Day #9: Moscow

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Went to Arbat Street in the morning, but clearly this is not the right time of year to be there. There street is very much geared to tourists, but there are few tourists in Moscow at this time of year, and the place felt a bit muted. I was almost tempted to buy a touristy matryoshka-pattern hairclip, but perhaps it's too early in the trip for tacky souvenirs.

Continued to the Muzeon Sculpture Park, a fascinating place featuring old, often vandalised Soviet statues alongside pristene modern sculpture. What I really enjoyed was the range of styles - everything from the most traditional to the most esoteric. Again, this is an odd time of year to visit the park - the area looks like a building site, as workmen clear away the snow, which is turning paths to sludge as it melts. So much work was going on that upon first looks it seemed there wasn't much in the park at all, which made discovering the sculptures, hidden behind workmen, tools, or mounds of snow or mud, all the more enjoyable.

Onto Gorky Park, the only time in my life I have ever unexpectedly happened upon a spaceship.

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