Hello beauties! Did everyone have a good weekend? I attended a high tea with some of my blogger friends yesterday which was so much fun, and not to mention absolutely delicious! I have an outfit post and some yummy food pictures coming to the blog this week. For today here is a recap of my recent trip and my favourite things to do and see in Moscow!
I have never been to Moscow in winter before because well, I don’t like winter. It dropped down to -15 this time and my South African winter clothes were no good. I ended up borrowing all of my mother’s clothes- good thing we even share the same shoe size.
Russians celebrate The New Year- that’s when the tree comes up and the presents are given. This year is the year of the horse according to the Chinese calendar. We celebrated at home with our family which was lovely. I also travelled to Ukraine and Moldova to see my grandparents and extended family.
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| On New Years Eve |
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| Getting ready for New Years with my mom and aunt |
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| With my little brother |
Among the “cultural” things that I did this time was visiting the Moscow House of Photography. They had a “Russia in Vogue” exhibition which I really wanted to see. There was also the “Freedom not Genius” exhibition that we visited along the way. Maybe I don’t understand art, but some of these things seemed rather strange to me.
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| Strange right? This exhibit was called “Bunny” |
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| A portrait made out of smokes. |
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| Another strange one… |
And of course, shopping!
Anyway here I put together my Top 5 must-see places in Moscow. I have visited all of them and left with a lot of memories and emotions after seeing them. If you ever travel to Moscow, make sure to at least see one of two of these historical places. I don’t know much about hotels and places you can stay at there because I always stay with my parents, but if you are thinking of travelling to Moscow sometime soon please feel free to drop me an email with any questions that you might have.
My Top 5 places to see and do in Moscow
1. See The Red Square and The Kremlin
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| The Red Square |
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| With my brother back in 2009 |
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| Ice rink inside the Red Square |
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| Outside the Kremlin walls. |
They are located right next to each other and are both beyond beautiful. The Red Square has the St. Basil Cathedral, The Lenin Mausoleum and one of the biggest and luxurious shopping centres in it. During the winter time there is also a huge ice rink in the middle of the square which looks beautiful with all of the lights around it light up. The Kremlin has a variety of buildings and churches in it and the history is fascinating. It is also where the president works and a place where some of the past Tsars are buried. I would suggest getting an excursion into the Kremlin though just so you can hear about how it was build and all of the history behind it.
2. Visit Tretyakov State Gallery
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| I loved this painting which was called “Morning In The Pine Forrest”. |
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| One of the scariest and yet beautiful paintings in the gallery – “Ivan The Terrible Kills His Son”. |
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| Its always fun to mock the art 😉 |
It is one of the most famous and fascinating art galleries. It contains over 130000 exhibits and even if you don’t know art you will enjoy it. It contains some of the most famous paintings which in real life are even more stunning. I really enjoyed my trip there and I would gladly go back again!
3. Take a ride along Moskva-Reka (Moscow River)
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| With my mom along the Moscow River |
It is one of the best things to do during the summer. The water cools you down and you get to see Moscow from another angle. The traffic there is so crazy so this is a lovely way to take a break from the rush and enjoy a slow ride with gorgeous views of the city.
4. See the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour
This is the tallest Orthodox church in the world and one of the most beautiful. It was built in honour of Christ the Saviour after Napoleon Bonaparte retreated from Moscow. The cathedral commemorates the sacrifice that the Russian people made during that time of war. For some reason I’ve never taken a photo next to it but it is magnificent and the inside is even more beautiful.
5. Walk along Old Arbat Street
My parents live five minutes away from it and I walked the street almost every day to get to the subway station. It is a walk-only street with no cars allowed on it. You feel like you really dive into the past century when there were no cars yet. The street is full of souvenir shops where you can find anything from Matreshkas to furry hats. It has every cuisine and restaurant you can think of on it. Any fast food you have wanted to try-it’s there. Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Cinnabon, The Hard Rock Café, Wendy’s, Burger King and more. There are signers and guitar players on it, artists and poets. It has become my favourite places in Moscow. See my pictures on Old Arbat here.
Loved this post!! Russia looks so beautiful. Would love to travel there one day:)
You do have to go there! Next time you fly to Doha maybe you need to make a little detour 😉
Love this! Russia is def on my bucket list, except I can’t do it in winter *summer baby* haha! You looked gorgeous, loved all your outfits!
Haha summer is the way! I love going there in summer! Thank you, you know how I like planning out all my outfits 😛
Love your New Years outfit! Russia looks awesome, definitely a place that i would love to explore.
xoxo One Stiletto At a Time fashion and beauty blog
Thank you, I’m very into jumpsuits in the moment! Russia is defiantly worth a visit especially Moscow and St.Petersburg!
Your imitation of that painting is just brilliant. Love it!
http://arumlilea.blogspot.com
Hahaha yes sometimes I get bored in such places and start fooling around 😛