Moscow

Another overnight sleeper train to Moscow, & if you want to pick a perfect bunk partner how about a British expat who edits the what's on guide to Moscow.

We were met off the train by the lovely Sasha who made it her mission to show us as much of Moscow as possible.
So, first up, a visit to Red Square and Lenin who was lying in state, much as he has been for nearly 90 years. It's quite a strange process, everyone trooping through in silence, no stopping, no hands in pockets & certainly no photographs. Oddly enough you can buy postcards of Lenin though.

G.U.M shopping centre

St Basil's Cathedral

Red square was full of temporary seating for a forthcoming festival. St Basil's cathedral is the most impressive sight for me though.

Gorky park

Gorky park has been recently renovated taking away all the old roller coasters, it's somewhat ikea themed at present though.

The kremlin, the walled citadel which contains out of bounds government buildings, comprises numerous churches and, once I'd gone in it, brought back memories of visiting 17 years ago, as far as I can tell nothing much has changed.

Uspensky Cathedral, Kremlin

Granovitaya Palata, Kremlin

Big Russian building

We fitted in a boat trip and a quick tour of some of the incredible metro stations.

One of my cultural highlights was a visit to the dance show featuring various forms of Russian dance through the years. The dancing horse was one of the funniest things I've ever seen.