So it turns out I wasn't very good at staying away from the blog. While I had decided that I would not write after I had left Spain, there are just too many cool places in this world to keep them all to myself. So here it is, I continue to photograph some of the beautiful things I've seen and offer them up as a diversion.
Since I traveled to Russia for scientific purposes, I didn't have enough space in my luggage to bring my nice camera that I took through Europe, so these photos may not be quite as nice as previous ones, but I hope they will give you a brief glimpse into what I saw.
When I was on my way to Siberia, I had a 12 hour layover in Moscow, so a friend and I decided that we would take the time and venture into the city. Without a plan, a map, and any sleep, we found our way through the subway to the center of the tourist section of the city, where you can find St. Basil's Cathedral and the Kremlin. Getting out of the train, the city struck me as very clean, organized, and surprisingly quiet. We found very few people on the streets up until we got to the Kremlin. Apparently this is not usually how people envision Moscow, and it is probably not what the majority of Moscow is like, but the city does a very good job of putting its best foot forward to visitors.
Red Square feels a little bit like an adult Disney World, mostly because the buildings all have a feeling of fantasy and color to them that I have seen in few other places, and with the vast expanse of the square stretched out before you, and perhaps because of my relief to be off of a ten hour flight, the space felt full of excitement and whimsy.
It really was a pleasure to wander around the city with my friend as well. Since she speaks Russian and knows more about the culture than I do, I wasn't completely stumbling in the dark, despite the limited amount of time I had to get to know the city. For example, she was the one who told me that if I stood at this particular spot and threw a coin, I was supposed to be able to make a wish and have it granted. She may know why, but I don't, and in my sleep-addled state of mind I forgot to make a wish until after I had thrown the coin. Needless to say, it was a good thing I had her with me because I wouldn't have found my way around otherwise.
Near the Red Square, there was a park with a nice little fountain running through it. It had lots of beautiful statues inside the canal, representing Russian fairy tales.
Truly, I wish that I knew the stories behind the statues, or even the reason why this lion on top of a monument in the park seems ever so desperate, but in a way that is a bit of Moscow's charm for me. Since I had not slept for quite a while and was totally lost in a culture I knew nothing about, the city could become whatever I imagined it to be for just a few hours as I wandered around the streets filled with soldiers, women in 5 inch heels, and tourists gawking at the architecture.
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