Today I learned never to fly overnight and expect to go to work the next day. It seemed like a flawless plan, except for the part where I had to set my alarm for 2:45am. Ironically, with the four hour time difference, this was actually 10:45pm London time. Yep. I was up and moving before […]
Read more "Life Lesson #39 – Taking the Long Way Home"I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Russian overnight train between Moscow and St Petersburg. What I definitely didn’t expect was a luxurious private cabin! Score! Arriving in St Petersburg after the best night’s sleep I’ve ever had on a train, boat or plane. The walk to our hostel gave us an incredible view […]
Read more "St Petersburg"We opened our windows this morning to a glorious sight: We packed up and checked out quickly, eager to see how the night of snowfall had altered the landscape. The Kremlin in Izmailovo, next to our hotel. We headed back into the centre of town to see Lenin’s memorial (which has his frozen body), as […]
Read more "Last Day in Moscow: Ice and Snow"There was a point when I was genuinely concerned that we wouldn’t make it in. The crowd was thick and pushy. There were more Russian military than I ever thought I’d see. They were standing with linked arms blocking every entrance to Red Square. Three rows of them, and a dozen metal detectors stood between […]
Read more "New Year, Red Square"Our second day in Russia was all about serendipity. After dismally failing to see ice sculptures the night before, I had googled my little heart out and learned about the annual Vyugovey Ice Sculpture Festival, which had apparently opened only two days earlier.Again, we didn’t get ice sculptures. It turns out that not only is […]
Read more "Day Two in Moscow: Serendipity"Ice sculptures. That’s how I ended up in this park in the middle of nowhere in Moscow. Ice sculptures. My best friend came here ten years ago and raved. There were photos. Good photos. I was jealous. Now I’m here to see them for myself, and there’s nothing. Or at least, it doesn’t look like […]
Read more "Life Lesson #38 – Ice, Ice Baby"The guy who picked us up at the airport looked like a James Bond villian. This was my first thought after laying eyes on the optimistic looking elephant holding a sign with my name on it. He looked like he could tip over a forklift. The second thought was “I wonder if he has KGB […]
Read more "Day One in Moscow"