Checking out For my final day in Moscow, I have made a list of the things I still wanted to see and try to be a bit more organized. I could spend another whole day wandering Red Square because those guys are out there dancing again and really what more could you want? I had to pack everything up and check out of the hotel, so here I do the muscle work of putting as much as I can squish into the roller suitcase. It’s carry-on size, but I’ll be checking it. Then I put everything I’ll need on the plane: clothes to change into, electronics, batteries, etc, in my…
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New Years Day
ABBA Ok, so I totally forgot to tell this story last night. So there’s this song that plays on the radio everywhere. I’ve heard it a hundred times this trip, but never before. It’s clearly from the ~70’s, and my guess was Oliva Newton John. But it turns out it’s ABBA, a song called “Happy New Year”. It’s popular here because I guess there aren’t that many new year songs. It’s a weird song because the vocal harmonies overlap a lot, making the lyrics difficult to distinguish. But what I can hear is the chorus of “Happy New Year” over and over and a line that says “We might as…
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New Years Eve in Moscow
Venturing out into Red Square After sleeping until 2 in the afternoon, trying to fight off my cold, I woke up starving. Leftover breakfast pastries just aren’t going to do it, so I put on some clothes and go out in search of lunch. The map says there is a collection of fast food places across the street from my hotel, so I decide to head that way. It turns out that the security for NYE is already in full effect. They have barricaded off Red Square essentially in concentric circles and a series of one-way paths, each circle with another security checkpoint and bag check and metal detector. Outside…
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Moscow part deux
My last train ride Now it is the final leg of my trip. I am taking the train back to Moscow to celebrate New Years Eve before coming home. It has been an amazing adventure and while I’ve written as much as I could on the road, There’s obviously so much more. I have a 4 hour train ride now and I am just going to reflect a bit on all that I’ve seen. Siberia Traveling to Siberia was really the highlight of this trip. Honestly, before I left, I had given little thought to the ‘culture’ of Siberia. When I thought of traveling there, my imagination was of lakes…
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A Day In Moscow
Starting the day I got off the train at 9:30 am. The driver took me to the hotel, and fortunately the room was ready. I dropped off my things, having already hurriedly dressed on the train, and went downstairs to meet my guide. I am exhausted. Worried about getting everything ready and packed to get off the train first thing in the morning, I kept waking myself up, thinking I was going to miss my stop. Moscow was the last stop of this train, though. Also, I somehow left my deodorant in Yekaterinburg, and have been without any this train ride. Casualties so far: hairbrush, deodorant. Red Square We started…
