THE Victory Day it is one of the most anticipated and celebrated holidays in Russia and isn’t it that Paulo and I were just in Moscow on that date? That was the day when the Soviet Red Army defeated the German Nazis and so this is a very special occasion in the country.
Of course, we would not miss this unique opportunity and we went close to the Red Square follow the celebrations!
Photo: Reuters via Sofrep
Due to the holiday, many restaurants and cafes were closed in the city. Even so, we managed to have breakfast in a very nice place: the Moloko. Paulo asked for a french coffee with orange and cream liqueur + smoothie with various fruits and vegetables + bacon + green juice with basil! He liked everyone a lot, but let’s agree that the mixture was not very nice, right?
I ordered a bagel with egg and spinach that was tasty, but nothing extraordinary besides having little salt and pepper: /
Photo: @moloko_cafe
We left there, still in a mood to celebrate Victory Day, and decided to pass in front of a Kobra mural inspired by the russian ballerina Maya Plisetskaya. The work is in the Tverskoy region, one of the most famous in Moscow and is worth visiting. For those who don’t know, Maya was one of the most famous dancers of the 20th century and danced until she was 82 – can you believe it?
Photo: Street Art Utopia
After crossing with a group Hare Krishna on that day that brings up so much Soviet militarism, we decided to go to Immortals Walk that only happens on that date. Families carry posters with photos of family members who fought in the call Great War for the Fatherland which was the part of World War II (between June 1941 and May 1945) in which the Soviet Union participated.
It is not so simple to enter the Walk, after all, each participant needs to pass metal detectors. Once inside the Passeata, they offer a free dish that was served during the war (a stew with wheat and meat), as well as water and tea.
The atmosphere there is not one of sadness, but of pride and patriotism. It is really impressive and, if you have the opportunity to go to Russia during this period, it is very worthwhile to be in Moscow on Victory Day.
Photo: The Duran
Of course, after walking a lot, we made that strategic stop at Grand Coffeemania. I have to be honest here: the decor in Art Deco is stunning, but the service is very bad and very expensive. For you to have an idea, 4 coffees and 1 water gave R $ 100.00.
Photo: wallpaper
From there, we stopped at I cinema, a very cool record store! Here they have a lot from the 80’s, mainly Russian rock. For those who enjoy finding different music, bands and artists, it is very worthwhile.
Still talking about cool places to buy, I need to talk about Natura Siberica, an amazing and natural cosmetics store with ingredients found in the Siberia region. The brand is already well known in other European countries, such as England and France, but it is very worth knowing. In fact, there are already posts of legal cosmetics stores to visit in Moscow here on the website – just click here to access 😉
Photo: Disclosure
Still on the subject of shopping, be sure to stop by HHL VK Concept Store, one of the coolest stores I went to in Russia. It is a fashion concept store that brings together creations by 69 designers from Moscow and St. Petersburg. The pieces have a good price, a lot of quality and have a very interesting design!
Photo: @hhlvk
Our day ended in the best possible way: in a roof, full of incredible people and with a surreal landscape of the sunset and the fires of Victory Day! Of course, if you want to check out more details just watch the full vlog down here!