From Russia With Hugs

We have headed back to Moscow now after our four day trip to St Petersburg. On Monday we sadly fly home but there is still some time to have fun between now and then.

We have been hitting the sightseeing hard over the last nine days, causing painful blisters and chronic lethargy. Saturday was a case in point but after Friday night we were unlikely to surface before lunchtime anyway.

Consulting the guidebook, we decided to go to the southern suburbs of St Petersburg where a myriad of different sights reside. The first was the Victory Monument, built in 1975 to remember the 900 day siege the Germans lay on the city during The Great Patriotic War. From September 1941 to January 1944, 670,000 Leningraders died in the Blockade. The memorial is a large red granite obelisk under which stands a black ring which is broken at one end. Eternal flames flicker at intervals around the broken circle while the sound of Shostaskovich's Seventh Symphony adds another layer of poignancy. The whole structure, now set in the concrete tower blocks of a collectivised suburb, was extremely moving. Plaques to the Hero Cities also adorn this area while the small museum tells you more about the Blockade.

The Victory Monument forms what must be one of the most elegant roundabouts in the world. It is on Moskovskiy Prospect, the main route to Moscow. Heading back on ourselves we saw the giant House of Soviets in the middle of a Soviet square which wad never quite completed. This awesome grey megalith still bares the hammer and sickle, as well as a gesticulating statue of Lenin amongst some fountains out front.

Walking towards the centre of St Petersburg, we passed the new Russian National Library before spying the crumbling domes of the Chesma Palace and Church. We also checked out the disappointing Park Pobody - nowhere near as grand as the Muscovite equivalent and with more modest monuments and landscaping.

Feeling peckish - and in need to rest blistered paws - we stopped off at Kofe Khauz, the Russian version of Starbucks. Their hot chocolate with marshmallows was gloriously rich and gloopy while their desserts were to die for. The service, like in most places here, was painfully slow but the waitresses were interested in our Englishness and were very hospitable.

Boarding the Metro at Park Pobody, we headed up to Elektrosila to check put a mural at the station dedicated to the Elektrosila Factory, whose generators and technology did much to electrify the Soviet Union. Then it was back on to the Metro to go to Moskovskie Vorota where we observed the imposing yet awesome Moscow Triumphal Arch.

The Narva Gate soon followed - another magnificent structure plonked in the city for no good reason (okay it was built to
commemorate Russia's success in the Napoleonic Wars) - before Wolfie went to McDonald's for.a McShit. Afterwards, we tried to locate the only monument with an image of Stalin still standing in the city but alas it was dark and too difficult to find.

Some of the finest architecture in Russia can be found in the stunning Metro stations, which had a huge propaganda purpose during Soviet times. At Avtovo, 46 columns - 30 marble and 16 cut glass - hold up this wide station which was sadly undergoing refurbishment. At Kirovskiy Zavod, there were many silver plaques detailing the processes of oil extraction and steel making due to the heavy engineering plant there. At one end of this station was a red sandstone statue of Lenin but as there was a loud drunk there, we kept our distance. Meanwhile at Narvaskaya station you can see a huge carving of Lenin orating to the proletariate while outside is the scene of the 1905 Bloody Sunday massacres. OnInside, there are 48 separate statues extolling the virtues of a good Soviet life.

It was around this time that Tony agreed to meet, having had some urgent business to attend to earlier in the day. We went to the Finlyandskiy Railway Station to meet him, where we saw the arch through which Lenin walked after he returned from exile in April 1917. To see the other sights we actually had to get on the platform and as we didn't have a train ticket this proved to be impossible. We contented ourselves with going across the road to see the first ever statue of Lenin which wad unveiled on November 7, 1926. We also saw the wonderful blue and white exterior of the station and the infamous Kresty Prison before heading back into the city to enjoy some sushi and the company of furs.

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Raising A Glass To Glasnost

Due to the poor weather and Wolfie and I feeling incredibly lethargic, we didn't get out of bed until lunchtime on Sunday. This was a shame as we had intended to explore the Smolniy District of St Petersburg but due to a lack of time, we had to abandon this plan.

In fact, in the pissing rain of a cold November Sunday, we decided to head to a shopping mall to grab a bite to eat. It was here that we sampled the divine pleasure of Крошка Картшка, a fast food chain dealing predominantly with baked potatoes. However these aren't the grizzled hard variety you get in the UK - they mix butter and cheese into the potato to create a velvety mulch. You then get a dollop of salad on top - and you get a choice of 12 tempting varieties. I had fresh dill and it was one of the greatest fast food experiences of my life - so soft, creamy and fresh I can only hope it survives in the face of the American fast food onslaught.

