Our last few days in Russia went by slowly, in a good way. Up to the point when we arrived in Moscow we'd been rushed everywhere we went. Always trying to make it to the next city or hostel or train station as fast as possible. Moscow was different.
Our train got into Moscow's central station at 4:11am. One of my pet peeves about Russian trains is that passengers prepare for arrival way too early. From 1:15 to 1:45 alarms up and down our wagon were going off. Everyone was up and at 'em by 2am. By 2:15 every bag was packed and everyone was ready to get off the train. Two hours of silent sitting later we arrived at the station. Why? Why sit for two hours waiting for the train to stop when you could be sleeping? Anyway...
We negotiated with two taxi drivers and overpaid for a six minute ride to the apartment we were staying at. The apartment is owned by my stepmother's sister's husband's brother Dan. He rents out the apartment's three bedrooms one of which was between tenants. Dan was kind enough to offer it to us. Richard says the most important thing he's learned from this trip is that people and friends matter most. I agree completely. As we've said before, everywhere we go people have been overly generous and Dan and his family were no exception.
Moscow came as a shock to me. I loved it. I wasn't prepared for the architecture, the underground, the history, or any of it. It didn't feel like the Russia we knew from the East. Not at all. I'll leave the lengthy detailed descriptions of the city out because you can find them all over the internet written by better writers than me. I'll leave you some of my favorite pictures:
At the only remaining wall of the original Kremlin.
One of seven Stalin Skyscrapers scattered around the city. They are massive. When we walked around Moscow we always tried to spot them.
No description necessary.
Moscow...
Moscow's underground. Every station was unique and I could have easily spent a day touring metro stations with a bottle of Coke.
Outside the Kremlin with our audio guides hanging around our necks.
A big bell.
Ezra and I went on our audio tour while Richard wandered close by.
Yum.
We spent the weekend outside the city staying with Dan and his family at their Dacha. It was relaxing and a great taste of Dacha (summer house outside the city) life. Monday Morning we caught a train to St. Petersburg.
Ezra on the eight hour train from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
A nice location for wedding photos.
St. Pete felt like I a more refined less crowded Moscow. Maybe I was seeing what I wanted to see but it was exactly what I expected. We only spent two nights before leaving for Latvia but we were able to catch a ballet. Swan Lake, the quintessential Russian ballet in the best city in the world to see it. Ezra was afraid he wouldn't get in because he didn't have a collared shirt but he covered up with a jacket and we were fine. It was a small production at not at the famous Mariinsky theater because we're out of season but it was nice nonetheless. It felt very "Russian." Not Siberian Russian or Soviet Russian but old-timey Russian. It was the perfect way to wrap up our Russian experience.
- Jack
Our train got into Moscow's central station at 4:11am. One of my pet peeves about Russian trains is that passengers prepare for arrival way too early. From 1:15 to 1:45 alarms up and down our wagon were going off. Everyone was up and at 'em by 2am. By 2:15 every bag was packed and everyone was ready to get off the train. Two hours of silent sitting later we arrived at the station. Why? Why sit for two hours waiting for the train to stop when you could be sleeping? Anyway...
We negotiated with two taxi drivers and overpaid for a six minute ride to the apartment we were staying at. The apartment is owned by my stepmother's sister's husband's brother Dan. He rents out the apartment's three bedrooms one of which was between tenants. Dan was kind enough to offer it to us. Richard says the most important thing he's learned from this trip is that people and friends matter most. I agree completely. As we've said before, everywhere we go people have been overly generous and Dan and his family were no exception.
Moscow came as a shock to me. I loved it. I wasn't prepared for the architecture, the underground, the history, or any of it. It didn't feel like the Russia we knew from the East. Not at all. I'll leave the lengthy detailed descriptions of the city out because you can find them all over the internet written by better writers than me. I'll leave you some of my favorite pictures:
Our first ride on the Metro.
At the only remaining wall of the original Kremlin.
Our Moscow "tour guides," Masha and Anastasia. Masha went to school with Ezra nine years ago. When she heard that we were coming to Moscow she offered to meet us and show us the city where she's lived off-and-on her whole life.
One of seven Stalin Skyscrapers scattered around the city. They are massive. When we walked around Moscow we always tried to spot them.
No description necessary.
Moscow...
Moscow's underground. Every station was unique and I could have easily spent a day touring metro stations with a bottle of Coke.
Outside the Kremlin with our audio guides hanging around our necks.
A big bell.
Ezra and I went on our audio tour while Richard wandered close by.
Onion.
Yum.
We spent the weekend outside the city staying with Dan and his family at their Dacha. It was relaxing and a great taste of Dacha (summer house outside the city) life. Monday Morning we caught a train to St. Petersburg.
Ezra on the eight hour train from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
A nice location for wedding photos.
St. Pete felt like I a more refined less crowded Moscow. Maybe I was seeing what I wanted to see but it was exactly what I expected. We only spent two nights before leaving for Latvia but we were able to catch a ballet. Swan Lake, the quintessential Russian ballet in the best city in the world to see it. Ezra was afraid he wouldn't get in because he didn't have a collared shirt but he covered up with a jacket and we were fine. It was a small production at not at the famous Mariinsky theater because we're out of season but it was nice nonetheless. It felt very "Russian." Not Siberian Russian or Soviet Russian but old-timey Russian. It was the perfect way to wrap up our Russian experience.
- Jack
:) I like the last part about the ballet jack
ReplyDeleteGuys!!!!! That's not a "Stalin Skyscraper"....that's Moscow State University! :)
ReplyDelete