Fast walkers

---

Saturday September 9, 2006 - I took the overnight train to Moscow last night. When I got to the train station and found my train I had to ask a few people which train car I was on and then show my passport along with my ticket to board. But so did the Russians. I then had to ask which bed was mine - it turned out to be the upper bed above the small table that also turned into a bed. I had chosen third class instead of second to save money, and it was a car without separate sleeping compartments. Just the whole hall was filled with beds. It ended up being a good decision. Someone helped me store my bag on the rack above my bed and then I read my Russia guide for a few minutes until the conductor came through to collect money for the pillow and sheets. Who knew? Then the lights dimmed and everyone went to sleep immediately. I had trouble getting into my bed since it was hard to find somewhere to put my feet and then the bed was so high that I couldn't come anywhere near sitting up. I actually had to slide into bed. I didn't sleep so well all night. I couldn't get too comfortable and I was sleeping with my daypack and a separate other bag. Cozy.

They turned the lights on at 5am and we arrived in Moscow at 6:20am - they are very precise about train schedules here. Incidentally, there are trains that go everywhere and it is the most common transportation in the country. There are maybe 10 or more trains that go to Moscow everyday from St. Petersburg alone. Amazing. Anyway, once I got there I had to find the metro and that was fairly easy. Bought a ticket and instead of coins like St. Petersburg they use cards. I took the metro two stops and then had to find my way to Galina's flat, where I would be spending the next three nights. I started off in the wrong direction and it took my forever to get going the right way, even with a map. I always come out of the metro in the wrong spot, every time. I can't read cyrillic and have trouble knowing which exit will be the right one. Every time. So eventually I got to the right spot and made it to the right street. Took me a long time to find her apartment. I had to go around back of the building, into what looked like a basement door, and then up five flights of stairs. A couple of guys working in and near the basement tried to tell me this but it looked like a set up for rape so I avoided it to begin with. But they were right. As I walked up the steps I was so tired and my bag was really heavy. I passed a condom wrapper and used condom on the way. At least it's a place where people have fun. So I got to the top floor and had my first confirmation I was in the right spot - there was a sign next to the buzzer saying not to ring until after 8am. And it was only 7:30am. So I sat and waited. At 8am I rang, twice. Galina woke up and let me in and told me there was no open bed yet, so I could sit in the kitchen or go out for the day as I wished. Galina's flat really is just that - a woman who rents out two bedrooms in her apartment to backpackers for cheaper than anywhere else in Moscow. She is currently charging $14 for the 5 bed dorm and the other hostels are $25. Moscow is extremely expensive.

I brought my things in and asked where I could register my visa because she can't do it there. She said I couldn't do it on the weekend and why was I in such a hurry? Cranky. But she ended up being much nicer later on. So I washed up a bit and headed out into Moscow. I decided to start with Red Square and visit the Kremlin, St. Basil's Church, and Lenin's Mausoleum. First stop though was the Bolshoi Theater so I could buy opera tickets. When I got there it was still closed so I decided to see some sights and then check back later. I got in line to see Lenin as the line was already enormous and it is only open for three hours a day and only a few days a week. I ended up waiting an hour in line outside in the cold. Then I had to deposit my bag in the bag check, which cost almost $3, as they are huge into security here. Then I spent about 15 seconds shuffling past Lenin's waxy looking preserved corpse with everyone else. It is really bizarre - they have kept him looking nearly shiny and brand new. But why would you want to? That ended with some other graves sites in and around the building, including Stalin, but I couldn't read most of the names in cyrillic so it was quick for me. Turnd out that Stalin used to be in the crypt with Lenin but a really ancient and respected woman had a dream that Lenin had come to her and told her that he didn't fancy spending eternity with Stalin, so they removed Stalin to his present location.

Next I went to St Basil's Church, as it was just next door. It is the classic icon of Moscow and exactly the church you think about when you picture a Russian church. It has several onion domes on top and looks like a big colorful candy. I bought a ticket to go inside and looked around at all the decorations and icons and gold walls and designs. Not too gawdy anyway. I am starting to forget which church looks like what on the inside. I have been inside so many now and they are all beautiful and covered with gold and icons. The images run together.

