Moscow: The First Day

On Sunday, June 24, Katya and I flew from Seoul to Moscow, a 9 hour flight.  The Korean women working at the check-in counter were friendly, polite and helpful.  The flight attendants on Aeroflot were a bit surly and bossy.  When we requested sodas from the drink cart, they gave us each a can and an empty cup.  I asked for ice, and, rolling her eyes, one of the attendants went to first class to get some for me.  What a change from the treatment we received in Japan and Korea, where everyone is respectful and strives to do her or his best to provide excellent service!  Nevertheless, the flight was uneventful, despite the fact the pilot never turned off the seat belt sign.  After a couple of hours, we learned to ignore this just like the other passengers, more experienced than us, I guess, had already been doing.

We arrived at the airport in Moscow and cleared immigration and customs with no problems, though the officials, unlike those in East Asia, did not greet us warmly and welcome us to their country.  Katya has entered on her Kazakhstan passport, as a citizen of a former republic of the USSR; this allowed us to avoid paying almost $200 in fees for a visa for her, as we had to do for the rest of us. 
Peter and Matthew were waiting for us outside of customs; the had arrived about an hour and a half earlier after a very long trip involving a direct flight from Los Angeles, preceded by a long lay-over at LAX after a short flight from Sacramento.

St. Basil's Cathedral

Men approached us about getting a taxi.  Taxis are not metered, and you have to negotiate the price.  We ended up probably paying too much for a speedy ride into the heart of the city.  Our hotel, the Assambleya Nikitskaya, is very nice, and the receptionist was quite friendly and helpful!  We reserved two rooms, and the space and privacy have been nice.  We are located only a few blocks from the Kremlin and Red Square, which has proved to be quite convenient.  After the guys had a quick nap, we set out to explore and find dinner.   At the end of our street we turned right, and it was just a couple blocks to Red Square, which we entered through the Resurrection Gate.  The Kremlin is quite imposing, even from outside the walls.  GUM, on the east side of Red Square, is an enormous building flanking an entire side of Red Square.  The former Department Store of the State, is now an upscale shopping arcade with international brands.  On the far side of Red Square loomed the confection-like towers and domes of St. Basil's Cathedral.  The brightly colored, turban-like domes, nine in all, soar into the sky above the connected chapels which make up the cathedrals.  We strolled down to the Moscow River, sighting Christ the Savior's glowing gold domes in the near distance.  Tour boat were heading up and down the waterway in succession.  We walked all the way around the Kremlin walls and then set out to find dinner.  We eschewed McDonald's; we were hoping for local food.  We have found that in Moscow, international fare seems to predominate.  We finally settled on the Viet Cafe, in the basement of a building close to our hotel.  We walked in to a serene space with a large fish tank.  At many tables, people were using large, ornate hookas to smoke tobacco.  We just ordered food, which was delicious and filling.  By now, it was sometime in the middle of the night in the time zones we had come from, so we collapsed into our comfortable beds for a good rest.