Shortly after this - and a misunderstanding at the hostel regarding visa fees and Google Translate - we headed to Moscoviy Station to catch the train back to the capital. Upon arrival we spotted a huge monolith with a big gold star atop at one end of Nevskiy Prospect so we took a photograph before heading through the numerous security gates we had to navigate before we got to our train.

After two metal detectors and before you board your train, they do a passport identity check and it turned out that the same crew who had taken us to St Petersburg would also be taking us back to Moscow. Furthermore, they also remembered us, smiling as we chatted in pidgin Russian. This was a nice touch. The same was true of the guard who invited me back to his cabin to see the full range of snack products on offer. Russian black tea, in a silver chalice, was most gorgeous, putting our tasteless gunk to shame.

Upon departure we spied a platform dog who was wandering on the tracks. Stray dogs are less of a problem in Russia than other places in Eastern Europe I have visited but Hmrage told us tales of strays entering the Moscow metro system and riding on the trains. He showed us some photos to confirm this and even told us a story of when he saw a dog change lines to get to his destination.

The four hour journey on the super fast Nevskiy Express was largely uneventful as we whizzed past neglected townships and sludgy Russian fields. At the other end, seven Muscovite furs were there to greet us and to show us to our hostel. It was great to see so many of them and afterwards we headed out for a night on the town.

First we went to our local and favourite Subway where we grabbed a sandwich and contributed to the collection of kids' napkin drawings on the wall. Wolfie drew a picture of a wolf in red marker and the perplexed sandwich maker pinned it up on the wall for us. Whether she took it down immediately after we left is a question unanswered. We also listened to some dreadful Russian pop from the early Nineties, when they were trying to imitate American sounds.

We then went to a local chain bar serving Czech beer where I was introduced to the delights of Princess Molestia of MLP fame and we chatted convivially until it was time to go our separate ways. It was a great last night in Moscow and a magnificent end to a magnificent trip. But then there was still half of Monday to go...

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до свидания

With most of the day to kill before our 6pm flight, we avowed to see the inside of the Kremlin, having neglected to do this during our previous four day stay.

A couple of furs met us at an Internet cafe where we had to print our boarding passes for the flight. Sadly it was the worst Internet cafe in the world and it took us over half an hour to print out the two documents we needed. Wolfie tried explaining the situation to the lady but she was having none of it - determined as she was to pursue her own agenda. This meant our time at the Kremlin was slowly diminishing and we were keeping the furs waiting but it all got sorted in the end.

A quick stop at Crapdogs for some sustenance followed before we made our way to the Kremlin for yet more security clearance - but then Kreml in Russian means 'fortress' so what was I going to expect? With this navigated, we entered the red walled area up a dainty little bridge and found ourselves in the main courtyard.

To our left was the State Armoury, a vast orange building we sadly did not have time to see. We had to prioritise and there is a Russian exhibit at the Royal Armouries in Leeds so this was the first to fall by the wayside. We saw the Grand Palace, where the President currently lives I believe, before focussing on the delightful churches which litter the courtyard.

There are five of them, with some stunning portraits which have lasted well over the last seven centuries. Some have been expertly restored while the entirety of the walls are tattooed in frescos, many of them of Jesus Christ. The colours used were so vibrant and vivid while even the oldest portraits have been preserved quite well.

In two of the churches there were stone sarcophagi, one containing 46 including those containing the remains of many of Russia's tzars, including Ivan the Terrible. These are now protected by glass and gold tablets detailing who is buried inside. We also observed many church relics including oratories, dress and wood carvings.

If the interiors were grand in design, this was nothing compared to the whitewashed exteriors of these beautiful buildings. Their golden domes lit up the dreariest November sky while observing a giant cracked bell and huge cannon gave us an idea of the multi-functional nature of this site.

Sadly, we needed to catch our flight so had to depart the Kremlin earlier than we would have liked to traverse the metro and the express train service to Domededovo Airport. We said a hurried goodbye to the furries at the terminus of the Express train such was how fine we were cutting it. Still, we made it to the airport on time and ended up sat in a bar (called Foster's Bar - after the pisspoor Australian 'lager') observing how those mechanical walkways operate. It was quite interesting.

So what can I conclude from my trip to Russia? American influences are slowly infesting and it does have a European feel, particularly St Petersburg. Russians can sometimes be so determined as to be rude - shoving past you and not saying thank you when you hold doors open being two particular gripes. Moscow does display a lot of its Soviet past and St Petersburg is a must for anyone who loves art and architecture. Both cities are intensely beautiful and the temperatures in November aren't too bad.

And the Russian furs are some of the friendliest, most generous and hospitable people I have ever met. They made the trip so incredibly special and their kindness was appreciated by us both. Without their help, the trip would never have been possible nor would we have experienced half as much as what we did.

So до свидания - we will be back soon ^^

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