Greetings from Moscow. Map has been updated - Chris, please let me know the exact error in latitude and longitude. Cheers We arrived early yesterday morning, bleary eyed from the overnight train. We shared a cabin with 2 others - a young Russian by the name of Alexander, and a girl from Dublin. What was remarkable about young Alex was his timid and peaceful nature before we all turned in for the night. Alas, come the midnight hour and he metamorphasised into coughing Bob Fleming from the Fast Show. Truly, from about 00.00 till roughly 04.00, he sounded like he had been weaned on to 20 Bensons (cigartettes) a day as soon as he was out of the pram. Apparently when asked this is most common andn all Russians cough! So, to add to the previous list of things which can keep you awake on an overnight train, I now present you with: i) coughing Russians ii) windows which refuse to shut properly We are still very much enjoying travelling around by overnight train. Moscow. A very interesting city, quite different to St P in the way it sprawls, has obviously grown rather than been planned, has a diverse range of not always attractive architecture, less attractive looking people, lots of reminders / memorials of the soviet era. Travelling by Metro now a neccessity, as our hotel is about 20 minutes away from city centre by tube. We have been in the Kremlin, pounded Red Square, toured the city and taken some photos of the magnificent tube system (trust me, the guide books recommend this...). One startling similarity to St P is the number of bridal parties.... we saw several stretch wedding limos today on the bridge , in red square, in front of teh kremlin, in front of some authoritarian looking statues (complete with entwined wedding rings and plastic flowers on the roof). Perhaps this is a very lucky week to get married, it doesn't seem normal for there to be this many otherwise. Best bridal photo shoot so far was yesterdays. Which was inside a shopping centre. Every girls dream, hmm? There is a great invention which Russians have to promote recxycling. You put your can into a machine, and if the green grasshopper lights up to say your can is OK, you receieve 10 kopeks (about 0.2p). Unfortuantely we coudl not get it to work. However, we found some drunks filling one merrily and so we stopped from a distance to watch them at work. Don't believe what anyone might tell you about Russian music. This morning Duran Duran's 'View To A Kill' was being piped out on the street from a car showroom at very high volume. All good by me... 8,000 pedestrains a year die on Moscow's streets. Believe me that we have become more cautious since we found that out (they drive 'at' you sometimes, even on crossings....) A sobering, but most interesting walking tour this morning focussed on the communist era and its legacy. This is a country which is still struggling to come to terms with what has happened in the past and where they want to go in the future (in my opinion). Haz - Baltica and Neveskoe are both fine lagers, sharing many of the key characteristics of my favourtite kings of beer. I would rate at 5 out of 5, I think. Tonight we are hoping to have a bottle of Russian champagne with our dinner. We have seen it in the shops for 3 pounds, it's supposed to be most excellent. Tomorrow afternoon we catch a 2 day train to Ekaterinberg. Hopefully no coughing Russians in the carriage! But we have bought a bottle of Vodka - just in case!