As part of a two-week journey to climb Mt. Blanc, Mt. Elbrus, and Run with the Bulls we spent a night in Moscow on the way to Pamplona.
June 10
We began the day in Cheget, Russia after our Elbrus climb and took a four hour taxi to Mineralnye Vody. Our flight to Moscow was smooth and we arrived at Sheremetyevo airport by 3pm. We set our bags down in our room at the Skypoint Hotel and took the Aeroexpress train into town. The train lets out at the Belarussky Station on the edge of Moscow. From there we had to take the Metro subway system to Red Square. The subway system in Moscow is a beautiful work of art with marble archways and statues throughout. All of the signs are in Cyrillic so we stood around for a good 15 minutes trying to figure out which train to take. A fellow American walked up to us in front of the subway map and said, “Are you guys lost too?” We all spent some time trying to decipher the hieroglyphics until Taylor found the train we needed to ride. Fortunately he was right.
As soon as we arrived at Red Square we went straight to the underground mall to eat at a Russian Sbarro’s. After dinner we walked around the entire perimeter of the Kremlin, and then we enjoyed the views from the center of the square. After taking some obligatory pictures of St. Basil’s Cathedral we headed to the extremely upscale government mall. We got a bottle of water and did some window shopping before heading back to the hotel. Our hotel was an hour away via Metro and train but it was right next door to the airport which was convenient for out 7:50am flight to Madrid in the morning.
June 11
After a good night’s rest in Moscow, we are now in transit to Pamplona, Spain for the Running of the Bulls. The festival runs for two weeks and the bull run starts at 8am each morning. Taylor and I will join in the run tomorrow morning on Friday the 12th. After that we will be on our way back home on the 13th.
I love that you ate at Sbarro in Moscow. After the beef spine soup you didn’t take any chances with more Russian cuisine! Ha! Run fast in Pamplona!!!
love,
Mom
Gmorning Parker!
Thanks for another fantastic adventure account! Mt Elbus sounds beautiful, however the launch site from the barrels does seem pretty rustic, and with the dirtiest toilet in the world would definitely have me looking for a convenient hole in a glacier to take care of business!
I imagine that with the time change you may have already run with the bulls! I have sure been praying for you and Taylor on your epic adventure, and awoke at 3:30am today praying and wondering how hectic and chaotic Pamplona must be, and the adrenalin filled excitement of hitting the ground running with bulls in close persuit! I look forward to your update on y’all’s run with the bulls- you were always quite the fast sprinter!
Love!
Dad
Looking for release of final chapters of seven summits trilogy. There are three possible endings to your adventure today: culled from the crowd and denied access, once again a flawless execution but still delirious and celebrating with the masses, squashed, flattened like pancakes and search and rescue looking for missing body parts. Update?
This trip has been the only time I welcome your text “dings” in the middle of the night ! Rejoice with each msg of “we made it:”, “success”.
so proud of you & Parker to realize your dreams.
now you have me seriously rethinking Kilimanjaro
cant wait for your next phone call to hear what really happened with the bulls !
love you XXXXX
Momma
Moscow is an adventure in itself. I spent a few weeks there enjoying the culture, the people, the love of my life. Awesome to see you do things most people only dream of doing. The coming years from now you will have wonderful memories and stories to tell everyone.