Tag Archives: Moscow

Our Experience Staying in an Airport Pod Hotel with Kids

Family Travel, Trip Reports, , ,

pod hotelDuring our four week trip to six countries, we were bound to try some new travel experiences.

One of them was a new food experience, trying a doughnut hotdog!

Two other new experiences included catching some zzz’s. We spent a night on an overnight sleeper train and also stayed in an airport pod hotel with kids. Continue reading Our Experience Staying in an Airport Pod Hotel with Kids →

Contributor Ridiculous Street Signs #13: No Bunny Fare Allowed- Moscow, Russia

Trip Reports, , ,

moscow russiaI love coming across funny signs both at home and while traveling around the world. Most of the time these signs aren’t meant to be funny, regardless, humor can be found in them.

From time to time, I post about funny signs which I call, Ridiculous Street Signs.

I recently posted about a sign I came across in Kyrenia, Northern Cyprus. This led to an e-mail from a reader who wanted to contribute a sign she came across in the suburbs of Moscow Russia. Continue reading Contributor Ridiculous Street Signs #13: No Bunny Fare Allowed- Moscow, Russia →

Ridiculous Street Signs # 13- Don’t Drive In Water- Moscow

Ridiculous Street Signs,
a road sign with a picture of a car on the side of the road

While visiting Moscow we headed over to a small island that was the former home of the Red October Chocolate Factory complex. We wanted to check out the transformation it has been going through. The area has gone from making chocolate to an area filled with people involved in the arts. There are galleries, photographers, designers, cafes and many other businesses setting up shop there.

While walking around the area we were coming close to the inner section of the island. Across the street we noticed a very familiar sign. It reminded me of one that was posted on the blog in late January.

Continue reading Ridiculous Street Signs # 13- Don’t Drive In Water- Moscow →

A Visit To The First McDonald’s In Russia

Food, Jumping, Trip Reports, ,
a group of cars parked on a snowy street

During our trip I had to visit the very first McDonald’s to open in Soviet era Russia.The location opened in Moscow in 1990 and I remember it being major news due to the lines of people that went on for blocks, all wanting to get inside for a taste. This was one of the first stops we made during the trip. (Read a recap about our stay in Moscow HERE.)

I rarely eat McDonald’s at home but always try to check them out while traveling. One of my top things to do while abroad is try local food but sometimes it feels good to walk into a place and pretty much know what to expect both price and taste wise (plus McDonald’s pretty much always has free Wifi). One of the main highlights for me is seeing what items are offered that differ from the McD’s at home. I always try to get a menu item that seems  to have a local feel. Continue reading A Visit To The First McDonald’s In Russia →

Recap Of Our Visit To Moscow

Travel with kids, Trip Reports, ,
a group of people walking in front of a building
St. Basil’s Cathedral

We’re pretty much done with our trip to Russia and currently in Saint Petersburg. I’ve been so busy and tired that I haven’t had a chance to write about our trip so far.

Our flight to from JFK to Moscow with Delta went really well. Delta might just have some of the best infant- friendly travel policies. Due to traveling with a lap baby, we needed to go to a counter to check in and were then allowed to bypass a very long security line. Boarding was even more impressive. Families traveling with infants get to board first. I was beyond surprised that we got to even board before business class! I give Delta a BIG thumbs up for being so understanding to families traveling with babies! (Lucas, thanks you too!)
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We got to our hotel- The Radisson Royal Hotel earlier then regular check in time and got very lucky- our room was available right away. The hotel and room were beautiful. We were upgraded to a better room which had plenty of space for Lucas to crawl around in (and lots of things for Lucas to try to destroy, like an expresso machine.) The one negative would have to be the location. It was a bit of a trek to the nearest metro and we found out the hard way that the taxis that are always available and waiting at the hotel charge 25% more then the standard rate. Our second hotel, Park Inn Sadu was not as fancy as the Radisson Royal (but still very nice) however the location made it a much better place to stay for us.
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Moscow is an odd city to say the least. I can’t say that I don’t like it but it is difficult to get a true feel for it. People rarely smile and seem to be extremely pushy- literally. Getting around and communicating is also very difficult. We’ve had an easier time pretty much everywhere else in the world that we’ve visited. It was shocking to us that few locals spoke English.The weather was also much colder than expected. We figured it would be chilly but not so cold and snowy. It basically snowed the whole first three days of the trip. We were told that this was the coldest it’s been in years and the most snow they’ve had in the month of March, in years.
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On a positive note things are not as pricey as people say they are. Cheap food can be found pretty easily and sites with admission fees were reasonably priced.

We also noticed that Russia seems to love American fast food chains. We saw locations of McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy’s, Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts and a few others around the city.

Some Highlights:
  • The Red Square
  • The Kremlin
  • The Armoury (at The Kremlin)
  • Ensemble of the Novodevichy Convent
  • Jumping All Over Moscow
  • Trying out some local food
  • Walking along Arbat