russia: a weekend in and around Moscow

We spent most of the first 75% of the year traveling around Russia on weekends. For various reasons, we've ended up planning to stay in Moscow during the last  two months of the school year. There are heaps of day trips to do, and each time we do one we learn about more. (The list of places to go never gets shorter, no matter how much I see.)

We met up early Saturday morning, at 0815, at Strogino metro station. Just outside the exit of the metro station was the marshrutka we needed to get to our destination for the day. 
We boarded, but a minute or so later I realized the driver was smoking while waiting for departure, which was gross. 

I'm guessing that is against the rules, but I have no idea who to call to fix the problem. We hopped back off, and stood outside to wait for 15 minutes. The weather was amazing, so waiting outside was totally fun.

The marshrutka ride was easy, and almost empty. Apparently no one is on that route at 0900. We got off at the right spot, and remembered that our sight of the day was only going to open an hour later, at 10. We got close to the ticket window to try to figure out the price we'd have to pay, and were told that it was the first day of the season, so the estate would be opening late, at 1300.

The lady suggested we walk down the street a bit to another museuem, the museum of technology. Since we had nearly four hours to kill, that seemed as good an idea as any. The walk was on a pavement that went through a wooded area, so it was actually really pleasant.

We arrived at the museum of technology about 20 minutes before it opened. We weren't the first to arrive, there was already one family waiting. While waiting we figured out we'd pay the full entry price, which would allow us into the museum, as well as on the outside grounds. (You can also pay for just walking around outside.)

The museum of technology is just over 11 years old, and is the baby of Vadim Zadorozhny. There are three floors of exhibits inside, consisting of cars, bicycles, motorcycles, horseless carriages, etc... There are also small arms, and some displays related to WW2. Downstairs were items related to everyday life, like toys and hygiene items and radios and Tvs, etc...

The old cars were the best part of the museum, hands down. Soviet brands like ZiL and Gaz, international brands like BMW and Mercedes, Harley Davidson and Indian. There were also small airplanes hung from the ceiling. A.MA.ZING. We loved everything inside.

Everything displayed outside was of the sort we'd seen before: tanks and military planes mostly. It was nice, but not as cool as the cars. There were young families out and about, with the kids crawling all over the tanks outside.

After taking a snack break on one of the benches outside we decided to walk back to Arkhangelskoye. We got back to the entrance gates at 1245, there was already a queue. I wonder how long they'd been waiting. Right at 1300 employees started handing out free entrance tickets, and we passed through the gates.

Arkhangelskoye was a grand estate from the early 18^th century. It was owned by a couple families until being nationalized by the state in 1917. It is now a state museum.

We walked through the gates to find out not all the landscaping had been finished. Some of the trails were still sand and dirt, others had pieces of wood over the sand and dirt to help you walk. When will all of it be finished?

We walked around outside first. The property is extensive, with a fair bit of it landscaped in a classical garden style. There are tunnels of greenery, and lines of trees. There are statues at regular intervals, and the whole thing creates an atmosphere of a western european royal property.

On one side of the property is a place called the Colonnade. It's just what the name makes it out to be, a series of columns. According to everything I read, it is unfinished. I don't know what that means; should the columns go all the way around? It's photogenic, of course.

In the middle of the columns is a small chapel, I think it is an exhibition space now? The painting on the walls and ceiling is gorgeous. When we stepped inside there was a piano and chairs set up in preparation for a concert. Before stepping into this chapel our tickets were checked, which we found interesting. Since the day was free, why bother to check for tickets?

After the colonnade we went back to the main palace. We had to wait a few minutes for people to come out, I assume the employees were keeping a steady number of people inside; not too many, not too few.

We had to put on shoe covers when we went into the palace, and our tickets were checked again. Again, since the day was free, we weren't sure why. The use of shoe covers in this country drives me nuts, since they're horrible for the environment, and don't stop dirt/water from getting into a building.

This palace made me think "dacha version of a grand european palace." instead of carving on the ceilings, everything was painted in a 3D way. Some of the ceilings were the same, painted in a way to create a 3D impression.

The second floor of the palace was closed, as I think renovations are still going up there.

We got to see a huge, fake meal set up in a grand dining room, a bedroom with the tallest canopy ever, and a few other rooms. I'm sure I could look up the purpose of each room but I'm too lazy for that. My favourite room had tall windwos, lettting in the beautiful sunlight.

After finishing with the palace we left the property. A bus and a metro and a quick walk brought us to dinner: a burger place.

The next day Claire's foot hurt, so she opted to miss the outing with Angela and me. Angela waited for me on the platform of my metro stop, a station called Baumanskaya. From there we rode all the way to Tsarytsino, which took nearly 40 minutes. (And cost us about 50 cents (USD) each, yay for government subsidized public transport.)

Tsarytsino has been around as an estate since the 16^th century. For years it was owned by one of the royal families. Catherine the Great bought it after falling in love with the beautiful landscape. 

She ordered a grand palace to be built, I believe that started in 1776. In 1785 she came to inspect the construction, as the palace was almost complete. She decided she didn't like it, and had it torn down, ordering it to be rebuilt, and to be better. Construction continued for another 10 years, until she died. Her successor had no interest in completing the building, so it just sat there for more than 200 years. The Russian state took it over at some point, with major completion and renovation work done from 2005-2007. The whole estate is now a museum estate, with the park area open and free.

The first time we came to Tsarytsino back in September, the weather was great; it was the same this time. Sunshine and warmer temperatures, yay! We walked through the park around the property, trying to avoid some of the people. We didn't really succeed, but we tried. We indulged in overpriced ice cream, just because it was there.

To get into the museum, you take an escalator down underground, which is where the ticket desk is located. There are several ticket options, we chose the most basic: the grand palace and bread house. You can also visit the opera house and greenhouses for extra fees.

We entered the palace first, which has several floors to visit. The first floor was the most boring, (to me,) as it was just pictures and information. I think it was mostly about the renovation, and some of the items that had been found in the ruins. There were also pieces that once existed in the palace, all quite fancy of course.

The second floor was my favourite. We went up what I think of as the middle staircase, which was really fancy. Mirrors, marble, spirals, etc... It was a double staircase, with platforms at each floor level. I loved it, and could've spent more time in the stairwell.

There were two grand rooms on the second floor: one was Catherine's room, which had a whole LOT of gold. Gold columns on the walls, gold on the ceiling, and a statue of Catherine at one end. There were large chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, though I think they were overrun by the gold everywhere else. The floors was wood patterned, I loved it.

The other grand room had AMAZING chandeliers, columns on the walls, and was more of a red shade. It also had fantastic flooring. Off one side of this room was a small room filled with period clothing. You could rent the costumes for a little while, then prance around the room and have fun photos taken. (We skipped this.)

The top floor of the palace was rather boring as well. Two big rooms, both mostly of wood. I think they could both be used as concert halls. From there we took the stairs all the way down to the ticket desk area, then went the other direction, coming up in the Bread House. I don't know why it has that name, because it is now an area where art is displayed. I liked some of the pieces we saw, but nothing struck me as particularly great.

We took a few more photos after walking back outside, then made our way to the metro station. About 45 minutes later we met up with Claire at another station, we all walked together to a small cafe that serves grilled cheese sandwiches. A great way to end a great weekend.