IUp at 05:00, day cold but sunny. Ordered a taxi which got us to the station in good time because there was no traffic – might be because it was May 01, I think it was a public holiday.
Train was packed, but comfortable and fast, took 3.5 hours.
Came out of the train station, had to walk around the corner, down a ramp, through some doors, down some steps, around another corner, and through some more doors to get to the metro. I’ve no idea why they couldn’t just put in an escalator or tunnel to join it up.
Managed to get on the right train, but got off a stop early, got back on, then found the hotel easily, it was just by the station. Weather in Moscow was warm, it said 17C but felt warmer, especially after St Petersburg.
Left the hotel and walked around the corner to Arbat Street , a pleasant pedestrian street lined with restaurants, cafes and just about every portrait artist in Moscow.
Only needed a t shirt, carried on until we came to the Lenin library.
Followed the crowds and ended up outside the Kremlin, walked past the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, then carried on tailing the crowd through a small passage and ended up outside Gum, the famous Russian store, now home to all the luxury brands. Had a look through, decided not to buy anything, but Song went to the historical toilet and paid $2.55 and did a historical wee.
The building was very impressive.
It turned out that there had been a pro-Russian march through Red Square because of May Day so it was closed off. Hopefully it will be open tomorrow otherwise we won’t be able to see it. As mentioned yesterday, we were supposed to be here for 3 days but our flight got changed so we’ve lost a day.
Got on the metro to go back to the hotel area to get something to eat.
The metro stations in Moscow are magnificent – huge chandeliers, marble, mosaics, statues etc.
Got off at a stop and realised we’d gone in the wrong direction, but luckily the station we ended up in had a shopping mall and we found a place, went for sushi which was actually good. Apparently one of the first foreign foods to arrive in Russia was sushi, so there are a lot of restaurants here.
Both feeling tired after the early start, went back to the hotel and relaxed. Walked 9.34 Km.
