Fermented Travel Website
A travel blog with a twist, fermentedtravel.com will bring you the most interesting places to visit and to enjoy the local drink, be it Wine or Beer. Please check back in soon. We plan to bring you history and fun from places and cities as diverse as Florence, Moscow, Copenhagen & Hamburg, plus lots more!
Beer Cities: Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen The Danish Capital: Basic Facts
Originally a Viking fishing village, Copenhagen really started to coming into being a major city around the 12th Century and most put 1167 as the founding date. After sieges and Swedish invasion attempts, which were successfully repelled by the brave and hardy Danes in the 1600’s there was a calm spell before the British attacked the Danish fleet and Copenhagen itself from the harbor in 1801. In the 1850’s the city opened up and increased in size dramatically and united with the borough of Frederiksberg in 1901 making it the city we know today. Copenhagen’s art and commerce scene flourished in the late 1800’s with J.C. Jacobsen and his son Carl leading efforts in both areas with their famous Carlsberg Brewery helping bring the standard of living and culture to the highest of levels within Europe and the city has flourished ever since, except between 1940 –45 when Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany.
Copenhagen has a multitude of great museums, parks and cultural centers through out the city as well as many lovely churches and stylish old buildings and neighborhoods. Copenhagen is a beautiful and intriguing city that is both lively and laid back, with plenty of options for all that visit. Copenhagen is connected, by the Oresund Bridge, to Malmo, Sweden (since 2000) making car and rail travel possible, not to mention fast and easy, as well as opening the area to more regional integration. Both the Swedes and Danes enjoy the ability to do day trips for shopping or even commuting for work now.
Copenhagen Intro: Getting into town
I arrived in Copenhagen’s central station from Sweden almost five years exactly to the date I last visited, and walking off the platform I was very glad to have my directions figured out as I merged on the street and steered toward my hotel. I booked online and got a two-night deal at Copenhagen Island Hotel, an ultra modern Danish place on stilts that sort of made it an island sitting in some dingy water of a main canal. It was a long walk, especial dragging my worse for wear orange bag that had been battered by rough airlines and equally rough Swedish cobblestone streets, both of which had cause its wheels to give up the ghost and I was now mostly dragging it. Not too bad it was 22 minutes from the train to the hotel without getting lost or even worried about being lost. Danes are some of my favorite people and they are very nice, polite and generally very helpful since most speak better English than I do! The hotel staff didn’t seem to mind much letting me in to their spotless shiny pad even if I had just been camping at a race track for the last three days in Sturup near Malmo, Sweden and was looking a little worse for wear myself (not just my duffel) and I was checked in quickly and with a smile. I managed to decipher the room card and get in after a few tries and found a modern room that looked cold and sleek, but felt much more comfortable than it looked with pleasing Danish design touches and enjoyed the George Jetson bathroom and showered in space age style. Then I ventured out for a few beers and sightseeing, luck for me the Global Warming thing was working for me, as it was early April and was enjoying 70-degree weather! It strolled though some dark neighborhoods and quiet streets, but as I finally reached the Vesterbrogade near Tivoli Gardens things got lively and it was warmly crowded with grinning faces.
Beer time! But where, that was tough, should I go into Tivoli and sip a Pils while watching the tourist and children enjoy and scream there way through the amusement park, or slip into Murphy’s Pub grab a Guinness and watch football (soccer) or hike further and hang out in Nyhaven? This time it was Nyhaven the famous “New Harbor” where beautiful wood canal boats shuttle by filled with sightseers while looking envious at those on the dockside benches of the many outdoor cafes that are more like a beer gardens, drinking up fresh Carlsbergs. Yes, that is where it’s at for first timers and old pros alike. This pretty little harbor canal has a mix brightly colored buildings and steep sloping Scandinavian roofs where everyone has got a beer in hand. This time I chose a perfect people-watching table at a Danish food café about half way down the dock sat down and took in the moment. Old men scrubbing and restoring an old fishing boat, sexy Danish girls rushing by on their way somewhere in tight skirts and long slinky boats with golden locks flowing and the gruff looking, but charming tough waiter bring me a huge two pint size glass of Carlsberg Export fresh off the tap, yes life was good. Then things got even better with a smoked salmon sandwich with cucumber and dill, that was a moment to really savor and I did.
