Mockba

Having safely arrived in Moscow, we took a quick metro ride to our Hostel. Our accommodation, thankfully, was up to standard. Nice big room, proper shower and a functioning lounge. After some extended rest, we took off for our first stop in Moscow, Arbat Street. The first sight of Moscow’s architecture was quite stunning. So much intricate work and this was just normal, everyday buildings and streets let alone the main attractions. Arbat street as a nice blend of the new and the old of Moscow. There was alot of older-looking buildings with statues everywhere as well as all the signs of globalisation (i.e. McDonalds, Shake Shack, Zara, Miu Miu, etc). It was pretty nice walking down the street, looking at souvenirs and taking in the general atmosphere (along with a Shake shack milkshake that was impossible to resist). We reached our hostel around 7pm and took a good rest because the next day was going to be tiresome.

After leaving the hostel at around 930am, we headed to get some breakfast (aka kebabs at a nearby shop, that would become our staple breakfast due to the low cost and fact that it kept us full well past lunch) and head to our first main attraction in Moscow, the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Just walking out of the metro, we could see the magnificence of the cathedral. It was massive (over 100 meters tall), with gold on the top of the peaks. It took us quite awhile to get past the size and beauty of the Cathedral’s exterior. Luckily for us, the entrance to the cathedral was free and we went in to see the interior and it was just as good as the exterior. Unfortunately, there was a ban on photos in the cathedral (so nothing to show) but it was magnificent. My companions were not too keen on climbing the cathedral so they kindly waited while i climbed the numerous steps to reach the viewing gallery on top. The climb was worth it as i could see all of central Moscow. The Kremlin, Peter the Great’s Statue and the whole of Moscow in general, made up an amazing view. After about 30 minutes of burning that sight into my memory, i rejoined my friends as we exited the building to head to the Garden of Fallen Monuments as well as Gorky Park. It was quite a lengthy walk that took us through parts of Moscow as well as past the statue of Peter the Great (that celebrates the Russian Navy). After some really nice sightseeing and photo-taking, we proceeded to do the same at the Garden of Fallen Monuments that was right beside the statue. It was quite interesting as there were hundreds of busts and statues. It was pretty decent. Gorky Park was next. However after spending a lot of time walking around the park, we realised that Gorky Park was nowhere as nice as it would be in the Summer. Hence, we were pretty let down by Gorky Park in general. However, it was a pretty great and tiring day so we were completely satisfied.