First stop: Moscow – Friday, September 1
There is one image of Moscow that sticks in my mind – St. Basil’s. It’s that cathedral on Red Square with the delightfully screwy onion-shaped domes – I’m sure you have seen pictures of it. When I found out I would be passing through Moscow on my way to Uzbekistan, I decided to make a stop and see the place for myself. The day I arrived was cool but sunny with a dramatic cloud-filled sky – a perfect day for taking pictures. As soon as I checked in my hotel, I rushed over to see the cathedral.
St. Basil’s is at the far end of Red Square and I had a chance to study it as I walked over. Each of the domes are covered in a different pattern: some with ribs and others with something like scales – and all are painted a different color. It is sheer exuberance – an odd contrast to what I normally think of as the dour Russian character. Outside there were the usual trinket vendors and photographers – and a steady stream of tourists were entering and leaving.
Inside St Basil’s was a bit of a letdown – it’s a series of small, relatively plain chapels. They were dark and cold and nothing compared to the outside. But, what an outside: I found a good vantage point and stopped a passing tourist to take my picture with St. Basil in the background.
That done, I headed off to find a bookstore I had heard about on the Internet. I wanted to buy a Russian world map and someone had directed me to a place nearby. I found it on a small street north of Red Square. Inside the store was packed – this being back-to-school time I guess people were buying textbooks. I found a map with the help of a clerk who spoke a little English and then went to pay.
There was a mass of people around the only register. I couldn’t see any line and figured it was dog-eat-dog. Actually, I’m quite good at getting ahead in these line-less situations – I’m tall and thin and not at all shy. I simply headed for the counter. After doing a little “wiggling” I could see I was attracting a lot of attention – those behind me were grumbling about my success. I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but I could see for sure that they were talking about me.
So I turned around and asked stupidly, “Is there a line? I’m sorry, I didn’t know there was a line.” That worked like magic – from my English they knew I wasn’t a Russian. All those around me gave me their, “No, no, you go first,” look. Now, I’ll confess that I was exploiting my tourist status – what else is it good for? As I checked out I turned and said, “Thank you”, and waved good bye. I was trying to soothe my conscience a little.
Back on the street I went looking for a metro station. The Russians, to my mind, are the masters of the art of over-the-top monuments. There was one I had read about that I wanted to see: the Space Obelisk. After walking for a few minutes I found a station and plunged underground.
The Moscow metro was everything I had read it was: monumental stations and extensive service. It was also damn hard to use. First, the signs were all in Cyrillic and then the different lines and interchanges were not well marked – this was not the Paris metro. The stations were also deep underground. There were long escalators rides down to the platforms. I read the stations were designed to double as shelters from atomic attack.
I had a metro map and with the help of the ladies stationed at each stop I found the right lines. Sometimes they would just point the direction and sometimes they got out of their booth and lead the way. They were always helpful and friendly – somehow that surprised me. I thought Russian public employees had a reputation for being surly.
At my station, I walked out into a little shopping area: food, clothing and music stores. Just behind was the Space Obelisk – a 325 foot (100 meter) titanium swoosh with a rocket perched at the top. It celebrated the space flight of Yuri Gagarin, the world’s first cosmonaut. It’s the perfect overstatement for the space programs, blasting into the Russian sky. I took a few photos, looked in the shops and had something to eat before I left.
I was still in search of Russian monuments and took the metro over by Gorky Park. There is an enormous statue of Lenin just outside the station. There are also a few smaller ones in the garden of a nearby art school. From there I could also see a monument to Peter the Great – he stands on the deck of a sailing ship which rises high above the river. On top gold flags flutter, 160 feet (50 meters) above the river. The Russians sure know how to build monuments.
In the early evening I went out for a beer. It was getting cool, but I choose a café that was on the porch of my hotel protected from the wind. As I sat there I noticed how many seriously drunk people there were around me. I was also surprised how young they were. I had seen kids I figured to be 15 or 16 buying beer at a store near my hotel. Earlier I had noticed a lot of drunken teenagers in Alexander Park, next to the Kremlin. Admittedly it was Saturday night, but it wasn’t even dark yet. I decided to go to bed early and avoid seeing how much more drunk these kid would get.
Next morning I took the metro out to the Iznaylovo art market. By now I could make my way on the metro unaided. The system was quite extensive and very fast. Many of the station are decorated with lovely mosaic or sculptures, but my overall image was one of people – lots of them. It was always crowded.
The market sprawls over a large area in northeast Moscow. I missed the entrance and walked past lines of people selling everything from sox to puppies. Then I walked into an open area with small stands selling clothes and food. Finally, I backtracked and found the art market – there was a 10-ruble admission at the gate. If you are looking for the place, that’s your clue.
It’s an interesting place to shop – I saw antiques and nesting Russian dolls, military uniforms and oil paintings. I browsed all the stands and finally bought a deck of playing cards that feature the Russian military: tanks, planes, missiles and soldiers on the face of each card.
I spent several hours there and then took the metro back to the Kremlin. I bought a ticket and went inside for a look at the magnificent gold-domed churches. After the hussle-bussle of the streets, the Kremlin was an oasis of calm. I sat in front of one of the churches and wrote for a while – it was a cool, but sunny day. After that I walked over to the underground shopping mall across from my hotel and scanned the stores – it had mostly the same chain stores you see in any mall.
Later, I made arrangements for a car to the airport and then took a long nap. Just before midnight I went down to the lobby and met the driver. I was off to catch a 2:40 flight to Tashkent.