A new train and a space museum
In December 2016 I went to Moscow on one of my regular business trips. I arrived on a Sunday and, as I had some free time to look around, my Russian business associate was kind enough to show me some more sights of the city.
First we went for a ride on the brand new Moscow Orbital Railway. The new line, officially Line 14 of the Moscow Metro, circles the city using an old freight route.
The brand new trains looked wonderful in their red livery and were very smooth and quiet to ride on.
We did a half loop of the ring and got off at the Botanical Gardens station in the north. We continued our visit with a trip to the space museum nearby.
The space museum tells the extraordinary story of Russian space exploration from the early attempts to launch rockets to the present day. There was also a very interesting section on the pioneering dogs and other animals that were sent into space before humans.
We then made a visit to Europe’s largest skating rink. We drank hot mulled wine whilst watching the skaters make circuits of the large course.
Finally we dropped in at the Yeliseev delicatessen to buy some special Russian gingerbread. The shop was full of seasonal produce and it had quite a magical atmosphere.
The whole day was a lovely festive experience.
I was very grateful to my colleague for spending his time with me.
Trains To Beyond 