Moscow and St. Petersburg

Moscow was way warmer than Irkutsk which made exploring the city a lot easier. We went to Red Sqaure and saw the famous St. Basils cathedral which is amazing. This is something I always see in photos so to see it for real really made me relaise where I was and how amazing it is. We wondered around the streets and could not believe that every building looked amazing. They all look like they should be important but, more often than not, they turn out to be a shopping mall or something! We also ate more russian food - I have decided I love Borscht!

A visit to Lenins mausoleum was very strange. We had to hand our bags in, go through security and be ushered down a lot of steps into a dark basement before eventually walking around the dead body in a glass caninet and back out again. I have never seen anything like this before and it was a strange atmosphere. We also went into the Kremlin and ventured around the buildings and museums in there. Many people say Russia is dangerous and warned me to be careful but I found it a beautiful city and had no problems at all.

We then took the night train to St. Petersburg. It only took 8 hours which was a breeze after the 4day train! We arrived, checked into a nice hostel by the train station and walked down the main street. I could definatly tell that we are getting closer to Europe as this city did not feel as Russian. There were many familiar chains and shops and instead of spending my time looking at the buildings, I would point out clothes shops and fast food chains! We are trying not to spend money in these fast food chains though so we started cooking in the nice kitchen in the hostel with a bottle of vodka to save money!

We went to see the famous sights such as The Hermatige, Peter and Paul fortress, St. Issacs cathedral an the cathedral of spilled blood. They were all impressive but I do not want to see another cathedral for a while!

Next we are getting a bus to Helsinki in Finland. It will be strange getting on something other thn a train and I am looking forward to getting into Europe.

xxx