Inside the city

Our home for the next three days was the Lotte Hotel Moscow, which was enveloped in the festive spirit of Christmas. Although Christmas was still a week away, the hotel was already decked out in all its finery. A majestic Christmas tree, its branches laden with sparkling ornaments and twinkling lights, infused the entire space with a sense of joy and wonder.

Now it was time to explore the city. Moscow, the Capital and the largest city of Russia, has everything, from a rich past to modern history, to attract tourists. Surprisingly, Russia has not been on many Indian tourists' bucket list. Our guide told us that this is due to a lack of knowledge about the tourist attractions in the city, and also because many Indian tourists prefer to visit other European destinations rather than Moscow.

However, like any other European city, Moscow is a cosmopolitan city with monuments steeped in history, bustling street squares, world-class theatres, nightclubs, restaurants, parks and much more. And the best part is that it is easy and cheaper to get a visa for the city compared to other European countries.

After lunch, we stepped out of the hotel to explore Moscow, and were immediately struck by the premature dusk in the city. Moscow gets dark around 4 pm, and the relentless snowfall can make roaming around the city a challenge. However, the blanket of white snow and ubiquitous Christmas decorations was too tempting to resist.

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