Moscow, the Largest European Capital – Part 1

This article will be dedicated to parks, culture, history and more, because these days few people think of visiting Moscow or Russia, even though obtaining an entry visa is easier than it was years ago. However, finding plane tickets and accommodation is somewhat more difficult, to which I will dedicate a few words at the end.

Despite its size, Moscow is an exceptionally tidy and clean city. If we were looking for the most organised and cleanest European capital, Ljubljana, Bern, Luxembourg and Vaduz would probably be in the lead. But if we were to exclude capitals with less than a million inhabitants from the selection, Moscow, Warsaw, Minsk and Kiev would definitely compete for the cleanest and most organised capital in Europe.

Sustainable public transport which we strive for in many European countries, is written in Moscow's DNA, as it has an exemplary public transport system, which is almost 100% powered by electricity. Additionally, they offer bicycle and e-scooter rentals, so a car is mostly an unnecessary burden. Even during my visit, I did not use any other transport than the metro, which is in seventh place in the world in terms of both total length and number of rides. It measures 525 kilometres, and passengers make a total of 2.3 billion rides per year.

The Moscow metro is certainly the most beautiful in the world, with some stations resembling living rooms in castles or sculpture galleries. An additional incentive to use public transport is its affordable price. When using the "Troika" card, a metro ride costs 63 roubles or 0.67 euros, with all transfers included in this price, so you can travel just a few stations, or from Vnukovo Airport to the city centre, including three transfers, since one ride essentially means one metro ticket. Theoretically you could travel all day on all lines for 63 roubles. In addition to public transport, Moscow also offers a well-developed network for renting bicycles and e-scooters.

Now that we have familiarised ourselves with the statistical data on the size of the Russian capital and its excellent public transport system, it is time to finally focus on the reasons why you should visit Moscow in the first place.

The Moscow Marathon takes place every year. This year it will take place on October 20th and 21st. But this paragraph is written somewhat cynically, as it does not actually refer to a traditional sporting event, but to my visit to Moscow, which lasted only a little over three days, during which Google Maps recorded that I walked over 50 kilometres in addition to the over 150 that I covered using public transport. But if you want to see and experience Moscow, this is unavoidable since all the attractions, especially outdoor ones, are of megalomaniacal proportions. And so, anyone can easily cover the distance of a marathon and more in just a few days.

Anyone can find something that interests them in Moscow, as it is full of cultural institutions and parks. But first, let's focus on two parks where you can spend the whole day, yet you still won't experience everything they have to offer, as there are many cultural institutions located in these two parks.

Gorky Park or "Tsentralny park kultury i otdykha imeni Gorkogo" also known as the Central Park of Culture and Recreation named after the Russian writer Maxim Gorky is the most famous central park, where, in addition to adrenaline-pumping fun on carousels, an ice rink in winter, a swimming pool and boat rentals in summer, you can admire numerous monuments, beautifully landscaped gardens, and even fountains that dance to the rhythm of music.

Gorky Park is also home to numerous museums and galleries, the most interesting of which is the New Tretyakov Gallery, named after Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov, a Russian merchant and textile industrialist who in 1856 decided to buy the finest works of art by Russian painters, which are exhibited both in the Tretyakov Gallery, which is outside the park, and in the larger and more modern New Tretyakov Gallery in Gorky Park.

Gorky Park also houses the Museum of Contemporary Art, the M.O.S.T. Cult automobile museum, a pinball and table football museum, an open-air cinema and many other attractions. Although I have visited Moscow several times, Gorky Park still amazed me this time, as it was additionally decorated during the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the Victory, and even more events were taking place in the park than usual. Unfortunately for me and fortunately for those who will come in a few months, a large part of the park along the river was closed for renovation work. But that did not spoil my experience.

VNDH stands for "Vystavka dostizheniy narodnogo khozyaystva", translated as the Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy. This is another park where you can also stay all day, yet you won't get to experience everything it has to offer. It is in an area called Ostankino and is about a fifteen-minute metro ride from the centre of Moscow. The first attraction is located right in front of the entrance to the park or exhibition centre and is definitely worth a visit, as it is an extremely rich cosmonautics museum, where you can see original space capsules, rockets, parts of the space station, and learn about the everyday life of astronauts who spent weeks or months in a few square metres.

Just a few dozen metres further on is the central entrance to the VNDH, which is striking in itself, but even more striking is the fountain that awaits us right at the beginning of the park and is named Friendship of Nations. It is adorned with golden statues of sixteen girls from the 16 Soviet socialist republics. The park is followed by pavilions dedicated to each of the former Soviet republics, among which the Ukrainian pavilion is in the most prestigious place, and is also the most beautiful of all. All these pavilions are intended for certain permanent and temporary exhibitions. For example, the Ukrainian pavilion hosted a temporary exhibition of Slavic literacy.

In addition to these sixteen pavilions, the VNDH also has numerous other attractions, such as a museum of special vehicles, mainly those used by former Soviet leaders, most proudly presenting vehicles of the prestigious Aurus brand, whose production was expanded from Russia to the United Arab Emirates.

The VNDH is also home to the Moscow Aquarium or Moskvarium, the historical park Russia – My History, an exhibition of robots from all over the world, a space pavilion, a film museum, an astronautics and aviation centre, a museum of illusions and even a city farm, where you can enjoy natural aromatherapy right in the centre of Moscow. Although there is much more to the VNDH, I will conclude this part by mentioning the large ice rink that is organised every winter.

Before you leave this part of the city, it is worth stopping at the beautiful Church of the Holy Trinity and the Ostankino TV Tower, which, at 540 metres, is the tallest building in Europe. You can visit it and also have a snack and a view of Moscow in the revolving restaurant just below the top. But although lunch in a revolving restaurant half a kilometre above the city is a very special experience, I recommend visiting the Russian cuisine pavilion, which has a few dozen small restaurants from all parts of Russia, and where I opted for noodles with beef from the Russian republic of Buryatia in the far northeast.

Although we can visit quite a few prestigious museums and galleries in these two parks, this is just the beginning, as Moscow is literally full of parks, theatres, galleries and museums, which will be presented in the second part of this travelogue.