Today I was sitting in my room and thought, “You know what? I want to go to Red Square.” I got up, put on shoes, and started walking down Tverskaya. Within probably an hour of having that thought I was on the square.

There’s nothing like going to Red Square for the very first time, the way your legs feel a little weak, as though they want to stay put and observe for a little while. The pavement seems to stretch so far you can see the slope of the earth, but at the same time the historic structures on each side tower and feel impossibly close. I haven’t yet found the words to properly describe the experience because it’s more superlative that sounds believable until one has experienced it.

Red Square is always impressive, but after your first visit it becomes reality instead of something too real to believe. I was close to the point of taking it for granted, as just another part of the city, but today I realized that my ability to think “I feel like going to Red Square” and then almost instantly find myself there without requiring a boat or airplane or car or even the metro is like thinking, “I want to see the Taj Mahal” and then, poof, finding myself there.