On our last day in Moscow it was difficult to decide what to do, because there was just so much and so little time.

We started the morning back at the wonderful buffet, where the hot chocolate was waiting and the bread was still delicious. This time I didn’t leave my wallet and managed to get a blini (crepe, in other countries), and it was a success all around. Afterwards a group decided to take advantage of the nearby and, according to our guide, cheapest souvenir market in the city. It was just getting started as we arrived around 10, so the selection was perhaps smaller than it would be otherwise, and at the beginning of the day bargaining is probably not at its highest. Still, the usual haggling ended quite well on multiple occasions, and it was a pretty profitable morning for all; many presents were purchased. More excitingly for me, on the way out of the souvenir market a few vendors were set up with more standard fare, including fake designer bags and shoes. Now, at the gypsy market in St. Petersburg I had spent about two hours trying to find shoes, without any luck due to the large size of my feet (apparently Russian women don’t go about about a size 8). Feeling clown-footed and man-like, I had eventually departed. But here, in Moscow, they had shoes, and they had shoes my size. So I bought a pair that were really about half the price of average shoes at the market in St Petersburg and were satisfyingly black and shiny, and thus very Russian. A bag to match, so I now epitomize Russian style. Well, a certain kind, anyway.

After the market it was time to check out of the hotel, leaving our bags there in their secure room. Then it was time for our group of students to fragment into little bits and pieces and scatter all over the city. Ashley and I headed to the Metro and out to the Rublev Monastery, built on what used to be the outside of the city and which is now the edge of the inter-city. They have the largest collection of Russian medieval art (read: icons), and it was a beautiful exhibition space, inside (I believe) one of the old residences, all white-washed inside and bright from the sunshine filtering in through the windows to fall on the old wooden floor. The monastery was named after an old monk whose famous frescoes used to cover the inside of the church in the middle of the grounds, but which was utterly destroyed by the Soviets. Not a single of his frescoes remain, but the museum was founded by the State, perhaps in an attempt to right the wrong. It was a really lovely place overall, outside of the striking icons, and inside the complex people were walking or sitting with their baby carriages, enjoying it like it was an average park. It was wonderful to see people able to enjoy a historical place in such a comfortable and unassuming way; the church inside the monastery also still functions.

On a side note, something else that struck me in Moscow was the price of bread. Bread is State-supported and probably cheaper everywhere than most other products, but in Moscow for some reason bread and ‘bakeries’ (stalls) with bread-like things are everywhere. They seem especially abundant in the underground halls were markets are set up, usually between metro stops, and fill the area with wonderful aromas. The markets themselves attest to how cold it must get in Moscow; I believe they’re relatively permanent, and sell all sorts of things, from perfume to scarves to magazines, underwear and snacks. Its very exciting to descend into Metro stations or into under-street corridors and see what you can find.

After leaving the church we headed by metro to the ‘Art Park’ outside the Trybuadev Gallery, a park full of sculpture. On our way we accidentally stumbled upon the underground art market that lives in the passage going under the street right between the Tribuedev Gallery and the Park (??). There’s a similar market on Nevsky Prospekt in SP, but that one is in the open air. It really was like finding a secret treasure (in Russian ‘klad’). We emerged on the Gallery side of street feeling very accomplished, and paid our ten roubles (about 40 cents) to enter the Art Park. Part of this Park, and the part we saw first, is the ‘Park of Fallen Idols’, consisting of statues of old leaders, in this case mainly Lenin and Stalin. These statues were removed from their original places and discarded, eventually finding their way to the Park. It was interesting and a little creepy to walk among so many busts of old Communists; the Stalin with a broken nose was probably my favorite. There was also an arresting Holocaust memorial nearby, a mass of broken-off heads encased in a cage-like structure and topped by barbed wire and search lights. It managed to get down to the most ghastly part of the concentration camps, somehow, and was chilling.

Our walk took us among and past much interesting statuary, which I will try and find some pictures of. We stopped for a very civilized tea break in the middle of the garden; I love that one can do that here, since tea is everywhere, always relatively cheap, and always tasty. There was even an open air ‘tea garden’, but it was not open due, no doubt, to the season. The Art Park must be stunning in summer, when the tea garden is open and there are shows playing at the open-air theater. It was beautiful in autumn, but its hard not to assume that it would be at its full glory when the weather is warm enough to stroll. We also sat in a gigantic love seat swing, watched a sculptor at work, and draped wreaths over statues before scampering away. Overall it was a very, very enjoyable outing and again, if you happen to be in Moscow, the Art Park is certainly a must.

Our evening ended at the Bugalkov house, where Ashley had been intending to go the entire time and where we had accidentally walked past our first night down town. Bulgalkov was famous for his underground novels, particularly The Master and Marguerita. The house is actually the supposed Devil's house in the novel, and currently concerts and things are held there as well. As you might have guessed, I don't really know much about it but Ashley was very excited and there were a couple really adorable cats around.

Finally, we returned to the hotel, grabbed our bags and set off for St. Petersburg. On the way back Jane and I stayed in a cabin with two very friendly Russian ladies, and slept pretty much the entire time, to emerge into a drizzly but somehow colorful St. Petersburg, and with about 8 hours to go before my flight to Berlin.