Moscow Journey

Fashionable Shopping at TSUM

GUM might be the biggest name when it comes to all of the shopping places in Moscow, but it is far from being the only one worth talking about. TSUM is another department store that is worthy of a planned shopping spree. In fact, it is known as a particularly trendy place to shop in Moscow. Therefore, some of the most fashionable people tend to shop at TSUM.

Petrovka Street is where you will find the tall historical building of TSUM. The building has been on that street since 1908. Since then, the TSUM building has been renovated plenty of times. The most recent of the renovations to TSUM occurred in 2007.

During a shopping day at TSUM, you can easily come across over 1000 brand names for clothing, cosmetics, and jewelry—many of which are famous designer names. For eating and drinking purposes, there is a restaurant that serves fusion food, a café, and a bar that serves champagne. Looking to get some cosmetic procedures done at TSUM? Go to the building’s second floor.

Do you need to buy some groceries? You can buy some while shopping at TSUM. The supermarket on the building’s most bottom floor sells gourmet and luxury grocery foods.

Are you in need of a cool place to hangout at TSUM? Try the Ice Vodka Kauffman Bar. It is literally freezing inside the bar.

TSUM is open until 9 pm every day. On Sundays, TSUM opens at 11 am. For the rest of the week, you can start shopping at 10 am.

Moscow River Icebreaker Cruise

Are you visiting Moscow during the dead of the winter season? Are you afraid that doing so will prohibit you from enjoying a nice boat cruise while vacationing in Moscow? Then cheer up because you can still do a boat cruise in Moscow during the cold winter months. True to the implication of its name, the Moscow River Icebreaker Cruise can literally break through the ice. That means regardless of the time of the year that you choose to visit Moscow, you will still be able to have fun onboard a boat cruise in the city of Moscow.

How is it possible for the Moscow River Icebreaker Cruise to break through all of that winter ice? It is with the power of the hulls that are thick enough to do the job. Won’t cruising on the Moscow River during the winter months be too uncomfortably cold? Not at all, thanks to the decks onboard that are fully enclosed in glass. You can see the river without suffering from the cold.

How many different boats are used for the Moscow River Icebreaker Cruise? Currently, there are five boats that are used for you to see the Moscow River during the winter season? How many passengers can each of the boats carry? Up to 200 people can comfortably ride on the Moscow River Icebreaker Cruise.

Who runs the Moscow River Icebreaker Cruise? The Radisson Royal Hotel Moscow is the one to run this fun winter activity. You can purchase the tickets for the winter cruise on the hotel’s winter river cruise website.

Shop at the GUM

Shopping might not be the first thought to enter your mind when thinking about a vacation in Moscow, but it is definitely worthwhile for those who enjoy buying things. GUM is the store to check out in Moscow if you are into a little frivolous spending during your Moscow vacation. GUMs have been around since the time of the Soviets. Nowadays, they are regularly frequented by Moscow tourists. The most popular GUM is the one that is right across from the Red Square in Moscow. Nowadays, it is basically a shopping mall. However, it actually started out as a trading place when it was first opened.

At one point during the history of the GUM, it was made into an office space by Joseph Stalin. Nadezhda was Stalin’s wife. She committed suicide in the year 1932. After her death, her body was put on display at the GUM for a short period of time.

In 1953, the GUM was once again a department store. The store never seems to run out of goods to buy, and it was very popular with the shoppers of the time. There was always a long line of people waiting to get into the GUM. The line was so long that if you had lived during that time, you would have seen people standing outside waiting all over the Red Square area.

Nowadays, the GUM is owned privately. However, the owner made sure that the changing of the store’s name does not affect its acronym. Therefore, the store is still referred to as the GUM.

The Bolshoi Theatre

Interested in visiting Moscow’s historic places? Then head to the Bolshoi Theatre. It is such a big part of Moscow that its façade is even printed on one of Russia’s banknotes. Also, the Russian federal government was willing to completely fund the cost of the Bolshoi Theatre’s renovations. Now that really tells you something about how important the Bolshoi Theatre is to the Russians.

The Bolshoi Theatre company was founded by a prince in 1776. At the time, the theatre performances were only held in the private homes of patrons. However, that changed when the Bolshoi Theatre was able to take over the Petrovka Theatre in 1780. Starting from that point on, the Bolshoi Theatre was able to produce both operas and plays.

In the beginning, the Bolshoi Theatre only showcased the works of the Russians. However, they soon allowed for the works of foreigners to play out in their theatre. It was the year 1840 when that had came about.

Since the existence of the Bolshoi Theatre, the building that the theatre occupied has been physically damaged plenty of times. Therefore, many reconstructions were necessary for the Bolshoi Theatre. So far, however, none of the reconstructions has been as huge as the one that started in July of the year 2005. That reconstruction took six years to fully finish, and cost Russia’s federal government a lot of money.

