To Moscow with love...

St Basil's in the snow. Awwww.
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Moscow is great, although it has to go down as one of the oddest places I've been to in my short, untravelled life.

Everything is just how you might have thought it would be: the Kremlin, Lenin, the Moscow metro, St Basils, the orthodox churches, the monastries, the galleries and the cold, snow and ice.

Kremlin, St Basil's, Galleries , Snow and Ice

I arrived in Moscow quite late on Wednesday afternoon and after finding the hostel, I walked straight down to see Red Square and St Basils. It was snowing, which made everything look really picturesque, at first. However, it was horrid wet snow and I got soaked really quickly and then my jeans froze on me... bah.

Red Square.
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The weather got colder over the next few days and that was much better - the pavements were more icy than slushy, so less wet (ie better... yay).

On the first day, I went inside St Basil's - amazingly decorated, seeing is believing (see photos). I also walked around the Kremlin wall, saw the tomb of the unknown soldier, and found the Arbat. It's not what it's cracked up to be, just a collection of tatty stalls, sorry. The Pushkin House museum was shut (it was a public holiday).

The second day (Saturday) I went to see Lenin in his mausoleum - v weird. I had no idea they'd embalmed him and had set him up for all to view. Who would do that to someone they respected?

The Lenin Mausoleum in front of the Kremlin wall. Yes, the little guy is really in there for all to see!
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Sunday, I teamed up with other hostellers and we went to VDNK. Apparently, it was built to celebrate all that was marvellous about the USSR. Now, it's just another tacky shopping centre, but with some fabulous architecture (also see pics). I was particularly amazed by the bling bling gold statues. Wow.

Took in a gallery in the afternoon - they make you take your coat off, check your bag and wear little plastic covers over your shoes to protect the floors - v camp. But at least it gave me a chance to thaw out. In the afternoon I walked up the river, past a huge monument to Peter the Great (see photos again) to Gorky Park. The battery in my camera ran out, but I had the most fun you can have with your clothes on, skidding down an ice slide on my arse. Great. But black and blue the next day.

The only one of me in front of Lenin's gaff. What happened?
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I saw the Faberge Eggs at the State Armoury, which I thought was a bit of a rip-off (400R to look at endless bling?). I also bought some little cakes from this scary old babooska in a box, but they were delicious. And I have come away knowing that a church roof in Moscow owes its life to my gluttony.

Visited both a monastery and a convent on the last day. That's more religion than I think I've done in donkeys. They really must have some rock-solid faith to do worshipping on those places - colder than the grave. I even saw a nun - she looked ridiculous in her stove-pipe hat... lol. Went to a cemetery too - very remarkable. I think there's a picture of it somewhere, it was by the convent. Yes, I sneaked in without paying too. Yes, I'm off to hell in a handcart.

Detail of decoration inside St Basil's. Seeing is believing, but blimey it was taters in there.
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The Russians have very few 'street manners'. Expect heavy doors to come smashing in your face, expect to be pushed in front of in queues, expect to be shoved out of the way on the metro and in the street. And don't expect many smiles. In fact, don't expect ANY.

Shops don't look like shops - Russians seem to buy everything in little booths and boxes in the street underpasses and in dark, dingey alleyways. Which is great if you know the Russian for what you want to buy, but lousy if you're a non-Russian-speaking tourist like moi.

Ok now I'm just being arty. St Basil's again.
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I loved it anyway - it was only about -5 to -15 deg C from day to night, and I found it exhillarating. But you know me, I love the cold. Still only wore a tee-shirt under my Joan Collins coat.

Got yelled at in the monastery too for leaving a door open to a wee chapel. Absolutely stuffed with icons - I think that in Russian Orthodoxy, the more icons you have the closer you are to the good Lord and the safer your reservation on that cloud twanging a harp. And the bigger and more gaudy, the better.

View across Red Square towards the Lenin Mausoleum and the Kremlin, from GUM (dept store).
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I met up with one gen-u-ine Ruskie while I was there. I was expecting ripped hunk straight out of a Bel-Ami video. I got a herbal tea-drinking nerd who had no small talk. I gave him the slip after about half an hour. Yes, it was that bad.

The return journey to the airport was a bit of a nightmare. When I arrived, I was really lucky to find the bus for Rechnoy Vokzal on the 'set-down' of Sheremet'yevo 2. However, a week later, looking for the same bus to take me back was a whole different ball-game.

Tomb of the unknown soldier under the Kremlin wall.
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Simply couldn't find it so ended up getting into this dodgy little minibus and handing over 30 rubles (yeah, only about 80p) to some weirdo. We got stuck in traffic for well over an hour and I started to think I'd missed my flight.

The airport itself is soooooooo Soviet. There really is flap-all there. Not even that many seats. And I got shouted at AGAIN for staring at the queue of people waiting to get themselves scanned.