Moscow, Russia

Jul 14, 2015

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Tips: 

• Print or screen shot your hotel or any pre-planned destinations in the Russian alphabet so if you get lost or grab a taxi you can show them your destination in their native language.

• Grab a subway map with both alphabets. It was near impossible to figure out what stop I wanted to take and where I was based solely on the Russian alphabet because I couldn’t sound out any word or ask anyone because I didn’t know how to day the word. The subway map with both will at least help you to speak the stop name. Speaking of subways, they are SO INEXPENSIVE and some of the nicest I’ve been in. They are relatively easy to navigate if you are used to public transit. Most stops have the list of stops and the direction the train is headed on the back wall so if you are unsure which train to take wait for it to leave and check the wall behind the train. Also, they run about every 3 minutes so you won’t need to wait very long for the next one.

 

Common phrases:

• оброе утро                    Dobraye ootro                Good morning

 

• Я не понимаю              Ya nee paneemayoo        I don’t understand

 

• Добрый день                Dobriy den’                    Good afternoon

 

• Добрый вечер              Dobriy vyecher               Good evening

 

• Привет!                         Preevyet                         Hi!

 

• До свидания!                Da sveedaneeya             Good-bye!

 

• Спасибо                        Spaseeba                        Thank you

 

• Простите                      Prasteete                         Excuse me

 

Unique:

• Jaws local beer- This is a great local brewery and include pilsners, IPAs, APAs etc. so you should be able to find one that suits your taste. I tried the 3 mentioned above and personally prefer the APA. I am a big beer fan and my personal favorite is Lagunitas IPA or Lagunitas Sucks. I found Jaws APA to be very similar as it is a somewhat hoppy beer with a bit of a sweet/sugary side.

• Russian handwoven carpets- If you want something truly unique from your visit I highly recommend a rug. I bought a large area rug (7′x12′ or 213cm x 366cm) for $150 USD and it rolled up and fit into a large IKEA blue bag. I would recommend packing two of those nifty blue bags so you can completely cover the rug for checking it at the airport (I only used one bag and the airline said they needed the open part of the bag to be wrapped. So a 2nd bag wound have helped). Purchased this at the Izmailovsky Market listed below so see “shopping” section for details.

 

Food & Drink:

• Odessa Mama or  Khachapuri (Хачапури Чистые Пруды ) are Georgian restaurants both right next to each other. If you haven’t tried Georgian food I recommend you find a way to do so (wherever you are). This was by far the best meal I had in Russia. All types of food, the menu was a huge book with photos so its easy to decide. I suggest a few small appetizer dishes first between the group before getting an entree so you can try all the different types of food. There is an indoor and outdoor part and all sorts of different rooms. Its a really cool vibe. I also enjoyed the live pianist.

• Lavka Lavka- Farm to table restaurants may be booming in other parts of the world but in Moscow they have only just arrived. Lavka Lavka is one of the first to create a menu with locally produced ingredients. They have many locations and the one we wen to included a great gift shop. Word to the wise, look but don’t buy as gift shop prices were very high. Since we were with a large group everything was prepared without us ordering so I did not get to look at the entire menu. Between the group of us there were vegetarians, vegans and people who were allergic to seafood and they were able to accommodate all of us.

• Babetta Cafe- If you need a break from local delicacies then head to Babetta for some  fresh andsome of the best pizza i’ve had globally. They serve omelettes, salads, pizzas among other items all in a relaxed and well decorated setting. Upstairs is much more cozy than downstairs.

 

Budget:

Gorky Park is a must see in warm weather. They have everything you can ever imagine in a park and more. Beach volleyball, giant bean bags, ping pong, local ice cream, paddle boats, live concerts, cafes and restaurants just to name a few. It is very large and you can spend much of a day here. As you head from the center of the park to the water there is also a walking, biking, roller blading path along the river for some great scenery and exercise. When I was here they were setting up a large bike and skateboarding ramp straight through the center of the entrance. I imagine many events like this are going on constantly in Gorky Park.

 

Shopping:

• Izmailovsky Market (Измайловское Шоссе, 73ж) is an outdoor market. You can get your typical souvenirs like matryoshka dolls and Putin mugs but they also have a flea market area with old cameras, home goods, original art (some questionable) and even guns. The best part of this market? RUGS handmade in Russia. See above “unique” section for more on these rugs. They have a row of food stalls cooking meats, veggies and potatoes on skewers. I would recommend getting some of these for lunch. They are relatively inexpensive. *Keep in mind they close around 5 so it’s best to go around lunch time. Easy to get to by subway.

• Russia has loads of shopping malls in case you fancy some shopping spree but be careful because the prices aren’t so inexpensive. Many global brands will be slightly more expensive here. Vegas and Mega are two chains of shopping malls you will find all around Moscow. There is also a large high end shopping mall in a beautiful old building next to the Kremlin.

• Tvoy Dom (Твой дом)- Ok the idea of shopping at a place like Walmart may sound totally lame to many of you but if you fancy seeing what Walmart could look like on steroids and possibly find yourself some inexpensive local goods then head to Tvoy Dom. I was amazed at how large this place was and could have perused for hours. Random note but I noticed they had decorated glass dinnerware in 4 full aisles! Thats a lot of choice.

 

Travel details FYI:

• Business trip plus 2 weekends

• June