Touring Carlsberg
It is a long uphill walk to Carlsberg, but well worth the fitness test as there are beautiful views of the city to be had and the thought of a fresh brew in their Jacobson Brewpub after the tour kept me going. Oh, don’t hike up here on Mondays, as it is all closed that day, and yes, I learned that the hard way, though the fresh air did me well. Copenhagen is an easy city to walk and there are many things that are well placed for getting to by foot, and I did. In fact I didn’t take a single cab or bus in my three days here. Walking up to the Carlsberg Brewery and Museum you pass through the Carlsberg gate with the Elephants, which for me brought flashbacks to my high school years when I used to down mass quantities of the high alcohol Carlsberg Elephant after soccer practice. Through the gate and around the corner to your left you find the entrance to the visitor center and a self-guided tour. I won’t bore you with every single item and display here, as you really need to see this for yourself, but I’ll say that it is fascinating and down to earth in presentation. Carlsberg founder J.C. Jacobsen was a pioneer and fanatic for quality, he led research into brewing developing steam brewing, refrigeration techniques and the propagation of a single yeast strain. I think Carlsberg was the first to study and research the process of malting, building a complete laboratory and science center on site in the late 1800’s. There are hundreds of cool old photos marking the history of the brewery, though my favorite was of the British Army liberating Copenhagen from the Nazis starting with the Carlsberg Brewery, I’m not making this up! Just seeing the faces of the war weary soldiers, all smiles standing with cases of beer was worth the ticket price. I think it was a Scottish unit that reached the site first, awesome. Also, there is what is reported to be the largest beer bottle collection in the world in a huge wine cellar like area with thousands and thousands of the globes bottled beers, and I thought I’d collected a lot in my youth…
After taking pictures of the old Tuborg truck, I walked through the original stables and saw the delivery wagons, they continue to maintain the horses and parade them, and now I know where Bud got the Clydesdale idea. By this time I was thirsty and I barely noticed all the Carlsberg branded items in the low-key gift shop, though I still wish I had scored the soccer jersey. Then at the end of the line, the Jacobsen Brewpub (tasting room) was waiting and with my admission ticket, 2 pints of my choice were to be had. Some other tour goers opted for basic Carlsberg lager and Tuborg are you kidding me, I went for the limited Jacobsen line, savoring the Bromley Wit and the Saaz Blonde in the cozy and airy hall. These beers are super and very tasty from the taps, especially fresh too as they are brewed downstairs. The Jacobsen line has about 8 different styles and a limited seasonal offering, these are brewed in small batches and are just now being sold in bottles in selected markets. I was able to pick up a bottle or two while in Europe and hope it will be available in certain US markets soon. Before the long walk down the hill to the city center I grabbed another pint, this time I went for full tasting Brown Ale that satisfied my nourishment needs, though it made the hike feel somewhat longer.
Bryggeriet Apollo and the Little Mermaid
After Carlsberg, I strolled the highest point above Copenhagen in the lovely tree lined park and view the city on a clear and warm day, it was magnificent as I looked down on the rooftops and spotted the church domes and spires rising above the classic old town skyline. This is a great and charming city, with too many interests to name here, but a no brainer as a place to re-visit soon. These were the thoughts I was having as I caught the Vesterbrogade (Boulevard) and weaved my way dangerously through blondes on bikes looking more and more like the tourist I was. I passed one of the best damn bakeries in Denmark, snapped a picture and marched on with much regret as I should have grabbed a table on their patio and took in the afternoon sun and scenery, but I had a mission to see the Little Mermaid and nothing was going to stop me this time, as I missed her on my last visit, because my Swedish friend rather drink and eat than hike the two mile out to the harbor to see her. This time was different and I was going to make it out there then as a reward I was going to get a little shopping in on the Stroget and then some good organic brewskis at Bryggeriet Apollo near Tivoli. This was a tough job, but I knew I was well trained for the task, even if the distance from Carlsberg to the Little Mermaid was a long way indeed. Resisting the red light district sex clubs, the Erotic Arts Museum, and some of the other seedier temptations