To Russia and Beyond

Brian and I arrived in Moscow on the 19th and Anna bravely picked us up from Domodedovo Airport at 2 a.m.  After moving through passport control, we made it to the hotel, where we took part in a welcoming Russian tradition– a delightful taste of vodka.

Waking up on the 19th, we took a taxi into Moscow and, after dropping off our bags, had lunch at Yoki Palki, a Russian chain restaurant where we ate meat on a stick.  We then headed to the famous Red Square, where we saw, among other things, St. Basil’s Cathederal.  After walking aorund the Red Square for a bit, Anna and I took a brisk walk along the Moskva River, while Brian checked his email and read Perez Hilton.

One of Anna’s friends from law school, who now lives in Moscow, took us out for the evening to a great restaurant in Arbat where Brian and I drank delicious unfiltered Czech beers and Anna had a very petite $16 vino.  We then retired to the wonderful appartment, which Anna found for us.  (Anna will add more about her tireless apartment search efforts later!)

The next morning we took a great tour of the Kremlin, the sight from which Ivan the
Terrible orchestrated his terror; Napoleon watched Moscow burn; Lenin
fashioned the proletariat dictatorship; Stalin launched the purges;
Krushchev fought the Cold War; Gorbachev brought perestroika; and
Yeltsin concoted “New Russia”.  The tour was fascinating.  We also saw Faberge Eggs and quite a few pretty baubles in the Kremlin Armoury. 

 A highlight:  We had a great dinner at Cafe Pushkin.  [Brian says:  Yes!  The Russian dumplings– Pelmeni– were del-icious!]  [Anna:  I love everything Pushkin, especially the desserts!]

The following day, on the 21st, we took a great city tour of Moscow, visiting all the big sights.  We then headed to the Izmailovo market, anopen air market packed with knicknacks, a number of which we purchased.

Today, we’ve just arrived in St. Pete’s on the overnight train from Moscow. We shared our 4-person sleeping car with a nice chap from the Russian army who was returning from a parachuting competition near Moscow where he took 4th place.  Though he spoke no English, we enjoyed drinking Vodka with him as he taught us Russian army card games.

More on Russia, the Russian people, and St. Petersburg to come!

-Ben