Jon and I arrived in Moscow this evening to start our nine-day holiday in Russia. The weather is mild and sunny, and we’ve settled smoothly into our rented apartment near Tverskaya metro station (aka Pushkinskaya or Chekhovskaya). As you’d expect, every sign and map here uses the cyrillic alphabet, so lucky for us that we’ve come with a friend who’s originally from Moscow. (I’m sure Helen felt equally lucky having to translate the entire restaurant menu for us at dinner this evening).
I was going to say our departure this morning from Heathrow Terminal 5 was very snazzy (the terminal is a gleaming beauty, with outrageously nice duty-free shops and sleek, spacious bathrooms), but Helen and her husband, Nick, arrived at Moscow Domodedovo missing one piece of luggage. So now we suspect their bag was sucked into the vortex of their Terminal 5 transfer from a US-UK flight to their UK-Russia one. Here’s hoping the luggage finds its way to our door tomorrow.
The apartment we’ve rented is small, but clean and close to a few pretty restaurants and cafes (as well as to the South African Embassy), so I think it will make a nice base for the next few days before we go to St. Petersburg.
This evening, we ate nearby at a local restaurant called the Fisheria, which looked like a NJ diner, complete with harsh lighting and linoleum floors. The food was very very eh (the whole fish stuffed with congealed cheese will haunt me forever – see photo below), but the meal cost 1200 Rubles ($50 at 24 Rubles to the Dollar) per couple, so at least it wasn’t expensive. It was, however, very poor value.
We were much more excited about the grocery store next door to the restaurant, which offered an enormous variety of foods for sale – everything from rice noodles to four different types of risotto rice. Faced with this sort of choice and abundance, I laughed when I thought about how we used to call our neighborhood Safeway in DC the “Soviet Safeway” because its shelves were always empty and its queues were endless.
I’m excited to start exploring Moscow in earnest tomorrow, so here’s hoping the good weather sticks around.
No way, you had a “Soviet Safeway” too? We had one in Oakland that we called that for years! I just Googled “Soviet Safeway” and found hundreds of references to the one in Washington D.C. (and also one called UnSafeway). And here I thought we were so clever and original in our use of a blatant stereotype.
Have fun in Russia – I hope the food improves! Ooh, and enjoy the wonderful Russian teas while you’re there (Kusmichoff Tea, now a Paris thing, was originally from St. Petersburg) – it isn’t every day you get to enjoy a beverage served from a samovar. Most of the tea in Russia is imported, but keep an eye out for the highly sought after Krasnodar tea (I’ve never tried it, but it is supposed to be delicious). Apparently Russian tea culture has died off a bit in the last 30 years, but is having a bit of a rebound in some places.
Hey Andy – Good to see you’ve been researching Safeway nicknames in DC. : ) Oh, and you don’t know the half of it. There was also the “Social Safeway” in Georgetown (because of its allegedly thriving singles scene) and the “Secret Safeway” near the Hinckley Hilton (because the signage was bad-to-nonexistent).
Our friend Helen says when we start to do the rounds and visit her Moscow friends, everyone will offer us tea, and tea does seem to be sold everywhere. I’ll keep a lookout for Krasnodar tea – thanks for the suggestion!
PECTOPAH = Restaurant. I spent some time in Moscow and & St. Petersberg in 1998 and it’s the one cyrillic “word” I came back with. Hope it helps. (Although it sounds like you’re all sorted.)
don’t forget about the Subterranean Safeway across the river in Virginia!
Wish Ray and I were there with you! Can’t wait to see your pics. The food I remember liking were: borchst (yes- anything with beets is excellent), shashlik (think meat marinated with yogurt on steel skewers- but this may be more of a Central Asian thing), plov (rice pilaf, only way better), and lachman (think greasy ramen in thick beef stew). Hope you guys have fun.
Andy – I had no luck finding Krasnodar tea, despite searching posh places like Yeliseyev’s and the food emporium at GUM. But Kusmi was easier to find.
Krista – Yes, PECTOPAH was a key word to learn in cyrllic, especially after Jon and I parted ways with our Russian-speaking friend, Helen.
Jane – I have to admit I rarely crossed the river to VA when I lived in DC. It’s so far! : )
Kate – Yes, we enjoyed the shashlik and plov we tried, but I’m not a beet fan, so borchst was out. I loved blinis with all the types of caviar available and I also couldn’t get enough of the pirozhki that were sold everywhere in Moscow (and slightly harder to find in St. Petersburg, I thought). I got tired of smoked salmon and herring after a few days, though.
Thank GOD, a shoutout to the Soviet Safeway! Since we’re still hanging around Dupont, it’s still our neighborhood grocery store, and I’m glad to see it get a little attention. Poor thing.
I don’t know if that was a shoutout, exactly. : ) To the credit of the Dupont Circle Safeway, produce did improve and lines got shorter when Whole Foods moved into the neighborhood. [Yay capitalist competition!] So I guess the Soviet Safeway nickname endures despite improvements. Like you said, poor thing. : )
Hi there,
Well I finally made it to London and loving it here! I also love your blog and check here for resto recommendations/travel ideas. And, I love how Europe is in our backyard.
That said, hubs and I are planning to go to Russia. We’ll sort through the visa ordeal, but was wondering what website(s) you used to book your apartment? Any tips will be great!
Hi Lily,
This is the site we used for renting an apartment in Moscow:
http://go-russia.com/apartments.php
The site was highly recommended by my friend’s aunt (who is originally from Moscow and now travels back to Moscow several times a year on business).
The flat we rented was near Tverskaya metro (which is a great location), but the flat turned out to be much smaller than I expected (esp. based on the website photos). That said, it was very comfortable by Moscow standards, especially once we started to see the apartments of friends (with professional jobs) who live in Moscow.
Bon voyage, and let me know how your trip goes!
Many thanks! Enjoy your cycling trip through Val du Loire!! Drink a glass of Sancerre for me…I’m very jealous. Cheers, Lily