of the space between I finally found the pretty Little Mermaid of Hans Christian Anderson looking as forlorn as ever with her eyes longingly looking out over the port of Copenhagen as cargo ships passed. Lucky for me, this being early April not a soul was around as I got some snaps under brilliant sunlight and warm weather. I must admit walking back I felt silly at being a man in his forties going all this way for a fairy tale character, though the route I took was filled with amazing sights and overall it proved enjoyable. So now it was time to cruise back by Nyhaven, up the Stroget, which is one of the longest pedestrian shopping streets in Europe with everything you can imagine right there for the taking. Okay Denmark is not cheap, but sometimes you just have to forget the weak dollar and enjoy the moment, so I wondered into the Puma store and bought a wildly expensive sweatshirt, though that was more me converting the Danish Krone at 7 to one against the dollar as I did in Sweden, whoops, it was really 5 to one, so my bank statement came back at $80 bucks instead of what I thought was $50 or so. Ignorance is bliss and I hardly took the darn thing off for three weeks and still wear it a lot, to get my monies worth and because I like it. Then I made my way back to Tivoli and Vesterbrogade to Bryggeriet Apollo where I reflected on my day with one of their fantastic organic pale ales freshly brewed on the spot. I enjoyed my oversized pint at an outside table and watched the world go by in complete anonymous heaven. Inside the beautiful copper vessels gleamed
and the brew masters busied themselves with their labors of love, this is my kind of place. The food here is tasty and the selection of brews changes often which makes it a must stop for any visit here, in my case at least twice. There is another brewpub next door, but it was inside seating only and dark, but I’ll try it next time. The pale ale was hoppy and thirst quenching, so I had another and nibbled on a rye bread Smorrebrod with Ham. What a city and what a day!
Copenhagen Notes: Final Thoughts
Copenhagen is an easy city to visit and adore, with affordable hotels of every taste and style. I went ultra modern, because I found a deal at hotels.com, but I’d go for rustic and old school next time, even if the comforts were luxurious and the fast wireless appreciated to the fullest. Copenhagen Island Hotel is somewhat in the sticks too, then again not too far away and it is next door a huge cinema and shopping center complex making it really good if your traveling with kids or a girlfriend. Getting into Copenhagen is a breeze, especially by train from either Sweden or Germany, plus the airport, a major international hub, sits right above the train route and just a few minutes by rail and half an hour by taxi. I took the train into Copenhagen from Malmo, Sweden which is both clean and convenient with trains running every 20 minutes or so. From Copenhagen I traveled on to Hamburg, Germany on a whim, in fact I asked the tourist info guy at the station and he found a special second-class round trip ticket that ended up being about $25! That was a killer deal, I could not pass that up and after a quick search got a deal in Hamburg for a room, and off I went. So don’t be afraid to ask about things, the Danes are friendly and direct people. While in Copenhagen, I had a medical emergency, a nasty eye infection came on suddenly which I didn’t really notice until about 9:30pm one night, and I was treated kindly by the front desk attendant and he directed me to a late night pharmacy. I was dreading the possibilities while waiting in the long line to get to the counter. As my number came up I was in a lot of pain, but the Pharmacist took the time to call a doctor for me and explain my ailment and after a few words with him myself confirming only a few questions they agreed on a prescription and went about filling it. Then I worried about cost, as at
home the meds would have cost about $85, so to my astonishment and joy my total bill was $16 US. So I have nothing but high regards for the people of Denmark and of Copenhagen itself. I recommend doing some research before going anywhere and carrying a couple of travel guides. I suggest using Thomas Cook Travel series books, DK Eye Witness Guides and Insight Guides done with the Discovery Channel. These three I own and use, and I found the Denmark and Copenhagen ones might useful, in fact I was able to use them as my fact checker for a lot of articles.
Beer in Copenhagen
Carlsberg Brewery Visitors Center & Jacobsen Brewery (Pub)
www.visitcarlsberg.dk
Gamie Carlsberg Vej 11, Vesterbro
Copenhagen, Denmark
From USA Phone: 011-45-33-27-13-14
.
Bryggeriet Apollo (Organic Beer)
http://www.tivoli.dk/composite-3367.htm
Vesterbrogade 3 (Tivoli)
Copenhagen, Denmark
From USA Phone 011-45-33 12 33 13
.
