Moscow – the largest city in Europe can boast an extremely rich history, the traces of which from various eras can be clearly seen when walking through its bustling streets. Coming to Moscow with certain ideas, we can almost be sure to be surprised when it turns out that the image in our head is in fact only one of the faces of the city. This is exactly how surprised I was when visiting Moscow while visiting our partner hotels, just before setting off on the Trans-Siberian Railway.
After a short flight from Warsaw, I landed at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, where the driver was already waiting for me. After about an hour of driving, I arrived at the Baltschug Kempinski Hotel located in the very center of the city. An interesting fact is that it was the first hotel in Moscow opened by a Western hotel chain after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The spacious, classically furnished, marble-lined lobby made a very good impression on me, as did the elegant service. At the massive wooden reception desk, I collected my room card and smiled when I was informed that I had received an upgrade to the Kremlin Suite. After entering it, I saw a beautiful living room, decorated with palace splendor. On the table, next to a plate of fresh fruit, there was a welcome card wishing you a pleasant stay. Before I reached the bedroom, the view from the window caught my attention. On the opposite side of the river, the silhouette of Saint Basil's Cathedral, Red Square and the huge Kremlin complex, from which this suite took its name, stood proudly. After a while, however, it turned out that I could admire exactly the same view from my bedroom without even getting up from the huge, king-size bed. In the white, marble bathroom there was a large, free-standing bathtub. When I saw it, I immediately knew that I would relax in it in the evening after a long and active day. At that moment, however, it was high time to go to the scheduled meetings.
Tsar's Moscow
Immediately after leaving the hotel, I entered the bridge that crossed the river, and after a few minutes of walking I was under probably the most recognizable building in all of Russia. A colorful, richly decorated Orthodox church with eight onion-shaped domes, each of which looks different - this is St. Basil's Cathedral. It was built in the 16th century on the orders of Tsar Ivan the Terrible. Combining the features of traditional Slavic architecture with the European Renaissance, the church is considered one of the most fairy-tale buildings in the world, which is hard to disagree with. Legend has it that the tsar was so delighted with the final result that he ordered the chief architect to be blinded so that he would never create anything as beautiful again. It is also interesting that inside, instead of a spacious hall that can accommodate thousands of believers, we find a labyrinth of tight corridors, stairs and small chapels.
Another testimony to the wealth and splendor of the tsarist times is, of course, the Kremlin - for centuries the seat of Russia's highest authorities. This fortified town, full of palaces, churches and administration buildings, owes its current shape to the reconstruction in the 18th century. However, its lavish interiors are mostly inaccessible to the public. You can only visit the Cathedral Square with Orthodox churches and several museums, including the Armory, which houses the most valuable treasures collected over hundreds of years.
On the opposite side of Red Square is the 19th-century GUM department store (Glawnyj Universalnyj Magazin). Today, restored to the shape of its glory days, it once again delights with its elegant architecture and glass roofs, serving as an exclusive shopping mall. After leaving it, I went to the nearby Manege Square, overlooked by the Four Seasons Hotel building, where I went for an inspection.
The first impression I had was the lobby Four Seasons, was completely different than the hotel where I stayed. There, I was greeted by much more modern interiors - geometric, luminous, decorated with works of contemporary art. The living area is also decorated similarly. From standard rooms to the largest suites - all accommodation categories offered here delight with their design. It is especially worth emphasizing the quality of the materials used for their finishing, which only confirms that this is a world-class hotel. What local guests appreciate is a beautiful, very large swimming pool with a glass roof and a large SPA area. There is a beauty salon at your disposal, while for men there is a barber shop. The hotel also offers excellent restaurants, a bar and a café, and in summer it also serves drinks on the sunny outdoor terrace. All this makes Four Seasons a sure thing that will not disappoint even the most demanding travelers.
SOVIET MOSCOW
From the hotel I returned to Red Square. This place has always been the heart of Moscow, and in the times of the USSR - the entire communist world. Parades were held here to celebrate Victory Day or even Labor Day. Interestingly, however, the name Red Square was manipulated for the needs of party propaganda - it was originally nicknamed lovely, which in the Old Slavic language, in addition to "red", also meant "beautiful". And it was in this second meaning that it was originally used for hundreds of years. After taking power, however, the communists could not miss the opportunity to name the central point of the city in accordance with their ideology, and since then it has been called Red Square. On its longer side, just under the high Kremlin wall, there is a pyramidal building made of red stone. This is Lenin's mausoleum, where the embalmed body of the leader of the October Revolution is exposed to public view in a crystal sarcophagus. Although tourists come here out of curiosity, many Russians come here to pay authentic tribute to the founder of the Soviet Union.
