Day 10 - Moscow, unpleasant with a bitter after taste, just like vodka

Bent Moscow Coppers

2,892 Miles GMT +4 hours Temp -10

Arriving in Moscow to be greeted by temperatures of -10 was bit of a shock after a pleasant evenings sleep on the train which was heated to 20c. Unfortunately it wasn't the only shock Moscow had in store for us.

Between leaving the train, travelling out to the apartment on the metro and returning to central Moscow, my travel documents are checked eleven times. After the 4th check Lena tells me there is something not right and that she thinks Moscow must be on some kind of security alert, there are too many policemen around. She walks ahead of us to avoid any problems. By the time we get to the Kremlin I'm starting to spot 'the men in black', they are just that bit more smartly dressed on the whole, and the tell tale ear-piece confirms their identity. I won't bore you with the process of gaining entry to the Kremlin/Red Square area, it's lengthy and expensive, should suffice. So much for socialism.

Changing the guard

St Basil's Cathedral is beautiful and much larger than I imagined. The history of the building is interesting, as is the design, but rather than write them myself I'm putting links into the names, so you can read them if you want to.

St Basils

Red Square and the actual Kremlin walls are impressive, as is Lenin's Tomb, but we didn't go in, there was a queue and I wasn't that keen on seeing an embalmed person, famous or not.

Interior of St Basils

From there we make our way to the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, which houses some major collections of Western Art, followed by the Tretyakov Gallery, which is probably the best collection of Russian art in the World.

Unfortunate Russian buisness name - the Russian T is an R

We also ventured onto the Arbat, one of the oldest streets in Moscow, dating back to the 1550's, which has the distinction of being the first pedestrian zone in Russia. Today it is more or less a tourist trap - and was quite simply a mistake………pass the vodka.

Phones for you Comrades

Anya and I were both fined approx £40 for taking photos in the Metro - which is not illegal the poliecemen are just bent and if you don't pay they wil get you for something else.

Today has been really hard work and I've found a lot of it quite scary and annoying. Everywhere with the exception of the Pushkin has been fraught because of security, attempted and successful theft, pressure selling of fake goods, attempts to lure us into various scams, or being pushed and jostled on public transport to a degree that beggars belief.

Finding someone else's hand in your pocket is bloody annoying, but to have it happen three times in a few hours is scary.

Thanks to the light fingered kleptomaniacs of Moscow I am now minus my reading glasses from my coat pocket, and Tiny Clanger has been taken from her mesh pocket on the side of my bag. B’tards! Anya lost her sunglasses, reading glasses and spare gloves.

Lena has asked us if we want to leave ‘the snake pit’ in the morning but we’ve decided to stay and see the things we planned………..we won’t be returning and Anya bought drawing pins to put in our coat pockets for tomorrow.