Saddled up 17

Dear family, dear friends and acquaintances,

On Sunday, September 8, after a long train ride, we arrived safely in Moscow.

Just 4 km away from the train station was our nice hostel, small but nice, the room hardly bigger than our tent but fortunately with its own bathroom. For a hostel with many four to six bed rooms, there were too few sanitary facilities and a kitchen that was too small.

We quickly settled in and went straight to the ballet 'Swan Lake'. We had already bought tickets in Volgograd for the last event of a ballet festival. It was a special event because Moscow is famous for ballet and opera. We liked it, it was a beautiful production, but the content could be debated.

We returned late and tired, had a glass of wine and soon fell asleep.

We spent Monday at the train station, unfortunately, to book a train to Berlin; at the Belarusian embassy to get a transit visa for the train. They charge 60 € per person just for passing through. The bus company Ecolines, which occasionally takes bicycles, is the only company that goes to Riga. We arrived at the hostel in the evening, exhausted after cycling more than 30 km through the busy city. We took a break at an Austrian pretzel shop along the way, and in the evening, we treated ourselves to some delicious Russian wine at a wine restaurant.

The traffic in Moscow is quite unique. All main roads, and there are many, are like highways. Cars can race (sometimes over 100 km/h) through the city, there are no traffic lights, some streets have six lanes, and there are hardly any controls. At first, we still rode on the road, but the sidewalks are so wide and used by Russian cyclists, so we did the same.

On Tuesday, we met up with Mary, whom we had met in Astrakhan, and together with her, we tried our luck to get to Germany. With her, we found the bus company and there we got 100 conditions to be able to travel with the bikes and our luggage. But we didn't think long and booked it. The train would have been four times more expensive with the visa, and it would have been just as uncertain as with the bus whether they would take us. Folding bikes wouldn't have been a problem with either option.

After we finally clarified that, we made plans with Mary for a boat trip on the Moskva River on Friday, and then we took a very nice bike ride through Gorky Park. An extraordinarily beautiful, large park, with many creatively designed flower beds, fountains, and attractions for young and old. For example, a drama course, an acrobatics school, painting courses, and learning various musical instruments. To demonstrate what they have learned, there are stages available. Everything is free and accessible to everyone, but you have to register for the special courses. Many sports are free, like slacklining, skateboarding, playgrounds, and various ball games. Of course, there are also roller coasters and other fairground attractions. On almost all lawns, benches, loungers, and adjustable comfortable chairs were set up, so there was the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful flowers and trees in the rest areas. The only thing that was really expensive was drinks, ice cream, and food. So, despite the sunshine, we refrained from having our daily ice cream.

Satisfied, we went shopping and returned to our hostel. In the evening, we cooked again without a microwave, this time using hot plates, and ate comfortably in our small room. Since there was no table and no chairs there, we unpacked our camping utensils, and our room became truly habitable.

The next day, Stephan spent the whole morning booking our tickets online, this time with help from someone at the hostel. It's really not easy to navigate through all these regulations without knowing Russian. Stephan is doing his best, but communication is not going smoothly, mostly because of the pronunciation. I feel sorry for him because I'm not much help in this area, and he has to struggle. It's amazing how few people speak English, so the translator in the phone is often the only option. Anyway, I'm very grateful for Stephan's patience in handling all of this.

Now our onward journey to Riga was clear. And we finally set off to explore the city. First, we cycled along the Moskva River, a wide river that meanders through the city, with beautiful promenades and great cycling paths, many parks and sports facilities. And since the sun was shining, we had a lot of fun cycling - of course against the wind. Finally, we made a little detour to the Kremlin and Red Square and found that it was already impressive in February. But in sunshine, Red Square and the whole city were even more fascinating, the golden domes of the cathedrals were shining, people were smiling, and everything seemed much friendlier.

Stephan never misses a boat trip when a city is located on a river, and it was the same here. Together with Mary, we took a leisurely 2.5-hour boat trip on the Moskva River and looked at everything we already knew from the shore from the perspective of the boat. We all had a lot of fun because we were lucky with the weather.

We invited Mary and her friend Artur to a meal on Saturday to thank them for their help, kindness, and much more. We met at a Georgian restaurant and had a very delicious meal.

A special event on Sunday was our tour of 11 metro stations. With a ticket for 55 cents, we could visit the most beautiful stations underground, going back and forth. You can admire them in the pictures.

In between, we took a little break and went to the cozy Café Pushkin, just like we did in February. Stephan wanted to have dinner at the restaurant, but I talked him out of it because it's not suitable for our budget.

On the way to the metro tour, we also experienced a huge cycling event, at least 20,000 cyclists were coming towards us. The road along the Moskva was closed, and it seemed endless. There shouldn't have been any cars on the road anymore because it seemed like everyone in Moscow was cycling. Unfortunately, that wasn't true because the car traffic was just as heavy as usual.

If it weren't for the crazy traffic, Moscow would be perfect. Most cars in the city are Western, new, fast, and loud, but every now and then, a Ferrari races past and motorcycle riders often have races as well.

The people are friendly, there is a lot to experience, and conquering a city with a bike is fantastic. We no longer ride on the roads, but on the sidewalks like almost all cyclists, and there are quite a few in this city.

Moscow has many faces. There are very different residential areas, from small cozy houses, old beautifully decorated residential blocks, to gigantic residential complexes. But everywhere there is a lot of greenery, many playgrounds, and small sports facilities.

Not only there, but also in many restaurants and cafes, they provide play areas, board games, and coloring pencils for children.

In addition to well-groomed women with injected lips and artificial, super long eyelashes, slim and beautiful, dressed according to Russian taste, there are also many old, sick, poor, and begging people who offer their last belongings on the street. In some places, especially on bridges, there are usually women sitting with flowers and pictures in their hands, depicting people. I think they sit there to draw attention to an accident, a missing person, or a politically persecuted person.

So, wealth (very wealthy) and poverty are very close to each other, unfortunately, reflecting a classic image of a metropolis.

The bus station is 25 km away from the city center, so we had the pleasure of cycling with our bikes and luggage again. It was fun despite the traffic and, of course, the headwind.

With tears in our eyes, a tense stomach, and a heavy heart, we said goodbye to Moscow, to Russia, and to our journey.

For me, it's still hard to imagine being back home. We have experienced so much, seen so much, met great people, packed our bags over and over, set up our tent and comfortable chairs, and now we have to settle down again, get used to being home. It's a strange feeling, but everything will be fine, of course.

Now we are in Riga (Latvia), where we actually didn't want to go. Unfortunately, the weather is so bad, cold and almost constantly raining, that sightseeing the city is not much fun. Of course, we stroll through the fantastic old town, through the market halls, and on Saturday, we will take a guided bike tour. But it's so different from the Central Asian countries, such as Russia. And we have to get used to the very European lifestyle again.

On Monday, we will take the ferry to Travemünde, then to Lübeck, Hamburg, and on September 30, we will be home, if everything goes as planned.

This is the last report of our journey, the rest we will tell orally.

Warm greetings from

Stephan and Corrina