Russia was much more organised and western like then central asia. We especially loved the fantastic rusian chocolate.

The city gives you really the feeling that this is the centre of a vast country. The Kreml, the red square and the centre are magnificant and of course the Metro is undoubtedly the most splendid we have ever seen. With its sculptures, paintings and golden lamps it seems sometimes much more like a opera or museeums lobby than a metro.
Unfortunately Moscows inhabitants had not been so magnificent in fact not even be very friendly. May it be the encounter at the railway ticket office or at the Intertourist reception, harsh and unpolite manners are something that we will associate with the people of Moscow. Another neagative aspect are the high prices in Moscow, even by western standards. Entry fees like 10 EURO for the Kreml Museeum + 15 Euro for a compulsory guide or virtually no backpackers hostels, (we paid 30USD per night!) make it more expensive than Berlin. Everything seems way beyond a cyclists or backpackers budget. We nonetheless had a fantastic time, before we got on to Riga - Latvia

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