Midnight in Moscow Redux

Moscow at night is quite a remarkable place....a remarkable cold place!

I'm back in Moscow for the second International Financial Centre competition www.mfc-city.com meeting of the Jury. This time I thought I would spend an extra week touring around Moscow since I did not see very much on my two previous trips....the first being in 2007 when I took a boat from Moscow to Saint Petersburg....yes there is such a trip, and the second in November when I decided to head down to Sochi.

I knew that sightseeing in the middle of January might be a bit of a challenge, especially for someone who rarely goes out in the cold, other than to play golf. But I brought my winter golf boots and long underwear and this is quite a splendid winter city, as hopefully evidenced by these photos taken
on my first evening in town.

With the Jury we'll be staying again at the Baltschug Hotel, but I thought I'd try a different place...albeit one with a bit of history

The Metropol Hotel is not the most luxurious in town, but it's one of the most storied hotels, and occupies a superb location next to Red Square, the Bolshoi Ballet and some of Moscow's best shopping areas. I had a wonderful stay here and would highly recommend it to anyone coming to Moscow in Winter or Summer!

The Christmas season extends to mid-January here and the hotel lobby was truly a winter wonderland.

Across form the hotel is another old hotel complex that has been refurbished as a Four Seasons Hotel and shopping mall.

I thought I would check out the hotel only to discover that it is not yet open

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Since I rarely go to the ballet in Vancouver, unless I can't help it, I decided there were better things to do with $400 in Moscow. But it is a pretty site both in the day, and at night.

I was expecting to see people skating on the frozen waterways, but they don't. If this looks cold, it is because it was cold!

Many of the buildings are beautifully lit at night. We should put more emphasis on night lighting in Vancouver.

Eventually it was time to go inside for a drink and something to eat. The drink on the left is non-alcoholic; the one on the right is a Russian dark beer. Like Belgium and many other countries, the beer in Russia comes in its own glass...at least in this establishment.

Since I had about six meals on my two flights from Vancouver to Moscow, I wanted something light for dinner! I love herring. I guess it's my Russian-Jewish roots!

Thanks to my daughters I had a hat with flaps to cover my ears. I needed those flaps!