Moskva

We arrived in Moscow (pronounced Mos-co) on a warm and cloudy afternoon, so we thought - YES, we can go jacket-free! So, the next day we prepared for warm weather with our shorts, tanks and even flip-flops. It was wondrous. Walking around the Kremlin, strolling along it's open courtyard, watching as people set up for an annual sporting event for the upcoming weekend - it was a kind of mock-Olympics with ping-ping, boxing, weightlifting, volleyball and even paintball. St.Basil's Cathedral was lit up with the late afternoon sun, which was still very much set high in the sky due the city's spot far from the Equator.

The next day, we decided to hold out on the Kremlin and go to The Cosmonaut Museum, since the USSR put the first man in space, not to mention SPACE DOGS! They also had the infamous space suit of MICHAEL COLLINS! (If his name doesn't ring a bell, he was the guy who stayed inside the lunar command module, while Aldrin and Armstrong got all the glory for being the first to walk on the moon. Now, THAT'S an unsung hero.) All in all, we mostly ate meat pies, laughed at a song we made up in memory of the courageous space dogs and got some sweet pics of a life size mock-up of the MIR space station.

What we didn't realize when we exited the Museum was how quickly the temperature dropped. We had to retreat into the Metro to get away from the wind. Homey don't like wearing shorts in mother Russia. The weather changes so drastically here, from day to day. So much so, that I (christine) have since been nursing a cough/cold from the extreme degree changes.

Another thing that crept up on us was how much more expensive it is from other places we have visited. It's been quite a surprise and have had to curb our appetite (and not our enthusiasm) to eat at the Chocolate Hostel every other day for dinner. We were also invited to dinner by this guy, Ben, whom we met at our St.Petersburg hostel, who is getting his doctorate in Russian history. We met him and his girlfriend, Kelly, at their apartment for a home cooked meal and some hookah. It was awesome to get away from the cramped hostel and enjoy a great meal with some really interesting people, including Courtney and Jeff. It has really helped keep our budget at a more reasonable level. We did a bit more research and have found that Moscow is one of the most expensive places in the world.

Moscow is also known for it's impeccable Ballet. Marsha, the receptionist from our hostel was nice enough to come with us to the ticket office to buy tickets to a performance at the Kremlin Theatre, called 'Esmeralda' for only 450 Rubles a piece. She thought it was such a great deal that she bought tix for her and her mom, sitting right next to us. The ballet did NOT disappoint. It was truly one of the most technically precise ballets we've ever seen. Now, I'm not sure if it's some kind of placebo effect, but we both thoroughly appreciated the physicality of it - the story was equally superb.

We could keep going, but to wrap things up, here are some other sites we visited (favorites at the top):

1. St.Basil's Cathedral (Red Square)
2. Novodevichy Convent and Cemetery
3. Gorky Park
4. Lenin's Mausoleum (Red Square)
5. Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Red Square)
6. State Museum (Red Square)
7. Kremlin Cathedrals (Red Square)
8. Moscow State University
9. Olympic Compound (The Arena)

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