From there I went to a nearby metro station and took the incredibly long escalator down. The Moscow metro, operating since 1935, is famous primarily for its incredibly decorated stations, called underground palaces. Some of them, with a raw, socialist realist style, praise folk heroes: workers, kolkhoz farmers and soldiers, immortalized on wall reliefs. Others, which present the most important events in the history of the Russian nation, look like they came straight from the Baroque, decorated with crystal chandeliers and mosaics. During World War II, some of the stations served as shelters for people or makeshift hospitals, and in later years they were to be a place of rescue in the event of a nuclear attack. When visiting Moscow, these legendary underground structures are an absolute must-see.
After a short subway ride, I arrived at the Cosmonautics Museum. In my opinion, this is one of the most interesting places in all of Moscow. A very extensive exhibition presents the history of the space race between the USSR and the USA during the Cold War. Many of the exhibits on display are original historical treasures, such as capsules, spacesuits and spacecraft equipment. In one of the display cases you can see stuffed dogs, Belka and Strelka, who were the first animals to fly into space and return alive. In addition, replicas were also prepared, the most interesting of which is a real-size model of a fragment of the Mir space station, which you can enter and see the conditions in which cosmonauts of that time carried out orbital missions. There is also a Polish accent - a showcase dedicated to the Interkosmos program, mentioning the participation of Mirosław Hermaszewski, the only Pole to have flown into space.
After returning to the center, I was going to a meeting at another hotel, and I kept seeing familiar-looking buildings on the horizon. The bright skyscrapers, massive at the base and tapering towards a pointed spire, were built between 1947 and 1953 on Stalin's orders. There are seven of them in Moscow and they are known as Stalin's Seven Sisters. Their buildings serve various functions - a university, a ministry of foreign affairs or hotels. The Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw is an apt association in this case - it was designed as part of the same program and was "a gift to the Polish nation from the friendly Soviet nation." Other capitals of the Eastern Bloc allies, Bucharest and Riga, also received similar gifts.
I arrived at the Ararat Park Hyatt hotel for the last visit of the day. Upon entering, what was immediately striking was the high atrium with glass elevators. After reaching the top, I found myself in a restaurant divided into two parts. The internal one, thanks to the glass walls and roof, resembles a greenhouse and is decorated with many plants. The external one is located on the terrace, which offers a breathtaking, panoramic view of the entire city. The rooms are equally impressive. Most of them are simple and minimalistic in their modern design. An exception to the rule, however, is the Presidential Suite - a huge apartment whose style is more reminiscent of the interior of a palace with historical furniture. The hotel manager told me that this particular suite is the favorite room of Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones, who stays there every time he comes to Moscow.
CONTEMPORARY MOSCOW
After finishing my visit to Ararat Park Hyatt, I went out to the nearby promenade. It stretches along beautifully restored tenement houses housing shops and boutiques of the world's most famous brands, such as Rolex, Louis Vuitton and Dior. Equally impressive is the selection of restaurants that can be found in downtown Moscow - from traditional Russian cuisine, through European classics and sushi, to exclusive fusion places. However, there are so many luxury cars on the streets that in London, Paris or Rome put together, you don't see that many of them. Maybachs and Rolls Royces are especially common here.
After a late lunch, I was heading back towards the Baltschug Kempinski hotel. While on the river, I also visited Zaryadye Park. It is a modern leisure and entertainment complex, opened on the site of the former Rossiya Hotel in 2017. It is a beautiful combination of greenery and minimalist architecture, and in addition to walking paths, there is also a new philharmonic hall, an amphitheater and a media center where interactive exhibitions are organized. The most popular attraction here, however, is the floating bridge that reaches over the river, offering a perfect view of this part of the city. In addition to the nearby Saint Basil's Cathedral and the Kremlin, you can also see the business center of Moscow with its glass skyscrapers proudly on the horizon.
A visit to Moscow breaks many stereotypes that are still deeply rooted in public consciousness. And the city is waiting for you to discover it for yourself.
Author: travel agency CARTER®
