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  Moscow, Central Russia, Russian Federation
Thursday, October 2, 2008

Why is there always something to report from the train journey?! This time it involves Ed offending a Russian lady, although in his defense it was completely her own fault. We got on the train in Perm and were struggling down the very narrow hallway to our cabin with our huge backpacks. Now you would think it would be sensible for people standing in the corridor to move inside their cabin so we can get through, but not this lady. She stands in the middle of the corridor watching us struggle and does not move an inch. And she was quite a big lady so it was not easy to pass by her. As a result, when Ed tried to pass by her she got knocked back a little and nearly fell over. This wouldn't have been too bad had she then not stormed off and gone marching into our cabin! She was only sharing our cabin and by now she was very unamused. Oops! Her husband was very friendly though and started talking to us in very limited English. By morning, I think she had forgiven Ed too as she even cracked a smile, very unusual as we have found out. You can smile at everyone you pass in the street and very rarely will anyone smile back. It is a completely different culture to England, where 9 out of 10 people will return the smile.
Anyway, after the initial awkwardness the train journey was fine and we arrived in Moscow on time at 4pm on Monday. Then we had the job of finding a metro station and our hostel, 2 very difficult tasks. The confusing thing is that there can be several interconnecting stations but each one will have a different name depending on what colour line it is on, so you never know where you should exit for the street that you want. Because of this it took us ages to find the right exit and then we missed our turn and so finding the hostel proved a pain in the neck. By the time we actually got there we were exhausted and hungry. As we had passed Pizza Hut on the way, we retraced our steps and had pizza for dinner. Then we felt more at home!
Our first full day in Moscow was my English birthday. (The time I was born, along with the time difference means that I get a Moscow birthday the day after my English birthday, a fact which Ed thinks is unfair as he only gets to have one birthday! I can't help it if time works out that way!) Ed made me breakfast and then we went out exploring. First stop, Red Square. The buildings around Red Square are spectacular, especially St Basil's Cathedral, which is extremely colourful. Inside is pretty cool too, with awesome stonework and paintings. While we were inside, there were some singers singing Russian style religious hymns. They were fantastic.
After our trip to the Cathedral we decided to walk along the river and explore the city on foot. We passed some fountains and a huge statue of a ship, and we saw some driving tests taking place in a car park. Seriously, its no wonder the parking here is so terrible if that is the kind of tests that are given! How can you learn to drive in an empty car park? It is crazy! It certainly helps to explain why so many people park up on the pavement rather than in a proper space because once there are other cars around, parking becomes impossible! I am sure when we go back to England we are going to be shocked at how sensibly people drive!
As part of our city walk we went down the Arbat which is a pedestrianised street full of buskers, street artists and souvenir shops as well as numerous restaurants and cafes. We came back here at night for my birthday meal once we had met up with Jessica and Carsten in Red Square. Our meal was nice, if a little expensive, and followed by a drink in an Irish bar near by. Then we headed back to Red Square to see how it was lit up at night. It looked just like Christmas and was really beautiful. The whole of the Gum shopping centre was lit up too which was fantastic. We went in there earlier on and it is a huge shopping centre but very expensive. Maybe one day...
Our second day in Moscow (my Moscow birthday if you will) was spent mainly at the Kremlin visiting the wonderful Cathedrals in there. They are all spectacular in their own way and well worth the visit. The pictures will show you better than I can explain in words. Then we went to the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, which is probably the most amazing of them all. There were lots of candles lit around the church - we lit one for my Dad - and lots of amazing paintings on the walls. Then we went down the winding staircase to the museum and another smaller church room. It was all breathtakingly beautiful and probably our favourite Cathedral so far.
On our way back to Red Square we met a girl from Romania, Luciana. We got talking and decided to go for a drink. She was lovely and we spent the evening with her.
Our last day in Moscow was a little more relaxed, although we still had lots to see. We took a trip around the metro circle line, getting out at each station to look at the artwork on the walls. The architecture in some of the stations is awesome and unbelievably beautiful. It took a couple of hours to see them all, but getting on and off the train, some busier than others, was lots of fun. In the afternoon we went back to Red Square to see the Changing of the Guards. It was all very official and we saw the Guards doing their proper marching down the walkway.
We are off to get some food now and then to get the train to St Petersburg so update soon...

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