Moscow - Day 1

So here i am in Moscow, founded in 1157 on the banks of the Moscow river it's Europe's largest city, capital of Russia and capital of the former USSR.  With a population of over 10 million people and is also one of the largest urban area in the world.

I arrived at about 7am into the station which seem like deja vu as i was again in a different station to the one i was thinking i would arrive into.  After wandering outside in the still dark streets, i was greeted by a large bronze statue of the big cheese himself, Stalin.  I found an internet cafe across the street and was able to establish exactly where i was and where i had to get to to find the hostel.  Fortunately where this station was on the other side of the city so i grabbed something to each and started to make my way.  Moscow certainly is a contrast to the sights of St Petersburg.  St Petersburg is a beautiful city which so many buildings and monuments left from the time of the Tsars and Moscow has an incredibly feel of soviet times and Lenin's legacy even though it has been 17 years since the fall of the USSR.  There a several building that i have to mention that are scattered around the centre.  There are incredibly similar to the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw but not quite as large as this is what it was originally designed on.  Another point is that in the novel '1984' by George Orwell the buildings described in the story are supposedly these buildings, so i'm sure that will interest you Mitch.   However there is so much westernisation with McDonalds everywhere and huge flashing lights and billboards advertising Cars to holidays to anything under the sun.

But oddly enough the same people who had put up an ice rink in palace square in St Petersburg and put a great big one in Red Square and managed to ruin the whole scene again.

After walking on for a while i was lost yet again but soon found a Lamborghini dealership!! Yeah it was great they had a gunmetal grey Gallardo and a yellow murcialargo.  Well i thought it was exciting.  Wandering around a bit more i soon found myself in Red Square, next to the Kremlin which is very impressive, Saint Basils Cathedral and Lenins tomb.  But oddly enough the same people who had put up an ice rink in palace square in St Petersburg and put a great big one in Red Square and managed to ruin the whole scene again. Finally finding my way again i managed to find the hostel after many wrong turns and misdirection.  I found the local supermarket which is probably the most expensive i have seen.  Think Harrods layout, double the prices, everyone speaking Russian and your nearly there.  Having a look around i ended up buying chocolate, vodka and a few other things and left before i bought anything i didn't need.

So now i'm back in the Hostel and have managed to get up to date with my blog which i'm quite impressed about.  You can go back through the last few ones as i have one for everyday now.  Will try to put up some photos asap.  I'm just waiting for Clare and Matt to get here, they were flying from St Petersburg at midday so will probably see them soon.  Anyways thats most of it at the moment so i'll go off and do something so i have something to write about.  Talk soon, Jim.