Faergekroen
www.faergekoen.dk
Tivoli
Copenhagen, Denmark
From USA Phone: 011-45-33-12-94-12
.
Norrebro Bryghus
www.norrebrobryghus.dk
Ryesgage 3
Copenhagen, Denmark
From USA Phone: 011-45-35-30-05-30
.
Vesterbro Bryghus
www.vesterbrobryghus.dk
Vesterbrogade 2
Copenhagen, Denmark
From USA Phone: 011-45-33-11-17-05
.
*Details confirmed with Insight Guides “Copenhagen Smart Guide” & Thomas Cook Travellers Denmark (2nd Edition), Guide Books. Both of these books proved to be worthy companions and interesting reads, and the compact size made them easy to tote around.
Wine Travel: Tuscany
by Kerry Winslow
The Twelve-hour flight helped build the anticipation and I couldn’t sleep a wink on the Lufthansa red-eye to Florence. I had dreamt of Italy all my life and now I’m finally going to be there, not just Italy, but Florence the romantic heart of Tuscany. Florence is a beautiful city and it was just magic to walk from palazzo to piazza and to museo. The Duomo and the Ponte Vecchio were just as advertised, nothing disappoints here. I had heard terrible stories of crowds, gypsies and litter, though no of these were in evidence to the extent of any problems. I guess with all the art and history on display, I only saw Florence’s lovely side and enjoyed every minute. In fact the only thing I can remember being annoying was the buzzing of thousands of vespas, and that even didn’t matter much. I was looking forward to my first night in Italy, and it was made all that more special that the Antinori winery was treating me to dinner at the La Cantinetta Antinori,
their bistro at their family Palazzo di Antinori. The Antinori family is distantly related to the Medici Family the former rulers of Florence and Tuscany, and are thought of as Italian royalty. I must say the Caninetta was simple in appearance, but amazing in service and quality. The evening was very special and one of the best wine nights I ever had, with some of the finest Tuscan wines available. The tasting started with antipasto to die for, with their estate olive oil drizzled on everything including my shirt. The wines kept coming almost the entire Antinori lineup from their various estates. The only white was a crisp and lively Vermentino from Bolgheri that cleaned up my palate and left me mouthwateringly ready for the impressive reds that were to follow. The night went in a blur of fantastic food and stunning wines, but here are the highlights of the wine. Peppoli Chianti Classico, Tenute Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva, Guado al Tasso Estate Bolgheri rosso and the famed Tignanello “Super Tuscan” red. Whew, the time just flew by and my head was spinning as I sat back with desert and vin santo 
and a double espresso waiting in the wings just to make sure I could find my way back to the hotel! Lucky for me it was only three blocks away, sadly it didn’t give me all that much time to reflect on my first meal in Italy. I awoke surprisingly refreshed and stepped out onto the hotel’s rooftop terrace and enjoyed the finest cappuccino I’ve ever had, made for me by a man in a elegant uniform that I had mistook for a submarine captain. As I sat at my small table in the sunshine I smiled at the view of terra cotta tiles and church towers, yes Florence is wonderful. Read Dante, view Michelangelo and drink Antinori and you’ll just start to understand this beautiful historic city.
Next up was touring the ancient hilltop towns of Tuscany by rental car. Again I was very lucky that all those horrible tales of mad Italian drivers and terrible medieval roads proved not to be the case. OK, I do admit that the line at the rental car place
was frightening as was driving out of Florence through impossibly narrow lanes, but once out of the city it turned to pure joy. The roads were excellent, the drivers courteous and the road signs easy to read, please I’ll take this over trying to get around San Francisco or LA anytime! I just made rules for myself, never ever drive into a walled city no matter what the guidebook says. Trust me on this, because I had read that Lucca had quote “wide Roman streets that are easy to navigate” Sure, I drove in and promptly turned onto what was promised as a main avenue, in reality it was a pedestrian walkway barely wide enough for the tiny VW I was driving. To make it absolutely perfect, it was pouring rain and packed like sardines with people! I quite literarily had to push the mass of humanity along as I in almost a complete panic attack found a way out. Finally I found a side lane where luck would have it there was a police car full of laughing policeman that very nicely escorted me to my hotel, it made me wish that I understood Italian, because the parting words were lost on this guy, but I’m sure they were hilarious. So never break that rule, even though I almost drive into San Gimignano through the back entrance to the city of towers, but at the last second I braked hard and reversed out scaring the hell out of German family in a Mercedes as I went blazing by backwards at 45 MPH. Those streets were so narrow that vespas had to fold their mirrors to get through.
