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The train journey was pretty cool, the train was comfortable and was separated into little cabins so was quiet. I was looking forward to seeing more of Russia out of the window but in reality the train mostly went through countryside so apart from a lot of forests and tiny little settlements dotted about (randomly all with satellite dishes, but no roads or cars) there wasn't much to see.
We arrived at our hostel at 9pm and was shown to our 'bedroom'. The word bedroom was taken pretty literally as the room was only just big enough to fit the bed! It was fine tho, felt a bit like camping! After we dumped our stuff we went hunting for a local pub to play the Russian roulette food game - which basically consists of pointing at the menu at something random as you can't understand the menu and the waitress can't understand you!
The next morning we went for a wander round Moscow. Unfortunately it was pissing down so we hid in a little Italian restaurant round the corner from our hostel. After lunch we went to find the tourist centre (the only one in Moscow) as well as the main red square but for some reason it was all closed off so after a brief stop in the Russian cafe chain My My's, we headed home to watch a movie in our cupboard.
The next day we had booked a free walking tour with the same company we did it with in St Petes. Luckily the weather had cheered up and it was a pretty nice day. The walking tour was really good, it took us to all the main sites (including the red square which was now open) and told us about some of the history of Moscow. After the tour we went to a traditional Russian restaurant which had been recommended to us, followed by a waddle round the Kremlin and its cathedrals.
The following 2 days consisted of a lot of walking and exploring. We found a really cool pedestrian street a bit like Covent garden to stroll round and have a drink in the beautiful sun. We did a mini pub crawl near our hostel followed by another Russian roulette menu game (which was even more random as we were drunk and had no idea what we were ordering!) And we cooked a couple of bizarre meals in the hostel.
Moscow is a lot like London in some ways, its a very built up area, with a mixture of beautiful buildings, churches and cathedrals and concrete tower blocks and run down areas. Its a lot less European or relaxed than St Petersburg. In St Petes people were a bit friendlier and more chilled, where as Moscow people seem a bit more 'cityfied'. You get a real sense in both places tho that Russian history is very important to the Russian people, and they are really proud of their country.
Its our last day in Russia today and we've checked out of our hostel and need to amuse ourselves until this evening as our flight doesn't leave until tonight. I have walked so much the last 4 days, its been really good, but I'm shattered now and can't cope with another day walking so we're hiding in a coffee shop using their WiFi and stringing out cups of tea.
Next stop China, I'm really excited about it - Russia has been good but apart from the language barrier it is still pretty similar to the UK or Europe so looking forward to being emersed in a totally different culture!
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Martin Menu Roulette sounds more fun than Terri's method of pointing in her picture book. I shall insist she tries it on the next bike trip. 100% sure we're missing you more than you're missing us