E Europe Travel

» Amanda Kendle - Where to go in Russia?

Before I went to Russia, I knew about Vladivostok from an old pop song, about Moscow from the news and I'd heard of Siberia as some dark, distant cold place.

Now I know that Siberia can be steamy hot in summer and that Moscow is a lot mre than just a political hotbed. And if I could only head to one spot, it'd be the stunning beauty of Lake Baikal.

What about you? If your trip to Russia is still in the dream stages, what do you know about it, and where would you like to go? If you've been lucky enough to travel to Russia, what did you love?

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» lisamarie71 - Where to go in Russia?

In response to Where to go in Russia? posted by akendle:

I went to St. Petersburg in March, when it was still really cold and there was ice on the sidewalks. I studied the Soviet Union in school and I've read so much about how Russia is changing, good and bad, but I was really interested to see it for myself.

I was only there for 4 days and I didn't venture too far from the main sights, like the Hermitage, Catherine's Palace, Church on the Spilled Blood, Nevsky Prospect, etc. (probably the farthest I got from a the tourist experience was taking a beat up, dirty minibus from downtown St. Petersburg to Pushkin, to see Catherine's Palace) The great part about going in March is that there are no lines at any of the sites we visited and I got an excellent deal on a room at the Hotel Astoria, one of the nicest hotels in the city. The bad part is that I didn't get to enjoy the spectacular fountains or gardens at the palaces, and I didn' get to enjoy the summer atmosphere or White Nights.

I imagine that St. Petersburg is wealthier than most of Russia, although I hear Moscow has a lot of nouveau riche, flashy types. I hope to go to Moscow at some point, it sounds so intruiging.

I live in Finland and I've spoken to Finns who refuse to go to Russia, because of all the bad blood over the years between the 2 countries (but of course many Finns I know have been to Russia, too). Lots of Russians take the train to Helsinki and shop, and I hear that many Russians are buying real estate in some of the Finnish border towns. And, Finns haven't forgotten that Russia annexed Finnish Karelia in the east, during WWII, and they have never given it back. It is interesting to learn about Russians through the eyes of another culture, a culture that has had an uneasy co-existence with its powerful neighbor...

-- posted by lisamarie71

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» Amanda Kendle - Where to go in Russia?

In response to Where to go in Russia? posted by lisamarie71:

Hi Lisa, Your experience in St Petersburg sounds nice - especially avoiding the queues. And it's definitely to see Russia through the eyes of others - I used to live in Slovakia, which of course had quite another relationship with Russia, and many locals weren't too interested in hearing about trips there: naturally they connect the nation of Russia with their fairly unwelcome experience of socialism. Anyway, you should definitely get to Moscow sometime - take a night train from St Petes for example - but you have to get beyond these big 2 cities to see "the other side" of Russia properly. A fascinating place!
cheers,
Amanda

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