Russia

After barely making it out of Tajikistan, we arrived in Moscow at 1 in the morning. We took a train into town and got out right in the center of the city to try to find our hostel. After walking around a bit, we found what we believed to be the location of our hostel. However, there was no sign. We asked around, and were told that it was definitely the right address. The only problem? The building in which the hostel was housed had been completely gutted for renovation.

Plan B. We walked further into the center of town, through beautiful Red Square, to our second choice, Hotel Rossiya, which was described as a massive concrete block that was the official hotel for foreigners during the Soviet era. Again, we found what I believed to be the right location. This time, the building hadn't been gutted. Instead, it had been completely demolished. There was nothing but a blank spot on the ground, right in the middle of Moscow.

Plan C. It was 2:30 in the morning. The trains had stopped running 90 minutes prior. There were no more cabs to be seen. Thankfully, a local man stopped and asked us if we needed help. We had him take us to the local 5-star hotel, a Hyatt with rooms going for $1000 a night. Needless to say, we didn't book a room there. We sprung for something a little more down-market. That would be our last comfortable night for a while, so it was totally worth it. The next day, we hung out in Red Square again and then hopped an overnight train to St. Pete's. It's an 8-hour train and costs $30 each for a bunk in steerage.

St. Petersburg is beautiful, very European, and very young. There seemed to be a ton of university students walking around, as well as a number of cadets from the local naval academy, set up by Peter the Great. There are beautiful canals and rivers and consequently vistas all over the place. Right in the middle of town, off the Nevsky Prospekt (one of the world's grandest avenues), lies the Winter Palace, which houses the Hermitage, one of the great museums of the world.

We decided to devote a significant part of the day to the Hermitage, which houses impressive collections of art representing all the major European periods. After three hours, our stomachs growling and our tired doggies barking, we finally gave up, right as we were in the middle of the gorgeous French art of the 19th century. However, it was as good a time as any. We were worn down after carrying our 25/35 pound packs (respectively) all over Russia. It was an effort, but we eventually managed to complete a loop around the city that took us to a beautiful vista of the Peter and Paul fortress.

We were relieved to finally get back on the train after a long day on our feet. The overnight car was less comfortable this time--the berths are only about 2 feet wide and 5' 10" long, so I was forced to lie on my side with half my body hanging off the edge, but thankfully I didn't fall out of my bunk during the night.