More of Moscow

The Russian way of doings things continues to baffle. Whereas yesterday the Kremlin was closed except for guided-tours and Red Square closed in part due to the dismanting of Victory Day stands today the Kremlin was entirely closed (Thursday is its rest day apparently) as was the Red Square for no obvious reason. For tourists it's something of a hit and miss affair as I've heard that the Kremlin was also closed for a few days prior to Victory Day. Pretty exasperating if you've come all the way to Moscow with the Kremlin at the top of your 'to-do' list and come away empty handed. Just as well then that I've got a good deal of time on my hands meaning that even if the Russian authorities decide to do things in their typically random fashion I should at least at some point have the chance to see the major sights. However its another way that Russia doesn't do much to endear itself to the tourists who visit.

Today I spent my final day with my British colleagues who this evening are heading off back to Helsinki before returning to Blighty. For the second day in a row we breakfasted in 'Coffee House' which each day presents some amusement. Yesterday it was the ordering of hot chocolate, which is done in amounts of single, double or triple, not unlike espresso, or indeed vodka. On requesting a single the waitress replied with "a single" in a manner that expressed pure surprise and the implication of folly on the part of the customer. "Ok, ok" said Tristan (one of my fellow Moscow explorers) "I'll have a double". This lead to him being served a hefty mug full of what can really only be described as liquid chocolate, and heavy going as a result. It'll take a while to get used to the expressive ways of the Russians! Today our entertainment came from the menu. Once again we indulged in "Toast with Cheese" which rather too limitedly in its description should really be called Ham & Cheese Toastie or Croque Monsieur for more continental types, however for those experienced in the ways of the menu it's a tasty start to the day. Bizarrely, the local chain of this coffee house doesn't offer a breakfast option, so while in town you can get coffee, juice and croisant (albeit a rather petite croissant) for 150 Rubles (3 quid) today a juice by itself was selling for the princely sum of 155 rubles!

Following breakfast we made our way to Red Square only to find it closed, so we headed to an impressive church we'd seen from a distance, got a reasonably close look at a terribly kitschy monument for Peter the First, and then to the market recommended for Soviet memorabilia. To be honest the market wasn't great, and if anything I preferred the more genuine nature of the market I stumbled across while in Tallinn last year, which was wholly a place for locals and had a far better range of items from the Soviet period such as tasteful Stalin clocks for your mantlepiece and original Lenin wristwatches (even a Hitler one I seem to recall), not just the badges, dolls and wot-not designed for tourists. Never-the-less I stocked up on some pin-badges (about the largest gifts I can manage to tote around) and off I went happy.

Dinner was great, an all you can eat buffet affair for 390 rubles (under 8 quid) which should hopefully keep us all going well into tomorrow. Although this evening we went our separate ways, tomorrow for me the Moscow adventure continues. Perhaps finally I'll get to properly look around the Kremlin!