Feb 14, 2007
Russia
I got to Moscow tonight. Cold and some snow. We flew from Munich to Moscow on Lufthansa and got to the airport on time. Passport control was painless — about a 10 minute line — I’ve had worse in Chicago and Mexico City. The Russia woman looked at my passport, Russia visa and registration card (something I’ve read would be bad if lost) and stamped them. The customs area is just by the baggage claim. We got a little confused of the need to declare things. Lonely Planet said we should note electronics like PCs, phones, etc. And we went to the declare line and waited. There were people with big trolleys stuffed with things to declare. A Mongolian chick cut to the front of the line and the customs lady let her go. I went up to the front too. The Russian lady looked at my declaration form and said we could exit in the nothing to declare line. So then we were free to go. A little confusiing but not really as painful as the stories I’ve read on the interweb.
When you emerge from the customs/baggage claim area, you’re met by a throng of people — taxi and car service drivers. If you don’t have a car ordered, I think you can get ripped off. Our company had a car waiting for us so the driver took us to the hotel. Traffic in that town sucked. Probably took close to two hours to make the 40km.
The hotel is right across from Red Square. It is $600/nt. Thank god someone else is paying for it! It is a nice room. Probably within the top 5 I’ve ever been in. This bed and comforter is decadent. When you check in to a hotel in Russia you must get a stamp on your registration card within 72 hours or you are screwed. At my hotel, it was only a 15 minute process. As Russia is the country that invented “papers please”, you can’t walk around without your passport. However, Lonely Planet says you can use photocopies of your passport, visa and registration card. Loneyl Planet cautions that sometimes cops will take your passport until you give them a bribe. I didn’t see anything like that tonight. Since it is Valentine’s Day, there were a lot of couples walking around Red Square. There was a stage set up for concerts. There was a roller rink.
Went to the mall across from Lenin’s tomb and had dinner at Sbarro, the pizza place you see in the mall. Except you can buy beer and smokes at this one. I got cash from an ATM that gives you a choice of rubles, US dollars or euros. The currencies seem to be used interchangably.
You dined at Sbarro? What the fuck?
Ditto S. I love hearing details about this from other countries. Plus – WTF with such an expensive room? Is it something comprable to somewhere else you’ve stayed that has been a lot cheaper in a different country?
that’s kirktastic! you dined at Sbarro, though? what the fuck. KIT, i need help, a gringo ordered pizza at an American restaurant while in Russia. please activate turbo boost.
Kirk, I tend to dine at least once in an American chain (usually McDonald’s) on a trip in Europe. When you’re hungry, jet-lagged, disoriented, and need to get the job done, chains are great for meeting that bottom line. Of course, I do loads of research for most of the rest of my meals, but I see it as sort of a Quality Control Experience and am consistently amazed at the ubiquitousness of American Culture — chains are just a part of that. Amazing how the McDonald’s cheeseburger or Big Mac can be so consistent in London, Rome, Paris (Mc-Do! — the French secretly love it and SBUX, you know). Yet, it’s also amazing how disgusting the breakfast sandwiches at Burger King in London are.
I noticed in one of your other entries that you went to McDonald’s in Moscow. I sort of think it would have been cool to track down the very first one and visit it, since I still remember the news showing when the first one opened in Moscow, during Gorbachev.
I was thinking the same thing about the McD’s in Moscow. I also remember as being a kid never imagining I’d be in Russia. And there I was.
[...] city and go to the sweltering beach. What a difference a month makes. This time last month I was in Moscow. Complaining about how cold it was. Now I complain over how hot it is? Will I ever be [...]