I went next to collect my bag. It took forever to get there because they close off Red Square to everyone when Lenin's building is open so I had to walk around all over again. Got my bag, took out my camera, and took a picture of St. Basil's from the steps there. Someone came over to me immediately and told me to erase the photo. It is not permitted to take photos until 2pm when they take down the blockades. I told him it was film and I couldn't erase it. He said I could go to jail for this, if he told someone. But he was already walking away. So I left. Strange. Next I walked over to the entrance of the Kremlin and sat down to eat my nutritious lunch - a snicker's bar. Then I found out that the tickets for the Armoury - a separate admission in the Kremlin - had already sold out for the day. I was disappointed but decided to go another day in that case. I spent a little time walking around Red Square, and saw the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where several bridal couples were having their photos taken. I saw at least a dozen wedding parties there today - and the brides all looked about 16 years old. I tried at the Bolshoi once more for tickets and found that the opera was completely sold out for the duration of my stay there. Such a disappointment. The building is also being renovated and is covered 100% by scaffolding and impossible to see. The shows aren't even being held there - they are at the New Stage, but I thought it would still be worth it. Oh well. I went next to the Tretyakov art gallery, a world class museum with the world's best collection of Russian icons (religious gilded paintings)and wonderful Russian art. It was really a great collection and I stayed for three hours.

Headed back to Galina's where I got showered and talked to Galina's nephew's girlfriend Alessya for a while. I was exhausted but she really wanted to practice her English. She then invited me to go out the next day and although I had a full schedule and it was hard to agree, I thought it would be a better idea to spend the day with some Russians, so I told her I would go. It would be the two of us and her boyfriend, Sasha. Met my roommates - two girls from the US, a French woman, and a young British guy. Chatted a bit and then go some well deserved sleep.

Sunday - Today I woke up around 9am, as the French girl was getting packed and ready to catch her flight home. I had two hours to kill before my new friends arrived, so I started to repack my bag for the train to China. I figured there were things I wouldn't need that week that could go on the bottom and other things I might, that would work better on top. Just before 11am Alessya and Sasha arrived, with a rice crispy-type cake. We had some tea and ate cake before walking to the train station. It was about a 20 minutes walk through cold light rain. We bought tickets to another town in the Golden Circle, the outlying area around Moscow. They wanted to take me there to see some more churches. I was excited just to get out out of the city and see another, smaller, town. It ended up being really funny in the end. All Russians walk extremely fast and I had trouble keeping up with Sasha. And I am not a slow walker. Once we got there, instead of the leisurely stroll around town that I had imagined, we just ran from church to church with them taking pictures of me in front of each of them. We didn't even go inside, just picture, next church, picture, next church, and so on. Then we ran over to one smaller church and then back to the train station where we bought our tickets and a banana each, and then got back on for the ride back. The train was about 90 minutes each way and I think we spent less time in the town than we did on one way of the train! But overall it was good. We did chat a lot and she learned a little about America and I learned a little about Russia. We had what felt like a long walk back, made worse by the fact that both of my feet have deep, painful cracks in them right now. I have been pounding them hard everyday and they are certainly unhappy. Oh - for those of you dying to know whatever happened to my toenails you will happy to know that they have both now grown in! After six or seven months. But it is good to have them at all. Once back at the flat we had the rest of the cake before they took off.

At this point I met Alex (Kiwi) and Nicki (English), a couple that had just arrived that morning. They had taken it easy that day as Nicki had had an accident on the overnight train, basically faling out of the same bed I had had, on her way down. They were a great couple and fun to talk with. When the American girls came home they prepared a huge feast from the mushrooms that they had brought home the day before. It was a wonderful meal, and the first real homecooked meal I had had in a very long time. We ended up staying up very late and then I finally got a shower and got to sleep.

Monday - Got up early to head over to get my visa registered. Galina couldn't do it since she is not a real hotel, so I had to go to a travel agency instead. On the way there I stopped at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the largest church in town that Sasha told me yesterday that I should check out. I saw it and it is enormous, but there was a line to get in that wrapped around several blocks, maybe a mile. They weren't tourists either - these were people coming to pray it looked like. So I took some pictures and got on my way. Headed towards the visa registration place, and this took me ages to find. There were no signs and even once I was inside the building, there were no signs on the doors, only numbers. But I got the unhappy guard to point it out, handed over my money and immigration card, and agreed to pick it up later in the day. Next stop was the Novodevichy Convent and Cemetery. The grounds themselves are beautiful and I believe it has been classified as an UNESCO world heritage site. I bought a ticket to enter the different buildings which were basically mini-museums. It was a great day and while I was there the sun came out for a while, which was a huge difference! Next I headed next door, to the cemetery. A lot of famous people are buried here but of course I wasn't able to read the headstones in cyrillic so I just stolled through and took pictures. There was a man there who brought me to a specific grace and asked me if I wanted my photo taken there. I said no, but didn't really realize what was happening. The man had been born on September 11, which was today's date as well. Then I took a picture of him by the grave and said good-bye. Maybe it was a family member?

