Day Two in Moscow - Wonders Below and Above

Breakfast at the Metropol is a treat to be savoured and remembered forever. The Metropol Hall, with it’s glass atrium and resident harpist, is a scene of opulent grandeur. The food selection is beyond compare: fruit is sliced to perfection; eggs can be 3 mins, 10 mins or any which way you like; Russian, Asian, Baltic, western ... it’s all here served in a separate buffet hall. Being serenaded with harp music while enjoying a pain au Chocolat is a great way to start a day’s sightseeing in Moscow.

Fuelled with good food, Kirill marches us to the nearby Metro station. We disappear underground to a haven of marble and bronze. With a plan in place so we don’t lose each other we set off on a Metro station crawl. It’s Saturday, so not too busy. Some stations are Art Deco style with exquisite lighting and soft colour palettes, others are marble showcases. There are frescoes and mosaics, pillars and stucco. People move through the stations quickly, zipping around us, our cameras and awestruck faces; for them, these OTT surroundings are normal.

We hop on a train and a few find seats in the busy carriage. As the train lurches forward, Diana lurches backwards and sideways and almost ends up head first in a young man’s lap. She apologises to all, we assure her it was a very elegant lurch, and the young man shifts to make room for her. We are laughing loudly and so is he. Actually, the entire carriage is focussed on us and chuckling and when we stagger off at the next station in a sea of hilarity, they are still laughing as they head for the next station. 

We exit our Metro tour at Smolenskaya station and head for Arbat Street. It is one of the oldest streets in Moscow, pedestrianised and full of souvenir shops, cafes and street artists. We have some free time to shop and have a coffee before meeting back at the turquoise Pushkin museum to then make our way to lunch at a fabulous restaurant through a bright blue door.

It’s been a busy morning and the food is good. Oh dear, Valerie rolled her ankle on Arbat Street and it has swollen up and needs attention. She and daughter Helen head back by taxi to the hotel after lunch to find a doctor. A few others head back too, their legs have said ‘enough’. 

The rest of us head to the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour - the queue to get in is enormous but we are not going inside the church, we are going up to the viewing gallery. We enter through a private area where the priests gather and make our way up by lift to the gallery. North, south, east and west we get superb views of the city from up here. The business district is a cluster of modern skyscrapers in the distance, the Kremlin sits proudly nearby; another aspect is more industrial, and over there it’s more urban. The river runs through it all. We get a great perspective of this sprawling city and it’s many landmarks.

Next stop is the Armoury museum within the Kremlin - it houses treasures, armour, weapons, Faberge, jewels and an incredible collection of carriages. There is also a beautiful display of fashion from the era. It’s a bit of a whirlwind tour as everyone is tired, but it gives us a taste of the grandeur of the day. 

Back at the hotel I discover that poor Valerie has broken her ankle and is in plaster. This is not good news. The public hospital experience was a crude and brutal one; more competent and compassionate medical attention is needed so she will go to an international clinic in the morning. 

In the evening we go to a fantastic cultural dance show - it is colourful, vibrant, energetic and one of the best of this type of thing I have seen. The dancers are utterly brilliant; with a mix of folk and Cossack dancing, acrobatics and music, they mesmerise us. Exceptional.

Back at the hotel I meet my friend Anne and we walk to a pedestrianised street of gorgeous dangling lights. We find a bar, order a wine and enjoy the nighttime ambience and a good chat. Stunning.

OBSERVATION OF THE DAY: Approx. 9 million people a day use the Moscow Metro. The stations are clean and pristine, full of history and beauty. Even the less ornate stations are tidy and streamlined. Escalators move swiftly to get people up and down swiftly and trains run every few minutes. An efficient and affordable way to get about the city. World class in every way and a superb tourist attraction.