The reopening of the Bolshoi Theatre on October 28^th of last year was a big event. International stars were there to perform in the concert. Also, many major opera and ballet companies were there.

Moscow Metro Tour

Don’t just spend time riding the metros in Moscow. Take an official Moscow Metro Tour. Why should you bother yourself with a tour of Moscow’s metro system? Perhaps you should take the tour because of the fact that the metro system in Moscow helps to transport 8 million people daily. That is a pretty impressive statistic, considering that it is more than the number of people transported by the metro systems in London and New York City combined.

On what day of the week is the Moscow Metro Tour taking place? The tour of Moscow’s metro system is only available on Sundays. What time does it start and end? It begins at 11 am, and will last until roughly 1 pm.

What will you see and learn during the touring of the metro system in Moscow? The tour will point out things to you about the architecture and history of the Moscow metro system. Also, the tour will take you to see a number of different metro stations. That is so that it will be easier for you to see how the stations reflect the style of the time period in which each one was constructed in.

How much is a ticket for you to go on the Moscow Metro Tour? If you buy the ticket over the phone, it is going to cost you $30.95 for one adult ticket. Meanwhile, buying a tour ticket through the internet is only $25.95. Therefore, it definitely pays for you to make the Moscow Metro Tour purchase online.

Fly MiGs Over Moscow

Looking for a Moscow adventure? Not afraid of heights? Do the most thrilling thing there is to do in Moscow. Fly a real MiG. No, don’t just settle for being a passenger. Actually take part in flying the plane yourself. Incredible Adventures can make it happen for you.

To take part in flying the MiG plane over the city of Moscow, you should plan on spending at least five days in Moscow. The second that you reach Moscow’s airport, someone from Incredible Adventures will be there to pick you up. From there, they will take you to the Metropol hotel. After allowing you some time to yourself, you will receive an invitation to meet up with Incredible Adventures’ general manager over dinner. The meal will take place at a pub in the local area. During this time you will receive info about your upcoming flight, and how your next couple of days will pan out. Prior to bidding you goodnight, the general manager will hand you a cell phone that includes the phone numbers of Incredible Adventures’ staff.

On your second day, you will be guided onto a train that is going to take you to Nizhny—where you will be flying the MiG. The third day is going to be the highlight of your trip, since it is the day that you will actually get to fly. The fourth day is there as a backup flight day, in case you were not able to fly on the previous day. On the fifth and last day, the staff of Incredible Adventures will make sure you get onboard your flight back home.

Wash in a Banya

Want to try something new during your stay in Moscow? How about going to a banya? What is a banya? In a way, it sort of resembles a sauna room. In Russia, it is a pretty common place for the locals to go to. It is a bath house that people frequent in order to get clean and socialize.

A few decades ago, there were more than a hundred banyas in Moscow. Nowadays, there are only about 50 left in the city. Back in the day, people in Moscow needed to utilize banyas in order to get their bodies clean. These days, they go simply because they enjoy the experience of it all.

Inside a banya, men and women are to go their separate ways. Once separated, you will start your own cleaning process. You can choose to wash in a shower, or you can just use the bucket of water by the benches. After you have cleaned your body, you can start heading towards the banya’s steam room. You are to stay in the steam room until you are able to work up a good amount of sweat. Once that has been done, you will be ready for the cold pool. From there, you can just jump back and forth between the warmth of the steam room and the coldness of the pool. You decide how long you want this back and forth action to last. Also, you are allowed to take a break in between all of the fun to have a light snack. So don’t think you have to stop just because you’re getting hungry.

Animals at the Moscow Zoo

In 1864, Russia opened up its first zoo. That zoo is the present day Moscow Zoo. Since its opening, the Moscow Zoo has gone through many different changes.

Nowadays, the Moscow Zoo is home to more than 8000 zoo animals. Upon your entrance into the zoo, the first thing you are going to notice is the Big Pond. This is where all of the zoo’s ducks, geese, and other waterfowl birds hangout.

As you start to step further away from the main gate of the Moscow Zoo, the flamingos are the next group of creatures that you are likely to see. If you are lucky, you might even get the chance to see a baby flamingo hatching from its egg.

Living right across from the flamingos are the zoo’s cheetahs. Even though the cheetahs are living in captivity, they still have not allowed their hunting skills to get rusty. They are still capable of hunting down any of the birds that are unfortunate enough to end up in their living space.

Located near the cheetahs is the Tropical Cat House. This is one of the Moscow Zoo’s most popular exhibitions. Visitors enjoy seeing the jaguars and white tigers living in the Tropical Cat House.

Perhaps the rarest animal that can be found at the Moscow Zoo is the spectacled bear. Its specie is close to becoming extinct. That is because people are constantly trying to hunt them down.

Another interesting animal that lives at the Moscow Zoo is the warthog. Warthogs have really large tusks that they use to guard themselves against bigger predators. When in a fight, the warthogs will give out a loud roar. So try not to get too close to the warthogs when visiting the Moscow Zoo.