Europe's biggest city revisited (Moscow, Russia)

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(Day 38 on the road)The last time I was in Moscow was in 1999 on a stopover coming from Hong Kong. Now, 9 years later, I arrived in the city by overnight train from St. Petersburg just after 0900h on May 9th, right on time for the Victory Day celebrations on that same day. My stay in Moscow was marked by the revisiting of my old Russian university-friend Oksana (we studied together back in 1998 in London), who also introduced me to her friends Alexander and Natalie (both born and living in Moscow). All in all, I spent three days in their respective companies, and by that I saw many places in Moscow that would have been impossible to see otherwise - it was perfect! The hostel I stayed in was also great: Not very pretty, but the other guests there were almost exclusively long-time travellers like me, either going on the Transsib from Moscow, or just finishing the journey (coming from Vladivostok or Beijing and continuing to St. Petersburg). The atmosphere was very relaxed and friendly, and we spent the evenings sitting in the cosy common room chatting and exchanging stories and tips.

I had nearly missed the train in St. Petersburg though. I arrived with plenty spare time on the station, found the train on the departure board and went to the track about 20 minutes before scheduled departure. I was waiting and waiting, and with only about 5 minutes to go (knowing that Russian trains are typically extremely punctual), I started to get a bit nervous. A short (sign-language) conversation with the lady standing next to me confirmed that I was indeed on the wrong track (well sort of, the train was on Track 5, where I was, but apparently there was another track 5. I didn't quite understand it, maybe 5a and 5b?). Anyway, not a good start at all. So backpack shouldered, and off I went sprinting over to the right track. Of course my wagon was at the very end of the train, so with about 20 seconds to go I finally jumped onto the wagon, sweating like a pig despite the chilly 6 degrees outside. The doors closed behind me, and the train started moving. Close!

But back to Moscow, Victory Day and to some history behind it: World War 2 is generally referred to as the Great Patriotic War in Russia, and on May 9th there is always a big celebration marking the anniversary of the end of the war in Europe and thus for Russia (Japan capitulated some time later). Here is an interesting detail: For people in Germany and its neighboring countries, the end of the war in Europe is typically May 8th: The unconditional surrender of Germany was signed shortly before midnight on May 8th, Berlin time. In Russia, at this time it was already May 9th, so that's why Victory Day is the 9th of May in Russia.

I was picked up from the train station by Alexander, a colleague of my friend Oksana. And we had a great day! We firstly drove down to the area around the Red Square and the Kremlin, where the Victory Parade was to be held. As the entire area around the Kremlin was pretty much blocked off, we managed to see just the very last of the parade (some heavy missile launchers). Waiting for the action to begin, we started chatting to an American couple (Marilyn and Mike from San Francisco), and they quickly joined us for the rest of the day. After seeing a bit of the parade and the planes that flew right over us, we took off to see some of the most interesting places in Moscow, including Moscow University (and the great view from up there down on Moscow itself), Victory Park (which was packed with people, including some veterans from the war), Novodevichy convent, and a tsar park (which name I unfortunately don't remember).

The next day I went to see my friend Oksana and her little baby daughter Katja (10 months and extremely cute) at her flat. As we hadn't seen each other for nearly 9 years, we spent the day just catching up on things. My other three friends in Moscow however where not here at the time, whiling away in the USA and Spain. What a shame!

The day after that, Oksana, her daughter Katja, Oksana's sister and her boyfriend, Oksana's friend Natalie and I went to Moscow Zoo, where the white tigers and bears grabbed not only Katja's attention! In the evening and after having dinner at a Japanese restaurant, Natalie and I went to see a very picturesque sculpture park right by the river, and we also went to have a stroll through the famous Gorky Park and along some of the old parts of Moscow City. It was a very pleasant day and evening indeed!

The following day, I badly sprained my ankle just walking down Old Arbat Road (I somehow missed the pothole right in the middle of the pedestrian street, how stupid!). So instead of visiting the Kremlin and the Tretyakov Gallery as I had planned, I spent 5h at the hospital for a check-up (I could hardly walk anymore). There is a small fracture and the the ligament is half-torn, but fortunately not completely. The doctor said it will take about 2-3 weeks to heal, which is a bit of a pain, as I planned to do some serious hiking around Lake Baikal! Also, spending six days in Moscow and not seeing the Kremlin must seem almost impossible, but I managed to do it! Well, I guess I just have to come back one day. Luckily I will now spend some time on the train, so my ankle can get some rest.

The last notable thing happened on the last night: Three of us had sat in the common room of the youth hostel all night. I was sitting on a chair, and without warning, Vlad, the Russian guy, moves up to me from behind, embraces me and starts kissing my neck. I instinctively pushed him away, and hew was hugely embarrassed, his face becoming redder by the second. I am not sure what he was thinking, but he must have gotten something wrong (or was it the weird Finnish Vodka with the mint taste they had been drinking all night?). The situation was very unreal and hard to put into words, but in retro perspective certainly one of the more memorable experience in Moscow.

Next stop: Starting the Trans Siberian Railway!



To view my photos, have a look at pictures.beiske.com. And to read the full account of my journey, have a look at the complete book about my trip at Amazon (and most other online book shops).

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Comments

[Susanne]

Toi, toi, toi!
Hi Ben, ich verfolge seit 2 Wochen(leider hat mein Internetanschluss so lang auf sich warten lassen) deine Reise und freu mich immer über Neuigkeiten von dir. Schön, dass du so nette Leute kennengelernt hast und somit noch tiefer in die Kultur des jeweiligen Landes eintauchen kannst. Am schönsten ist die Freude, die du beschreibst und somit zu empfinden scheinst. Ich freu mich für dich, dass du Spaß an der Reise hast. Ich wünsche dir noch viele Erlebnisse, die dich erfüllen und gern an die Tour zurückdenken lassen! Hoffe, du brauchst noch keinen Urlaub, obgleich du ja schon eine Menge Eindrücke gesammelt hast:-) Fühl dich gedrückt und ich bin in Gedanken sehr oft bei dir. Bleib gesund und aufnahmebereit. Viele liebe Grüße aus dem sonnigen Mainz, Susanne