Moskva!

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Another amazing night's sleep! What's going on???? My dorm bed in Napoleon Hostel was amazing. I lied in til 10.30am. I'm in a mixed dorm, and this morning realised it was basically a male dorm with me in it. Everyone else went out on the piss last night but I didn't hear them come in. This morning I heard a german and russian arguing over whether the window would open. An american stepped into the room and said 'it smells like dead bodies in here'. I realised I was unaware of this change since I had been in the room since last night. I went out to have a shower and there was a queue, so I just washed my face, went back to the dorm, wrestled with the eastern bloc window frame and yanked it open. Everyone is in there now standing around discussing that it actually DID open.

Out on reception is a strange militant russian of oriental origin. I couldn't work out if he was guest last night. He was at in front of the TV watching some kind of game show on his own, shouting the answers out aggressively. but he is sitting behind reception this morning playing cossack music really loudly. I suppose there is a chance he still doesn't work here and is just a regular. I'm just avoiding him in general. I got in his line of communication earlier as I came back from the sink where I thought he was saying to me "Are you using this?", motioning to the iron. I said a simple 'no', and he turned to look at me with disgust and shouted "No, nyot you!".

Whatever.

Anyway I'm off out with a couple of people to a cafe nearby for some brekkie. It is rather cold here - I thought at this time of year it would be warmer. But winter clothing is needed. I am still braving it in my flip flops but it takes a lot for me to put actual proper shoes on. I checked out Red Square yesterday and it was great walking around it. The traffic here is hideous but strangely silent. I think everyone had their engines turned off. Cars sit in seven or eight rows across the huge streets, nothing moving and everyone pointing in different directions, but it is really quiet. The metro is definitely the way to go in Moscow...

The train journey from Amsterdam to Moscow was great. It was a little crampe in my cabin due to the unfortunate luck of all three of us inhabitants having huge bits of luggage. But the time zoomed past and it was great moving through Germany, Poland, not so great going through Belarus but that is a personal thing of mine, then on through Russia and arriving at Moscow Bellorussky station at 11am yesterday. I am now 2 hours ahead of the UK. From now on I am entering time zone hell, as it changes every hour on the trans siberian.

One thing I will not be doing again is forgetting to take water and money on the train. I stocked up on fruit and tea bags in Amsterdam and jumped on the train thinking I was sorted on Friday night. I went to get some cold water and they only sold it in small bottles for E2.90. That cleared out all the money I had - not a good look for a 37 hour train journey. So for the rest of the trip I survived on hot water from the frau attendant's hot water heater. I sneaked in a couple of times ewhen she wasn't there and ran the cold tap and actually got some cold water. It was heaven. But she was one stout and firm russian woman who was taking no nonsense, so I daren't try it again. She had already reprimanded me for using the teaspoon she gave me to stir my tea to eat my pasta with. She walked past as I was eating it and whiped the teaspoon out of my hand, cursing me in cyrillic.