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We did not like Moscow. It's a rough and rugged 'anything goes' type of place, which normally appeals to me, but not this time.
The sleazy atmosphere is ever-present, that's and the fact people
try to rip you off at almost EVERY transaction, plus corrupt cops, old age beggars, lethal traffic,
and pay-toilets that should be buried in Bangladesh somewhere. Oh, and there are also Roma
Gypsies too. Still, we did meet a couple of nice people in amongst the hordes of surly ones.
Anyhow, this is St Basil's, the obvious touristy highlight. These crazy onion domes do look pretty darn cool. |
| And looking back the other way, a very red historical museum at the opposite end of Red Square. In the foreground is a cool sky-diving pommy chick we shared the Bomb Shelter with. She was hanging around for some base-jump off Moscow's TV tower. |
| Apparently this was the first guy in space, and his name has escaped me for the moment {Someone says 'Yuri Gagarin', yeah?}. The soviets built this huge spaceman statue overlooking a smelly highway in a lousy part of Moscow. Leninsky Prospekt was it? |
| We got the hell out of Moscow for a day, and went to this place called Archangelskoe, which was a massive estate by a river. There was a miniscule outdoor museum there devoted to the Russian's role in WW2. My, how the tables did turn, eh??!!!??! |
| The Soviets seemed to love this stuff. Impenetrable, invulnerable, and inept. A frightening combination. |
| OK, finally we got to St Petersburg, and WHOAH, once the rain stopped, we were most suitably blown away by it all. As a planned pompous city, it's architecture is all sown together perfectly, in a good variety of styles. This is a cathedral on Nevsky Prospekt, and is awesome inside too, but I couldn't get any decent pics. |
| As you walk down Nevsky Prospekt the first time, your jaw is wide open. Then, all off a sudden you turn your head and see THIS!!! The awesome Church on the Spilled Blood. It gets its name from having been built over the blood-stained cobbles where one of the Tzars was assassinated. (thanks to Colin for factual help) |
| What to say, even more impressive stuff. This is opposite the archway at the start of Bolshaya Morskaya. |
| So we ended up staying with this lovely old babushka who fixed us breakfast each day. This is an oladye (thanks Bjorn) - with caviar!!!! Actually not too bad, but the curdled swilled broiled twisted mangalated sour cream was doubtful... |