Overall

I'm jet lagged, beat, warm, and sweaty. The hotel looks nice from the front lobby. Lots of knickknack shops, a bar in the lobby, a sushi place, a bowling alley, pool hall, casino, 4 other ethnic restaurants, pharmacy, internet cafe, and a sauna. The room though, I wasn't really impressed with, neither was Sasha, but hey it's a place to crash for $52.00 a night. Think of it as a high rise Motel 6. After I drop my bags, I take a shower and get changed so Sasha and I can head out and start my Moscow vacation. The Izamaylovsky Park subway station is about 2 blocks away from my hotel, so Sasha and I head for it. The Izmaylovsky Park subway station we leave from is a major hub because down the street there is a bazaar/market place. Many tourists and Russian city people come here during the week to go shopping. When we get to the ticket counter, Sasha buys me a metro pass good for five rides. The subway system costs 30 cents to ride or 5 rubles. The subway system in Moscow seems to be really old and subway cars look old also. The subway cars look as if they were from the 1950s. They are clean, graffiti free, but they have no air conditioning or heat. The benches, which are lined in brown leather, are lined up against the wall of the subway car wall for maximum efficiency. The Russians sure know how to fill up a subway car really fast. Every subway car I get on is packed with people, you can barely move around. The only air or breeze you get is from the open windows at the top of the subway car or some beer swilling Muscovite breathing on you . So even though you are down deep in a subway tunnel, and there is a breeze circulating through the car from the open window, it can still get stifling hot in a subway car from the amount of people packed into the car. At each station we leave and arrive at there is a lot of military and police present. It sort of bothers me because I feel like I'm in a military state, and because there is a lot of the military guys around I don't get that warm and cozy feeling. Sasha and I get off the subway at Ploshchad Revolyutsii station (Red Square) so we can meet Vonya in the bohemian section of Moscow. Red Square is packed full of people. There is supposed to be a big celebration marking Moscow's 857th birthday but it was canceled due to terrorist threats and the unresolved situation at the school with the hostages in the suburbs of Russia. Instead there are just a lot of people milling about drinking beer and smoking cigarettes. There is a big military presence here which is guarding the entrance that leads to Red Square and the Kremlin. The military have both areas closed to the public because of the terrorist threats. I will check out Red Square on Monday when it opens back up. Sasha and I head past the Kremlin and head to the bohemian section of Moscow. We walk past a bunch of high end stores like Prada, Dolce and Gabbana, Gap, Levi, and other stores. It seems like this is Moscow's version of the Miracle Mile in Chicago. The stores are all packed, and yes a lot of the stuff has the same high end price tag as if we were in New York or Chicago. After doing a little shopping, Sasha and I head over to a Greek bistro to have a bite to eat and wait for Vonya. If you are interested in reading more about my trip to Russia look up 256 shades of grey (literary e-zine) on Yahoo and look under the footlights section -- the name of the article is "A Russian Jorney."

Atmosphere

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6 June 2005 | A Yahoo! User

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