A Soviet Celebration

St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square, with signs and decorations for the parade.

I lucked out on this trip because not only was the weather beautiful and perfect, but also Moscow was celebrating Victory Day. The whole city was decked out with lights, flags, posters, and ribbons for the May 9 parade. People from all over the country and world were in Moscow for the occasion.

It was quite the military event. The public parade - as opposed to the invitation-only, official events on Red Square - consisted of hundreds of tanks rolling through the city streets. The parks celebrating Soviet history and culture also had many war machines on display. Seeing the city in this state of excitement was an insightful glimpse into the minds of the Russian people today.

The military parade!

Although the parade was the main event for the city, my favorite part of my visit was a walking tour of the major sights. I learned some interesting things. Red Square got its name not because of Communism, but because in Russian, "red" also connotes beauty. St. Basil's Cathedral, the iconic and colorful onion domes that come to mind when you think if Moscow, is much smaller than you might expect. And the Kremlin, which simply means "fortress," is a group of buildings inside a walled area. Also, Moscow is a city that encourages classical learning. It has a massive library that embodies that ideal.

Russian flags and Soviet hats everywhere!

Finally, the metro system is so impressive. It's efficient, fast, easy to use, and crazy cheap. If you want to know Moscow, take its metro and just observe. Each stop is different and is a feat of architecture and design. Russian people on the metro are characteristically stoic. And the patriotic music piped in is just the icing on the cake.

I highly recommend a visit to Moscow. You won't be disappointed!

Victory Park.