Russian Holiday

Dras vooyetsya!

WOW! All the things I have heard about Russia are true and more!.

We spent 3 nights and 4 days on the Trans Siberian Railway and travelled through 5 time zones through some of the most beautiful country-side I have seen in ages. Loved the houses and the trees- larch and birch and firs crowding the landscape, marching up hillsides and sheltering houses that look like Amish barns.

Most of the Russian towns we have visited have been small.....like Lystvanka on Lake Baikal which I have talked about before- and Suzdal. Suzdal is this amazing town on a river just south of Moscow- by about 300k's. It is full of Russian churches and monasteries and has it's own Kremlin. A Kremlin is just a fortress and most Russian cities have one. This town was amazing as it was so medieval and sleepy [unless you were at the Karoke bar with some of the boozers on our tour]. The sky was a beautiful blue and we walked around the place for a couple of hours looking at old churches etc.

Right now I am sitting in an Internet Cafe just off of Red Square in Moscow. Moscow is the most amazing hopping city- if you can believe that! It is 9:30 PM and things are jumping. There are about 600 or so people walking through Red Square right now and the Internet Cafe is full to the brim with people.

On the train I had Russian lessons every night and have been trying out words every day- I've got hello and thank you down and now am onto numbers of things and negotiating with Russian only speakers about my laundry. Our hotel has 3,000 rooms and you can pretty much see it from wherever you are around Red Square. Tomorrow we are going to the KGB for a tour and then the next day to the Kremlin. Then another overnight train to St Petersburg. I am really looking forward to St Petersburg. I like the smaller places better.

The Trans Siberian was wonderful. Each carriage has a "conductor" - well two of them really- who are like your "house mother". We had Valentina, who was really gruff and grumpy with us because we were not buying souveniers- I got her to smile and say good morning to me by the end of our trip. When there are long stops [20 mins] you can get out and there are little grandmothers on the platform selling home made food- which is totally amazing and yummy- I have never eaten so many versions of potatoes before in my life. All of them have dill and lots of other yummy spices on them. The ice cream is divine and we found some Russian gingerbread cookies that are scrumptious too. I thought the 3 night/4 day trip would drive me mad, but it wasn't too bad. We chatted a lot and read and slept and watched the beautiful scenery of Siberia roll by. Hardly noticed when we crossed the Urals and were in European Russia.

The women here dress in the most amazing fashion- uber tight pants and sparkly skimpy tops. They look as if they are going out to a disco- no matter what time of day it is...even 10 in the morning! I guess if you've got it, you might as well flaunt it.

Thanks to all of youse who have made comments on my blog...you've made my day- I am only 3 weeks into this 5 month trip and have a long way to go and it feels good to be so connected.
Das Vadanya
Genie
PS: More photos next time- my camera is charging right now- too many photos of churches.