The end of the line! Moscow awaits!

I may as well call this blog ‘Public Transport of the World’, as I again find myself typing between destinations, this time on an incredibly comfortable ‘luxury’ coach between Tartu, Estonia, and Riga, Latvia. The on-board wifi, coffee machine and flat screen TV do make this a slightly more comfortable and enjoyable journey than some of those earlier on in my travels, and the lack of wandering livestock, potholes, the inclusion of seatbelts and the fact the bus actually has windows makes me feel so much safer – and yes mum, I am wearing my seatbelt!

I realised after posting my last blog, I didn’t sum up my whole Trans-Siberian journey! Just to clear up any confusion, smugglers aside (and in fact they did add to the experience on the whole!), I did actually have an amazing time!!! I wouldn’t necessarily call it comfortable (mainly caused by the fact I am slightly taller than the average Mongolian… who the beds were designed for!), however it was truly a once in a lifetime experience, with a great group of people, in one of the most amazing places on earth. The stunning scenery of southern Russia, the stereotypically stern provinitzas and guards, the stodgy, hearty food, Jungle Speed with Russian travellers, and 5 days without a shower all combined to make a great, memorable trip, and some great, memorable friends.

Inside The Kremlin

Day 2 in Moscow saw me head out with Amy to see the sights of the city. We started in Red Square, once again admiring the beautiful domes and architecture of the famous St Basil’s Cathedral, before dropping in to see Lenin’s body – luckily there was no line, because I would have been disappointed… 88yr old pickled corpses don’t really do much for me! From Lenin, we headed into The Kremlin – Moscow’s fortified complex, home to the Russian President, and the Soviet Government until 1991. We spent the next few hours wandering around the breath-taking cathedrals of Sobornaya Square, the giant Tsar Bell, and the over-policed streets and footpaths, where it didn’t seem to matter what we did, at least one guard would find fault with it, whistle at us, and tell us off sternly n Russian.

The Tsar Bell

We spent the afternoon wandering Ul Arbat, Moscow’s main tourist mall, indulging in what seemed the worlds most expensive coffees, souvenir shopping, and people watching, before glamming it up (I wiped the visible filth off my worn-16-days-in-a-row trousers), and heading to the ballet! Now I wish I could say how beautiful, classy and upmarket the Bolshoi Ballet is… however I wouldn’t know… but I do know quite a lot about the $12 budget ballet in Moscow – and I had a great time!

My last two days in Moscow was spent wandering through markets and malls, through the interesting Gulag Museum, the Gallery of Modern Art, Pushkin Fine Arts Museum and a local monastery (I managed to gate-crash morning tea, with the most amazing smelling scones EVER!), and taking in the sights and sounds of (supposedly) the world’s most expensive city. Quite the place to people watch I must say!

From Moscow, I headed for the airport for my flight to Estonia, pleasantly surprised to find no line at the check-in counter, and wasted a few hours walking the particularly thrilling shops and café’s of the Moscow Airport. Heading to the departure gate, I was yet again surprised to find only a handful of people waiting in the lounge, and on double-checking my ticket and confirming I was in the right place, prepared to board the plane. Loaded onto a shuttle bus, we were ferried across the tarmac, past massive A330’s filling with hundreds of passengers no doubt also bound for an exciting international destination like myself. Having passed countless other planes, and now at the very far end of the airport, my dreams of a smooth, luxury flight into Estonia were dashed, as we pulled up beside a plane barely longer than the shuttle bus! There was no need for an air-bridge or a mobile staircase, as we stepped up inside the plane ourselves, and those people carrying ‘wheelie-case’ hand luggage were instructed to take anything they needed for the flight out, as their cases would not fit in the luggage space inside the plane, and therefore had to go in the hold! Stepping inside the plane, I bent in half to walk along the aisle, making my way to my emergency exit seat the check in girl had been kind enough to give me. Lucky she did, as when I sat down in my seat, I was too tall for the space under the overhead compartment, and spent the entire flight slouched in my seat to avoid smacking my face in the turbulence the small aircraft seemed to attract!!! Luckily the flight was relatively uneventful – other than turbulence, and when I had to use the toilet, which involved having to get the hostess to close the door for me, as after I had limbo’d myself into the tiny room, I couldn’t reach behind me to close the door! She kindly opened it again for me on completion of my business. Now, that’s customer service!

Unfolding myself out of the plane, I made my way into the airport terminal, meeting up with couchsurfing host Kaspar, and so began my European adventure!!!

A service deli with a chandelier!!!