We are on a 6-month road trip around north-eastern Europe in our motorhome Vanni, and had just crossed the border from Latvia into Russia, heading for Moscow. Nearing Moscow city, we drove across the amazing Zhivopisny Bridge.
 |
| The Zhivopisny cable bridge into Moscow |
The Bridge is a cable-stay bridge spanning a ring road over the Moscow River, at the city’s north-western entry. It is the largest cable-stay bridge in Europe and very impressive. As we drove across it in Vanni, we reflected on what it had taken to get us there.
It started over two weeks ago when we were denied entry into Russia because we had the wrong papers for Vanni. Since then, we had toured Latvia, had an accident, explored Rīga, and waited forever at a Russian Consulate, while anticipating the correct papers to be delivered from the Czech Republic where Vanni was registered.
-bigger-colour.jpg) |
| Russian border checkpoint |
Vanni’s new papers finally arrived while we were in Rīga, so we drove from there, right across Latvia to the Latvia-Russia border. Getting out of Latvia was easy, but not quick as the border was shut for some time during a shift change. Eventually our papers were stamped, and we drove sedately into the Russian border area.
No problems with our passports but they wanted evidence of Marg’s address in New Zealand (NZ). After a mild panic (there is no address on a NZ driving licence or passport), we remembered that our international driving licence has a photo and address – whew! All good.
 |
| The important part of Vanni’s new papers |
Then Vanni and her new papers were thoroughly inspected and thankfully they passed this time and we were given the ok to move on. However, before we got to the exit gate it closed – oh no – not again! Then a woman ran up to us and with a big smile, presented our exit cards which they had forgotten to attach to our visas, and we were waved on into Russia. Woo hoo!!
By this time, it was around 9 pm but after buying some rubles, we pushed on to get as far as we could toward Moscow.
.jpg) |
| Long lines of trucks waiting to cross from Russia into Latvia |
On the way, we passed a long line of trucks waiting to leave Russia. It must take them hours to get over the border.
By around 11 pm (Russian time), we were very tired so found a truck stop for the night. It cost 100 Roubles (NZ$2.30), had a watchman, and was fenced so we felt quite safe. We used Vanni’s bathroom as the ones for truckies were revolting! The next morning, we were up early, and continued our drive to Moscow.
 |
| The road to Moscow, Russia |
But the roads were shocking. There were many places where the top surface of the tarmac was missing and exposed concrete slabs, and iron reinforcing wire was poking through.
This made our progress incredibly slow at between 10 and 30 km per hr, with an occasional optimistic burst of speed when we hit a good bit. It was like...90 kilometres of bad road to each 30 kilometres of good road, and this went on for more than 500 km. It was so tiring and slow.
 |
| Our Russian map |
We were on the M9 (The Baltic Highway), but our GPS system does not have routes for Russia, and Russia cannot be saved in Google maps on the android phone, so we had purchased a Russian road map at the border (all in Cyrillic, the basic Russian language).
Then we had the challenge of finding our Moscow campground with no English signage at all, and everything in Cyrillic! But Leigh was a star navigating us there. She managed to work out how the Cyrillic alphabet translates to English, so she was able to decipher Russian street names and signs.
 |
| Cityscape as we reached the edge of Moscow, Russia |
Then, using our Russian map and road signs, she got us onto the right ring road (they have 4), and then off at the right place to head to the centre of Moscow (Москва). We finally entered Moscow, over the Zhivopisny cable bridge, then drove through the city.
Marg drove fearlessly in the Moscow traffic, and between us, we quickly and painlessly found our campsite in Moscow’s Sokolniki Park.
 |
| Camping ground in Sokolniki Park, Moscow, Russia |
What a relief....and although it was around 6 pm, it was still open to let us in. It was very sheltered among the trees with lots of security guards wandering around, and we had a good night's sleep.
The next day, we looked for a tourist map of Moscow and found one at the local Holiday Inn. Then we walked 15-minutes to the metro and caught a train into Moscow city centre. We found the metro quite an experience and patted ourselves on the back because we’d navigated it so well.
 |
| Palatial metro in Moscow, Russia |
The Moscow Metro is amazing. Most of the stations look absolutely glamourous, having stunning chandeliers, beautiful friezes, and other artistic detail. They are a tourist event in themselves
On the train, a delightful woman ensured we got off at the correct station, and then another woman who spoke some English, lead us out of the metro and explained that we were in a central area with lots of attractions – what friendly people.
-Lan%202-stretched%202.jpg) |
| Leigh in Red Square (UNESCO), Moscow |
Built along the Moskva River in 1147, Moscow has played a key role in the development of Russia, and at the heart of Moscow and its success, is the famous Red Square and the Kremlin. So once in the city, we headed firstly to Red Square, an open rectangle of almost 200 acres.
