A Moscow night with flashing lights

Exploring Moscow with the Tiguan

This highway running straight to the center of Moscow, the heart of Europe’s largest city, has eight lanes. Moscow has more than 12 million inhabitants, together with over 40 universities, five international airports, and nine long-distance railway stations with more than 2,000 trains every day. The famous Moscow metro with its 262 stations, some of which have spectacular designs, carries more passengers every day than the London tube and the Paris metro together.

These gigantic figures underline the dimensions of Russia’s capital but also pose a dilemma for visitors: why are all the roads regularly congested despite the widespread use of public transport and the very wide roads themselves?

Congestion? Have your flashing light ready!
Back to the eight-lane highway, where there are no gaps in the traffic. The white Tiguan is surrounded, mainly by black SUVs with effectively tinted windows. On the streets of Moscow, it seems to be fashionable not to be recognized. And there is another thing that you notice. As soon as the traffic comes to a halt, removable flashing blue lights appear on some of the cars, which then disappear through the temporary emergency lanes created through the traffic.

Tricks like that are beneath the Tiguan’s dignity. It is well aware that it has already reached the front row, as one of the world’s top 10 bestselling SUVs.

The countless sights to see around the Kremlin are also masterful. Following an hour of crawling through the traffic, the Tiguan has reached its destination. Fortunately, there is no need to operate the clutch thanks to the lightning-swift DSG gearbox. At almost the same time, the sun disappears and we see the thousands of lights of the old city.

We take a look at the "Arbat" shopping street and are amazed by the Bolshoi Theatre and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. It is difficult to believe but you can visit over 600 churches in the city.

For a good panoramic view in the twilight, you can travel to the southern bank of the Moskva. You are then recommended to take a dose of caffeine in one of the fashionable cafes – after all, you have a long night ahead of you. Despite the fact that Russia is a nation of tea drinkers, you can obtain very good coffee in Moscow. Most of the waiters are fast – and speak English. In general, the city creates an open atmosphere, oriented towards Europe.

Tourist destinations? GUM & Lenin
This is also reflected by the wall of the Kremlin. To be more precise, we are standing on Red Square, with hundreds of other visitors. Nevertheless, you still feel alone because this is an impressive location. Just to remind you, Red Square once served as an emergency landing strip for small aircraft. Even the Tiguan can get a glimpse of the historic square – we have found a parking space right next to the magnificent Saint Basil's Cathedral.

On red Square, even people who are not religious are impressed by the nine different main domes of the Cathedral, which are illuminated perfectly at night.

By the way, the dark streets are ideal for a city tour. At night, Moscow becomes calmer, at least as far as the traffic is concerned. The Tiguan can now cruise effortlessly from one highlight to the next. A long tour of the centre is recommended – and you should not miss the luxurious GUM shopping mall. It is more than 120 years old. From the outside it looks like a traditional building of its time while the interior has an aura of European elegance. The steel and glass roof structure is especially impressive. Delicacies from throughout the world are presented between marble pillars in the legendary “Gastronome No. 1”. All the world’s famous brands are represented below.

Lenin’s Mausoleum on the opposite side of Red Square is just as popular. The famous leader of the revolution can still be viewed here – against the wishes of his family. His last resting place is reminiscent of an Egyptian pyramid and is guarded round-the-clock by a special unit of the Russian army “Post No. 1“. There is no charge for viewing the prominent body, but there are a few conditions: you should walk past the preserved body of the Soviet Union’s founder and not stand still and you must not take any photos. Four out of five stars on Tripadvisor.

“документы пожалуйста!”
Did you understand that? The meaning is really quite obvious if a grim-looking policeman says these two words to you as he is standing beside the Tiguan. He wants to see your documents. He cannot speak any English, at least at the beginning. After a few attempts, he understands that we only want to take a few photographs of the. Tiguan in the heart of his city. He then smiles and says: “No problem!” This is the general slogan in many areas of the city.

In a search for superlatives, skyscrapers tower up to the sky in a new district that seems to emulate Manhattan – Moscow City. The many super-rich inhabitants enjoy themselves at the annual millionaires’ fair.

The vehicles on the road are just as opulent – apart from a few tired taxis, we mainly see polished SUV’s cruising through the night. The motto seems to be: the bigger and more conspicuous the better.

The Tiguan is not impressed. It can still enjoy itself without 22-inch wheels and provides a much smoother ride. With the power of a two-liter diesel, it completes another circuit through the magnificent heart of the city. From time to time, a car rushes by with blue lights flashing.