Paris-Beijing Experience E-Class Day 2 of Leg II

Paris-Beijing Experience E-Class Day 2 of Leg II

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Sunday, 29 October 2006, Moscow – We wake up groggily from a long sleep the previous night, have breakfast, and check out of the grand Kempinski Hotel in Moscow. I step out into the open, and my wish has come true! It is snowing! Not a lot, and the landscape is still pretty normal, but you can see the soap-flakes coming down. Already, we can see the snow on the bonnet tops of the service cars parked outside, and it is a freezing minus 2 degrees.

What is a visit to Moscow without seeing the Kremlin? So it was into five buses, specially arranged for the occasion, that we all packed ourselves into, and we took the five-minute bus ride to our destination, which was just situated on the opposite side of the river. The word ‘kremlin’, we learnt, was the Russian word for fortress. The Kremlin in Moscow is not only the seat of government in Moscow, but it is also the oldest part of the city, a historical stronghold built in 1156 as an 8-metre-high earth wall. Moscow itself grew around the triangular space of the Kremlin. Over the course of the centuries, the Kremlin frequently suffered extensive damage, and has been rebuilt countless times. In 1571, the Crimean Tatars all but destroyed it, and the Poles came by in 1610. Napoleon also did some damage in 1812. Each time, the complex was repaired and extended. Since the 17th Century, the Kremlin, originally used for defensive purposes, has been increasingly used for representation. Also located on the 280,000 square metre site are splendid palaces, including the Senate Palace of the President, and the Armoury, with one of the most beautiful collections of jewelry in the world, as well as several towers and cathedrals.

Inside the Kremlin, we were shown around by a guide, but were only allowed to go along a fixed path. Guards armed with whistles make sure no one strays out of this guided path, and if you don’t obey, other guards with machine guns show up to give you some encouragement.

Two interesting sights there reminded me of Malaysia; there, we saw the world’s largest cannon, and the world’s largest bell. Both were built because one of the Czars wanted to get into what must have been the then version of the Guinness Book of World records. The cannon has never been fired; if you look at the size of the gun, and the size of the cannon balls, you will understand why. Neither has the bell ever rung, because it is just too big to be lifted. It probably was cast on site, and left there; but a bell it is, and it is made of bronze; must be quite a few tons in it.

After the tour of the Kremlin, we took another short bus ride (actually we just went from one side of the Kremlin to the other side, where the most famous landmark of Moscow is located, the red square, with its famous cathedral as the backdrop.

At 9.00 am, we resumed our journey to Nizhny Novgorod, a distance of 424 kilometres. After a little side tracking in Moscow on account of a tulip that was not too clear, we got on to the M7 highway, and it was basically a straight run once we got onto the highway, all the way to our destination.

It snowed and rained almost all of the way, and although most of the route was on the highway, it was the heavy traffic again that was bothersome. As usual, the police were very vigilant, probably having been warned in advance that 36 Mercedes E-Classes were going to pass through their territory.

Along the way, there was an optional detour into the city of Vladimir, which we took. The detour took us to a very old church in Vladimir, but it was very cold outside, and I just took a few pictures of it before running for the warmth of the car. The Mercedes cars created quite a stir amongst the locals, and some of them started taking out their handphone cameras to take pictures of themselves. Some sort of conversation was struck up between our group of drivers and the locals, but it was hard going. Most of them couldn’t understand English, and none of us could speak Russian. One or two could speak a little English, but it was hard going; finally we just shook hands, smiled at everybody, and took pictures with them. I now know a motoring journalist is called an ‘auto kritic’ in Russian, ‘Nyet’ means no, and ‘Da’ means yes.

It was around 5.00 pm in the evening that we arrived at our destination for the day, Nizhny Novgorod. It was already dark by then, and again, it was straight to dinner, and a shower before going to bed like a good boy. Tomorrow, we will be taking another 400-kilometre drive to Kazan, the Muslim centre of Russia.


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