As far back as Ivan the Terrible, this place has been known as the plaza of the Russian power-brokers. It separates the Kremlin, which contains the official residence of the Russian president, from Kitay-Gorod which is the historic merchant quarter of Moscow.
 |
| State Historical Museum with Resurrection Gate on left, Red Square, Moscow |
Designed originally to be Moscow’s main marketplace, Red Square now contains several iconic buildings, such as the State Historical Museum of Russia, and Lenin's Mausoleum.
We walked around the Square for some time, enjoying its grandeur. We could understand why the Square, the Kremlin and other nearby buildings are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
 |
| Marg at the Resurrection Gate entry to Red Square, Moscow, Russia |
Next, we entered the Kremlin through the beautiful Resurrection Gates. The Kremlin is essentially a huge fort, and it contains historic buildings such as the Grand Kremlin Palace, an arsenal, and several religious buildings.
Wandering around inside the Kremlin, we admired the architecture, viewed the inside of various buildings, and were in awe of its history.
 |
| Kremlin Palace of the Facets, Moscow (UNESCO), Russia |
The Grand Kremlin Palace was very interesting. It is attached to several other structures, including the Palace of the Facets. The Facets used to be the main banquet hall of the Tsars and is the oldest preserved lay buildings in Moscow. It is stunning, and currently used as a ceremonial hall for the Russian President.
Leaving the Kremlin, we walked to the other end of Red Square, where we saw the iconic St Basil’s Cathedral with its amazing and colourful onion-shaped domes.
 |
| St Basil's Cathedral, Moscow, Russia |
St Basil’s was a fascinating place to explore, inside and out. The architecture is spectacular and instantly recognisable, and inside the Cathedral, the decorations and frescoes are beautiful with their intricate designs and colours.
Built in the 16th century by Ivan the Terrible, it is actually a cluster of churches with each one representing one of Ivan’s victories over the Tatars.
 |
| Leigh in front of the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow, Russia |
Leaving the Red Square area, we walked around Moscow seeing other grand buildings such the famous Bolshoi Theatre. Before we left New Zealand, we had tried online to buy tickets to see the Bolshoi Ballet company performing, but tickets were sold out nearly 2 years ahead of performance time so it was not to be.
We also enjoyed seeing the lovely pink and white Kazan Cathedral, and the huge GUM Department Store. GUM is an acronym for Glavny Universalny Magazin/Main Department Store), and the building inside and out, is beautiful.
 |
| Meriya Moskvy-the Town Hall in Tverskaya St, Moscow, Russia |
Another interesting place was Tverskaya Street (aka Gorky Street), the main road of Moscow. Once the route for the tsar’s as they were driven to the Kremlin for their coronation, the street is now lined with impressive buildings, such as the Meriya Moskvy which is the Town Hall, and very upmarket shops and restaurants.
 |
| Leigh on the Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge with Kremlin, President’s Palace, Cathedral of the Annunciation, Moscow |
Later, we crossed the famous Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge to Zamoskvorechye, also called The Island. This is an artificial island on the Moskva River, opposite the Kremlin. It has a history dating back to the 14th century and we saw many interesting buildings there.
Tired from all of our walking, and because Moscow is so vast, we decided to catch the hop-on-hop-off bus around the city to get an overview of where things were before we visited again.
 |
| Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Moscow, Russia |
It was great. We saw beautiful domed churches everywhere, such as the gold domes of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and the Zachatyevsky Monastery, lots of very grand buildings including the Metropol Hotel, and the Soviet style Lubyanka Building which used to house the KGB.
We also visited two of the many museums in Moscow.
 |
| Changing of guard - Moscow Kremlin |
At the end of a long day, we timed our walk back to the metro to see the changing of the guard at the Kremlin, which we really enjoyed. On this return walk, we also saw some lovely parks, and more interesting architecture.
The next morning, we used the metro for another day of sightseeing, visiting some of the places that we’d spotted briefly from the hop-on hop-off bus.
 |
| Marg in Arbat Street, Moscow, Russia |
A favourite was the Arbat district and Ulitsa Arbat Street, a 1-kilometre-long pedestrian street. Dating back to the 15th century, it is one of the oldest original streets of Moscow.
It was once home to many craftspeople and the side streets are still called by the craft such as Carpenter Street, Bread Street, and Silver Street.
.jpg) |
| The Novodevichy Convent (UNESCO), Moscow, Russia |
We also saw the walled Novodevichy Convent, a working nunnery with fortified walls, which dates back to 1524. Inside the walls we found the stunning Smolensky Cathedral, a beautiful Bell Tower, and a number of other historic buildings. The Convent has been relatively untouched since the 17th century and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
By the time we left Moscow, we felt we had seen heaps in a short space of time, and that Russians are such friendly and helpful people. However, we needed to move on, so our next step will take us further east, to drive Russia’s 'Golden Ring'.
This blog describes part of our 6-month motorhome trip around northern and eastern Europe, which began in Prague.