On Saturday evening we were excited about our first train journey in Russia. Having collected our bags from the luggage room, we waited for platform information about the 22:29 from Saint Petersburg to Moscow. Once onboard, we shared our cabin with a very pleasant Russian man and woman. After sleeping reasonably well, we emerged from the train at 05:57 feeling almost human. Result!
Setting foot in Red Square (red meaning beautiful in old Russian) before it became filled with thousands of selfie-crazed tour parties was an excellent idea. St. Basil’s Cathedral came in to view first, followed by the Kremlin, Lenin’s Mausoleum, the Russian State Museum and Gum shopping gallery. Seeing these buildings in person, having seen them many times on TV news and travel programmes, felt quite special.
Later, we joined a walking tour of the city, learning much about Moscow’s history. We walked through Kitay-gorod, passing many churches and historic buildings. We then walked back to St. Basil’s and heard stories about it being constructed under the rule of Ivan IV the Terrible. The tour ended in the Alexander Garden, which includes the touching eternal flame burning by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
On Monday we spent some time checking out Moscow’s highly decorative Metro stations, and went inside St. Basil’s Cathedral in order to see the unusual shapes of the rooms and the many paintings on the walls. Our time in Moscow ended with a walk through the park near our hostel (Sad kultury i otdykha im. N.E. Baumana), with its colourful lights, statues and cafes.
G.
Travel in Trainers 