My Mother has been a single mom for most of my life, she is the pillar of strength and my closest friend in the world. For the longest time life was all about dealing with reality, it was only a few years back when I got back from university that I pushed her to travel with me, and there’s been no looking back since. She’s been bitten by the travel bug. We started with predictable trips in the first few years, and then in 2017 I mentioned to her about how I was planning to visit Russia- imagine my surprise when she joined in! Honestly, we didn’t know what to expect from our trip. For our first international trip together this was a massive leap. Now considering the political climate as I write reminiscing about our trip, I’m glad we made it.
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Politics and people have a tendency to ruin places and the magic the hold of each city can have over you. I have always been intrigued by the tsarian history of Russia, and its end at the hands of the communist revolution. When you set foot in Moscow, the city mesmerises you- starting from the crazy confusion of colors masking hidden layers of the stunning cathedral of Vasily the blessed, built by Ivan the terrible! the beauty of this paradox is not lost on me. The gorgeous Cathedral of the Annunciation– dream keeper of the Muscovite Tsars and the Red Square are Highlights. Its suddenly an avalanche of stories and events in history you cannot avoid anymore. The Red square has more character than most places I have seen so far, while The St. Basil Basilica with its Onion Architecture is unique, and magnificent.
You Can familiarize yourself with any place if you walk through its streets and explore its turns and crevices. The Moscow Kremlin stands tall and proud, overlooking Stalin’s tomb. The square itself is busy, chaotic, dynamic- the movement is dizzying but the historical envisages steadying. We walked through so much of the city, through parks and imperial gardens, through gold Mosques and busy theatres. Heck we even watched a Russian Play at the Bolshevik theater! We toured through the spectacular Russian metro called the ‘Palace of the people’ due to its unique and spectacular interiors, a reminder of a state Russia once was. Dumskaya street is fabulous to spend a night in revelry and try some of that legendary Russian vodka, with artists and singers lining this beautifully lit street of bars and restaurants until the wee hours of morning. The city is beautiful, I don’t have one salty memory of my stay here- just the weight of the stories of blood and sacrifice.
St. Petersberg! It is probably one of my favorite cities in the world- so endearing, brings a smile to my face even today. This relatively smaller city was one I was looking forward to eagerly, having been a fan of “Anastasia” growing up. The unique city is the true heart of Russia with so much to offer in terms of a more intimate version of it’s stories. We spent our days exploring and diving deeper into the magical era of the Tzars, unveiling each piece of their historical fate with visits to the Winter palace, St. Isaac’s cathedral, Church of the Savior on the spilled blood, and the Peter and Paul fortress shedding more light on the communist rebellion- with a visit to Trubetskoy Bastian prison. The Kazan Cathedral was particularly satisfying- emanating peace and meditative bliss.
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Russia turned out to be one of the biggest surprises, I remember it so fondly it is an incredible, almost unsettling feeling considering how I feel about the country in terms of my political and humanitarian alignments. I guess that is why travelling and visiting a country is important- it may be Imperial Russia, Communist Russia or controversial and war hungry Russia through the ages, but for me its simply my sweet, incredibly endearing Russia.
The palace of the people.
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This article was earlier published on COLD BREW POSTCARDS by Aooorva Bhardwaj
Author Bio – Apoorva Bhardwaj – Your can also follow her on Instagram
I am Marketing professional in the biotechnology & Genomics industry with more than 10 years of professional experience in Life Sciences. I am passionate about science, and equally passionate about Travel, I aim to explore the nooks & corners of the world in search of the next adventure, new stories to share, a limited edition book or a unique flavour of Iced coffee. I am based in Mumbai with my family, and when not strategising business plans for the South Asian continent, love to pen down my scrambled thoughts and reveries of travel, Hoping to uncover the stories of many more countries soon!