Well have been in moscow foUR days now and .. well .. as much as i wouLd love to say I love the Place, I cant make up my mind. It Is pretty hard work trYing tO make Yourself understoOd and even the simple act of trying to buy an icecream can turn intO a frustraIng experience when theY cant change that 500RubLe nOte (~$25).
YesterdaY I trIed tO go tO visit the Kremlin but the whOle area was off limits (One cOp everY 10 metres OR so around the perimiteR. Net! Net!) NOT sure what Is going on bUt I think there iS a 60year anniversarY of wOrld war II cOming UP (red squaRE Is all decked oUt with a large stage at one end) so the whOle red sqUare/kremlin visting thing has been a bIt hit and miss.
Did manage tO see Lenin this morning though. After waItign fOr about an hOur In line we fInallY made It to the front on the line (literally, not one or two back, but the FRONT Of the line) when the gUard sUddenly started indIcatIng "closed" (at least that is what I thInk It was) and moved the barricade acrOss the entrance.
EverYOne in the line was looking a little peeved when suDdenly the gUY decIded tO let the whOle line thrOUgh. What the ! On to the next check point where we had tO check any cameras in at a baggage point (whIch meant losing the Place in line - thanks for the mercy dash alex!!). Don't try and sneak those mobile phones in eIther ... theY are wise to that One !!
FInally about 10 minutes before 1 (when it closes) we made it IntO Lenins tomb and it was ... well ... bIzarre I guess. It does look like the real deal thoUGh. To some extent. I guess It takes a lot of chemicals to preserve a bOdy that long (as in tIme ... Lenin was shOrt .... !)
I guess Moscow has been fUn (nOw It has stOpped raInig), but It can be pretty frustRatIng. NOt understanding when things go even slIghtly wrOng Is Par fOr the coUrse. DOn't get me wrong ... I dont mInd travelling in non_english sPeakIng coUntrIes .. but anY attempt at even trYIng tO fumble thrOugh is typicallY met with a prettY familiard word by nOw ... net (ie no !!!)
We leave for St Petersburg tOmOrrOw nIght on the tRAIn (11:55) so it shOuld be InterestIng tO comPare the twO.
Anyway .. better go. Hope I'm not boring you all whOever you are ...
Heh, Back in '91 I saw Lenin and thought the same thing "Man that guy was short" and at that time, he had a purple hue to him which was pretty weird. Personally, I found St. Petersburg a nicer city (and more english friendly as well) but who knows, that was 14 years ago! If anything, enjoy the long days :) It's good to see you're still having a good time!
ReplyDeleteChris
a friend of mine was just in Moscow (he's doing the reverse trip that you are, literally, weeeeird) and he enjoyed St. Petersburg a lot more than Moscow.
ReplyDeleteMaria