Sunday 21st February
After last night’s interruptions it was an opportunity to sleep in. For one of us it was 10:45 a.m. local time when he was greeted with a cup of Russian coffee in its official Russian railway cupholder.
The journey continued through the taiga to Moscow.
En route we saw small hamlets and isolated farms surrounded by a vast snow covered landscape. The temperature was falling and by midday was below zero, but at least the sun was shining.
We stopped at Smolensk and Vyazma. Close to this town is the village where Yuri Gagarin (first man in space) was born. After his death the village was renamed Gagarin.
After crossing the Moscow River we arrived five minutes early. Pretty good for four days on trains!
A rapid taxi drive saw us eating dinner overlooking the Kremlin at 5:00 p.m.
Later we went ‘walk about’ to see the Red Square and what appeared to be a UK style Christmas market without Santa but complete with Christmas trees, drinks and gifts. What a way to end the first part of the circumnavigation!
The temperature forecast on the television was proved to be correct as we returned to the hotel.
