С днём рождения

Not many people would pick Moscow as the destination to ring in their 30th birthday, but then again, I am a bit of a wild card.

I will admit that my primary reason to go to Moscow stemmed from my desire to attend a ballet at the world famous Bolshoi Theater. I probably would have picked somewhere warm with a sunny beach for my birthday celebration, but after discovering that there are not really any feasible warm-weather weekend destinations in December (what the hell, Greece?), I was at a loss. Ryan and I had discussed going to Moscow before, and I knew he wasn't thrilled with the idea of going to the ballet. Therefore, I saw this as an opportunity to force his attendance; how could he say no if it was my birthday present?

Quick side note before I get into the trip: Russia is not the easiest country to travel to. It took us four trips to the Russian Consulate in Munich to finally obtain our Visas. This is mostly our fault, but we didn't want to get ripped off or screw it up. Also, the Visas cost about as much as our plane tickets (cheap plane tickets and expensive Visas).

We arrived in Moscow on Thursday evening and somehow managed to not get lost on our way to the hotel which involved navigating a huge, complicated, and under-construction airport, taking a train to the city, switching to the metro, and then walking to our hotel, all while reading signs in Cyrillic. In typical fashion, after checking in to the hotel, we started on our quest for food. We found a very tasty little pizza joint, where I had a cheese pizza (good, but not as good as Milan) and Ryan had a delicious seafood risotto. I certainly never expected to love the food in Moscow, but we were off to a great start.

Before we had arrived, Ryan had warned me about how expensive the city was. Even as recently as 2013, Moscow was rated as one of the most expensive cities in the world for tourists to visit. Much to our surprise, however, we immediately noticed how reasonably priced everything was, even at the heavy tourist areas. Other areas were downright cheap. Apparently, the EU and US economic sanctions had put the Russian Ruble in a complete tailspin; it lost over 40% of its value just since the start of 2014 and decreased even more significantly after we left. While the Russians we met were none too pleased about this, it was definitely nice for us.

The majority of the three day weekend consisted of sleeping in (so late that I am embarrassed to tell you what hour we got up, and this applies to all three days), exploring the many Moscow Christmas markets in the freezing cold, subsequently warming up in the shopping malls, relaxing at the hotel's 24-hour hot tub and pool, eating lots of delicious food (somehow we managed to order a risotto dish every night), and, of course, lots of drinking.

Bolshoi Theater. Christmas markets would open the next day.

St Basil's Cathedral

Looking out at Red Square from inside the cathedral.

Christmas market!

Ornaments galore.

Warming up in the mall.

Santa IS real!

On my birthday, we went ice skating in Red Square with St. Basil's Cathedral in the background. This was a completely perfect experience as there was snow falling and all of the buildings were covered in lights. Ryan was able to impress me with his ice skating skills for the first time, and while he could not successfully convince me to try a hockey stop, I did manage to not fall down and (kind of) keep up with him.

Stilted dancers and singers in the Christmas market. The man with the mic was so hilariously animated, it made Ryan giddy with glee.

After skating, we had drinks overlooking the remarkable Bolshoi Theater and then attended the ballet. We saw a performance of Onegin, a Russian novel turned opera turned ballet (and in 1999, a probably-mediocre-at-best movie). The theater, dancing, sets, and live music made for a magical experience. The people watching was also exceptional, and I have concluded, from my limited experience, that Russian people love to get their picture taken. I have never seen so many people pose for solo photos, and don't even get me started on their poses. Russians also love fur coats and sometimes even boots with the fur.

Outside the Bolshoi Theater.

Killer boots, man.

View from our seats.

An incredible theater.

#selfie

We explored the many rooms of the theater during the two intermissions.

A wonderful treat was waiting for us back in our room after the show. Thanks, Marriott!

In short, everything was spectacular, and Moscow greatly exceeded my expectations. I turned 30 in a wintery, Christmasy wonderland, and it was everything I had hoped it would be (besides these damn hangovers and wrinkles).

Until the next post!

xoxo,
L & R