Good-byes in Moscow

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Today I spent my only full day in Moscow. I wish I had planned things better as 2 days in Moscow is certainly not enough. I went to Gorky park yesterday for about an hour but I honestly think I could have spent a week there. I would have stayed the rest of the evening but the girls I was with wanted to move straight on and since I had paid absolutely no attention to where the hostel was I figured I'd better stay with them. The park was reasonably non eventful due to it being mid week however there were still a number of local families and young people as well as tourists. I felt the park was a great reflection of the people in Russia today. There were stages throughout the park where on the weekends they have performances from Dance to piano recitals as well as bike hire, roller blade hire, pop up book stalls and quaint independent cafes. Another highlight would have to be the museum of modern art which showcase some excellent and challenging works from all different eras and in all different mediums. Contrary to what I had expected (having just passed through so many run down towns with not much to offer) Moscow is one of the most cultural cities I have been to and a lot of the younger generation very liberal and expressive. One of the others on my tour asked our guide about homosexuals in Moscow and whether or not they were accepted. The conversation ended there as apparently there was nothing to be said. I can only assume her views on the matter are fairly standard for her generation (>40ish) as I have heard that for the 2014 winter Olympics the Russian government was trying to introduce a law banning gay couples from showing affection in public. From what I can gather though I think the younger generation have a much more humanistic view towards gay people. I have just boarded my train for St Petersburg where on the platform I met a young gay woman who was from St Petes and was on her way to Amsterdam for a holiday. She told me that in Russia it was not ok to be gay which is why she enjoyed going to visit Amsterdam. I didn't want to question her much more but this information made it very clear that the views of the older generation were not quite as contemporary as what the city would have me believe from my visit. However I am quite sure that will change before too long.

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