunteered to took us around, changing metro lines to another so that we can find those 3 stations in our list. He too has spoken good words about the Russian and the city that he is living. Thanks would not be enough to extend our gratitude, hence, I pray that Allah shall give whatever they hope for in this life. Thank you and thanks to you who read this too, who had come and visit my blog. You had inspire me to write and not give up on writing.

Till later ... Have a nice weekend everyone! Peace!