In the USSR

I flew out of Colombo on Friday the 13th; I'm not really superstitious and any day is a good day to start a holiday. Qatar Airways always have transfers in Doha, probably the least green country I've been through. I arrived at about 11pm after being stuck in a queue of planes over Moscow due to bad weather; fortunately this was the most rain I saw over the next 18 days. The first full day was spent checking out the city and getting a feel for the place. Imposing buildings such as the foreign ministry and symbols of communism abound.

Boat trips are always a good way to see a city whilst avoiding unnecessary leg work. Moscow State University looms above the trees.

This monstrosity is rumoured to be Columbus discovering America but when the Americans turned it down it morphed into Pete the Great much to the disgust of many Muscovites.
I didn't know what this represented when I took the photo but it turned out to be "Alyonka", a particularly tasty Russian chocolate brand. Random information: My mother also has a very similar headscarf.First impressions of Moscow were that it was as developed as any other major European city and the architecture wasn't as brutal as I'd expected.