The past week and a half is simply too difficult to put into words. I had been anticipating the week for over a month because 1. I would get to see the infamous city of Moscow and 2. I would get to leave Russia for a short time and most importantly, I would get to see my mom and my sister in Edinburgh, Scotland for my week long vacation. I packed my suitcase early in the morning on November 4th and sat on the edge of my bed until 11pm when I would have to go to Moscovsky train station and take the midnight train to Moscow. (And yes, Don't Stop Believing was going through my head the entire time...except I didn't take it to "anywhere..."). So, here begins part 1... Part 1: The train and Moscow
The train to Moscow was absolutely wonderful. We had a four person compartment with a locking door. For the first half an hour or so, we (to put it simply) had a feast in our little room. I think my favorite part of the trian was that I got to be in a compartment with 3 girls who, although I spend a lot of time with them, I didn't know much about them at all. We spent the next hour swapping stories about boys, which was no surprise. The landscape of mysterious Russia passed us by and soon, we were all fast asleep. When I awoke in the morning, I was in Moscow.
Moscow is the biggest city in Europe, with a population of over 10 million people. While the population size is quite intimidating, nothing compares to the acutal size of the city. Someone once said, "Everything is bigger in Moscow," and they were certainly not lying. The buildings are these massive concrete structures built during the Stalin era as a way to prove to Western Europe that Russia was a great power. We first did a bus tour around the city, stopping to take pictures of the Kremlin from afar, a very strange statue of Peter the Great, and finally to Red Square.
Red Square was breathtaking. The four sides of the square are: The Russian History Museum, Гум (pronounced "goom", a ridiculous shopping center), St. Basil's Cathedral, and then Lenin's Masoleum and governmental buildings (the Kremlin). What a sight! Unfortunately, there was a military parade commerating the Soviet Army march to Germany (November 1941) on the Sunday of our trip and thus, I was one of the few who saw Red Square before it closed. I was disappointed to find out that Lenin's Masoleum was closed all weekend. Apparently the man still sets his schedule, 80 years after his death. I was quite bummed actually. As I was standing in the middle of Red Square, all I could think was "Wow. I'm in Red Square." I mean, the REAL Red Square. Totally unreal experience! Once we realized that the square was closing for parade practice, we made our way to a very delicious Georgian restaurant before heading back to our room after a long, tiring day.
In the morning, we had a tour of the Kremlin. Unbelieveable! Red walls surround the Russian "fortress" and held inside are Russia's most prized possessions. I was overwhelmed when I saw the real Fabrege eggs! I came to Russia to experience its history and I was standing in the center of it. After the tour, some friends and I went to a almost fairy tale-like souveneir market. We learned a very important word for bargaining...бесплатно (meaning "free"). The prices always went down after you offered the price of "free" to the sellers!
We had heard that the Moscow metro stations are some of the biggest and most beautiful metro stations in the world, one line even forming a ring around the center of the city. Emily, me, and four boys decided that it was a necessity to see these metro stations. Thus began our marathon metro experience. We would get on the train, take pictures of the station, then jump on the next train. Although we were once stopped by the militsia, we never missed the next train. The marathon lasted for 2 hours! These metro stops were simply outrageous and of course, they were massive, just like the rest of the city. We returned to the hotel afterwards in anticipation for the week to come: travel week!
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