Sleeping and drinking beer

Where do I start?
I went back to the Kremlin on Saturday morning and low and behold it was still shut. No wait, I need to go back to Friday night, so there I was minding my own business reading my book in the lobby of the hotel when in walk about 50 guys and girls in kilts, and bagpipes and the whole shebang. I was like, what's in the beer in Moscow. So I plucked up the courage and went over and asked one of them what they were doing. It turned out that they were an Australian, Scots-Irish bagpipe band playing at a millitary tattoo in the Kremlin, hence the Kremlin was closed. But they said that it should be open on Saturday.
Well the Kremlin was still shut on Saturday, I wandered around and found the most beautiful department store I have ever seen, I got some over priced warm clothes for Siberia, and then just wandered for a couple of hours. I headed back to the train station, having mastered the Moscow underground. Easy peasy. I found out afterwards to my horror that the Kremlin was closed because there was an Elton John concert on, I mean in all fairness if you are going to fuck up my trip to moscow at least do it with a bit of good taste!
The train station was full of various forms of dodgy looking people and filled with soft drink fridges that I couldn't open. I appeared that it was compulsary to drink beer, but I wanted a totally clear head for the train journey. I was a bit freaked out. Had a long conversation with myself about whether or not i was being racist, decided, well maybe a little but also just being scared shitless of doing something like this on my own.
When I boarded the train it turned out that I was sharing my compartment with a lovely (boring only non-smoking non-drinking) Russian couple, Marina and Alexandra, She could speak good English, he could scowl. She is a scientist in the armary here in Ekateringrad. Between her little e
English and my phrase book we got on okay although at one point she pointed at me and said pretty, I was a little freaked. I've been kind of obsessed with serial killers since I got here. In the end I think she mean the scenary. It was great, and so much better than meeting up with other tourists. We all agreed that George Bush is a durat, which is the Russian word for fool.
Each train carriage is looked after my a stern looking Russian lady who keeping everything in line, the toilets clean and a fresh supply of hot water and blankets. We also were supplied with china cups and an china tea pot out of which to have our tea or coffee. It was surreal. Kind of posh in a delapadated kind of way. We also got served, meat with rice or meat with pasta, the meat with pasta turned out to be salmon and it was lovely.
I was a little disappointed with the scenary, there were lots of forests and lots and lots of little wooden houses with the weirdest looking green smoke coming out of their chimneys. There are two routes to Ekaterinburg from Moscow, i think if I had taken the other one I would have seen more sights, although the guide book said spectacular sights of the Urals, I didn't really see any, or maybe Ireland has me spoiled. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yekaterinburg
I arrived here at about 9 last night, I was hungry and thirsty. I am staying in this quant bed and breakfast kind of place, so there was no dinner. I wandered out and found a supermarket and got some cheese, chicken ( at least I think it was chicken) and some beer and bread, for less than 6eur. I made myself and little feast.
I crossed over the Europe Asia border about 40Km from here, I am vertically above Kazakstan and Afghanistan ( but it's safe). This city was closed to all forgieners until 1990 due to the industrial nature of the work done here, it's where they build all the bombs etc. It is also the home town of Boris Yeltsin! Another person apposed to the Shannon stop over as i remember. This is also the area where the U2 spy plane was shot down in the 1960s.
When I go off the train I was met by a representative of the travel company, a girl called Marina who had word perfect English and was all too willing to show it off. She told me that someday she would like to visit the European union, especially Amsterdam, she said she had friends there who are waitresses and earn lots of money. I couldn't help but think of the ladies in the windows in the red light district. I just smiled. She liked history also, but wanted to be a go go dancer, as she liked house rave music and ecstasy and getting fucked. It was one of the strangest conversations I have had with a stranger ever. And it was only about 7 minutes.
Today I visited the site where the Czar and his family was murdered. They have a big church, and a museum. Ironically now the Romanovs are also revered as saints by the Russian people. I then also saw the Afghanistan war memorial, it was very moving.
I here until the early hours of Wednesday morning and then I catch a 2 day train ride to Irkusk at the shores of Lake Baikal. Am looking forward to that, it should be one of the highlights of the trip!