I have been in Russia for a little over 48hrs and am jet lagged and a bit exhausted.
From Wellington to Auckland to LA to London to Moscow.
I spent my first night in the London airport at "Yotel" in Heathrow's Terminal 4. It was more of a pod than a room...the space was roughly 2.5 X 3 metres and most of room was taken up by the bed. It was very futuristic. No place to open a suitcase. You could use the toilet without getting out of bed (guys only). It was interesting and convenient, but that was about it.
On the flight to Moscow I had the pleasure of meeting a musician, Gregg Kofi Brown who is on tour in Russia . He was originally from the States, but left to live in Europe (we had a lot in common).
He is an amazing person and his music is incredible. We are now facebook friends. Here is a poster of his first gig in Irkusk! His website is: http://www.greggkofibrown.co.uk/index.htm
"Doctor Jazz"
I arrived in Moscow Sunday evening. I decided to forsake taking taxis during this trip, much to the dismay of a very persistent taxi driver who would not leave me alone. He followed me about the terminal for at least ten minutes, with me saying "Nyet, spasibo, nyet,spasibo, nyet spasibo" about a thousand times. I took the Aeroexpress train from Shemeretyevo Airport to Moscow which cost only about $9 NZD. Bought my ticket from a machine with the help of young Russian woman. The trip took only 35 min. From the train station I walked to the metro, bought a twenty trip metro ticket (my Russian was flawless, I think) and took the metro to my hotel.
I have only been speaking Russian since I arrived and I am getting along very well, thanks to my very patient Russian tutor, Tamara. Since I only had one day in Moscow before leaving for St. Petersburg, I made full use of the day. After the free breakfast at the hotel which was not so great, I found a gym, but it was not easy. It was a Planet Fitness, but there was no sign out front. You had to go through those gates (see photo below) and walk down a dark alleyway. The gym, however, was well-equipped and the staff was really friendly. No one spoke English, but I think they liked me. The receptionist and membership person both asked me when I was going to return. I think they thought is was cute to see a tiny old powerlifter.
Planet Fitness in Moscow
After the gym, I walked around the neighbourhood. There were some beautiful parks and I bought a ticket to a musical (Золушка is Cinderella) which is opening the day I return to Moscow. The play is all in Russian and I figure it is a good play to for me to see since I will not have a problem following the plot.
Pushkin Square
Since no trip to Moscow is complete without a trip to Red Square and Lenin's tomb, I took the metro there later in the day.
Lenin's tomb with real Russian guy in foreground
Me in front of St. Basil's Cathedral, taken by
a friendly Russian woman after she felt sorry
for me trying to take a selfie.
This morning I packed, had breakfast again at the hotel (blah!) and took the metro to Leningradski Vokzal (Leningrad Station) to catch the bullet train (Sapsan) to St. Petersburg. The trip took only 4 hrs.
The train travels up to 250 km/hr. It was pretty incredible. It left Moscow and arrived in St. Petersburg exactly, to the minute, on time.
Train tells you the speed (Скорость). Here 216 km/hr.
The train had Russian movies that you could watch on your computer and I watched "Intouchables", a French movie about a quadriplegic who befriends his companion. It was a great movie if you haven't seen it, even when dubbed into Russian. The plot was similar to "Me Before You".
Since my Russian teacher told me to talk to everyone, I struck a conversation with the woman seated next to me. We talked for a good part of the trip. She was 40, was born in St. Petersburg, and helped me with directions to my hotel. After we disembarked, she insisted on walking me to the Metro station to make sure I got on the right train!
I found my way to my hotel, right in the centre of St. Petersburg. It is a 3 star hotel, but clean and comfortable. It is already 11 pm so I will be turning in for the night. Looking forward to my first day in St. Petersburg.
From Wellington to Auckland to LA to London to Moscow.
I spent my first night in the London airport at "Yotel" in Heathrow's Terminal 4. It was more of a pod than a room...the space was roughly 2.5 X 3 metres and most of room was taken up by the bed. It was very futuristic. No place to open a suitcase. You could use the toilet without getting out of bed (guys only). It was interesting and convenient, but that was about it.
On the flight to Moscow I had the pleasure of meeting a musician, Gregg Kofi Brown who is on tour in Russia . He was originally from the States, but left to live in Europe (we had a lot in common).
He is an amazing person and his music is incredible. We are now facebook friends. Here is a poster of his first gig in Irkusk! His website is: http://www.greggkofibrown.co.uk/index.htm
"Doctor Jazz"
I arrived in Moscow Sunday evening. I decided to forsake taking taxis during this trip, much to the dismay of a very persistent taxi driver who would not leave me alone. He followed me about the terminal for at least ten minutes, with me saying "Nyet, spasibo, nyet,spasibo, nyet spasibo" about a thousand times. I took the Aeroexpress train from Shemeretyevo Airport to Moscow which cost only about $9 NZD. Bought my ticket from a machine with the help of young Russian woman. The trip took only 35 min. From the train station I walked to the metro, bought a twenty trip metro ticket (my Russian was flawless, I think) and took the metro to my hotel.
I have only been speaking Russian since I arrived and I am getting along very well, thanks to my very patient Russian tutor, Tamara. Since I only had one day in Moscow before leaving for St. Petersburg, I made full use of the day. After the free breakfast at the hotel which was not so great, I found a gym, but it was not easy. It was a Planet Fitness, but there was no sign out front. You had to go through those gates (see photo below) and walk down a dark alleyway. The gym, however, was well-equipped and the staff was really friendly. No one spoke English, but I think they liked me. The receptionist and membership person both asked me when I was going to return. I think they thought is was cute to see a tiny old powerlifter.
Planet Fitness in Moscow
After the gym, I walked around the neighbourhood. There were some beautiful parks and I bought a ticket to a musical (Золушка is Cinderella) which is opening the day I return to Moscow. The play is all in Russian and I figure it is a good play to for me to see since I will not have a problem following the plot.
Zolushka (AKA Cinderella)
Pushkin Square
Since no trip to Moscow is complete without a trip to Red Square and Lenin's tomb, I took the metro there later in the day.
Lenin's tomb with real Russian guy in foreground
Me in front of St. Basil's Cathedral, taken by
a friendly Russian woman after she felt sorry
for me trying to take a selfie.
This morning I packed, had breakfast again at the hotel (blah!) and took the metro to Leningradski Vokzal (Leningrad Station) to catch the bullet train (Sapsan) to St. Petersburg. The trip took only 4 hrs.
The train travels up to 250 km/hr. It was pretty incredible. It left Moscow and arrived in St. Petersburg exactly, to the minute, on time.
The train had Russian movies that you could watch on your computer and I watched "Intouchables", a French movie about a quadriplegic who befriends his companion. It was a great movie if you haven't seen it, even when dubbed into Russian. The plot was similar to "Me Before You".
Since my Russian teacher told me to talk to everyone, I struck a conversation with the woman seated next to me. We talked for a good part of the trip. She was 40, was born in St. Petersburg, and helped me with directions to my hotel. After we disembarked, she insisted on walking me to the Metro station to make sure I got on the right train!
I found my way to my hotel, right in the centre of St. Petersburg. It is a 3 star hotel, but clean and comfortable. It is already 11 pm so I will be turning in for the night. Looking forward to my first day in St. Petersburg.
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