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Red Square
Around 2:30 on V-Day Moscow...
It didn't start very well. Our little adventure at the station in St Petersburg seemed to have been a bad sign about things to come. The hotel was in the middle of nowhere, the guide who was supposed to pick us for an introductory tour didn't show up and last but not least, given Victory Day (celebrated in Russia on 9 May) everything was inaccessible in the center from the day before!
After a few phone calls, some manager from the travel agent showed up explaining that they had planned our introductory walk for the next day given the Victory Day rehearsals. All this didn't make sense, and after some 'negotiation' we managed to have a short tour on the first day (8 May) so that we at least knew where the Metro station was and how to use it.
I was not very happy and I am afraid it was quite visible.
However, little by little, things cleared up and we started enjoying Moscow. There was a sense of celebration in the city, everybody was in good mood and this was contagious.
The weather was gorgeous, sunny and warm, We found our way around the Kremlin, walked along the
river and the canals from where we had beautiful views on the Kremlin.
We also took some side streets where we found a simple church that happened to be consecrated to St Nicolas, the most venerated saint in Russia. A very nice old lady welcomed us, invited us to have a look and gave us each a picture of the Great Saint with a prayer. This was one more confirmation of the kindness of the Russian people we experienced so far.
On V- day we had our introductory tour. Our guide was in fact a teacher of English and very knowledgeable about her city and about Russian history. It was Sunday and V-day. She brought us to places where tourist go less as they tend to focus on the red square and all that was not accessible that day. We saw some of the few remaining wooden houses of Moscow, old merchant houses and much more. We also mixed with the locals to see what could be seen of the parade. I managed to find a place on a bridge from where the red square was visible in the distance while Robson stayed with the guide, close to the bridge
where they had a nice spot as well. A bonus was that the bridge was on the way to the dispersion area for the troops that were part of the parade. We had let's say our private parade!
After a nice lunch in a typical Russian place indicated by our guide, we managed to get on the red square. This was not simple though. They just opened it to the general public but left the strict security measures in place. One first faced a raw of soldiers who formed a huge half cercle on front of the entry. From time to time they let people pass that first line. You then had to queue again just like at the airport. They indeed installed in the middle of the street the same kind of security gates that screen you at airports; they even took our water!
Needless to say we felt very lucky to be admitted on the square. The weather was gorgeous again, people were happy, some dressed up for the occasion most of them displaying a ribbon with the St Georges colours, black and orange.
On our way back to the hotel we visited some of the most famous
Metro stations in Moscow.
The next day was a transition day, but an important one as at 4.08 Pm we started our transiberian trip, first step, after 28 hours will be Yekaterinburg.
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Silvana
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How wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It looks like a dream for me... I always would like to see this palace, touch it... confirm that it isn´t a cake... ;-) And what about the tube?????!!!!!! It´s a kind of a museum... ;-)