I'm on my way to Moscow, Russia. It's 1:32am, I'm in Istanbul (IST). Traveling in the early morning is tired and you get hungry. If you travel with friends or family, you could switch between sleep turns and rest for the next day.
Don't forget to check out the story and reason behind my travel to Moscow here:
The Story of Moscow begins
3-I-2020.
I notice the people that travel with me on the airplane. In many occasions, many natives of the country where I'm going. They group up in the entrance door to the aircraft and make a numerous quantity, while the rest are disperse in the city.
Let's dive into Moscow.
I don't know what to think yet of Moscow. I have listened so much about the capital of Russia through history books, documentaries and in the news. How cities and countries are developed through the centuries is a topic that fascinates me. For me is interesting to see the city where the facts occurred. This is way, I can make the connection between city and history.
I still don't know how I'm going to do to communicate effectively with russians. The app Google Translator with russian offline use will help for sure. Otherwise, how could I do it if I can't read or pronounce the signs? Perhaps should I try to memorize the sign?
In the previous blog post, I explain how to use Google Translate as a offline tool for traveling. Make sure you read it:
Finally there.
I arrived to Moscow early in the morning and it's cold! But you can get used with it if you wear the correct (and enough) clothes. I was around -2ºC. All the signs were now in russian and some of them were in english. At least something that I could read! Unfortunately many of the people didn't speak english fluently, not even the woman in the Migration Desk. That is what you kinda expect in airports and other tourism areas, but I was still able to communicate with them.
Train and metro.
Before coming here I sent an e-mail to Kremlin Lights, the hostel where I stayed. I needed directions for arriving and moving around in a city where I haven't being before wasn't easy; especially if in your destinations they speak a foreign language AND have a different, unreadable alphabet. I got a reply the same day from the hostel with very clear instructions:
So, Firstly, You take a train ‘Aeroexpress' from Sheremetyevo to Belorusskiy railway staion, than you take a metro from Belorusskaya to Park Kultury, next you need to change line (from brown to red) and from Park Kultury go to Kropotkinskaya! From Kropotkinskaya 3 minutes by walking)
Our address: Volkhonka str. 5\6 build. 4, Moscow
Our hostel is located in a blue building on which is painted a portrait of Kutuzov.
We are on the first floor, there is also a signboard, the entrance is on the first line of Volkhonka Street, next to the playground.
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