I stayed in a beautiful villa in the small commune of Bucine; the place is an olive oil and wine estate named Tenuta di Lupinari, set in the Eastern hills of Chianti. Seven days and nights of Heaven, that offered a castle view with the rising sun to wake up to every morning. The estate produces easy drinking Chianti that went great with the local menu, but Tenuta di Lupinari’s star is their olive oil, which is flavorful and cloudy green and very full bodied. Foodies listen up, I found a gem, with some help from couple that were staying at the villa, from San Francisco bless them. The best meal in Italy was had at Osteria di Rendola, a fabulous restaurant in the little town of Montevarchi. The place was amazing and the food was out of this World, the best of show dish was a porcini mushroom risotto with buffalo mozzarella and avocado cream. Of course they had a great wine list, but I went for their own wine a Cabernet Sauvignon bottled just for them. I had been drinking local Chianti and other Sangiovese based wines, so I was curious to try the 
Cab. It was lovely and fruit driven with big flavors and good depth. This was as good as most $50.00 Napa wines, so I was even happier to find, even though this was not a cheap place the Cab only cost $25.00, this was a great evening meal. The other highlights were the visits to Cortona, with its Etruscan tombs, Siena with its huge fan shaped Piazza del Campo and the harvest of grapes in Montepulciano. Before leaving Tuscany behind for Portofino and Milan, I had to drive though and explore Chianti Classico. The beautiful Radda in Chianti was a wonderful place to spend the afternoon with its tiny Piazza and cute little shops including a wine shop offering for sale and taste some of the finest small estate Chianti’s. Lunch in Radda was great pleasure and humorous. The place Villa Miranda; is a little roadhouse that is run by an old woman and her family. The food was fresh and vibrant that delighted the senses, the homemade ravioli in sage butter sauce still lingers in my mind. The funny part was the wine service, I thought a light white would go with the food ordered, but I found this was just not done in Radda. The troll of a woman brought me a half bottle of ancient Villa Antinori Chianti Bianco that was brown in color and totally cooked with a label that was bleached out by sitting on a window sill for ten years. Totally undrinkable, but the food was so good I didn’t even send it back. I got a good chuckle out of it and hell I was sitting outside overlooking the gorgeous hills covered in vines, Villa Miranda gets mixed reviews for quality and service from travel books, I was lucky I guess. When in Radda please drink Chianti Classico, I learned my lesson the hard way.
New! Beer Cities: Moscow, Russia
Moscow, Russia: First Impressions of the Capital
Landing in Moscow at the Sheremetevo 2 airport, what a mix of emotions, fear excitement and expectations of this land, Russia. Growing up when I did, Russia was the bad nuclear enemy and a dark and tragic place that held a certain fascination and until recently was a big mystery. Once landed and the terrifying passport and customs control was cleared it was into the Moscow night and amongst some of the worst traffic I’ve scene since a Friday night on the 405 in Los Angeles!
I’m here to celebrate, a boyhood friend and now ex-pat living here, Michael Cordy is my guide, lucky for me as English is not spoken very much here and nothing is printed in Latin, so finding places is near impossible. Sitting in a taxi catching up, Michael shows me the massive building projects going on, this is a huge city that is growing at a phenomenal rate. Moscow all ready rates as one of the great cities of the world and now it is charging up that list and fast. I learned quickly that Moscow is a city whose citizens are obsessed with Politics and are some of the biggest beer drinkers in the world. Everywhere in the city people are buzzing about this cabinet minister or the new deputy prime minister, I mean for Russian’s it is deadly serious. They are freaks for it, much like the Brit’s are for the royals or like us American’s go for pop stars or pop tarts, read Brittney Spears and Paris Hilton.
