Today the weather was hot and sunny about 26 degrees C. Just the right temperature.
Second, and last full day in Moscow. Definitely not enough time to see all the main sights and we are extremely tired after almost a week of walking non-stop. As a result we didn’t get out until early afternoon. We are looking forward to the Trans-Sib train journey just for a rest!!
We had a picnic lunch in one of the squares and then took a boat trip down the river which takes in many of the sights of Moscow. Afterwards we went to Gorky Park which is a large amusement park with some white knuckle rides, roller coasters, a huge ferris wheel, dodgems, etc and the usual fairground attractions, as well as numerous ice-cream and fast food stalls. Probably best visited in the evening.
We haven’t been able to get in to Red Square or Lenin’s Mausoleum as both are closed for the duration of our stay in preparation for a public holiday. How disappointing is that? The best we could manage was to take a look through the window of one of the shops in the GOM department store which overlooks Red Square.
The GOM department store is a huge shopping arcade that has recently been restored and is the most amazingly beautiful building housing expensive designer outlets as well as some less expensive like Accessorise (again Lulu would love it!).
Yesterday we also went into the Metropol Hotel which has a fantastic Art Nouveau interior. The glass ceiling in the restaurant is particularly stunning.
For some reason we have found it much more difficult to find our way around Moscow, and of course it is a much larger city than St Petersburg so the sights are more spread out. We have hardly scratched the surface of what Moscow has to offer and we only have half a day left before we leave for Yekaterinburg. Two-and-a-half days is just not long enough!!!!
Moscow is a very clean city – there are lots of street cleaners in evidence and litter doesn’t lie around for very long.
The metro is also very impressive – it’s cheap at only 45p for any length of journey, frequent (a train every 90 seconds or so), fast and the longest escalators you’ve ever seen (walking up them is just not an option!). Although the stations seem to be quite far apart. But it is the interiors of the stations which are so impressive, with marble clad walls, ornate lighting and no signs of the water seepage that you see in the London underground.