May 4, 2008 - Around The World, Day 9 - Moscow

We hang out at the less-than-organized Delhi airport and catch our flight to Russia.
First Russian lesson: This actually spells Aeroflot. They have a different alphabet, but it is a simple replacement for many letters.

On board, Jill enjoys her lie-flat seat.
We actually get some pretty good sleep on the flight!

Welcome to Moscow.

We land early in the morning, check in, then start the tour.
This is one of the Seven Sisters, a series of buildings that Stalin commissioned to rival modern cities of the west, though they serve a variety of functions.

Sister #2 - soon to be a Hilton.
Our guide will be servicing the Hilton family during their stay for the opening.

Izmailovsky Market, paying homage to Russian tradition and modern capitalism.

Inside is the Vodka Museum, where we have a tour and a tasting.

On the left is a honey vodka inn a Matryoshka bottle, then a straight-forward vodka, finally a pepper flavored one.
The honey one was best.

A display of vodka bottles from all over the world.

Mock-up of a monk sampling a much weaker, traditional version of vodka.

Model of the original Kremlin.
Originally, it was wooden, but it kept burning. They eventually replaced it with a brick and stone version.

This is what Red Square was like for a while...

Cool, eh?

We meander through the shops in the complex.

Jill finds a Matt Stafford matryoshka doll.

Inside are other players.

Jill and our handler, Olga.

Cool church.

Red square-styled playground.

One of the other sisters - Moscow University, up on a hill overlooking the city.

We see a very, very inebriated bride and groom celebrating their wedding at the overlook.

Here is the panorama of the city...

Other than the smokestacks, the taller buildings are the Sisters.

Where the Champions League (soccer) cup would be decided a few weeks later. (Manchester United won.)

The rest of the city, with the Moscow River in the foreground.

Close-up of the city.