Day 7 - Moscow

We slept late, walked around the city a bit and souvenir shopped on our last day.
For lunch, we found a classic Russian cafeteria. It was my kind of place. Not only did they sell crunchy garlic pickles, but at 12 noon, on a Saturday, virtually all the clientele were downing large mugs of beers with their lunch.


Later we checked out the office Kremlin Compound. However, there really wasn't much to see other than old creepy Churches and office buildings closed to the public.


A fitting farewell to Moscow. The next day we headed to the airport.

Day 6 - Back in Moscow

After arriving in Moscow at 6 am, we found a cab and make it back to the hostel safely. Our luggage, a happy sight, was waiting for us in baggage storage. Hurray, right? Yes, but now our room wasn't ready. All we wanted was a shower and to change into clean, warm, fresh clothing. We waited, and waited. Evidently they has a specific room assigned to us and the guests in the room from the night before, had no plans to checkout early.

Eventually, we took showers in the pubic facilities, changed into clean clothes and waited in the lounge. It was especially annoying, because the hostel has other vacant rooms, but none of them were "assigned" to us. The staff behind the counter wasn't budging either. They were young and I'm sure just doing what they were told. By this time, I was fairly frustrated, plus it was now day six since I last exercised. Without exercise, I get really grumpy.





That night, we purchased to ticket to the Wozzeck Opera at the Bolshoi Theatre. The Bolshoi is the most famous theatre in Moscow, akin to the MET in NYC. It was where "Swan Lake" was first seen on stage in 1875. However, it was our last night in Moscow and only one Opera playing. We didn't have a choice. I wanted to attend, just for the sake of seeing an opera, but I wasn't that excited about seeing fat people sing in a foreign language wearing velvet and gold antique customs. Alex was very indifferent.

Much to my surprise, it was a contemporary rendition of a opera, set in modern times. No fat people. No antIque customs weighing hundreds of pound. And in preparation, I read the plot of the opera online before hand. And it turned out that I liked it. Alex hated it, along with numerous other attendees, some who left mid-way through. Alex wanted to leave, but I wouldn't let him. I enjoyed the "contemporization" twist.

Prior to the Opera, we had dinner at Pushkin Cafe . A five star restaurant according to Zagat. The food was excellent. And you know food is good, if you think about it the next day, which I did.

Day 5 - St. Petersburg

In the morning we visited the The Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood. Yes, that's it's official name! Christianity loves to be morbid.





More O.P.U.L.E.N.C.E. - next we visited the Marble Palace another relic of Russia's once superpower status. By this time, we checked out of our hotel already, but had to find stuff to do until 11pm, when our night train departed. And while we made the best the day, there was always that lingering anticipation of our luggage waiting for us in Moscow. "sigh".




We stumbled on an "authentic" souvenir shops at St. Petersburg outdoor market, but it was really cold, not conducive to leisurely browsing. Nevertheless, the touristy souvenir stands where stocked with the same quality of goods that you'd find at any Jersey Shore souvenir shop. I purchased a couple of insertable Russian dolls. Why not?


The train back to Moscow left at 11 pm. And we had first class accommodations, which were trivial because we still didn't have clean clothes. For breakfast, I had pancake with caviar for breakfast! Yum.

Day 4 - St. Petersburg

Yes, another another day and another museum, the Russian Museum , this time. There are lots of museum in Russia, in case you haven't noticed. And today it was very cold and snow was falling. In the summer, I believe you can take boat rides in the canals throughout St. Petersburg, but it clearly wasn’t summer.






I was becoming more and more fond of Russian cuisine, especially the borschts, pancakes, mushroom raviolis, and hotdogs baked in a bun. The only place in the U.S. that I can recall eating authentic Russian food was in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, near Coney Island. Otherwise, there really aren't a lot of Russian food readily available.


In the evening, we headed to the Mariisky Theatre to watch “Swan Lake”. I purchase tickets ahead of time, but was a little skeptical about whether I would like it or not. And I must say I enjoyed it. I’m not a huge fan of cultured performing arts like ballets, classical music, operas, etc. because they are elitist, but when in Russia do was the Russians do. “Swan Lake” originally debuted in Russia back in 1875.

Day 3 - St. Petersburg

On our first day in St. Petersburg, after checking into the hotel, we spent almost the day at the Hermitage. If you know anything about art and Russia, you’ve most likely heard of the Hermitage. Or if you’ve visited St. Petersburg, you’ve most likely visited the Hermitage.









It wasn't snowing upon arriving in St. Petersburg, but overnight it started. And we still didn't have our luggage. Alex's winter coat was in his checked luggage. I lent him the shell of my winter coat. And I wore the liner. Stopping frequently in shops along the way to warm up helped.



Our accommodations in St. Petersburg were nothing spectacular. They were a budget hotel, Nevsky Mayakthat I found on the NYTimes travel Guide. The review for the hotel read "unmarked and tucked away in a courtyard near the city’s main boulevard, Nevsky Prospect, it has a fetching little lobby and rooms that are small and nothing fancy, but clean."



Admittedly, the room was clean, but the sofa bed was barely holding together and the staircase to the room was a bit remote. But when I travel, I prefer not to spend extravagant sums of money for hotel rooms. I don't travel to see the hotels. Hotels are just a necessity of traveling, as a place to sleep.

Day 2 - Moscow

The next morning we found a classic coffee shop near the hostel for breakfast. After which we visited the Moscow Museum of Modern Art. If you're not into art or exploring new ideas and concepts, the exhibits below would come off a stupid, dumb and weird, but I'm fascinated by this stuff. It makes me think and realize how stupid, dumb and weird the world is.






Still modern, from the outside. My nephew, Alex.


Upon existing the museum we stumbled upon Upper St. Peter's Monastery and checked out the cool architect.



Later in the day we visited the State History Museum back on Red Square. It was after visiting the museum, that I learned from the airport's baggage claim that we would not be receiving our luggage until Wednesday. It was Monday, so this meant two or more days of no luggage, because we were leaving that night on the overnight train to St. Petersburg. I was livid. United Airline sucks!