Holiday Inn Moscow-Sokolniki

... statue along the walk of Karl Marx that says, "Проле
090;арии всех стран, соеди 85;яйтес& #1100;," which was the national slogan of the Soviet Union and translates to "Workers of all nations, unite!" Good stuff.) The tour agency had their office just a block away from Red Square ...

... ex-KGB from a film in a 60's style movie.
The skirt even finished 3 inches above the knee! Not very flattering. No matter how much you smiled or tried to be polite they NEVER smiled. These women ruled their carriage and were to be obeyed.
The hotel we are in is very good, 3 star although 20 mins metro ride from the centre, but to get to the metro requires a walk across an un-gated railway lines and through a dodgy market. The metros are magnificent ...

... least still paved. Luckily I figured out where we were thanks to Google Maps on my phone and after about an hour (and getting on the highway) we were at my hotel.

For a 3 star hotel, everything was pretty nice. The only thing that continues to bother me is no smiles. I knew this would be the case going in, but actually seeing it in person for someone as social as I am, it bothered me a bit more then ...

... piti laittaa meidan hostille viestia et apua ei me loydeta, ja sit saatiin vahan lisaa ohjeita ja lopulta paastiin sateesta sisatiloihin. Meni aika myohaan, tai siella baarissa missa miitinki pidettiin ei mennyt, mutta sitten kun tultiin tanne "kotiin", niin keiteltiin viela teeta ja hopoteltiin myohalle yolle. Nyt ollaan tassa Dericilla viela. Tanaan piti menna kaymaan leninin mausoleumissa MUTTA koska herailtiin vasta joku puol tuntia sitten niin se ny jai sit valiin ...

... thing I was, wandering around taking photos. Then at one of the stations I must have seen 3 tour groups. Unfortunately none of them were in English otherwise I might have listened in a bit.July 15 was a highlight for me. Mainly because I went to see Vladimir Lenin. The man who started the Revolution and you could say was the father of Communism in Russia. He died 80 years ago but he was put into a mausoleum on Red Square and has been there since. Poor guy. Has to deal with ...

... Una delle cose piu' belle da vedere a Mosca e' la metropolitana: un'autentica opera d'arte. Ogni stazione e' diversa dall'altra e decorata in modo fantastico: mi sono fatto un giro di un'ora sulle varie linee scendendo di tanto in tanto in qualche stazione a caso. Lo so, detta cosi' sembra una cosa da idioti, ma vi assicuro che ne valeva la pena; dopo un po' mi sono finalmente perso, non sapevo piu' nemmeno su quale linea ...

... ystavallisia ja jonotetaan kiltisti nurisematta. Mutta joskus taas tuntuu siella GBssa etta kaikki vaan teeskentelee olevansa ystavallisia koko ajan eika tieda millon se on totta. Taalla ei todellakaan ole sita ongelmaa. On vaan erilaista, enpa osaa sanoo mika on hyva pitemman paalle. Kommentoikaa vapaasti. Ma laitan pian lisaa jarjestymatonta tajunnanvirtaa kun ainakin tassa hostellis on ilmanen netti sillon kun sattuu toimimaan.

... Red Square closed. No. I looked at my watch. He shook his head again and said no open; closed 2 days. Even though he was speaking English, I just couldn't comprehend. I repeated. Closed on Tuesday? Hoping against hope. Today is Monday I assured him. No. He said. Closed today, closed tomorrow. My shoulders sunk. Didn't he know I've been waiting to stand here. We grew up when Russia was still the CCCP and the cold war was not yet over ...