For the last week, I have been on the road with my friends Jason, Madeline and Jeramie across western Russia. If all goes according to our crack master plan, we'll not only visit Moscow and St. Petersburg, but go on the Trans-Siberian Railroad through Yekaterinburg, press onwards to Irkutsk (near Lake Baikal, considered to be one of the most beautiful places on Earth), then takea southern spur line to Ulan Baatar, Mongolia, and wrap up the trip in Beijing, China.
Overall, Moscow and St. Petersburg are cities of extremes - very beautiful monuments, literally forests of statues and dedications, churches so gilded and covered with frescoes that they almost scream at you, and super expensive. I had expected the last part, but had not expected these cities to have so much to see! In Moscow, we've been fortunate to see Red Square, St. Basil's, the Kremlin, Lenin's tomb (his body is inside), Gorky Park, Badur the Russian space shuttle (it was test-flown but instead retired to a park in central Moscow) and a bazillion other things. Moscow has a certain frantic energy to it - it makes life in Ukraine feel even more relaxed and slow-paced. Granted, this is the capital of Russia and one of the wealthiest cities in the world, but it is overwhelming to be in that city. The next blog post will be much more comprehensive - I need to pack up and take a train back to St. Petersburg very soon.
Now go eat something!
Overall, Moscow and St. Petersburg are cities of extremes - very beautiful monuments, literally forests of statues and dedications, churches so gilded and covered with frescoes that they almost scream at you, and super expensive. I had expected the last part, but had not expected these cities to have so much to see! In Moscow, we've been fortunate to see Red Square, St. Basil's, the Kremlin, Lenin's tomb (his body is inside), Gorky Park, Badur the Russian space shuttle (it was test-flown but instead retired to a park in central Moscow) and a bazillion other things. Moscow has a certain frantic energy to it - it makes life in Ukraine feel even more relaxed and slow-paced. Granted, this is the capital of Russia and one of the wealthiest cities in the world, but it is overwhelming to be in that city. The next blog post will be much more comprehensive - I need to pack up and take a train back to St. Petersburg very soon.
Now go eat something!
