GUM Department Store (Glavny Universalny Magazin) Moscow

Moscow is a city of superlatives in a country of superlatives. It has the most billionaires, the most expensive cups of coffee, the biggest McDonalds in the world*, and it's rumoured that soon it will have the most colossal building in the world to trump both the Burj Khalifa in Dubai and the Pentagon in Washington in one foul swoop. It is also the …

We arrive in Moscow aboard the 055 train into Leningradsky Station. Our overnight train has been a humbling experience. The Russians have a remarkable train network - punctual and great design / facilities on board. It's a tight squeeze into our top bunks but the cabins are carefully designed to allow you get everything in efficiently and get …

My first full day in Moscow, in both senses of the word. Awoke at 4:30 and read for several hours. Had breakfast with Olga and Anton -- coffee, toast, sausage, cheese, and breadsticks. No hot water today. It seems there are central water-heating plants and the hot water is piped to houses. Turns out our hot water pipe burst, flooding the ground …

Day 1 starts on 16 Dec, through flight CX207 from Hong Kong arriving around 7am. The cold strikes immediately, it was -19C! Got picked up at the Domodedovo Airport and dropped at the Arbat House Hotel in the Arbat District near Arbatskaya Metro.

First was a 3 hours walking tour from the hotel ending in Kremlin. We went through Tverskoy …

We had a lovely overnight train down to Moscow, first class all the way!!!

Early check-in to the hotel so we could get some breakfast, this hotel is a vast improvement on the last, let's just hope they are all like this going forward hey!! So off to breakfast. Great brekky and then back to the room to catch up on the washing. All done and …

... we are getting very confused about which language we should be attempting to speak when! Yesterday we toured around the Kremlin, GUM department store, walked around the streets and went to find out about 2 things we wanted to do here: - Ballet or ...

... buildings were lit up for the festive season so we wandered the square and took in the Kremlin walls and the GUM department store - now a very flashy boutique shopping mall in a similar vein to Queen Victoria Building in Sydney. Nice. Final stop ...

... . I adjusted the brim of my invisible fedora, threw the gal a kiss, then walked straight towards the side entrance of the GUM department store in search of new sneakers and cafe espresso. It was special that I was able to do all those things with a woman ...

... their affection for all to see) leading to the Red Square, which is surrounded by the Kremlin, St. Basil's Cathedral, GUM Department Store (which is beautifully lit up at night), State History Museum, Resurrection Gate and Chapel of the Iverian Virgin. ...

... . But that's not to say there isn't anything to see. Nope. There are the imposing redbrick walls of the Kremlin, the GUM department store, St. Basil's Cathedral and, right in the middle of the square, Lenin's mausoleum. All are impressive, world famous ...

... in the building, accessible to the public at least, was only a couple stories up. To the east, the state run GUM department store flanked the square and seemed to take on a French imperial air.  On the outside the stone cladding was carved ...

... everything was positioned right where I expected it to be. The cathedral over there, the Kremlin by its side and the GUM Department Store on the other side. This is definitely one of those "must visit" attractions and worth all the accommodation ordeals ...

... he was visible. We also had a chance to observe the changing of the Guard. Additionally we did some browsing in GUM Department Store which actually was a series of little stalls where vendors sold their wares...nothing of which came close to anything we ...

... outside far exceeds the inside. You could almost imagine the New Year proceedings that occur here in winter. We also visited the GUM department store (very similar to the QVB in Sydney) for an overpriced lunch, and walked to the nearby Kremlin. You had ...

... me.  Our plan today is to walk to Red Square and see the Kremlin, see St. Basil's cathedral, and spend some time at GUM department store.  Red Square wasn't too far away so we all bundle up and take off with our guide, Anatoly, who has given us ...