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Lots of walking going on...
...and it becomes painfully apparent that the athletic shoes bought in Baikonur are foot coverings and not suited for really tough athletic actrivities, such as walking more than a few hundred yards.
I walked from Kamergerskiy to the Pushkin and learned that there was a two-tiered system of entrance fees. Foreigners are expected to cough up 300 rubles (about $12), while locals pay only 60 rubles (~$2.30). Now, normally, I've found such rules are not strictly enforced. The rule about photography at the Gagarin museum in Baikonur, for example, says it costs an additional $12 or so to take photos. And while I'm sure you might end up paying that sum if you do the paparazzi bit in all the rooms, I've seen photos get taken with no comment (or charges) involved. (The same happened to me a trip or two ago at the Borodino museum, with regard to photography.)
Not so today. The hard-featured woman collecting money asked, "Where have you come from?" and though I played with the idea of saying, "To be completely frank, I arrived in Moscow from Baikonur the night before last," the idea occurred to me that I simply wasn't that hungry for culture, so I stepped away from the window. In truth, I think I visited the museum as part of a delegation back in 1999 or so, which - while not a reason not to go again - did somewhat dampen my ardor.
From the museum, I went over to the Christ the Savior cathedral, which is almost across the street. The interior is the kind of place where it is difficult not to look up without your mouth hanging just a little bit open. The artwork is impressive, and I nearly put a kink in my neck trying to wrap my mind around just how the artist who decorated the bottom ring of the cupola was able to manipulate perspective so well (and just what the figures would look like from close up and level with them).
From the cathedral, I walked toward Pushkin Square past the Ministry of Defense building, which sort of reminded me of photos of the J. Edgar Hoover Building in D.C. At Pushkin Square, I stopped to check out the movie times for the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie, and found they didn't suit my tase, so I walked around for a bit until returning to my sister-in-law's.
My ride is supposed to pick me up at 8:15 am tomorrow, which is theoretically plenty of time. However, I need to repack some of my stuff, I think.
Cheers...
I walked from Kamergerskiy to the Pushkin and learned that there was a two-tiered system of entrance fees. Foreigners are expected to cough up 300 rubles (about $12), while locals pay only 60 rubles (~$2.30). Now, normally, I've found such rules are not strictly enforced. The rule about photography at the Gagarin museum in Baikonur, for example, says it costs an additional $12 or so to take photos. And while I'm sure you might end up paying that sum if you do the paparazzi bit in all the rooms, I've seen photos get taken with no comment (or charges) involved. (The same happened to me a trip or two ago at the Borodino museum, with regard to photography.)
Not so today. The hard-featured woman collecting money asked, "Where have you come from?" and though I played with the idea of saying, "To be completely frank, I arrived in Moscow from Baikonur the night before last," the idea occurred to me that I simply wasn't that hungry for culture, so I stepped away from the window. In truth, I think I visited the museum as part of a delegation back in 1999 or so, which - while not a reason not to go again - did somewhat dampen my ardor.
From the museum, I went over to the Christ the Savior cathedral, which is almost across the street. The interior is the kind of place where it is difficult not to look up without your mouth hanging just a little bit open. The artwork is impressive, and I nearly put a kink in my neck trying to wrap my mind around just how the artist who decorated the bottom ring of the cupola was able to manipulate perspective so well (and just what the figures would look like from close up and level with them).
From the cathedral, I walked toward Pushkin Square past the Ministry of Defense building, which sort of reminded me of photos of the J. Edgar Hoover Building in D.C. At Pushkin Square, I stopped to check out the movie times for the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie, and found they didn't suit my tase, so I walked around for a bit until returning to my sister-in-law's.
My ride is supposed to pick me up at 8:15 am tomorrow, which is theoretically plenty of time. However, I need to repack some of my stuff, I think.
Cheers...