My last day in Moscow was interesting (in the British sense!) I made myself very ill by unwittingly eating way too many sugar free sweets. So was hotel bound for the morning and caught up on some work that i needed to do, by the early afternoon i was bored and stubborn and vowed to enjoy my last day in Moscow. The Kremlin was my first stop which was buzzing in anticipation of a concert later in the afternoon. The premier’s cavalcade passed by and there were streams of uber glamorous people dressed up for the special occasion of an invitation to the presidential palace.
I ambled around the buildings of the Kremlin, the cathedrals, the bell and the scary looking soldiers. Even catching the changing of the guard there, not much pomp as they are literally standing right next to you so don’t really have much room to move. But a bit of goose stepping and marching nonetheless. I was still feeling pretty ropey, undeterred i decided that a sit down on public transport and a ride on the metro would help so i can take in the glory of the glamorous underground stations. I had one ticket to ride (thank you Vera!) and i was going to make the most of it.
There were maps and signs in English as i went into the station but none once i was actually in there, and it wasn’t really clear which train i was getting on as there was no obvious colour or number on the carriage to let me know which one it was. I hopped on the first (fingers crossed) red one to take me out to the brown line and was carefully counting my stops. But then i realised that the signs on the station platform were not only pitifully small, but also few and far between making it even harder to recognise where i was and where i might need to get off.
Feeling ill, unsure of how i was going to navigate and a tad vulnerable i decided to abort the mission. I saw some of the wonderful stations, not the grandest ones that i had wanted to but i was ill and unsure of myself. A perfect target for nasties and also for getting hopelessly lost. I can cope with not seeing a chandelier but i could not cope with missing my trans-siberian train with only a few hours until i needed to be ready for my pick up. So i opted for higher, safer ground and exited the Metro.
After being a poorly bear all day i was hankering for something safe that might just fill me up a bit before i jump on the train. The golden arches filled a hole, i felt a little bit better after that and several pints of water. Lesson of the day, never eat sugar free sweets! Whatever they put in to replace the sugar is lethal.
Safely back at the hotel earlier than planned i now had oodles of time to get ready for the off. I had my “getting on the train” outfit ready for a few days. It’s been saved from the traipsing across Europe for this special occasion. I was so excited. This is something that i have been looking forward to for such a long time. I was nervous and excited as i f i was going on a big school trip or something. I think it was the rucksack full of Percy Pigs! (The gin in a tin is long gone 🙂
I am getting adept at packing the beastly luggage that i have been dragging across Europe so was packed and ready with oodles of time to go. I whiled away my last half an hour of wifi for the next week in the hotel reception, almost hoping that my guide didn’t come and get me as that’s when the nerves kicked in. Should i have booked 1st class? Will it be OK? Is someone going to steal my lunch money? (Percy pigs!) Those naughty what ifs? creeped in. They didn’t stop when i got to the station and couldn’t hear one person who spoke English. I was scared and thinking about all the bad that might happen.
I’ll admit that Russia terrified me before i arrived and this train journey did a bit too. My nerves calmed after an impromptu English lesson in the train waiting room with a young lad called Michel who has dreams of going to live in the US one day. He thought i was 21, ha ha! Everyone seems to assume i am a student, i’m putting that down to my smooth Celtic skin. He was mortified to be laughing with a stranger at the station platform but excited to be practicing his English at the same time. If you smile or laugh in the street you are a crazy person in Russia apparently, and i learnt that to randomly talk to people in the train station is a whole other level of insanity as my guide lead me away to my train. She was astounded with herself that she had done it!
My guide and driver seemed ever so worried about my welfare as they packed me off on the train, like worried parents she said. No fear there was an Irish guy getting on the train at the same time, I’ve found you a friend Sarah he’ll look after you!
We soon discovered that we had all been shepherded into a foreigner enclave, Swedish, French, English and Irish in one carriage with one poor Mongolian guy who i was bunked in with who spoke Russian, Mongolian and German.
Everyone was very excited to be on board and we had a bit of an explore, traipsing up to the far end by the 1st class carriages. They have their own toilets and “shower” well more of a shower head really. But it’s nothing to write home about as it doesn’t get much water! But room to swing a small kitten which we don’t have in cattle class. But not really worth the extra money i don’t think. Anyhow, there are a bunch of guys up there that are a brilliant fun. Chinese, Thai, French, Australian and Swedish.
Ciao a tutti, i’m off to try and get some sleep after all the fun today!
A very excited cake lady
x x x x
