Moscow

Obligatory tourist snap.
see all photos »

I felt quite ill on the way to Heathrow, which made me panic a little that I'd be sick on the plane. Silly, I know. Checked in then went to Wetherspoons. We were sat near some blokes who were clearly old rockers. Paul went to ask if they were a band and find out who they were, after much debating who they could be. Turned out they are The Sweet. Paul called Rhodri which gave him the perfect opportunity to say another bad joke -  they got lost and asked "does anyone know the way" (Blockbuster lyrics, for those who don't know). Dear, dear.

Hotel Cosmos.
see all photos »

The flight wasn't too painful. Didn't drag. No, wasn't sick. Made it to Moscow in one piece. We got a taxi, well - some bloke in a Lada took us to our hotel. I text my Mother during the journey - "hi, in moscow, on the way to the hotel, just passed ikea and mcdonalds. weird". "She's not in Moscow, she's in f***ing Warrington". Ha. The hotel (Cosmos) towers over everything in that area, it's a huge, sparkling.. monster!

Moscow - "It's all Russian"

View from the hotel room.
see all photos »

We found another McDonalds. Had something to eat, then we decided it would be best to go back to the hotel and crash out watching "mad TV" - a woman wearing a dress that looked like our hotel. Though, not before going to the bar for a drink. Paul trying to explain what a double vodka was - amusing.. "bottle?" "No, double.. bigger glass". Two Russian blokes who couldn't speak any English were insisting we join them and share their fish, we think that's what they meant anyway. One began breaking a part of the fish apart, almost ready to force feed it to me. No thanks, I don't like fish! The other bloke gave Paul a hug, demanding he join them - nice, but what would you talk about? On Sunday, we got up around dinner time and jumped in a taxi to Red Square. It was extremely cold - within seconds we had tears streaming down our faces! I tried to take a few photos but I couldn't hold the camera properly.. and I was trying to take everything in. Paul made me have my photograph taken with two guys dressed up 'all Russian, like'. I felt silly at the time, but I'm glad he made me do it. We didn't bother going inside St. Basil's. Just walked around for a bit until the cold became unbearable - seeking warmth inside the GUM department store.

VDNKh.
see all photos »

We walked around the shops for a bit, then headed for the Metro - my, it's confusing. The lines are barely colour co-ordinated and it's just.. confusing. Though, we managed to get the right one to Prospekt Mira, changing without getting lost. Success. Took a while to find the hotel we were to meet some woman. Eventually, we found it and got our tickets for the Rammstein concert at the Olimpijsky Stadium.

The venue was really weird. Well, not so weird.. it's just an arena. But, they put the stage in the middle and blocked off one side. So you felt like you were not part of the gig, if you were in seats at the side, where we were. Still, it was a great gig. The whole stage set up and show is amazing. I can't wait to see them here next year cos I know it's going to so much better. It was also annoying how they didn't let anyone in seating out of the seating area until about half an hour after the gig finished.

The following day, we decided to wander around the area surrounding our hotel. After a little shopping for souvenirs in the hotel (Harry Potter Russian dolls and also the Russian leaders lot - well, you have to?)

We left our bags in left luggage and braved the cold once more. It was around -12, far too cold for us. We crossed the road and went off to explore VDNKh.

We walked so far and that whole place just seemed really weird. Paul said it seemed a bit sci-fi. OK, so there are rockets and stuff. Lazer zaps. Weird announcements.. but the music, that was brilliant. Played across the entire place.. "don't worry, be happy". It was just funny if you were there, as everyone looked really miserable. We got on some little bus back to the hotel - the driver was eyeing up Paul, waiting for him to pay - that thing was freezing and the smell of petrol was so strong. I was worried it may explode. There are little market/kiosks around the metro station from where Paul purchased a few items.

We got back to the hotel, picked our bags up and jumped in the same taxi as the previous day, back to the airport. The flight back dragged a bit, and the meal was just as awful. London looks really nice from the sky at night. Mmm, it's nice to be back and not so cold, though I still wish I was back in Moscow. There's so much more we never got to see.