PAGES OF MY LIFE: Russian Winter, Snow Paradise

PART ONE :- Moscow,

आँखों में सपने लिए घर से चल तो दिए, मंजिल नयी है अनजाना है कारवां. तनहा दिल तनहा सफर ढूंढे किसे ये फिर नजर।

Above line summarize the feelings of my short trip in Russia. "I had never witnessed snow until now. During encounters with Russian pilgrims, their invitations to visit Russia always intrigued me, especially for the chance to experience snow. Months passed, filled with plans and postponements. Then, insights from friends revealed the prime holiday period in Russia, spanning from December 25th to January 8th, with Christmas on January 7th. Serendipitously, my trip coincided with New Year's, Christmas, and my friend Aksinia's birthday. Flights, surprisingly, were more economical than usual, prompting a swift decision – 'Poshli Poshli, Paijom.'

For those interested in flight and visa information, I booked Aeroflot Russian Airline from Delhi to Moscow for 34K return. Only Russian cards were accepted, so I couldn't book with my credit card. Thanks to a Russian friend who helped me pay with his card. Then, for the visa, Russia introduced an online 30-day visa and 15-day stay, which cost approximately 4500 Rupees and could be paid with any card but accepted only in Chinese Yuan. The visa arrived within 5 days.

Mumbai Airport

Moscow Airport

Moscow

Finally, the day arrived to go to Russia. Even though there was constant fear about the immigration process, because whenever I checked YouTube videos about immigration or visa requirements and people's experiences, I only came across bad and scary videos of how immigration officers stopped them at the airport and denied entry, returning them to India. But now it seems some of them were just unlucky or 'chapri.' Another fear was my airline cabin baggage policy about sizes and weight. But everything was settled with the baggage, no problems at all. After arriving in Moscow, at immigration, my biggest fear became a piece of cake. I went to the immigration office with a confident face, gave him my passport, he said to remove my glasses, looked at the camera, took a picture, gave me an immigration form to sign, and said, 'Welcome to Russia.' That’s it.

After arriving at the airport, I was excited and scared for immigration, but it got done as explained above. Then, I checked to change money, but the rate was expensive. So, I thought to change in the city, but almost forgot how the situation would be to go out in the cold. (Also, there are few places where you can exchange in the city, mostly in banks, so it's better to change at the airport or in India). Also, I didn't want to waste time and make my Fairy Godmother Tatiana wait, who had come all the way from Saint Petersburg just to welcome and pick me up, and we had a train to catch to go to Saint Petersburg in the afternoon."

"After emerging from the airport, I was elated to spot my Fairy Godmother, Tatiana, after an extended absence.

Fairy GodMother Tatiana and Me

Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow, situated on the city's outskirts, served as my point of entry. An efficient train system connects the airport to the metro hub, facilitating seamless transit to central Moscow via various metro lines. Fairy Godmother Tatiana adeptly handled all ticketing matters, streamlining the process with electronic transactions. Navigating the local transport network independently, particularly in the frigid temperatures, would have posed a formidable challenge. We changed some metros to get to Red Square to 'meet' Mr. Putin ;), but sadly, I had no time to actually meet him.

From Train

At Airport Train Station

Decoration in city

Decoration

Inside Metro Station

City Decoration

One impressive thing in Russia is that metro or train stations don't look like train stations; they look like some kind of heritage buildings. I couldn't recognize the station even after five minutes once I got out of it. A few steps from Ploshad Revolutsii metro station, there is a big statue of Karl Marx. At first glance, I couldn't recognize him and said to myself, 'Who's that big mountain-like statue? (an old, fat man with weird hair ;) )' Tatiana said, 'It's Karl Marx.' (Oops, the man whose philosophy applies in some countries in a distorted form, including the superpower Russia).

The Red Square, Kremlin, and Cathedral of St. Basil (the one that looks like the palace in the Aladdin movie) are all on the same premises. All roads are beautifully decorated with lighting, electronic lights, and many more things. On New Year's and Christmas, they usually decorate the whole city, which is amazing. People from all over the country come to visit Red Square on these holidays. I think I was the only Indian on those streets.

There was a security check at the entrance; usually, there isn't, but due to the holidays, many people come, and it was crowded. In the freezing cold, I had to open my bag to show them I am not dangerous ;). On that Red Square, on one side, is the Kremlin where Mr. Putin sits. There is the Cemetery Museum of Lenin and Stalin, which is only open till 1 pm. Next to it, there is the Cathedral. I took an iconic picture in front of the Cathedral (proof that I visited Russia ;) ).

Everywhere Beautiful decoration

Red Square building

Stallin ,

Lenin etc Leaders of Russia

Red Square

National Clock

Royal Guard at Freezing Cold

I was enjoying the beauty of Russia in +2 degrees. After so much walking, we went to the Eternal Fire. On both sides of the fire, there are royal guards who stand like statues. At first, I thought they were statues, but Tatiana said they were real soldiers. I looked carefully, and they did look real, but I was still not sure because they weren't moving even a millimeter. It was 1:45, and we wanted to see the Royal Guard changing parade. For 15 minutes, I was just standing in a shower of rain/snowfall. My jacket was okay for the upper part, but for the lower part, only trousers, which were not sufficient, and my legs were shivering. In the cold, one has to move, as there aren't many layers of warm clothes on the legs. The Royal Guard changing parade is impressive; one must see it. After Red Square, we went to the shopping buildings. Inside the shopping center, there were Christmas trees decorated everywhere. One impressive thing I noticed is that underground metros in Moscow are deeper than in other countries I've visited. We ate something and headed to the main train station, Leningradsky Moscow, to go to Saint Petersburg by bullet train. In Russia, bullet trains are called 'Sapsan.' Traveling with Sapsan is awesome, with nice food, stewards to serve food and drinks, and it takes less time, only a 4-hour journey."