When I planned this trip to Munich for Oktoberfest, I wanted to see where else can I go around Europe. I didn't want to come this far for just one reason. I looked at the map of Europe. I have not been to Turkey, Sarajevo in Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, countryside of Romania, etc. Then I cross-referenced some of the tours offered by Tucan Travel. Most of the places I want to go won't fit my schedule. Then I saw a tour in Russia, which fits my schedule perfectly. It's called the Russian Highlights Tour. I've never been to Russia, don't know much about it, other than reading in the papers. So, why not? I booked the tour, to follow a few days after Oktoberfest. I added 2 extra days before the tour starts in Moscow, and added 2 extra days after the tour ends in St. Petersburg. After Russia, I still have another week to travel to Scotland and England.
My flight left Munich at about 10am. I left my friend's house at about 7:15am, walked 5 minutes to the train station and waited for the 7:30am train to the Munich airport. I punched my S-Bahn 7-day pass at one of the blue "punch" boxes, which dated the end of my pass. Since the train runs on an honor system, this will prevent someone from using my pass. Check-in was easy since I was early. I found the airport lounge that I have access to and sat there and relax until about 30 minutes before the flight. The lounge offers some simple snacks like muffins, fruits, juice, coffee, and alcoholic beverages if you feel inclined at this time of the day.
My flight from Munich to Moscow was on an Aeroflot Airlines, the Russian national airline. Back in the 70s' I heard horror stores about this airline, first, their service or lack of, and second, the planes they were flying. At that time I think it was an Ilyushin aircraft, not known for its safety and smooth rides. Fortunately, this flight is on an Airbus A320, one of the most common commercial airplanes in the world. When all the passengers have boarded, they were ready to go. Ten minutes early. The flight was not full. All the pre-flight information was exactly like in any other airline around the world. Russian and English were spoken. They even provide a simple meal and drinks. Better than the British Airways flight I took from London to Munich. The flight attendants were as good as any other airline that I've flown. Capitalism has come to Russia.
Russia is one country I least expect to visit because I know so little about it. Luckily, I met a Russian couple while traveling in Korea this year. Sergey had also worked in Singapore for a few years. I took a picture of him and his wife and sent it to him on WhatsApp. I texted him a message after I booked my tour. My questions were generic safety questions: should I bring my big camera, how do I take a taxi from the airport, etc. Sergey volunteered to order a taxi to meet me at the airport. There are 3 major airports in Moscow: Domodedovo (DME), Sheremetyevo (SVO), Vnukovo (VKO) and Zhukovsky (ZIA). I thought I was flying into DME but Sergey, just a couple of days before my flight, reminded me that Aeroflot usually flies into SVO. I checked and yes, sure enough I was flying into SVO.
The driver met me at the airport wth my name on an iPad. First, I had to go to the ATM and get some Russian money. He spoke some English, which was very helpful. It took him about 30 minutes to get to the hotel, going on the toll highway. The fare, including tolls and tips, was 2,500 rubles. Not exactly cheap but I am glad I got to the hotel without any incident. I am staying at the Izmailovo Hotel. It has 2 buildings: Delta and Gamma. There is another pair of similar hotels. They were all built during the 1980 Russian Olympics. It is a humongous complex. There are many tourists staying there.
I invited Sergey and his wife for dinner on one condition. That he has to take me to a traditional Russian restaurant. The restaurant he suggested was Iliya Muromets (Илья Муромец). Address: Leninsky Prospect 37 (Ленинский проспект 37)
One hour before the dinner I started getting ready to go to the restaurant. No matter how I tried, I could not get a taxi on the street. I finally when to the 5-star Hotel National and ask the concierge to get me a taxi. Even though I wasn't staying there they were nice to enough to get a taxi for me. But the taxis can't get there right away. The traffic was horrendous because the King of Saudi Arabia was visiting. So they called a "Business Taxi" which arrived about 30 minutes later. Instead of taking 30 minutes to get to the restaurant, the taxi took almost an hour. On the way I had to call my friend using my US AT&T phone to call. I can't imagine what the roaming and phone charges is going to be. I didn't have a choice. The taxi driver refused to call my friend for me. When I got to the restaurant the taxi fare was about 1,800 rubles, or more than US$30. I gave him 2,000 rubles, happy to finally get to the restaurant. We had an excellent traditional Russian dinner, with lots of vodka of course. It was an excellent dinner and nice conversation. Nice to have found some new friends in Russia.
