Tripping With Toby: Farewelling Moscow

Oct. 12, 2018- Farewelling Moscow

Too much of a good thing. Yesterday I ate delicious beef kofta for lunch and lamb sausage and sauerkraut for dinner. Or maybe it’s the huge bowl of kiwi I had for breakfast. It’s more than my antacid can handle. The good thing is that the solution to the discomfort of indigestion is to keep eating :) I just had chicken soup for lunch. Here’s to Jewish penicillin.

We had a late start this morning, but woke up tired. I think we’re still recovering from the night at the circus. Some of you might consider it to be divine justice. And still, we had a hectic morning on foot. We were in front of the Kremlin walls for changing of the guard. After the new guards were situated at their posts, a man with seniority inspected them. He adjusted their stance, fiddled with a belt, and re-positioned a hat. A large crowd had gathered to watch the high stepping soldiers go through their maneuvers. A group of Chinese tourists took front and center with phones at the ready. Luckily, I was able to snap away over their heads.

We followed our excellent city guide from yesterday through the gate of the Kremlin and into the area behind the square. There were lots of official cars moving about, but Putin was not on site. We were in a sector where several churches were clustered. Each czar/czarina had to have his/her own church. These were small and delicate structures with brightly hued paintings of saints looking down from walls and ceilings. The exteriors had the required gold leaf and crosses on spires, but not red stars. Those are on government buildings and are made of glass and ruby dust. They’re quite durable. We struggled against the tide of people trying to enter and leave the small churches and emerged intact as a group. “We weeen (we win) became a common refrain.

Next stop was also within the Kremlin walls, the Armory Chamber. That is a misnomer. There are some articles of battle, but those are mostly gifts from other nations to Russia and weren’t used in battle. The Armory houses the royal collection of icons, jewels, Faberge, thrones, clothing, silver, and gifts from foreign diplomats. The most interesting to us were the carriages. Our guide made sure we heard stories and history about the collection and their owners.

Bob, our group leader, is most enthusiastic. He made what sounded like a good suggestion, but pooped us all out. He got a bus (the 40 passenger one for all 7 who went), and we went to Arbat Street, the oldest pedestrian mall in Moscow. Traffic was horrendous and we were hungry. The street is lined with book stalls and souvenir shops with a couple of notable statues. We did walk past Pushkin’s house where he lived for a while after his marriage. Sooner rather than later, Bob selected a place to eat. It had a cow statue in front and its name in Russian is MY MY. We were confused until he explained that the Cyrillic letters are pronounced Moo Moo. It was cafeteria style, and we ate lightly.

Because traffic was so heavy, Bob had sent the bus away and we decided to take the Metro back to the hotel. It was a good decision, although it was not lacking endless flights of steps.

It’s hard to believe our farewell banquet was tonight. Our small band of nine went to the Savoy Hotel restaurant. We recapped our experiences and wished us all well. The time has flown and we’ve met smart, vibrant fellow travelers. Our guide will be well rewarded by all for his organization, patience, humor, and knowledge.

Tomorrow we leave the hotel at 5:30 AM and arrive in Cleveland at 7:09 PM, all things being equal and flights on time. You do the math for how long we’ll be awake. Hint, the time difference is 7 hours.

Toby