PETERSBURG TO MOSCOW

On Friday, September 7, we left Petersburg and traveled to Moscow.

We had been up until 3:00 a.m. watching David Ferrer of Spain beat Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open tennis tournament. Getting up and going so that we could walk out of the apartment at 11:45 was the first challenge to the day's trials.

While the Moscow train station may be only a half mile from our apartment, walking with extremely heavy bags on cobblestone sidewalks full of inconsiderate people made the chore doubly difficult. And that was only the first trip. I had to walk back and grab two more bags.

[In Petersburg, the people have no sense of space. They meander without regard to their fellow pedestrians. They do not pay attention. I do not know how many times people would have walked right into me had I not gotten out of their way. It is one of the most maddening aspects of Petersburg city life I have encountered and hope it may be different in Moscow.

I read this very insightful survival guide when searching for Russian language schools in Moscow. Click here for what I have found to be a very telling and true account of life and people in Russia.]

We had booked first-class passage on one of the relatively new Sapsan high-speed express trains that run between Petersburg and Moscow. The train trip takes 4.5 hours, as compared to the usual 8-hour local or overnight trains.

Andrea possesses the most hyper-sensitive olfactory senses I know of any woman, and she had to request that our seats be relocated because of another unflattering Russian trait -- lack of hygienic skills. A couple mounted the train just as the train departed the station and sat right in front of us. They stunk just terribly.

The 400-mile journey was interesting. We passed through miles of thickly lumbered forests, crossed expansive plains, and bridged several large winding rivers upon which sat quaint villages with shack-like, wooden living quarters that appeared to be right out of  the 19th century.

For the Leningrad train station in Moscow, we had reserved a driver who was to meet us right outside our train carriage, Wagon 1. Wagon 1 of the Sapsan is closest to the train terminal in Petersburg, but farthest from the station in Moscow, and this lug couldn't figure that out. So we once again had to schlep our boulder-weight bags the length of this 20-car train to where we finally found our driver holding a sign outside a clearly marked Wagon 20 that read: ANDREA RUSNOCK.

Moscow has a totally different feel than Petersburg. As much as I loved Petersburg and was wowed by its history, architecture and cosmopolitanism, Moscow makes it look like a backwater. It would be like comparing Des Moines to Chicago or Hartford to New York City.

This is a big city; a world capital. It looks and feels like it. We've been here fewer than 48 hours and have not ventured too far (due to aches and fatigue from those damned bags), but as a first impression, Moscow feels like an interesting mix of Washington, D.C. and New York City.

I will try to elaborate on that and our accommodations in an upcoming blog. In the meantime, here are some photos from our travel day.

PLOSCHAD VOSSTANIA - UPRISING PLACE. NEAR THE STOCKMANN'S, UP THE STREET FROM OUR APARTMENT AND RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE MOSCOW TRAIN STATION.

THE MOSCOW TRAIN STATION FROM PLOSCHAD VOSSTANIA.

INSIDE THE MOSCOW TRAIN STATION MAIN TERMINAL.

MOSCOW TRAIN STATION - CLOSE UP OF PETER THE GREAT TO GREET VISITORS ARRIVING FROM MOSCOW.

SAPSAN SECURITY GATES.

PULLING AWAY FROM THE STATION IN SAINT PETERSBURG.

A STOP ALONG THE WAY - OKULOVKA STATION.

THE FIELDS AND FORESTS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.

VIEW OF A SETTLEMENT FROM THE WINDOW.

BOLOGOYE STATION.

I WATCHED "THE HUNGER GAMES" ON MY I-PAD AND ENJOYED A LUNCH THAT INCLUDED LOX AND, CREAM CHEESE ON RYE FOR A STARTER, A CHICKEN PAPRIKA-LIKE DISH WITH GREEN BEANS AND MASHED POTATOES AS AN ENTREE, WHITE WINE TO DRINK AND FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE FOR DESSERT. THAT'S WHY I AM SMILING.

ASTA ROJNA "HELLO KITTY!" HERE COMES MASHA AND THE MEDVED (BEAR) -- ANDREA'S NEW, FAVORITE  CHILDREN'S CHARACTERS. SHE BOUGHT THIS ACTIVITY BOOK AT THE TRAIN STATION AND WORKED ON SOME OF HER EMBROIDERY (IN ADDITION TO SNAPPING THE PHOTOS) WHILE ON THE TRAIN.

MORE FOREST AND FIELDS.

TYPICAL OF THE VILLAGES WE SAW FROM OUR WINDOW.

THE SAPSAN HEADED TO PETERSBURG.

AFTER WE TIPPED THE DRIVER AND DROPPED OUR BAGS, WE VENTURED ONTO OUR 14TH  FLOOR BALCONY AND WITNESSED ONE OF THE MOST INCREDIBLE RAINBOWS I HAVE EVER LAID EYES ON. FROM RIGHT, LOOKING SOUTHWARD, IT ARCHED NORTHWARD OVER THE CATHEDRAL OF CHRIST THE SAVIOUR...

...ASCENDED 180 DEGREES OVER THE CITY...

...OVER THE KREMLIN (REDDISH BUILDINGS MID RIGHT) AND LANDED TO THE NORTH!    A GOOD OMEN?