We’re leaving Moscow today, heading for Berlin and the Western World as we know it. Russia feels more Eurasian and part of the Asian Continent than Europe in many ways. It has been a fascinating foray into the Russian culture, environment, and history.

I am posting a few miscellaneous views of Moscow from the Kremlin Armoury and from on our last day here. Gee Kin has finally mastered his fourth word, uttering Hello! and Good bye! in one conversation. We are now aware of what it takes for foreigners to say “Ni Hao!” in Chinese, and the tables are turned. I am sure the Russians are wincing as we did when others spoke to us in elementary Chinese greetings.

Photos, above:
1. View of State Historical Museum, where some of the relics below are located.
2. GUM Department Store, a shining example of restored buildings in Moscow Center
3. View of Red Square from shopping street

Photos below, from inside the State Historical Museum:

We are sad to leave and feel woefully lacking in knowledge about any of Russia’s cultural treasures. Other than what we read in the local paper or magazine articles, we never pursued any information beyond the information we were fed. I suddenly discovered Wikipedia and Biography.com on this trip and have been using it regularly to search for all the Russian writers and composers that have been mentioned in guides.

I am passing a few on for those of you who are also curious: For Tsaichovsky:
http://www.biography.com/people/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky-9503375#synopsis
It is interesting to note that Tsaichovsky was also a music critic. While he considered Beethoven a worthy composer, he was critical of Brahms, Schumann and Wagner. Anna Netrebko often sings in and promotes Tsaichovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” opera around the world.
For Pushkin: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Pushkin
For Borodin (remember “Stranger in Paradise” from Kismet?):
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Borodin
Dostoyevsky:https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fyodor_Dostoyevsky
Prokofiev: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Prokofiev
I asked our guide about Baryshnikov. He made a face as if I mentioned a pariah. He is a persona non-gratis. Remember, he defected while on tour with the Bolshoi? Oops. No monuments to him, unfortunately.

The next chapter of my travels will focus on Germany, Austria and Switzerland until the end of the month. Now that the uncharted portion of my trip is over, I’ll be posting every few days instead of daily. If you are getting too many emails, you can adjust your settings to unsubscribe, and you can always check in after that by going directly to http://www.travelswithmyselfandothers.com. Please continue to send me your comments when something strikes you! I love hearing from you!