Moscow, 27th December 2023
Immigration at the Vnukovo International Airport teleported me straight into a Hollywood spy thriller, and I felt like the main character on a secret mission. There I was, seated in a chair before the security office, watching the clock tick away for about thirty minutes until the officer arrived. Except that this guy had a pretty friendly face, and that there was no secret mission. Boring.
The inquiry went on. My thoughts were already wandering in the streets of Moscow. I remembered the first time I had landed there. It was September. Classic autumn scenery. If I’m being poetic, the crisp air of fall and the crunchy golden leaves painted the city in hues of yellow and orange. The golden hour poured through the windows of cosy cafes, reflecting off the sleek glasses of skyscrapers. The red brick walls of the Kremlin peeked through the trees, adding the finishing touch to the palette. The street vendors with their roasted chestnuts – you get the picture.
Fast-forward to December. Here I was witnessing a whole other personality that she had kept hidden all along. Moscow hadn’t lost her magic, she was just in a new, wintry costume. I walked into the city with a grin like I belonged there. As if I were returning back home after a vacation.
First, I wanted to know what the weather felt like. Especially after the whole shopping spree I had gone on through Riyadh’s Columbia stores, enough to fill a winter wardrobe for an Arctic explorer. In reality, however, it wasn’t as cold as I had expected it to be – which made me a little too proud of myself.
I am a true traveller, afterall. I have built a tolerance to the harsh weather, I thought.
(Little did I know of what was to come)
The staff at Novotel were warm, welcoming and all smiles, and surprisingly spoke English (which was quite rare in Russia). I had hired a Yandex Taxi there after getting myself a Vodafone sim card (click here for the detailed itinerary). However, as I tried to claim my Accord membership points, it turned out, the Novotel wasn’t exactly the Novotel anymore. Apparently, the hotel had been acquired by a local chain but they chose to keep the old name from the pre-war times to make it not confusing at all for tourists like me.
Before dinner, I napped like a baby till the Isha’ prayer. Or at least that’s what I had planned to do. The “nap” was a bit too longer than that.
10:30 PM
-1° C
The temperature had dropped. The air had gotten chillier. Time to layer up my fancy Columbia gear like the YouTube tutorials I’ve been watching since the past few weeks, I thought. Thermals, a t-shirt, jeans, a sweater, and finally – a long jacket. I stepped outside and the first thing that I recalled was what my cousin who lives in Norway always says, ‘’There is no bad weather, Rameez, only bad dressing.”
Damn, the guy was right, I thought. (Again, little did I know what was coming.)
Fun fact: Google maps Russia is at least three-years old. Since the beginning of the war, the residents had all migrated to Yandex maps. To my luck, my eyes caught a familiar sight across the neighbourhood. There stood a KFC known as Rostic’s in war-time Russia.
What I admire about restaurants in frigid climates is that they have coat hangers everywhere. These places have controlled warmth and the moment you step inside, the temperature skyrockets and you start sweating like crazy (and not because I was wearing three layers in a thirty degree set-up). Regardless, I took my time to savour a slow, contemplative dinner.
Walking out the exit, I saw something that snatched my breath away. It was one of the most beautiful things ever. The sky shimmered with a million tiny, dancing diamonds. Snowflakes! The realisation struck me with the force of a fairytale – Here I was halfway across the world, witnessing winter’s first kiss. I wandered the streets under the magic of snowfall with a wide grin stuck on my face, like a child rediscovering a forgotten toy. I was lost in this world of white and suddenly, time didn’t exist.
It was nearly half an hour before my body began to remind me of how tired I was. With a final glance at the breathtaking sight, I returned to the hotel, still smiling like an idiot.