No Rush in Russia

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Geo: 55.75, 37.62

Well, here we are after a long day of travel. All of our flight connections worked out fine and the transition from American to "Finn Air" was seamless. After spending about an hour in Helsinki we were on our way to Moscow. The airlines fed us well.

Our non-English speaking driver got lost on the way from the airport to Hotel Sovietsky. The hotel was built under orders of Josef Stalin in 1951 as a diplomatic hotel. We are certain the original furnishings remain. It is beautiful in its own way with 12 foot ceilings, parquet floors, marble staircases, chandeliers in every room, and portraits of famous guests and late Soviet leaders adorning the walls.

We settled and took a quick nap to readjust and then it was off to the Dinamo Metro station to lead us into the vicinity of Red Square. Pretty much everything was closed, but we had a good time getting acclimated to the Cyrillic alphabet. Barb has done an excellent job as decoder. We strolled along the outer walls of the Kremlin and past Lenin's tomb and then into a park with fountains and sculptures, likely from Russian children's tales. By then we were ready for some food and piva. Our super sleuthing skills found us a table with a view overlooking the entrance to Red Square. Interestingly enough, we found ourselves in a Japanese Sushi bar, ate Mexican food, listened to Latin and American music from the 50s, and drank Russian beer, called Rumba. (This beer did not offer to clean the floors.)

After a nice dinner and a trip back to Sovietsky that seemed much shorter than our venture out, we are ready to crash and are looking forward to a guided English tour in the morning.

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Photos

Lenin's Mausoleum
Cyrllic letters require a decoding book.

Red Square
Lots of images of military parades shot here!

Uncle Joe
Nothing like this guy hanging in your lobby.

Comments

[Sarah Metz Wood]

Excited for you! Glad to know that you have arrived safely.Interesting that you found Mexican food and a Sushi Bar. Thanks for keeping us informed.

[Eric Olson]

I can't imagine how exciting it must be to wake up in Moscow. I find it interesting that they were playing music from the 50's. I wonder why? Also, I was wondering why most everything was closed on a Monday when you arrived. Anyway, loo
k forward to next post. I can't wait to see pictures too.

[Chris Mahoney]

How awesome the architecture is! Enjoy the hell out of yourself and keep up the sweet blog. USA! USA! USA!!!