tsastor

Because this is a trip report to Moscow and given today's international climate, a few words about ”why” might be in order. When telling about my planned trip to Moscow, one of my close relatives said that Moscow is a place he is not the least interested in visiting. However, as I was going as I have never been in Moscow before, he told me a few selected things he wished me to tell Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, should I happen to run into him. I promised to relay the message, even though I admit that I'm not the sharpest of Putin's critics.

As a great coincidence, I see that Seat 2A in his impeccable style just published his latest trip report, including at the very start a train journey from Moscow to Beijing! It seems only fitting then, to add to his epic journey my very modest contribution of how the train journey could have started from Helsinki to Moscow and add a little bit of Moscow itself. Seat 2A chose to take Aeroflot to Moscow, I took the Tolstoy overnight Express Train.

So let's start directly from the train as it still lingers through the Finnish landscape drawn by a locomotive of the Finnish State Railways (VR) although all the carriages are from the Russian railways.

The corridor to my cabin.


The ”Tolstoy” leaves Helsinki every evening at 6:44 pm, arriving at Moscow Leningradskyi station the following morning at 9:19. The schedule is extremely convenient, as you could actually spend the full day in Moscow and head back to Helsinki at 11:10 pm the same evening. However, we spent two full days in Moscow.

The cabin.


The train cars are not old Soviet style cars anymore but completely new ones, also used on other routes from Russia to Western Europe at least based on the text signs in English, German and French. There are three classes of service: 2nd class, First class and VIP class. The 2nd class and First class cabins are identical, with First class not using upper berths and thus accomodating only two people. In these classes, the toilets and showers are situated at one end of the carriage and are shared. In VIP class, you get your own bathroom and the car also contains a private bar.

A VIP cabin costs about double a 1st class cabin, which in turn costs about double what a single berth costs. We travelled together as a group and had a normal cabin to ourselves.

In all classes, a substantial snack/breakfast is included.


The snack consisted of a youghurt, croissant, chocolate bar, juice, water bottle and three apple jam filled crepes (or ”blinis”). You can order additional items and hot beverages from the conductor/hostess who has her own office at the opposite end of the car relative from the shower/toilet.

A picture from the last station on the Finnish side where the locomotive is changed to a Russian one before entering mother Russia.



There is wifi on board. You can e.g. follow the progress of the train journey, play games or watch movies. If you want to browse the internet, you need to send an SMS in order to get a code. That did not work with my phone, but we also had a phone with a Russian pre-paid SIM card, and the code we got that way also worked on my iPhone. So I was online all the way to Moscow!



The immigration formalities for Russia take place on train and is one of the most pleasant ones as you can relax in your own cabin sipping tea, while the border guards inspect your passport and visa outside in the corridor.



After border formalities, it was time for a quick shower and for brushing your teeth.


There is a small amenity kit included which contains slippers as well as toothpaste and a toothbrush. A tiny towel is also supplied.




Oh, I almost forgot. A beer in the restaurant car of course helps you sleep better as the train slowly progresses towards Moscow in the Russian night!



Arrival the next morning after a surprisingly well slept night (I slept like a baby) at the Leningradskiy station in Moscow!


To be continued, I hope...

tsastor

So we have arrived at the Leningradskiy station and step out of the station building. The first thing you see is one of Stalin's ”teeth”, a building that I assume today houses the Moscow Hilton.



The Leningradskyi station building. ”Leningradskij Vokzal”.


There are of course taxis outside of the station, but also the metro station ”Komsomolskaya” is just a short distance away. The metro stations in Moscow are just gorgeous.





The metro service frequency is also incredible, I think we hardly ever waited more than two minutes for the metro, and we used it a lot! Suspect looking people and baggage is inspected. Never happened to us, though.



One central metro station is the ”Lenin library”. Lenin still sits outside and it seems that Moscow in no way is ashamed of its Soviet past.



This station is ideal for the Kreml, which was our first place of visit after checking in to our hotel.

The entrance gate to the Kreml.


