Russia, Day 20

 

Day Twenty

 

It was “make up” day.  I was determined to see Lenin’s body in the Red Square Mausoleum.  It was something I had failed to do on my first visit to Russia with Uncle Jim in 1992.  We got up, dressed and then made our way to the metro, all the while realizing our days in Moscow were clearly numbered.  I was looking around at people and the metro with a sense of sadness, knowing that in a couple of days we’d be gone and perhaps this was my last time ever to see these things.   

We made it to Alexander Park and lined up for Lenin’s tomb.  The line was extremely long.  Our legs were aching and the sun was really bearing down.  We stood there and timed how long it took us to just move ten feet.  It seemed like forever.  Finally, I said, “If we don’t move twenty steps in the next five minutes, I’m out of here.”  Five minutes later we were gone!  We walked past some souvenir stands, one with an old man selling postcards and stamps, the other a young, beautiful blonde selling trinkets.  I left Red Square a bit disappointed, but also satisfied that I had seen 95% of what I desired to see.   And, the fact I could walk away from that line made me happy for another reason:  I was able to realize that my body was sore and that, before reaching St. Pete, I didn’t need to overexert myself anymore.  I would have collapsed from exhaustion if I had not listened to my body. 

We took the metro back, had a coffee and thought through the rest of the day’s plans.  For me it was easy.  We were going back to finish what we had started:  the Central Armed Forces Museum was calling.  Trolley 13 took us right to the door.  We first ate lunch in the cafeteria.  There were soldiers in there eating as well.  We had great homemade food.  After eating our fill, we went back through the halls, making sure to see all that we had missed. I relished seeing the models of the Victory Parade.  I loved viewing the case that held a replica Soviet Flag that was hoisted over the Reichstag.  It made all the research and history books come alive.  Also, an interesting thing happened.  We wandered into a room where a large group of Americans were concluding a lecture/meeting with Russian veterans of the Great Patriotic War.  I talked with two couples: one from Texas and the other from Massachusetts.  The older man from Massachusetts tried speaking in a Southern drawl when he realized I was from Alabama.  What was most coincidental was that his grandson had also married a Thai lady!

Once we left the museum, we headed for the hostel.  As with previous days, our mode of transportation was a trolley.  We got off at our stop and went into the bakery we had grown to love.  We bought several cream-filled donuts to give to the office girls as farewell tokens and peace offerings. 

Dinner was once again at the Uzbek restaurant.  We had chicken and lamb shashlik, grilled vegetables and a half liter of homemade raspberry juice (to take home).  Once we finished dinner we walked down to a very nice supermarket.  It was quite a hike!  We bought a few things for our train ride to St. Pete.  On the trolley back to our stop, a stumbling-around-drunk guy was bothering Kade, me and the two other passengers on the trolley.  He tried talking with us and even threw his hands towards us.  I was a bit worried by his antics.  One time, when he got too close, I told him to “Sit!” and used my forearm to push him down onto a seat.  The other man on board actually shouted at him very strongly when he got to close to him and his wife.  Fortunately our ride ended without any major problems.   

Back at the hostel I talked briefly with a guy from Taiwan.  Kade and I messed around in the hostel - resting, using the Internet and watching TV – and waited for time to pass.  Later in the evening, we were notified that our taxi had arrived.  We grabbed our bags and went outside to meet the taxi driver.  I think it turned out to be Tonya’s father.  Tonya was one of the ladies who worked at the hostel.  We really liked her. We said bye to Moscow and arrived at the gorgeous train station ready to embark on an overnight ride to St. Petersburg.  We were very excited.

Right before we got on the train, we bought souvenir magnets and some other trinkets.  We then walked out to the platform to see if our train was ready; it was not.  We went into a smoky coffee shop where I ate a ham and cheese sandwich.  We were feeling worn out.  Our luggage was heavy; my hands were blistered.   

The train pulled in and we walked to our car number and got onboard.  The hallway on the train car was narrow and the air was stale.  It was also pretty hot.  We eventually found our compartment: a four-berth one.  Somehow, with the help of a big guy, we hoisted our heaviest bag up into the top storage compartment.  Kade was going to have one top bunk; I was to have the other.  In walked our berth mates.  There was a lady whose husband helped bring her bags in.  He was obviously smitten with her.  He stayed onboard as long as he could, and then exited.  The big guy who helped me with the luggage was the other berth mate.

 

After what seemed like forever, the ticket guy came around and made sure we were in the right place.  Shortly after he left, we started settling down.  We had blankets and a boxed dinner and breakfast.  Much to our relief, the train started pulling away and the air kicked on.  During the night, just before bedtime, we made bathroom runs.  The bathrooms were small, functional ones.  The main plus was that they were clean.  Once we were on our bunks, we talked a bit with our cabin mates.  The talked a bit about their work, and then shared some of their food and drink with us.  We ate some French meats and drank some brandy.  Just before I snuggled into bed, I looked down and saw the lady taking off her thong.   After maneuvering it off, she brought the wadded undergarment out from the blanket and placed it near her bed.   Too bad I didn’t get to see any flesh!