In March 2008, Putin is stepping down and there will be a new leader taking office, that was the big question while I was visiting, and now it looks set to be Dmitry Medvedev, one of Putin’s most trusted deputies. He is also the youngest and seems to be the most business and markets serious and a moderate. This could be great news for us, in American and western governments politically, giving hope that relations will get back on track. Putin is not going away though and Russians are very happy about this, he is wildly popular and looking at his reign in total, his policies have brought stability and middle class growth that no one could have imagined, and this has also created maybe the biggest beer market in the world.
Even though they have only a slight history in brewing beer the Russian’s have gone crazy for beer since it became unregulated in 1991. Besides the beautiful Orthodox Church and it’s amazingly pious faithful, Russia has two new icons, Putin and Baltika (Beer).
I know, yes I know “What, you must be crazy, it is vodka and caviar!” but you’d be surprised as I was.
Moscow The Russian Capital: Quick & Basic Facts
Moscow started as a small trading village in the 8th century in a turbulent rural area that was on an ancient merchant route, but really became a fortified city in around 1147 and was founded by Yuri Dolgorukion at the confluence of the Moskva and Neglinnaya rivers. Now at least 10 Million People call Moscow home, and more are coming in all the time. Moscow became the capital of the Principality of Muscovy and it started to grow into a coveted city. Moscow then become a target of raids and was pillaged few times, finally being sacked by Khan Batu of the Golden Horde (in 1237) which lead to more than two centuries of rule by the Tartars.
After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Moscow was known as the “Third and Last Rome” and it took on the Byzantine double-headed eagle emblem, which is now the symbol of the Russian State. In 1584 Ivan ‘the Terrible’ dies, after making a regional power of Moscow by using supreme brutality and force upon his people. In 1613 the Romanovs come into power with Mikhail Romanov becoming the Tsar of all the Russias. The Tsars ruled without mercy and cruelly until the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. Moscow became one of the world’s greatest and most powerful cities though it did lose its capital status a few times under the Tsars and it burned down by fire twice, once in 1712 after which Peter ‘the Great’ named St. Petersburg the capital, then again by its own citizens to force Napoleon and his out in 1812! Between 1825 and 1905 the Tsar tried to repress the population and live beyond the dreams of Gods and Kings of which lead to many revolts, wars and even terrorist attacks, one even ended in the assassination of Alexander II.
This took its toll on the Tsars, and finally the last Tsar Nicholas II introduced a constitution and allowed an elected body to be formed as an assembly known as the Duma. Sadly Nicholas, lead Russia into the disastrous WWI, ‘a straw that broke the camels’ back moment in history. The result was the 1917 Bolshevik uprising and Vladimir Lenin was swept into power in St. Petersburg, but he knew Moscow was the place to cement his place as the supreme leader and in Nov. 1917 he proclaims Moscow the capital. In 1918 he has the Tsar and his family executed, as their presence kept some hopes alive that they would return to power and he had a civil war and foreign armies to deal with. In 1922 the Soviet Union was formed with Moscow as the capital and seat of power, but Lenin died shortly after not seeing his Marxism-communism utopian dream come true or to real fruition. That was 1924 and in the fight to fill the vacuum of power was won by Josef Stalin ‘the Butcher’ who ruled the USSR until his death in 1954.
Stalin from his wing of the Kremlin over saw one of the most violent and murderous regimes of all time, it is said that he ordered the death of close to 20 Million people. Some died through failed attempts to create farm collectives, which led to massive relocation and famine that took about 5 million lives, or just because of paranoid whim. He thought everyone was out to take his power so he had the secret police, the CheKa (NKVD) that became the dreaded KGB, find traitors and ship them off to Gulags in Siberia or just make them disappear. Most were not traitors, in fact he was more afraid of the hero’s of the motherland and many patriots were slaughtered for no good reason. Moscow was the most feared city in the world during this time and it kept its reputation until even today. The Nazis sneak attack against Russia made strange bedfellows of the USA and the USSR. Hitler’s panzers and storm troopers got to the outskirts of Moscow, but the Red Army held out bravely and when winter came the Germans were doomed. It is said the best Russian generals were January and February, but Marshal Zhukov was the man that led the Russians to Berlin and the end of the Third Reich. Russia lost 20 Million souls during what they still call the Great Patriotic War.
