LAST NIGHT IN MOSCOW

Sorry John, but I actually hope tonight IS my last night, and day, in Moscow. Moscow and I just didn't "click" like say Paris and me or Florence and me. But (s)he started it!--(s)he just wasn't very nice to me right from the start. What with the film of dirt everywhere, the nasal-burning air pollution, the masses of people, the pushing masses of people, the scowling & pushing masses of smoking people, the busy and nearly indecipherable metro system, the lack of any language other than russian, AND the fact that they use an almost-entirely-different alphabet! When you don't even recognize the letters it becomes extra difficult to track words.

But we made the best of it, or at least the best we were able to make of it. We navigated our way around several times on the metro all by ourselves (and the 7 million other daily riders), meaning WITHOUT a russian-speaking guide, as some lightweights are known to use. Once we got the hang of it and understood how to determine the direction of the various train lines, it felt do-able, and is a seemingly comprehensive system---it has a lot of differing lines and stops anyway.

Observing some of the cultural differences and/or customs has been facinating. People park pretty much anywhere, including on the sidewalks and the rounded parts of street corners. Crosswalks are "use at your own risk" and on more than one occasion I watched drivers speed up to get into the crosswalk as people stepped off the curb. It appears perfectly acceptable to crowd and push in front of others when there is a bunch-up at say an escalator or a train. It's ok to drink beer or whatever on the street or the metro or wherever...it was odd to see people sitting on the train, beer bottle in hand. Thankfully the metro is one place smoking is not allowed.

Today we went to a well-known convent with more cool onion domes. Tomorrow Craig is off to Bucharest, and I am bailing and heading home!