I'm in Moscow! I got sent here last minute by my company to fill in for some cameramen who are on vacation. I got my visa Friday and jumped on the plane Saturday.

I sat next to the stereotypical Russian grandmother on the plane. She was very friendly and smiled broadly with her cooked yellow teeth. I practiced my Russian phrases and she helped with the pronunciation.

I was met at the airport in Moscow by a taxi driver, who held up a poorly written sign with my name. My last name was spelled Z3rivitz. He spoke no english, but Anya (one of the FSN correspondents) told him in advance where to take me. I am staying at the Radisson, across the river from the Russian White House.

After dropping off my luggage, I walked two miles to Red Square. Along the way, I tried to pick out the buildings constructed during Communism. I passed the Foreign ministry, one of the 7 Skyscrapers built during that time.

The Kremlin was difficult to get into. Not because of security, but because I couldn't find an open gate. Finally, I made my way into Red Square (which is actually made of black bricks). I felt very strange standing in front of Saint Basil's Cathedral (the ice cream cone looking church). It is a building I had seen so many times in movies and photographs, that it almost didn't seem real.

Recently, St. Basil's was opened to tourists, so I ventured inside. I expected a large, open cathedral. Instead, the building is a series of curvy tunnels with small rooms for worship. I became quite lost as I wandered through the chambers. The tunnels make up a strange labyrinth. Now I understand why Ivan the Terrible forcibly blinded the architects (the legend isn't actually true).

It was becoming dark by the time I left Red Square, so I decided to take the Metro back. There are almost no English signs in the city or on the metro. My map was written in Cyrillic, so it did little good. However, I carefully studied the characters on the map and compared them to the signs. Eventually I figured out which train to get on, and I made it to the hotel.