After Stalin’s death the communist party took over and the Supreme Soviet elected first Nikita Khrushchev, and the Cold War started in earnest. Moscow was a scary place if you were a US citizen and we lived in nuclear fear through the line of General Secretary’s (Soviet leaders) that followed Khrushchev; Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, and Konstantin Chernenko. By this time Russia had enough, it had no money and no will to keep it up, especially after the disastrous invasion of Afghanistan, and Mikhail Gorbachev came to power and he oversaw the end of the Soviet Union and began opening up Russia to the West. His Glasnost and Perestroika policies took hold and led to Moscow’s revival as a great world city. It was a bumpy ride and the mayor of Moscow, Boris Yeltsin, had to come to the rescue to after a communist last gasp coup attempt. This though brought Gorbachev down and Yeltsin took the helm of the new Russian Federation.
Moscow was now free, but unfortunately freedom led to chaos and crime was the real winner, and the Russian Mafia stripped any and every asset left in the city and the whole of Russia. The free market system was not making life much better in Moscow and poor Yeltsin had too many crisis to fix and turned to Vodka, though he tried to hold it all together. He sent troops into Chechnya in 1994, which they were not prepared for, so worried he’d have another Afghanistan he signed a peace accord. This saved him, and he was re-elected in 1996, but he soon started sinking into depression and alcohol again. Russia needed a strong and forceful leader to deal with crime lords, oligarchs and the Chechen terrorist, and an ex-KGB leader came in from the cold to bring Russia back in line, this was Vladimir Putin. Putin took power as an appointed Prime Minister then as the elected President in 2000. Since this time Moscow has regained its glory and is as dynamic as any city anywhere, even though it has had to deal with terrorist attacks and still suffers from that threat and even though major violent crime is down it still can be a problems. Moscow is growing by leaps and bounds and even if Putin is taking the country away from a true democracy the people of Russia are firmly behind him as their lives continue to get better and better. The population has seen a major increase in wealth under Putin, most people’s salaries have doubled in the last few years and the middle class is growing at a faster rate than in the West. There is hope here and overall it looks positive.
Oil and natural gas wealth has been diverted from big companies domestic and foreign to the Kremlin controlled companies leading many to cry foul, but it has given the government real stability and economic clout. Even with this heavy-handed approach there has been a real boom for all business and with a 13 percent flat tax on income Russia has become a great place to do business and earn good money. The market there is growing at a great rate and looks to become the second largest luxury market after the USA in the next few years. Lots of uncertainties about Putin leaving power are now the headlines, as he is supposed to step down in March 2008, when his second term as president ends. He has set in motion a movement to keep power and looks set to lead from behinds the scenes. All this intrigue makes Moscow just that much more exciting and electric!
Moscow: A City Obsessed With Politics and Beer
Most people think of Vodka when they consider Russia in a drinking way, but in Moscow beer is wildly popular and drunk everywhere. Beer is well thought of in Russia, it is a cultured beverage even though it is also more commonly found on the street than our plastic water bottles seem to be in every ones hands in major cities in the USA. In fact beer and tea are still much more popular in Russia than coffee. I saw more Carlsberg than cappuccino or mochas in people’s hands, no question. So what is going on? Beer is exploding in Russia, and especially in the capital Moscow. There was one real beer is Russia under Soviet rule, a light and boring brew that tastes more like Corona than Imperial Stout, but since 1991 the market for premium beer has grown at an unbelievable rate. Now everyone wants a piece of this lucrative market and global brands are pouring millions into advertising and promotions here.
The beers in Moscow were all very drinkable and some rival Western brews, their most popular brands are Baltika and Arsenalnoye, according to the late beer guru Michael Jackson. Baltika brews around 12 different styles and exports to at least 38 countries and is jointly owned by Carlsberg of Denmark and Russian partners in St. Petersburg, even though the brewery started in 1990 in Saint Petersburg. I tried most of Baltika’s line up and found the Porter and Wheat Beer excellent and fresh, though their Lager is the most found in the pubs and taps which is by no means a bad thing as it is a good glass of suds. Beer has been helped by the fact that the former Soviet Republics of Georgia & Moldova have had embargos forced on them by the Russian government, so these countries have not been sending wine into Russia. These countries produced the best and cheapest wine in Russia and now the choices are mostly Italian or French, both of which are not traditional to Russia and they are much more pricy. So beer took advantage of that, plus beer actually goes better with the Russian menu of foods. Politic Games have favored brewski in this case, you just have to love the intrigue here, and this is an exciting city.
