I woke early, about 7am Moscow time which was 4am London time. As i had just come from somewhere 8 hours in front of London where it was now 3pm, my body clock was all over the place, although being an agency truck driver, it was used to doing things at different times of the day. I showered, dressed and made my way down the stairs to breakfast. A young maid was polishing the banister, smiled and wished me “dobre ootra”, good morning in Russian.
The breakfast consisted of fruit, croissants and a selection of cooked items. There was something yellow that resembled scrambled egg, some small sausages, something that looked like crispy streaky bacon, and bread rolls. The waitress bought me coffee, or the Russian equivalent. Tea or “chai” is something the Russians do very well, coffee is not.
After breakfast I made my way to the nearest metro station and caught the underground into the city centre. The Moscow underground is worth a visit on its own. Many of the central stations are architectural wonders, which leave the likes of London underground looking like a sewer Mayakovskya station is considered an architectural masterpiece. During the cold war, the underground was to be used as nuclear fallout shelters. I spent some time just getting on and off the trains and studying the stations.
Eventually I arrived at the entrance to Red Square, it was closed. There were a group of soldiers practising for a parade that was due to take place later that day. I decided to take a look at GUM department store. My sister had been studying at Moscow University during the early 90’s, just when the iron curtain came down, and she told me many stories about the lack of any food or products in the shops. GUM was the government run department store that, during the communist regime, had been virtually a monopoly in the city centre. Filling almost the whole length of red Square opposite the kremlin, it was certainly an impressive building. My sister told me of people queuing all day to buy a packet of butter, only to come out with a bath plug, as that was all that was available. My sister lived with a family who had a daughter about the same age, she was invited to visit my parents during term holidays, and on her first visit to Asda, broke down in tears when she saw all the food in the shop. GUM has certainly changed, on entering I found 3 floors of designer shops, names found in Paris, London and Rome. It was full of young women looking for the latest fashions, young men looking for the latest young women, and tourist like myself looking at the prices and walking away!
Outside again I wondered down to the river and boarded a river cruise. We cruised along the river Moscow past the new sports stadium where my team would beat chelski in the champions league final several years later, past the walls of the Kremlin, the bank alongside Gorki Park, the Red October factory, no not the submarine that Sean Connery hijacked, but the famous Russian chocolate factory Krasny Oktyabr . There is still many signs of the old Soviet Union around, many of the riverside apartments had been the homes of the senior party members, and many still bore the red star and CCCP above the doors. Other sights on the river are a Russian space shuttle, never used, and an impressive statue of Peter the Great, tsar of Russia.
After the cruise I took a metro to see the Lubyanka, home of the KGB and famed prison where captured spies were sent to be tortured by fiendishly evil doctors using truth serum and pulling fingernails, or so we were led to believe in the cold war days. It was originally built as the head office of All Russia Insurance company in the 1890’s. Today it looks just like any other city office block. I didn’t stay long. I moved on to Gagarin Square to see the monument to Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space. I remember as a young boy, hearing of his epic journey, and watching pictures on our little black and white TV, Gagarin was one of my boyhood hero’s and it was his flight that really got me interested in space.
I headed back to Red Square, it was still closed, as was the Kremlin. I found a café for lunch, and was pleased that the young waitress was keen to practise her English on me. I ordered a sandwich, and a bottle of Kvass, ah Kvass, how to describe it. It had been hoped that it would be the Russian rival to Coca Cola, however it was always going to be a none starter. Looking like coke, black and bubbly, my first impression was favourable then I tasted it, made from fermented black bread and yeast, it had a taste I can only describe as indescribable! My new found friend told me all about the history of Kvass.
In St Basils cathedral that afternoon the Russian Orthodox patriarch Alexy II was performing a special ceremony, Me, being unaware of this, walked in right in the middle of it. The Russian churches are full of colour and life, for a religion that survived 70 + years of repression it managed to keep many of its treasures intact. Russian churches are some of the most spectacular in the world, and St basils on the edge of red Square is one of the finest.
In the evening I returned to the café with two objectives, one to get a good meal and the other to try and talk the waitress into joining me in my hotel room. I managed the first, but alas was unsuccessful in the later, so retired to my room alone. I switched on the TV.
“Sieh, was Sie dafür tun können, Bones” Said Captain Kirk.
“Verdamt Sie es Jim, ich bin ein Arzt nicht eine Kohlenbergarbeiter” Replied Mc Coy.
Come back Hyacinth Bucket, all is forgiven!
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