Moscow guide recommendations

We were there in January 2011 for Orthodox Christmas. Quite a trip it was. Our guide was a gentleman named Daniel Petrov. He did a very, very good job. http://www.waytomoscow.com http://www.toursbylocals.com/MoscowPrivateTourGuide danpetrov74@gmail.com
http://budapestflat.shutterfly.com/russia (our pics) We have spent a couple of winters in Budapest but until we got to Moscow I didn't know it as possible to be so cold. It was sort of a spur of the moment thing. We were in Budapest at the time and round trip airfare was about $300 so we went for it. If you are there at the time of Orthodox Christmas (sometime in the first week of January) go to a mass. The experience is priceless. We stayed at the Hotel National that overlooks Red Square. This is a hotel way beyond our means in the summer, but in the winter the rooms are cheap. After all, who in their right mind goes to Moscow in January?

We just returned from a three-week trip, part of which included five nights in Moscow. The weather was not what I expected - almost like Seattle with a little residual snow (climate change). The temperature hovered around 0C, and a warm coat, hat, and gloves were all we needed. At times, my muffler was positively toasty (i.e., too warm). Check the Weather Channel before you go. It's pretty accurate. Like James, I cannot recommend Daniel Petrov highly enough. He is not inexpensive, but for an entire day (including a driver for half of it), he walked us through the most important parts of the central city. His knowledge of the city's (and country's) history is truly amazing. He explained in great detail the art and embellishments of each of the churches inside the Kremlin (that Stalin did not destroy because somewhere in the back of his mind he realized that they were part of his heritage). His information is detailed and almost story-like. We went on a Kremlin tour (one of the more interesting parts of our tour), and learned to use the Metro (which we didn't do a lot of because we walked nearly everywhere - all roads emanating from Red Square, of course). We shared meals with him in local restaurants that gave us a sense of the real cuisine of Russia. Because of his orientation, we were able to walk the city comfortably (and with no concerns about security, except for the Metro), knowing where we were at all times and what we were about to see. (We even walked from our hotel to the Bolshoi Theater to retrieve our ballet tickets - pricey, but an experience of a lifetime. He is easy to reach: danpetrov74@gmail.com

Liz, thank you for doing that. He is great at what he does and those are the ones we need keep busy and working.