What?! The Red Square is CLOSED?!

Day 10, June 12^th, 2012: Kislovodsk to Moscow

I didn’t really get to spend much time in Moscow on the way over, so I was very excited to have one day on this side of the trip. Even better, today was the Russia National Day! I landed in Moscow and headed straight into the center of the city to explore. My first stop: the Red Square. After struggling a little with the metro stops (Russians do use a different alphabet, after all…), I made it to the right stop…only to find fences surrounding all entrances to the Red Square. Apparently, there was a concert going on to celebrate the National Day. I was crushed. No Red Square! How can someone go to Moscow and NOT see the Red Square. It was a travesty.

I met up with my expedition buddies Laura, Chad, and Steph for dinner at their hostel. We reminisced and laughed and had a blast trying some local Russian cuisine.

Still simmering about my failure to see the Red Square earlier in the day, I decided to go on a late-night adventure and see if the square had been opened up. As we arrived at the perimeter of the square, the crowds began pouring out and I realized that we had arrived at the perfect time. We snuck in and I got to see the Red Square! Wow…what a huge place. Though Basil’s Cathedral is not nearly as large as I had expected it to be. (The Kremlin is though…)

We headed back after that so I could sleep. I do fly back to the US tomorrow after all!