Admittedly, one of the most exciting parts of the day for me
was hearing two men speaking German at the statue. I debated with myself
whether or not to say anything to them, because I wanted to ask where they were
from, and it was just a relief to finally hear a language I understood and
could communicate in. (I ended up saying something, and it turns out they're from Hamburg, where I'll be stopping over on my way back west toward the States. I got a chance to impress my group mates by showing them that I am, indeed, competent in something--just maybe not Russian [yet!].)
The tour was led by a really sweet young Russian girl,
Irina, who was really witty and spoke nearly perfect English. She took us to
several of the spots we’d already seen, such as Red Square, the former KGB
headquarters (currently under construction), and the massive GUM mall. Today was
International Children’s Day, celebrating the Rights of the Child—a
United Nations charter signed by nearly every country…except for the US—so
there were games and balloons and stands with snacks and free ice cream for
kids everywhere in the mall. It’s been such a long day and we saw so much that,
honestly, I can’t recall all of the spots we visited. But we got to see the
house that Michael I, the first Romanov, lived in and passed on through
the Romanov dynasty until, I presume, palaces started being built in other
parts of Russia. (Excuse my shoddy history; it’s past midnight, and the
Internet connection here at the hostel is insufficient for basic googling, at
least from where I’m sitting.)
After about an hour and a half, our group left the tour to
go to lunch at a food court at another, less-expensive-but-still-fancy mall,
where I got pilaf/plov, playing it safe since I was familiar with the dish. It
was ok, but, like mall food back in the US, a bit on the greasy side.
From lunch, we took the Metro/subway across town, walked
down to the water, and boarded a riverboat where we took a tour for another
hour and a half, passing Red Square and the Kremlin, lots of other
beautifully-architected, ornate buildings, a huge statue in the river of Peter the Great, and lots of people sunning in the grass along the side of the
river.
The boat tour took us to a pier where we disembarked in
order to walk to the Great Moscow State Circus. At 17:00, the show started, and
initially I was afraid there’d be a bunch of clowns. There were some creepy
clowns, but overall the show was really outstanding—a REAL circus. All sorts of
dancing, acrobatics, monkeys (jumping, running around, flipping), sea lions
(high-fiving, clapping, hula-hooping), a bear (walking, hula-hooping, dancing),
stereotypical human characters, etc., etc. AMAZINGLY talented folks! Also,
now we can cross off our list that we’ve seen a bear in Russia. ;)
However, I left
the show with mixed feelings—supremely entertained and impressed, but at the
same time saddened, considering how unnatural and disorienting a life in the
circus must be for the animals and also how odd the little person must feel,
playing out the traditional role of “midget,” as he was the only person in the
show simply because of his physical appearance. Even though the guy looked like
he was having fun and is obviously doing this of his own free will and getting
paid for it, as someone of relatively short stature this left a bit of a bad
taste in my mouth.
All that said, Red Square and the have been my
favorite parts of Moscow so far, by a long shot. Moscow is too big and hectic,
and it’s a little overwhelming not speaking Russian. We’ve also been rushing
around from one place to the next without much time to enjoy where we are, and at this point I’m just ready to be back in Vladimir with Lena
and family.
At this point, I’m still not feeling the love for the
Russian language, and this was clear to me particularly when I noted my
reaction at overhearing Germans. I think the main problem I have with Russian
is still the different alphabet—despite the fact that my dear puppy is named
Cyril in honor of it. :) Being unable to understand and use the language of the
country also makes it more difficult to enjoy fully.
After the circus, we went to Il Patio, an Italian restaurant
just down the street. Dinner was good, we were exhausted, but we walked several
kilometers away anyway to go to Sparrow Hills, where Moscow State University is
located and where the ultimate panoramic view of Moscow can be found. (Naturally, my phone ran out of storage space, and my battery died minutes later.) Finally, after what seemed like an endless walk, we arrived
back at the hostel.
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