Now I am ready to explore Moscow. It was raining when I arrived. The forecast is rain for the next few days. So much for my picture taking.
My flight left Munich at about 10am. I left my friend's house at about 7:15am, walked 5 minutes to the train station and waited for the 7:30am train to the Munich airport. I punched my S-Bahn 7-day pass at one of the blue "punch" boxes, which dated the end of my pass. Since the train runs on an honor system, this will prevent someone from using my pass. Check-in was easy since I was early. I found the airport lounge that I have access to and sat there and relax until about 30 minutes before the flight. The lounge offers some simple snacks like muffins, fruits, juice, coffee, and alcoholic beverages if you feel inclined at this time of the day.
My flight from Munich to Moscow was on an Aeroflot Airlines, the Russian national airline. Back in the 70s' I heard horror stores about this airline, first, their service or lack of, and second, the planes they were flying. At that time I think it was an Ilyushin aircraft, not known for its safety and smooth rides. Fortunately, this flight is on an Airbus A320, one of the most common commercial airplanes in the world. When all the passengers have boarded, they were ready to go. Ten minutes early. The flight was not full. All the pre-flight information was exactly like in any other airline around the world. Russian and English were spoken. They even provide a simple meal and drinks. Better than the British Airways flight I took from London to Munich. The flight attendants were as good as any other airline that I've flown. Capitalism has come to Russia.
Russia is one country I least expect to visit because I know so little about it. Luckily, I met a Russian couple while traveling in Korea this year. Sergey had also worked in Singapore for a few years. I took a picture of him and his wife and sent it to him on WhatsApp. I texted him a message after I booked my tour. My questions were generic safety questions: should I bring my big camera, how do I take a taxi from the airport, etc. Sergey volunteered to order a taxi to meet me at the airport. There are 3 major airports in Moscow: Domodedovo (DME), Sheremetyevo (SVO), Vnukovo (VKO) and Zhukovsky (ZIA). I thought I was flying into DME but Sergey, just a couple of days before my flight, reminded me that Aeroflot usually flies into SVO. I checked and yes, sure enough I was flying into SVO.
The driver met me at the airport wth my name on an iPad. First, I had to go to the ATM and get some Russian money. He spoke some English, which was very helpful. It took him about 30 minutes to get to the hotel, going on the toll highway. The fare, including tolls and tips, was 2,500 rubles. Not exactly cheap but I am glad I got to the hotel without any incident. I am staying at the Izmailovo Hotel. It has 2 buildings: Delta and Gamma. There is another pair of similar hotels. They were all built during the 1980 Russian Olympics. It is a humongous complex. There are many tourists staying there.
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| The Izmailovo Gamma Hotel |
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| Appetizers for our dinner |
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| Sergey, his wife and I |
One hour before the dinner I started getting ready to go to the restaurant. No matter how I tried, I could not get a taxi on the street. I finally when to the 5-star Hotel National and ask the concierge to get me a taxi. Even though I wasn't staying there they were nice to enough to get a taxi for me. But the taxis can't get there right away. The traffic was horrendous because the King of Saudi Arabia was visiting. So they called a "Business Taxi" which arrived about 30 minutes later. Instead of taking 30 minutes to get to the restaurant, the taxi took almost an hour. On the way I had to call my friend using my US AT&T phone to call. I can't imagine what the roaming and phone charges is going to be. I didn't have a choice. The taxi driver refused to call my friend for me. When I got to the restaurant the taxi fare was about 1,800 rubles, or more than US$30. I gave him 2,000 rubles, happy to finally get to the restaurant. We had an excellent traditional Russian dinner, with lots of vodka of course. It was an excellent dinner and nice conversation. Nice to have found some new friends in Russia.
Now I am ready to explore Moscow. It was raining when I arrived. The forecast is rain for the next few days. So much for my picture taking.
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