I Challenge You to a Duel

Day 74

On our third day in Moscow, we started by heading out towards an area called Sparrow Hills that had been recommended within some of the guides we had read. 

As it was a series of hills overlooking Moscow, there wasn’t any specific area we needed to aim for so picked a station close to where we thought we needed to be. As we exited the station, we were a little unsure on where exactly we needed to go as it looked quite flat and there wasn’t really any sign of a view over Moscow.

Nonetheless, we ventured down the long straight road in search of the lookout. After about 15mins walking and still no sign of a vantage point we turned back to try and get an Internet connection and get some more information on where we needed to be. Despite wandering around trying to get a free wireless spot we couldn’t so instead chose to grab lunch and give it another try the next once we figured out exactly where Sparrow Hills was.

One thing is for sure in Russia - you will never go thirsty for a beer. This was a stall fully setup with kegs. If draught didn't take your fancy, you could choose from many bottled beers next door.

Russian Police Interceptor.

Lunch that day was one of the Russian staples of a roast potatoes topped with a number of fillings. We really didn’t have any idea what they contained, as the signs were not in English and the lady behind the counter didn’t speak an ounce of it either. The way the Russians do roast potatoes is quite good though, as they open it up and then start cutting up the centre and filling it with butter into almost a mash. 

After lunch we jumped back on the subway and decided to do a little tour of some of the more elaborate stations that had been recommended. As with St Petersburg, many of the subways had been turned into people’s palaces with huge chandeliers and one with a huge brightly lit tunnel that you could not see the end of.

Mayakovskaya Station.

Komsomolskaya Station.

Wartime statue in Komsomolskaya Station.

Huge tunnel in Prospect Mira Station.

Later in the afternoon we took a self guided tour around the Tverskoy area, which had a number of interesting shopping streets and statues including the Alexander Pushkin memorial. 

Pushkin is considered quite the hero in Russia as a result of his literary work and it was quite astounding to hear that he had died at such a young age in a duel. In fact, he had been quite successful in his dueling up to that point, competing in no fewer than 29. His last duel was with Georges-Charles de Heeckeren d'Anthès after had a crack at his wife. To ensure his honour remained in tact, they arranged a duel and alas he came off second best, dying at age 37. 

This car was parked amongst all the other 'straight' cars. You would often see wrecks
parked on the street like people have crashed and just left them there.

A random statue museum we stumbled upon while walking through the  Tverskoy area.

 Before heading home, we also stopped at a McDonalds to download a map of the area and I sampled a Big Mac. The McDonalds didn’t look overly big from the outside, but upon entering I think it was quite possibly the biggest in the world. We’re talking two massive stories that also went back into the adjacent building. There were different levels within each floor and the counter could not have been any less than 20 metres long. 

I figured capitalism had really taken place in Russia after seeing this elderly gentleman using is Apple Mac, in McDonalds talking on Skype.

The Russians don't have 'The Colonel' as their figurehead - probably too
American so have gone for the simple Chook.

With much of what we wanted to see on day three now complete, we started to head back to the hotel in rush hour traffic. To say the subway was crammed was an understatement as we literally shuffled our way through the turnstiles with a million people and then shuffled our way on to the escalator with another million. Thankfully the Russians are actually quite civilized and there is no pushing or shoving and considering the amount of people it was all very orderly. 

Having only eaten some left over chicken and pita bread the night before for dinner, we decided to stop into the local department store food court for some cheap nosh. There was quite an extensive arrange of places, however, we ended up choosing a pizza/pasta establishment as they appeared to have a pretty good deal on, which consisted of a slice of pizza, spaghetti Bolognese, salad and a drink for about £3 each. 

Unfortunately we read the thing wrong and confused the bejesus out of the staff there as we were trying to have both the pizza and pasta when you could only have one or the other. Luckily a young girl who spoke English helped out and the confusion was resolved. We ended up with a pizza pie, coleslaw and a coke.

Russian guard outside St Basils.

Claire and I on southern side of St Basils.
Not as stunning with the carpark, but at least
there was no barricade.

Walking home over the Moscow River and past the Kremlin.