Back in the USSR

Dras vooystya!

No snaps for a while folks- got my camera nicked at Moscow Station! I must have a tattoo on my forehead that says: "Thieves-look no further, here it is! Help yourself" And if I could write that in cyrillic lettering I would. OK- they say things come in 3's and that was my 3rd. So hopefully no more!

Yeterday, I went to the cop shop in St Petersberg to report my stolen camera- because by this time I have now lost quite a bit of money and goods- so I wanted a report for the insurance. It was like walking into what I imagine a KGB suburban branch would be like. Grim walls, crumbly stair-cases, smoky rooms filled with young underpaid cops who are all busy with paperwork and cynical because of it. The walls had soviet posters on them- which were of standard USSR colours and messages. It felt like being in a movie about the cold war.Our guide, who is fluent in Russian, helped me get the paper I needed, thank god! I have a feeling that it would have taken me longer than the 2 hours it took if there were not a Russian speaker with me. They were making jokes about me in Russian [no this is not my usual paranoia- I checked and it was true!]

St Petersberg is a totally different city than Moscow! Moscow is hip and happening and interestingly diverse. I spent a day riding the metro in Moscow, which is labrynthian and art deco and a-maze-ingly complicated. I had to go out to the suburbs and get my AMEX card replaced- which meant changing lines 4 different times [they are colour coded and all stations are written in Russian cyrillic writing]. A woman from the tour and I combined our skills -hers was the colour deciphering and mine was cyrillic writing and we were HOT! We spent about 3 hours riding the metro. Also went to a Russian art gallery- filled with iconography from the 11th century to the 16th century- fabulous!

Loved Red Square too! Bordered by the Kremlin, a huge department store [GUM], and St Basil's church [which is soooo Disneyland!] it lights up at night and is full of people at all times.It feels like a friendly village- except for the pick pockets and the fact that everyone there is a tourist! We got to see Lenin all laid out in the crypt- very spooky- not as well preserved as Mao [pronounced MAYO by one of our tour members], but still worth the visit. Then went to the Kremlin, which means fortress [and most Russian medieval towns still have a Kremlin] which is huge and has 7 or 8 churches, office buildings, parks and a museum of Russian memorabilia in it. I made it all the way to the Armoury [the museum] and then had to leave, because I have grown about 4 significant blisters [approximately the size of the Northern Territory] on my feet from so much walking.

We also toured the KGB which was actually more interesting than the Kremlin. I couldn't help but think about James Bond movies and Get Smart, when our guide was telling us about the doings and dealings of the KGB. I am telling you, you wouldn't want to be anyone in the government of either the Soviets of the Tsars, because your life span would be rather short.

The whole reason we were at the train station in Moscow - keep up, this is where I started- was to catch the midnight train to St Petersberg. St Petersberg is like a huge wedding cake. Buildings are incredibly ornate and opulent [I am beginning to see why there was a revolution against the Tsars here]. The Hermitage was totally amazing and if you have seen Russian Ark [and stayed awake in it] you will know how ornate the rooms are. I found myself not caring what art was hanging on the walls- it was enough to look at the floors and the walls and the ceilings! It is truly magnificent and every room has a different flooring and walls and sculptures. My fave was the ballroom which has golden columns- followed by the Malicite room, where everything is carved out of malichite- columns, huge vases, table mosaics and floors.

Last night I went to a performance of Madam Butterfly at the Marinsky Theatre. Look it up on the net, because there is no way to describe the theatre. The production was wonderful....sets were divine and the music fab. I sat in a dress circle- second tier and had a superb view of the whole thing.

Tonight is my last night with my tour and then tomorrow I head off to Estonia and a town called Tallin....my hotel seems to be on the outskirts of the city, but near a tram line, so that will be an adventure, getting to and from my digs to the city. I have a kitchen in this one, so I am not trapped into eating out. Oh how I would love to cook myself a meal!

So, it is Das Vadanya from Russia-Siberia-Mongolia and China- and though I have been robbed a few times here, it was such an interesting journey! Glad I came, and I would do it again in a minute - but this time with a suit of armour on and a steel trap in my bag to nab a thief's fingers or two.