Wednesday, 19 August 2026

 

Start: Moscow (RU) 11:00

Arrival: Vladimir (RU) 15:00

 

Total: 218 km

 

 

Yesterday when we had set out from our hotel, the Lukoil station next to it had already run out of gas for the day. As we did not want to leave Moscow with anything less than a full tank, we'd set the alarm clock for 7 am, hoping for the best. When the alarm rang, we jumped out of bed, got dressed and were out the door in no time. Wait, we needed to pay to get the car out of the parking. While I waited in the lobby, Sonia ran out to check whether Lukoil still listed 95 as available. The guest before us took his sweet time. Finally, the receptionist turned his attention to me. "Would you like to pay cash or by card?" Sonia came back: "They still have some. Cars lined up as far as the eye can see, though." We shoved some money into the receptionist's hand. Every minute wasted meant 5 more cars in line before us. "Will you be coming back later?" "Yes, for breakfast!" We were already half out the door. Sprint to the car, with screeching tires down the road, U-turn in the middle of the street and we were skidding in line. About 40 cars in front of us. The line moved surprisingly fast. In barely half an hour it was our turn and, yes - they still had gas! We filled up, drove back to the hotel and sat down for a leisurely breakfast.

 

But having gas was barely half the battle. The plât de résistance: finding our way onto the M12. The GPS kept jumping to a different location, Sonia desperately tried to find landmarks to guide me onto the largest ring road, the MKAD. There it was: MKAD yug. At the last second, I veered into the exit lane. "No no no", my sister yelled in desperation. "We need MKAD sever, you got out 50 metres too early!" Nothing to be done, we were heading south and there was no easy way to run around. Yandex Maps was of no help either, the location was hopelessly scrambled. We needed to somehow get off the road, and make a U-turn in this maze of overpasses and intersections.

 

Through an unlikely combination of intense focus, good nerves, a couple of reckless manoeuvres and lots of dumb luck we weaved our way past a shopping mall in Kapotnya (hometown of Valery Kipelov! Kapotnya, not the mall, that is) and back onto the MKAD, this time going north. When we were finally on the half empty 4-line toll road towards Vladimir, we heaved a sigh of relief. It had been fun, though, somehow.

 

 

 

 

The city of Vladimir is part of a string of old towns around Moscow called the Zolotóe Koltzó, the Golden Ring. During the 12th to 14th centuries, it used to be the capital of the important Russian principality Vladimir-Suzdal. Originally we had planned to visit the much smaller Suzdal, but as we had ended up with a hotel in the centre of Vladimir and I didn't feel like driving back and forth, we decided on a stroll through Vladimir instead. We would explore the Cathedral of the Assumption, the Golden Gate and the pedestrian street. Those seemed to be the main attractions.

 

 

Three minutes later, we were standing in front of a green church. The paint was peeling off, the building had definitely seen better days. "I don't think it's safe to go in there", I said. "I don't think you can even go in", my sister volleyed back. Wasn't this supposed to be one of the main attractions in this town? Meanwhile, Sonia was consulting the all-knowing Yandex Maps. "I think the Assumption Cathedral is that white building over there." She pointed to the right. This looked slightly more like it. Under the watchful eyes of two elderly nuns, we walked through a beautiful small garden. Was this an active monastery? I felt like an intruder, blundering into a quiet haven. We looked around for a bit, then beat a hasty retreat.

 

 

Up the street there was a beautiful small shopping centre. As it was really windy outside, we decided to have a coffee in there. The place was overheated though. "I can't breathe", Sonia moaned. Back outside, the wind felt a lot less antagonizing. This seemed to be a main shopping street and up ahead was highlight number 2: the Golden Gate. On the way there, we found a cosy little bakery with the witty name Baker 221b. Right next to a smoking accessories shop named Sherlock. Definitely a Arthur Conan Doylean theme there. And the bakery even had soft ice! Life was good again.

 

The gate unfortunately proved a disappointment, as it was bundled up in plastic. "It's probably under construction", Sonia said. "Do you want to go visit the Crystal museum or head back to the hotel?" Neither, really. I refused to be defeated so easily, so instead we decided to hunt down highlight number 3: that pedestrian street. We traipsed up a steep street under construction and suddenly found ourselves in a beautiful little park with colourful flower beds, a charming animal-themed wooden bench and an amazing view over the valley.

 

 

And what was that dazzlingly white church complex perched on the other side? We checked our map: there were two Assumption buildings in Vladimir, the monastery we had been to, and the cathedral, which was probably the one we had wanted to see in the first place! Our explorers' spirit rekindled, we headed towards the cathedral. On the way we found an interesting old apothecary shop, souvenir stalls, cute metal statues and street musicians.

 

 

This part of Vladimir was much more interesting for tourists, and the large Pushkin Park next to the cathedral was even more wonderful. Comfy benches beckon the visitor to sit down and enjoy the quiet beauty of the large trees and the view over the old town, at the end of the park, a large statue of Vladimir the Great and Saint Theodore, who both endeavoured to establish Christianity as the principal religion in this region, form the centre of an expansive circular viewpoint.

 

By now Vladimir had endeared itself to us and we were happy to stroll back over the main street which already felt like a well-known old friend. We decided to skip the "set plate" that our hotel had offered and to have breakfast at the Baker 221b coffee house instead.

 

 

But first dinner. Our grumbling stomachs steered our attention toward a menu on display. A steak house. How very fortunate. We entered and were greeted by a charming young man. "Dva chelavyeka?", I asked. A table for two? The waiter almost immediately switched to English and was more than happy to chat with us. Not only were the steak and fries great, the staff at the Grinwich (definitely a London theme going on in this street) were extremely friendly too. By now, we were thoroughly taken in by the capital of Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky. As Luxembourgers can assert, Grand Duchies, present or former, do have an undeniable charm to them!