Russia Part IV: Moscow III

Our third and final day in Moscow began with a trip to the nearby market. It was absolutely enormous, the size of a small town and took us about two hours to get through from beginning to end. Every time we turned a corner expecting it to end there was always more!

There were a bewildering array of signs and stalls

Touring the market was probably the most interesting experience I had in Russia. There was a fascinating range of things available to buy, from ex-soviet gas masks and fighter-pilot helmets to traditional Russian food and knock-off branded goods. It was quite a challenge when buying from the stall owners, you really had to argue to get the price down from the usually ridiculous initial value.

It was so big, it really was a super-market. Err...sorry

It was also one of the more intimidating places we visited, with the large crowds thronging the tiny alleys making us feel particularly vulnerable and I spent much of the time checking my pockets. The sellers also had a nasty habit to literally grab us and pull us to their stalls, making it a bit like running the gauntlet, trying to evade the arms clawing at us. At one point someone shoved a hat on my head and commanded me to buy it. I politely declined.

The Evtek group in Red Square

After buying a frankly silly amount of stuff (I bought some ex-Soviet medals, stamps, poster and some Russian dolls) we headed into central Moscow for a last look around. We made our way to Red Square to see it in daylight for the first time where we found out that Lenin's Mausoleum was closed for 2 months, so that explained why nobody was queuing outside.

Lenin's Mausoleum

We later walked around to some of the more obscure sites we didn't think we'd end up having time to visit and then took the metro on something of a 'mystery tour' stopping off at a random station and having a look around.

The Kremlin and waterside at night

We walked along the riverside to take some photos of the Kremlin at night from a bridge, which afforded quite a nice view. To be honest by now we were just wasting time as we had to get the train to St Petersburg at night and had already seen everything in Moscow we wanted to.

At night time it's actually quite an attractive city

After a while we went back to the hotel and had a meal in the restaurant there. Again we had a rather nasty experience with the service but by now we had come to expect it and I enjoyed my traditional Russian dish of...whatever it was.

Traditional Russian food with traditional Russian Pepsi

We collected our things and met with the others in the lobby, before heading en masse back into central Moscow, to the Leningrad railway station for our night time train. By now the hectic experience of taking the metro had become something of a running joke, with the chant of 'be aggressive!' frequently ringing out before we charged into the stations, sometimes coupled with the rolling up of our sleeves before entering. Once we even had a mock team huddle on the platform before boarding the train in rush hour!

Waiting in Leningradsky terminal

We waited inside the station next to an enormous bust of Lenin's head until our train arrived and then boarded ready for the overnight trip to St Petersburg. The train was much more comfortable than before and we actually managed to get some sleep this time. I was quite happy to leave the bustling metropolis of Moscow behind, especially after being promised by our guide that our next destination would be much more 'civilised' and European in character!