From the Capital of the Largest Country in the World

It's getting cold in Moscow; past the half way mark of Autumn and the first flurries of snow wisp around. Its not quite cold enough to settle on the ground.

It's getting dark in Moscow. The sun doesn't wake up early and it's tucked up in bed by 6. It's got no strength during the day.

It's so busy here. The metro carries nine million people each day, and we are three of them. The trains rattle in fast and stop suddenly. The doors slam shut as the last people scurry to avoid having their jackets jammed in the door.

Moscow is an adventure. Mike calls it a wild horse without a jockey and we think he's right. The cars stop for no one and no other car. The dingy dirty soviet Lada cars make way for the shiny, black Mercedes. I'm not sure what's behind those tinted windows, but I wouldn't discount a big guy with a big gun. Something automatic with silencer. Moscow has more millionaires than anywhere in the world.

Moscow has the Kremlin and Red Square. Neither of them are quite right. Each of the main buildings is just a little too far away from the next for a truly magnificent aura. But generally, the buildings in the city are nicer than the expected Soviet monstronsities, and it is easy to see why the people from Ekaterinburg think it is a beautiful city - everything's nice compared to their concrete squares. Police and uniformed army personnel are everywhere. Some openly carry automatic rifles, but most don't.

I'm here with Georgie and her cousin Mike, and we've soaked up a bit of what Moscow has to offer. Today, on our last day here, we found our way into the GULAG museum, a collection of pictures, documents and newspaper clippings from the period of the soviet concentration camps. It's tucked away off a busy street of designer shops, and attracts little attention. It's small... more than lip service but the russians still have some work to do.

Tonight we board a train in the 3rd class section; 9 hours should get us to St Petersburg. We have beds but the environment is quite communal, and vodka may replace sleep. Time will tell.

Until St Petersburg....