While it used to be free to visit the Kreml, you today have to buy a ticket and go through a security check. If you just want to visit the Kreml and encounter a line to the ticket office, do not join it! The line is probably for visiting the armory. For other places and Kreml itself, there is probably just a very short line. Or you can also use vending machines in the ticket office to get your ticket.

Once in Kreml, you should visit some of the many Orthodox churches.



One of them houses the tomb of Ivan the terrible and his son he himself killed.


Of course there is beautiful religious artwork to admire as well.



Back outside, have a look at one of the czar's cannons.



Unlike when getting in, there are several exits you may use. The one we used went directly to the Red Square.


The Red Square with the ”GUM” department store in the background and spectator stands in the foreground.



The GUM department store.





The side of the Red Square most people probably recognize.



And the other side, the one from where we exited the square.



The Bolshoi (Grand) theatre. Yes, we did enjoy the greatest ballet in the world in the evening.



The Four Seasons hotel. One of the great hotels smack in the centre. Some others are the Ritz-Carlton, the Metropol, the Savoy Moscow and the Marriott Royal Aurora.

tsastor

So we've done a full day of sightseeing and it's time to find a place to eat … but wait … what do we have here? Could that be Putin … and … but who is that! Seems I've caught both Putin AND Lenin in a rare common picture!



Since I knew Putin is a busy man, I only told him to find a peaceful solution in Ukraine as fast as possible together with Ukraine's Poroshenko and asked him to use his influence to have the Ukrainian rebels drop their arms in return for amnesty or asylum.

So now at this point we were really hungry, or at least I was, so we took the metro to Arbat street, a pedestrian area with many restaurants. Hmm... food fast … fast food … No, not McDonalds today. Kentucky Fried Chicken, yes, maybe. Or Russian fast food... Blinis at Teremok?



No, just had blinis on the train. Mosburg? Mosburger?



Is that the real thing? No idea! Maybe our FT friend mosburger could consult?

This place looked interesting.


But in the end we had dinner at a Georgian restaurant with typical home cooking style Georgian food and wine.

The next day some more shopping.



(Europe shopping mall.)



And some especially fine museums...

Tretyakov gallery.


Museum of Soviet era arcade games.


What's more in our short trip? The ballet of course, and some last sights.





And then to head back to Leningradskiy station.



And the Tolstoy. Only now I realized that the train also has a car for cars!



Along with the dozen or so passenger cars.



До свидания, Москва!

halfcape

Looking forward to the rest of the trip. Thanks for posting.

seat38a

Nice report so far. It seems this is the year of visiting Russia. I got back weeks ago from Moscow and St Petersburg. Last year Peru seemed to be in vogue.

aidy

thanks for posting

blueferrari

the rail report is getting popular now, I like it. the name of tolstoy given to a train is rather curious though. I bet he used to travel to Helsinki on train back on his days.

thanks for sharing. russia seems to be popular than ever for tourist, given their upcoming world cup next year.

tsastor

Thanks for the encouragement, halfcape. The second part of the report is now on-line.

tsastor

Thank you both! I looked up the beginning of rail traffic from Helsinki to Russia and it seems to have started in 1870. So Leo Tolstoy, who was 42 years old at that time, may well have used it.

tsastor

Thanks! Machu Pichu? A little harder to reach than Moscow...

Seat 2A

Great report, tsastor! I gave some real thought to riding the train from Helsinki and probably would have had it been the old "Repin" - a beautiful train inside and out - but ultimately a chance to add Aeroflot to my list of airlines flown for relatively cheap swayed my thinking.

Thank you for this nice report though. Next time I will try to plan on a few days in and around Moscow and St. Petersburg. Cheers! ^^

tsastor

Thank's a lot Seat 2A, I feel honored by your comments!

I never had the chance to ride the "Repin", but people in my company commented that they much preferred the modern cabins and the showers of the "Tolstoy", while greatly missing the beautiful restaurant cars of the "Repin".

SPBanker

Great report! And that hotel is indeed Hilton Leningradskaya. Very good price/quality ratio (if one doesn't mind taking the metro to many places).

camsean

I've never heard Stalin's teeth before. I have heard seven sisters though.

Great TR so far.

nequine

Great TR and nice to see one involving a train too.