I then took the metro towards Red Square and headed into the State History Museum, where they have everything from Russian prehistoric times to present. I looked inside the Kazan Cathedral, a tiny little church next to Red Square. I walked around inside of GUM, which used to be the epitomy of Russian shopping - long lines, empty shelves. It is now a beautiful shopping mall full of 1000 expensive shops. Headed over to get my migration card back, and repacked a bit more at the hostel. This was followed by meeting my new roommates, as the American girls had checked out. There was now another American girl from Oregon named Cheryl and a German couple. The germans were heading to the grocery store and I went with them as I needed to get some food for my upcoming train journey. After some deliberation, I bought about 15 packets of instant noodles, some cereal, oatmeal, a can of corn. I also bought some extra cereal for dinner and some bread and cheese as well. Went back to the hostel and had a great night just talking to everyone and eating my food plus some leftover chili that Alex and Nicki had made. It was such a nice group of people - probably the best out of anywhere I had stayed before. Great night.

Tuesday - Today is my last day in Moscow. So I made the most of it. Got up early and headed out to the Kremlin. I was too early and had to wait a while to get tickets. But I finally got them and tickets for the Armoury as well. Then I had to drop off my bag at the bag drop and I was on my way. My Armoury tickets were from 10am until 11:30am, so I headed there first. I got there about 15 minutes early, pushed ahead of the tour groups, and just stood next to the ticket guys until they finally let me in, five minutes early. I got into the museum before it was really open, and it was wonderful. I had 5-10 minutes completely alone in there, without the noise and shuffling and talking of so many other people. I really appreciated it. Then the groups came in, and it was a dull roar. So many people standing about, blocking the way, so may tour guides speaking in Russian, English, Spanish, Italian. But overall it was a great visit. They have period clothing and gifts given to the tsars from other countries over the years, as well as Fabrege eggs and amazing jewelry. I'm glad I decided to go there as well. After the Armoury, I walked around the Kremlin itself. A kremlin is technically a city's fortified stronghold and in this case, it is all surrounded by an immense wall. There are several churches inside, including the man Assumption Cathedral. There is the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, next to which stands the Tsar Bell. This is the largest bell but was next used as it cracked during the process of making it. There are also several adminstative buildings and buildings used for residences, including the president.

After the Krelin I pushed on to the Pushkin Art Museum, which houses a wonderful collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Art. When I got there I was disappointed to find that they had moved all the Impressionist are next door to the gallery, which was, of course, a separate entrance ticket. So I had to make a choice - see only Impressionists or see all the rest of art from the ages plus a new Rembrandt exhibit that had just opened that day. I chose the impressionists. It was a good exhibit, but afterwards since I still had time I decided to head to see the other museum as well. I spent less time than I would have normally, but saw a lot of great art. The Rembrandts were quite good, but I found that I preferred his sketches to his paintings. Nice revelation.

On my way back to Galina's, I bought some chocolate and another noodle dish that came in a bowl so that I would be able to cook the rest of my noodles on the train. The train comes with unlimited hot water, so I would have my meals taken care of this way. At Galina's I made some last minute adjustments to my bags, ate some cereal for dinner, and said my good-byes to all the great people I had met. Made my way to the metro and found that my card was up - I thought I had had one last ride remaining. Luckily, a girl leaving the metro saw I was having a problem and gave me her card to get through! Very sweet! So I dashed off two stops, made it to the train station and got on. Found my carriage and then my cabin - I was in a room with three other people. First I met Caryl (Wales) and Darragh (ireland), and they helped me get my things into the overhead compartment. My bed was an upper bed, as was Darragh's. Caryl was underneath him and next to the Chinese woman who slept underneath me. She didn't speak any English but was nice. The four of us were all going to Beijing directly, with no stops along the way. Our train attendants were Chinese - it was a Chinese train, rather than a Russian train. They brought us a thermos of hot water and Caryl made me a hot chocolate. Here's to a great journey!

---