In Moscow you will find beer gardens, well out-door cafes that really end up as beer gardens and thousands of warm pubs all over the city. You can even find rolling kiosks that serve beer from a keg on tap in the parks, in fact we had a draft at the Kremlin, right in front of the cadets in training doing exercises in uniform at the Kremlin gate. It was an experience that I would have never dreamed of as a teenager! Sitting on the grass, overlooking the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, mere feet from Red Square, sipping on a nice Baltika lager. Growing up hearing about Stalin, Brezhnev and Khrushchev and lived in fear of Russia, now I wish that I had learned about the real Russian soul and read Pushkin, Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky. This is an amazing City with a long history that is both tragic and heroic, but always fascinating. Walking down the “Old Arbat” gets the heart pumping with graceful buildings, uneven cobblestones, street performers, outdoors dining, lots of tourists and very beautiful women dressed to kill, and it has to be one of the great beer drinking spots in Moscow. From here you can find souvenirs, people watch and catch up with friends after a day of sightseeing or work.
Moscow: Getting Around
Forget ever thinking about driving in Moscow unless you have a death wish or love LA traffic and your homesick for a parking lot, as the city was never set up for the personal automobile. The Russian drive aggressively, but fairly. I can attest to the crazy nature of driving here, as we went through the process of renting a car and driving around town. Reading the local papers has examples horrific crashes almost everyday, these are very sobering stories and my friends here tell terrifying tales of the worst crash scenes this week! If this keeps up, well, Russia might catch up with us Americans! Besides the threat of being part of a fireball or any other gruesome image that come to mind, it is almost as scary to just fill out the paperwork at the rental car agency. I swear it lasted an hour and was a form that makes Tolstoy’s epic “War & Peace” seem a weekend read! So enjoy Moscow, take the Metro!
The Metro here is amazing and more like entering a museum than a subway. Everything is spotless and ultra clean with statues and marble everywhere. Riding the trains is fast and easy and safe, though you need to study Cyrillic and do your homework into where you need to go and which line gets there, I was lucky to be with natives and they guided me around without me venturing into Tunnels alone. All the stations are different and unique with beautiful socialistic artworks adoring the walls and ceilings. Most of the Metro system was accomplished under the brutal hand of Stalin, but you might even let that slide when you marvel at these wonderful holes in the ground. More people ride the Moscow Metro system each day than London, New York and Paris combined and there is a train every sixty seconds and no spray paint! You can study the Metro layout well in advance either online or any good travel guide, please do this before any trip to Moscow, oh yes, trust me on this one.
Moscow: Info & Reference
Beer and Hot Spots
Baltika, now owned by Carlsberg of Demark, and the biggest brand in Russia now, is available everywhere. This is a company that is exploding in popularity and brews about 13 different types of beer, all of which taste like crafted beers and of high quality.
Arsenalnoye, a Baltika brand label, that remains big in the market and has a high profile in Moscow itself.
Bavarius Beer House, a big beer house with a big selection of local and imported beer.
www.bavarius.ru
Kosomolskiy Prospekt 21/10
Reference
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The Moscow Times
English Language Newspaper
www.themoscowtimes.com
*Daily free paper, great guide to the city with restaurant and club reviews as well as political news.
Thomas Cook Guide Travellers “Moscow & St. Petersburg” 2nd Edition
DK Eyewitness Travel Guide “Moscow”
DK Eyewitness Companions “Beer” editor-in-chief Michael Jackson
*Facts checked and researched with the following guidebooks:
DK Eyewitness Travel Guide ‘Moscow’ & Thomas Cook Travellers ‘Moscow & Saint Petersburg’ 2nd Edition
Moscow: Extras Gallery
(click images for larger views)
All Photos by Kerry Winslow, & Michael and Oksana Cordy. Sept. 2007
