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t r a v e l b l o g traveller:
Keith McInnes |
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On an overnight train to Moscow, we had a couple of Russian guys share our compartment (4 beds) who spoke no English. So we just went to sleep after the usual 'Where you from?', 'Where you going?', 'Do you want to buy a watch?', with our wallets next to our ears. They were fine and were just business guys travelling down to Moscow with about the other 2 million people that were on their way that night. It was packed in the station with loads of police around for security again. The railway line was built during Peter the Great's rule some +250 yrs ago and it was said that when he got a map out he just drew a red line from St.Pete's to Moscow (St.Pete's was the capital at the time) using a ruler but a small bump was made where one of his fingers was slightly hanging over the edge. The Russians not wanting to upset their leader built the bump into the line. It took another 200 odd years to straighten it out, thereby reducing travel time by an hour. It took about 8 hrs where we arrived in the capital (today) in the morning, to be picked up and driven out to our hotel which was a little way out near the War and Peace memorial. This was where Napoleon got to against the Russians way back when. The hotel was
okay as we had a wash and were met by our guide (buddy guide) for
the The hotel was in a fairly typical Moscow suburban area which consisted of rows of apartment blocks (once again, but more run down than St.Pete's) with bumpy, holed roads with old cars parked along (some with car storage units that are just big enough to fit your Trabby). The side of the road is mainly a small walking track with a strip of un-kept green belt (tall grass, trees, shrubs) that are all hardy plants to tackle the harsh winters that they get here, lots of mud too. It's funny to see Western advertising boards everywhere with English (and Russian) text about, as they wouldn't have been here 10 yrs ago and now are slapped up all over the place…..ahh….Capitalism!!! The central part of Moscow looks more Western than the rest of Russia and I was a little disappointed when I first came here (1999) as I wasn't expecting that, plus the size and pollution in Moscow. There are loads of police (military and civil) near all the main tourist areas in the city, going around checking peoples' documents (which must be carried at all times), which is good. We felt safe. We did all the tourist things from seeing Red Square, the Kremlin, St Basils cathedral, The Gum shops, Olympic stadium etc, etc. It wasn't the warmest day but better than it had been in the north of the country. The main part of Moscow is quite compact and it is fantastic to walk around thinking of the history that has flowed through this city's veins over the years. Just imagine being back in Red Square on May Day when the might of the Red Army was paraded in front of Lenin's Tomb (you have probably seen the shots) in the height of the Cold War with the rest of the world in front of some of USSR's great leaders. It sends shivers up your spine thinking about it. Trying to communicate to the locals can be a little trying as we could barely speak any Russian and some of our trusty hand signals that we used to effect in so many other places were lost on the locals. Got by mainly by pointing and nodding at things but even then it wasn't all easy sailing! We were a little hungry and they have these street stalls around selling hot dogs (no American influence here, who won the cold war??) so we thought we would fill our bellies a little, easier said than done. Ordered the wee beastie and then went to pay. The bill (verbal) was in Russian so we stuck our fingers up to say was that 5 or 10????? Like you do!! Reply came back in Russian!! Once again, fingers??? More Russian. Is that this many fingers or this many fingers?? Local tongue again but getting louder (as if we would suddenly discover that we could speak Russian but needed it to be yelled at us), and louder until finally she got the calculator out & put on it 55 Rubbles!!! AHHHHH!! So that's what you were trying to say you dozy cow!! Hot dog was
OK but not worth the hassle, and this was from in front of the entry
to the Kremlin so she should be used to dealing with non-Russian
speaking people. All in all Moscow
is an amazing city but St.Petersburg is a stunning place that has
much more character than the capital but residents of either will
defend their place, as Russians are amazingly proud of their country
and their own cities. We noticed that there were loads of Russians travelling around seeing their own country (it is the largest in the world) in tour coaches, which is great as it means that some of them do have more money to spend, but the vast majority are still struggling to get by. We were lucky that our guide in Moscow was a young student that was studying Russian History and Arts (they are really into their education as they see it as a way of improving their country through higher skills and being able to compete with the West). We asked her
numerous questions about her lifestyle and what she does with her
friends. They are much like kids in the West with their clothes,
shoes, shopping, music (mostly English), movies (again) and doing
what the West does but they are a lot more family orientated and
are trying to get an education. There we a few weddings going on as we travelled around and all the familles have their photos taken in front of the Russian icons that we see, almost like a bunch of holiday snaps with your family and wedding gear on. Quite different. They hoon around in their cars, (often small) with two fairly tacky plastic gold rings on the roof, bottles of Russian Champagne (bad stuff) and the guests in tow. We just smiled. (not how we would do it). London Underground
take note. The Moscow subway system is one of the best in the world
and also so very cheap. Yes the signs are a little more difficult
to understand, but you start to catch on. The stations in the centre of the city are quite Neo-Classical/ Art-Noveau in apearance. It dates back to the Communist days when the system was built. Trains run every 3 minutes in the suburbs (and on time, no leaves on the line) and every minute in the centre. It's very efficient and good. The last time I was in Moscow we did a mini tour of some of the stations, as they have numerous mosaics of Lenin and communist life scenes (ie work hard for the government) which are stunning, great to see. We changed some cash at one of the hotels, as there are plenty of dodgy places to do so but don't offer you a receipt to prove to the border guards that you changed the money that you brought into the country, that you first have to declare. After another
white knuckle ride to the train station where we had our first sight
of the train that would take us across Russia, home for 8 days!! The train we got was actually the Ural Train of the Trans Siberian railway which would take us to Yeketerinburg in Siberia, where we would stop for a couple of days. So we left Moscow in the late afternoon under grey skies to head east and into the great unknown and what an adventure that was to be. |
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