Yekaterinburg to Moscow

Yekaterinburg to Moscow
I am writing this from our hotel room in Moscow .The high temperatures have continued and as you will all have heard on the news there are over 700 fires burning in the forests around Moscow. The smoke from these has now reached a distance of 1000kms east of the capital due to the prevailing winds. For three days we drove through the smoke with very poor visibility and our eyes stinging from the effects. At one point there were fires on either side of the highway. It has made taking pictures difficult. Still one must think of the 40 people who have perished as a result and the 3000 people who have had their houses burnt down. The forests and woodlands of birch and pine in Russia are immense, such a contrast to Mongolia, this must certainly help with air pollution not that you think so when you look out of the window at the moment.
Yekaterinburg was a lovely city with lots of history, especially around the Romanovs. We took a half day guided tour with a lovely English speaking Russian woman visiting a Monastery plus a newly erected Russian Orthodox Cathedral on the site where the Royal family where executed (their original summer house) The area is now known as “Blood Hill”. The pre and post Communist Regime architecture is diametrically opposed. Anything built from 1918 to 1990 is plain, basic and boring with most now being much in need of repair of repainting. The city had a name change during this period to Sverdlovsk, only to be changed back again in 1990. It was originally named after Peter the Greats wife Empress Catherine. Today it has a population of approx 1.3 million, almost the same Auckland, but smaller in geographical size as the housing is high density.
From here we drove to Kazan via Perm, where we only stopped to visit a local market. As this is a total of 1050 kms we stopped overnight in a village. As there were no real camping spots we decided that the safest and nicest place was under the large leafy trees outside the police station. Vic spoke to the sergeant who came out to look at our vehicle, and was given full approval. This then brought the other 6 officers on duty out to look us over as well. Only one spoke good English. We arrived in Kazan at 4.30pm hot, thirsty and smoky, nothing that a swim and a cold beer couldn’t put right. Kazan is in west central Russia situated on the Volga River and east of Moscow, it was founded in 1401, so has lots of history. The city boasts having the Russian Academy of Sciences, ancient Cathedrals, several Monastery’s & Mosques as well as the Russian Islamic University. Both Tolstoy and Lennon attended university here.
Nizhny Novgorod was our next stop and is the 4th largest city in Russia. This was previously known as “Gorky” from 1930-1990, having been founded in 1221 when a stone wall 1.5 km in length was built around the city. Eleven of the original thirteen towers have survived. Cities like this make you feel somewhat insignificant and small.
Moscow. Our entry into Moscow city meant more traffic. Once you get to the outskirts there is a large ring road, as Moggie required an oil change and service after doing 10,000kms since leaving Beijing we headed to the Mercedes truck service centre on the city. Within moments of pulling up outside an amazing new complex we were surrounded by staff including the CEO who immediately greeted us and then rang his colleagues in Germany announcing the arrival of a 1980 Unimog. We were then asked to pose for photos. All this and they had not known we were coming. The royal service continued even to the point of a driver being assigned to take us to our Hotel. The next morning we decided to take a half day tour around the city to get our bearings and decide what to see first. After a lunch of Sushi (the first since leaving NZ) which was fantastic we headed to Red Square and the Kremlin. “WOW” and “WOW” again. We just stood looked around and took a deep breath we thought back to all we had learnt and heard about the Red Square and the Kremlin. We went through the National History Museum and the Diamond Fund (where the Russian crown jewels are kept) before heading back to the hotel via the metro, tired and thirsty, it was now 6.30pm. The next day we headed off again this time to see the State Tretyakov Gallery. This holds 18 & 19th century Russian art, it is huge. As we have decided to stay in Moscow a little longer we have decided that seeing one site a day is a much better idea rather than wear ourselves out especially with the present heat wave continuing and there being so much to see.
Vic’s daughter Julia joined us in Moscow having flown in from Dubai this was her 30th birthday present. We had a great time together and went to a French Renaissance restaurant on our second night to celebrate her milestone in style. Julia left this morning to go to St Petersburg for a couple of days before returning to Dubai on Monday.
Our next blog will cover the rest of our adventures and site seeing in Moscow.