A LONG WAY FROM HOME - Tom in Moscow

Yes, that is Tom in Red Square. The former center of the USSR and the communist empire. That is Lenin's Mausoleum over his left shoulder and the large wall is the Kremlin. To his right is St Basil's Cathederal. It was amazing seeing Lenin who was embalmed (essentially mummified) after his death in 1924. He looks great for someone who died 80+ years ago. Behind the mausoleum are the graves of other famous Soviet era leaders including Stalin. It was so interesting to be there considering they were America's mortal enemy not that long ago. Remember the Cold War? Tom was in Moscow for a US-Russia HIV Workshop. More politics than science. Even had a reception in the US Ambassador's residence. Overall, the food was pretty good. The cyrillic alphabet was very confusing. The weather was miserable (rained the whole time). In the end Moscow was a very interesting place to visit.