Hey,

Moscow calling.

We've actually been to the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in the picture now - truly beautiful inside,

We're getting the train tomorrow which is very exciting, we've met a few of the people who are getting the train with us (a couple of talkative girls and a dutch guy) and talked to people who have done it the other way and it seems like the incredible experience that we hoped for, it also seems like it might be quite hassle free with Vodkatrain (the tour company we're going with) sorting everything out for you which might be nice!

On the other hand it is going to be sad to leave Moscow, it is a truly intriguing city with huge contrasts between the rich europeans, in full length furs and the poorer, seemingly more asian looking class of people who seem to be out cleaning in huge numbers. The number of 'public' service workers out on the streets is incredible; not just the huge numbers of police (which exceeded even my expectations) but lots of cleaners and officials.

We've particularly enjoyed using the metro; it's so cheap, we feel quite adventurous using it and once you get the hang of it it's easy and fun to use.

Since the last blog we've also visited Lenin (looks a bit like a waxwork with no body but worth doing all the same), the Kremlin (confused by the ticket and what we were allowed to see) and Gorky Park (nice but managed to miss out on the ice skating.) The Russians do seem to like their rules - we have managed to get told off quite a lot and it slightly scared us from doing stuff but have not witnessed anything too corrupt/scary.

So yeah, train tomorrow, should be interesting, looking forward to stocking up on food, oh and hopefully going out for a Russian meal with our group tonight as have been quite stingy on the food budget! Hope all is good in England, probably won't blog again until China!