Hey everybody, this is my very first post from a foreign country. So far, the trip is going very well and I am having a great time. The flight over to Moscow was very long, however, there was no one sitting in the 2 seats next to me, so I had them all to myself and I could spread out some. It was really nice considering the flight was about 12 hours long. Despite the extra space, I still had a very hard time sleeping, so getting into Moscow, I was exhausted. Luckily, passport control was far better organized than the last time I was here 7 years ago. Last time, I stood in one spot for 3 hours before the line even started moving! This time the process only took an hour and a half.

I was planning on just checking into my hostel and relaxing on the first night, because I knew I would be exhausted, but that's not what happened. Instead, I ended up go to Gorky Park with an Argentinian guy that was in my dorm room. He was a really cool guy and we ended up hanging out most evenings during my 4 day stay in Moscow. Gorky Park is a large park, that is very similar to Central Park in New York. It has areas for playing different sports, like basketball, volleyball and even table tennis. There were also areas where large foam-like pads were set up so that people could sit or lie down. There was a large fountain, food carts, and even some amusement rides for kids. It's a really cool place to just walk around, or hang out and people watch.

Eventually, we went back to the hostel and ended up hanging out in the kitchen, where I met a bunch of other people. There were two Argentinian girls, a Chinese-American guy, that I actually hung out with pretty much every day in Moscow, the first Argentinian guy, a German girl and several others. So, anyone that might have been worried that I would be alone for my whole trip, well rest assured I have already met a bunch of great people. That is what happens when you stay in hostels. These people were a lot of fun to be around and interesting to talk to. Most evenings we would hang out in the kitchen, while people were cooking dinner.

I should talk about the hostel experience a little bit, since most people don't know much about it and have some misconceptions. First of all, there are no secret murder chambers, as depicted in the movie "Hostel"! Well, at least there haven't been any in any of the places I have stayed! :-) But just like hotels, some are better than others, and some are cleaner than others. Some are extremely nice, while some are very shabby. If you're staying in a hostel, you can't expect it to be like a hotel, as you will probably have to share a room, and bathrooms, but you get a bed to sleep in, usually lockers to put your valuables and in some places, a kitchen to cook your own food. Plus, the front desk workers are usually young locals, that know the area and can tell you where to go and what to see. In Moscow, I stayed in the Apple Hostel and it was a very nice place. It was a little cramped in the rooms, but it was clean, had a large kitchen, free wi-fi and just an overall great atmosphere. Plus, I met some really cool people.

Things, however didn't really start out as smoothly as I would have liked. First of all, I got lost trying to find my hostel on the way back from Gorky Park. I decided to just take it in stride and see the area a little bit. Eventually, I found it. And then despite being exhausted, I had a really hard time sleeping the first night. So, I was up very early the first day. I was tired and still anxious from beginning this trip, but I decided to walk to Red Square anyway. Red Square is a cool place to walk around, however I didn't get the opportunity this time, because they had erected some grandstands in the middle of the square for an international military tattoo. Most of the square was blocked off, but I could still see St. Basil's Cathedral and the Kremlin.

As I was walking around, though, I was starting to get lonely and since my anxiety was still there from starting this trip, I started to question what it is that I was doing. I started to wonder if I could actually do this around the world trip, if I could be gone for as long as I expected to be gone. If I could handle it all! It reminded me about this long-term travel documentary I saw called "A Map for Saturday", where one of the girls interviewed said that she cried the first week of her around the world trip. I wasn't crying or anything, but I was getting those self-doubts about whether I could handle the culture shock and language barriers for such an extended time. Or even if I could handle hostel living for such an extended time. It was my first day there and I was already missing my own bed!!

Luckily, I got over those feelings. It turns out, I just needed to get back into the travel groove, per se. As I haven't been on an international trip in over 3 years, I had to get used to traveling again. It took a few days, but I am much more comfortable now and feeling great about all of this. It did help that I met such great people in the hostel. It tempered my loneliness and hearing their stories also help to inspire me some.

The 4 days in Moscow was a lot of fun and very interesting. I hung out with Jiang, the Chinese-American guy, on most days. We went to the Space Museum, the Kremlin, the University, and many other sites. We always did a lot of walking and so my feet would always hurt when I got back to the hostel. In the evenings, I would take a short nap and then have dinner. Jiang and I had a deal where he would cook dinner and I would so the dishes. He is a cook, so he made some really good food.

Last night and the night before, a bunch of us from the hostel went out to a bar called Papa's Place. It was a cool place with a dance floor, and good mixed drinks. I made sure to order myself a White Russian while there, because why not! Friday night, it was only six of us and we drank and danced and had a really good time. Saturday night, about half the hostel came out, including 2 American girls, one of which was from Green Bay, WI! Again, we had a great time and I didn't get to bed till 6am. Unlike in the States, the bars don't close at 2AM, they close at 6AM, so we didn't actually leave the hostel until about 00:30. Before that we just hung out in the kitchen, taking Vodka shots with some of the Russians living in the hostel.

After getting a few hours of sleep, I got up and packed up my stuff. I was leaving Moscow and would take the train to Vladimir, which is where I am now. This is my first stop on my Trans-Siberian Journey. I am also stopping in Suzdal, Kazan, Yekaterinburg, and Irkutsk before heading into Mongolia. So far, I am having a great time. I am sorry this is a such a long post, but there is a lot of stuff I wanted to write about and I was too busy in Moscow to get a chance to do so. I will try to post more often, but I can't guarantee anything. WiFi connections aren't always very stable around here. Here at the Vladimir Hotel, I had to set up my computer in the bathroom before I found a strong enough signal to get online!!

Anyway, everyone take care and you will hear from me soon!