Russia Trip; the Moscow river tour

Hello again. I still exist, yes. The time has come ((to talk of many things, of shoes and ships and ceiling wax, of cabbages and kings)) for me to upload more about my trip to Russia. As I mentioned before, it was fun. It was wonderful and mind-blowing and fun.
Moscow. Day one.
Well, I say day. Our first full day spent awake in Moscow.
We started off with a quick walking tour of the part of the city between our hostel and the river. What I mean by that is that we took a very indirect route down to a river boat station. Moscow was very alive, but at the same time it was very... it felt very closed down. It was decidedly non-western, which was a very refreshing change. The way the people behave in relation to each other is nice; everyone is polite but no one is outgoing. You don't have to smile if you accidentally make eye contact, it's considered weird to give unnecessarily large amounts of personal space, and it's actually viewed as helpful to push someone in certain situations, like when you're getting on to a crowded metro. The personal space thing is my favorite; in Russia, they walk on sidewalks like they drive. Picture two people walking straight at each other, with enough space for about one and a half people. Now, in America, a score of seconds before a collision would occur, one person might step off the sidewalk (if that's safe) to give the other more room, or both would turn and move out of the way with a good-humored nod or smile. In Russia, it is not uncommon to be mere steps from the other person before any evasive action is taken at all, and then it's not so extreme. Both parties will turn the slightest bit to avoid contact, with no other acknowledgement of the other's existence. It is not rude, it's simply practical. I like that. I like practicality in my interactions with others.
We had to ride the metro on our way to the waterfront, and I will be doing a more thorough post on the Moscow metro system, because I'm pretty sure that if I died right now, I would go there if I qualified for heaven. Suffice to say, it's beautiful. Here's a teaser of what I will later be ranting about ------>

 The river tour is very fun (if a bit cold) because it goes all the way through the city, and on the left side there are views of everything from apartments to old industrial factories to the Kremlin (pictured, left). And on the other side is an array of public parks, which were absolutely beautiful. The boat moved slowly, so I had ample time to stare at both. It was really a bit fascinating to move toward the heart of Moscow at such a measured pace, seeing everything go by. There were a couple of beautiful boats that had been converted into restaurants docked along both banks, a few lovely bridges, some churches, and an excellent view of Moscow University, which I was intrigued to learn is on a closed campus. Here's a picture of it off in the distance, anyway;

 There was no tour guide, nor commentary of any sort, so I don't actually know what park this is. But I can assert with moderate confidence that it is not Gorky park, as we went there later in the day and did not see this pretty double staircase. 

And now, assorted photos taken while on the river boat;

 In absence of a tour, we were left to wonder why on earth a space shuttle was nonchalantly parked next to the Moscow river. The answer eludes me.

  I've gone and forgotten the name of this cathedral, but it had a really cool back story; the original building was put up sometime in the 17th (I think) Century, and then during Soviet times of anti-religion, pro-public space city planning, it was torn down, and a public pool was installed in its place. When Putin first came to power, he held a sort of fundraiser to fill in the pool and rebuild the church based on sketches and photographs of the original. So now it's back.

 This was one of my favorite sights- a giant statue of Peter the Great on a ship in Moscow. Not sure why it was there, but hey. Why not.