The only thing more certain than absence to make the heart grow fonder is enforced absence. With this in mind, Travel Industry Today has asked readers to reveal their bucket list, or all-time favourite, destinations that are lingering in their minds while waiting for the world to welcome travellers again. Eric Barber, VP, National Sales at Realstar Hospitality, weighs in in our continuing series with Moscow:
At the time of writing, the trip to Armenia and Artsakh that my wife and I have paid for in mid-May is still not officially cancelled by LOT Airlines, but we fully expect that it will be, or maybe more aptly put, postponed to a later date.
But if I could choose a place other than Armenia to go once this is all over, it would surely be Moscow.
The Russian capital holds a special place in our hearts: We first went there in 2016 just a couple of months after Suzanne had fallen down the stairs, severely breaking her ankle – an incident that had escalated when she was given an overdose of painkiller in the hospital during which I watched her flatline and then be resuscitated. Until she had her cast off, we weren’t sure if we would even be able to travel. But we did!
We took a wheelchair with us so I could push her as we explored what turned into the most interesting city we have ever visited. We stayed at the Hilton Moscow, formerly the Hotel Leningrad, an impressive Stalinist building that still retains its original architecture on the exterior and parts of the lobby.
Moscow has an incredible food scene – with all the western sanctions, they have truly created a local food scene all sourced with ingredients locally grown in Russia. We enjoyed caviar at the famous Café Puskin and ate Georgian food (the renowned boat of bread, butter and cheese baked together in an artery clogging masterpiece) on Arbat Street.
And everywhere we went, we enjoyed exquisite shots of Beluga vodka, a very affordable indulgence at $2 for a 50 ml shot, compared to $18-20 at home in Canada. But there were literally hundreds of vodkas we had never heard of and I bought a bottle of Baikal vodka in a grocery store for $6 that was smoother than Grey Goose could ever aspire to be!
The city also has an excellent beer scene, with beers unknown in the West. My favourite was a draft called Siberskaya, which as the name suggests, is brewed in Siberia.
The iconic architecture of this city is truly incredible with a blend of Stalinist, modern and Czarist era buildings. The Cathedral of Christ the Redeemer – the site of the infamous Pussy Riot incident – which is right near the Kremlin is jaw dropping. The notorious Lubyanka building, where the KGB was headquartered, and next to it the new FSB building, are fascinating for cold war buffs and Soviet Nostalgists. The imposing Seven Sisters towers built by Stalin are extremely impressive. The Izmailosvsky Market is a very interesting lark, like a Soviet Disneyland with vendors selling Russian Dolls, Vladimir Putin T-shirts, Soviet household items and great food stalls to enjoy a Shashlikh (a Russian- style meat kebab on a stick).
But the pièce de résistance has to be the Kremlin and Red Square where I fulfilled a childhood dream of visiting the iconic St. Basil’s Cathedral. We went inside and were treated to Russian monks singing one of the most beautiful musical pieces I have ever been privileged to experience. Walking Red Square was breathtaking: You feel the power of the former Soviet and current Russian state and never in my life before 1991 did I ever think I might get to walk on these cobblestones. We had lunch on an outdoor patio located in the former GUM department store, the former Soviet shopping showpiece, and we met a local affluent family, with the cutest little girl who practiced her English with us.
We were fortunate enough to be in the city for the world-famous May 9 Victory Parade, and witnessed hundreds of tanks, rocket launchers, APCs and YARS-25 nuclear missile launchers go past us. The most poignant part of the day is the procession of the relatives of those who perished protecting the Motherland, where hundreds of thousands of civilians march the parade route holding pictures of their kin.
However, the most personally touching part of the visit was the kindness of the Russian people themselves – in contrast to the perceptions that are often perpetuated in the West. I can tell you that everything you have read is absolutely false.
Every single time we entered the opulent Moscow Metro system, Suzanne would get out of the wheelchair and walk down the stairs with her cane while I took the wheelchair, prompting locals to fall over themselves with offers to help. Waiters, Uber drivers and anyone we encountered were so polite and helpful we were almost embarrassed accepting their kind offers. Humanity is universal, it doesn’t matter where someone is from.
One day Suzanne and I will return to this special city together once again. I hope after reading this, some of you may want to plan an epic trip to Moscow of your own.
We welcome contributions: Send yours with the subject line “Where I Want to Go When This Is Over” to baginski@travelindustrytoday.com. (All submissions are subject to editing for length and style).