Moscow

No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow. ~Lin Yutang

May 30, 2009, Saturday, Moscow, Russia. This morning began with a walk on Ulitsa Arbat, a 1.5 km pedestrian mall. This street is dotted with pastel-colored merchant houses and tourist oriented shops and cafes.
By late morning, we ALL stopped at a Russian Super Market. It was huge and had everything you might want. Since we are on a bus, we only purchased things we could carry.
Novodevichy Cemetery was our final AM stop. It is a prestigious Russian resting place, a “who’s who” of former Russian political and cultural figures. During our time here we learned a bit more about Russian history and who is remembered fondly and who is not.
At 4 PM, we ventured out again for a trip on the Metro. The Russian Metro is famous for is art and design featured in many of its metro stations. The art includes marble, mosaics, chandeliers, etc.; all with the same central themes…Russia history, war, and the happy life of the soviet people, a lot of propaganda. Police and guards are everywhere…you won’t find spray paint art/graffiti here. We made several stops along the Ring Line, then we continued on to the Moscow River, for a boat ride. The weather has been wonderful, sunny and clear, a nice evening for a cruise.
My final stop was a “so-so” noisy restaurant and back “home”. Bob and our friends continue on for a tour of Moscow by Night.


May 31, 2009, Sunday, Moscow, Russia. Another sunny warm day, a free day, so we are off on our bikes for a different perspective of Moscow. The ride began in Gorky Park along the Moscow River. There was a lovely trail, then we came to yes guards/police and a booth to buy tickets?! What is the story here, do we pay to bike on the trail? No one speaks English and the tickets are pricey. Then the light dawns! Gorky Park is also an amusement Park with rides, etc. That’s not where we want to go.
So we did an about face and hauled our bikes up the stairs to the pedestrian bridge. On the other side of the river there was an escalator. We stopped and observed…bikers and bikes going on the escalator. OK, this is a first. Down we go. On the other side, we found another trail along the river and continued, stopping for photos here and there.
The weather is down right hot and folks are sunbathing along the river. The quality of the trail is not consistent… large holes in the cement, missing manhole covers, steps, etc. one just needs to be alert. Biking does provide a different look at the city, a bit more up close and personal. Discovering small side streets and little churches is part of the fun. Even found a small outdoor café, not many in Moscow, and stopped for a cold coke and a cookie. We passed the University of Moscow on our way back to Red Square, then found a park and had a picnic lunch while people watching.
Back “home” and its time to organize the RV, we leave Moscow tomorrow. Traveling in an RV, one becomes very conscious of water supply and usage. So we dumped, and tried to refill the holding tank in spite of no fittings on the faucet. It was painfully low, somewhat brownish, but OK for washing and boiling. We cleaned the bike and got them on the rack with the dirty old cover.
Feeling hot and sweaty, even a cold showers was sounding good. Oops a man was locking the shower room as I approached. “A shower?? Duchet?? Please?” I tried to inquire. The man’s response was ”Nyet!” “In a few hours” I said as I tapped my watch. “Nyet, Nyet, Nyet!!” Ok, I get the picture. So back to the RV I go to use some precious water.

---

---