Day 16: Is your face in the book?

MOSCOW — Cue Alex, the enthusiastic Russian man that told me Alaska was basically Russia, when he wanted to contact Kristina via social media: 

"Is your face in the book?"

At least this was Kristina's explanation for the friend request I got from a dapper, white-suit-wearing fella. Yes, she told him, our faces are in the book. 

Thus began our final day in the Russian capital. We had to check out of the hostel that morning, but our train wasn't until after 10 that night. This left us lugging backpacks around the city for 12 hours. We set a reasonable site-seeing goal — a walking tour of Prospect Mir — followed by a B-line for the city's oldest bathhouse. 

Before I share some of the lovely pictures from Prospect Mir — an area of the city celebrating Russia's space program and the former Soviet republics, among other things, I share with you the most romantic moment ever:

Now, you might think it's super creepy that we captured this on film. Definitely none of our business. BUT, it was a public area, and we had been inundated with romantic scenes our entire trip. We saw at least one wedding — usually more — every single day that we weren't on the train. It was hard to tell why we were seeing couples everywhere, was it because Kristina missed her husband and I am perpetually single? Or were these foreign countries really under siege by love?

Mostly these displays of coupledom make me vomit in my mouth a little. Am I jealous or simply a romance-Scrooge? Who knows. But even I could not resist the "aww-sweet" reaction this adorable, if not slightly inappropriate, couple inspired. Thankfully it passed quickly, but Kristina humored me and took the pictures anyway. 

The rest of the sites included a variety of impressive constructions. I can't pretend to know the in-depth history of these places, but I walk, I look, I try to take in what I can. 

Massive sculputure dedicated to the Russian space program and its cosmonauts. 

Kristina's picture of me taking a picture of something with Lenin in front of it. (I know. My factual knowledge of my surroundings is incredible.)

The friendship of nations fountain. Each golden statue represents one of the former Soviet Republics.

Then there's this. Which makes perfect sense. 

 Near.

                                                                      Far.

Just to give you an idea of this building's rooftop statue size, look at the size of the small glass doors at the bottom. 

What I love about Russian public areas like Prospect Mir (which was also true in many places in China) is the music often pumped through speakers placed strategically throughout the park. A variety of classical melodies hum through tree canopies and echo off statuary, adding infinitely to the outdoor atmosphere. But, imagine our surprise when we hear none other than the American National Anthem come up on the play list. In a park dedicated to the grandeur of Russian history, it seemed a little off, but also pretty cool.

How a person feels after a day of site-seeing with a backpack on. 

After several hours it was time to hoof it back to the metro and then the city center, to locate the Sanduny bathhouse. The public bathhouse, though dubbed by Alex not a "real" bathhouse, like you'd find in Siberia, has been hosting sweat and social time for Moscow locals and visitors since the 19th century. 

Men's entrance. (Via Trip Advisor.)

Much like I remembered from my visit here in January of 2005, the men's and women's entrances are about a block apart. From the pictures online, I get the sense that they saved the fancy decor for the dudes, though the women's bath was, of course, extraordinary.

We stayed for four hours. Alternating between the lounge, the excruciating steam room, the cold pool, and the showers. I don't know how much it cost to have a naked Russian woman beat every inch of my inflamed skin with birch branches, but I'm definitely going to do it next time. With my once-a-decade visit to Moscow tradition, I should be brave enough for the branch by the age of 39. 

We did, however, sign up for massages in the third floor spa, a dimly lit area, plushly carpeted and staffed by Thai massage therapists. Though we both requested the basic one-hour back massage, we ended up with drastically different experiences. Kristina got a one-hour foot and calf massage sandwiched by a tea service at the beginning and end. I got a full-body essential oil massage by an athletic Thai woman that finished the session by using her body to bend my body in a variety of back-cracking, ab-stretching ways. At one point I found myself in a full back bend, naked except underwear, with her in a ball under my back telling me to just relax my body. 

I did my best. It was awesome, and challenged both my flexibility and comfort level. I spent the remaining two hours in the steam haze of the bathhouse, switching between the sauna and ice cold showers until my circulatory rhythm felt like it could power a hydraulic fishing reel. Add to that the natural comraderie and comfort of the women in the bathhouse, and you get an atmosphere I could return to again and again. 

With that, we wandered our way to the train station, ready for our overnight train to St. Petersburg. We could not have picked a better way to end our stay in Moscow. And if I ever need to stay connected to the city, I can always contact my dear friend Alex, whose face is in the book. Thank goodness. 

 A late lunch at a seemingly Alice In Wonderland themed restaurant...