May 18, 2013 - have things changed??

The stop in St. Petersburg is the pinnacle for most folks on a Baltic Cruise. There is so much to see and do here that the ships stays for two nights. We think ships should do so more often, but spending so much time in one place on a cruise is unusual. The rubles we brought from home were issued by the Soviet Union, so it’s been a while since we were here and we were curious to see how things had changed under new management. We docked at a new terminal which not only looked good from the distance, it looked like it was built to last - a...

May 15, 2013 - Reflections on Russia.

I've been in Russia 19 days so that makes me expert, right? Not really, but as I'm about to leave for Mongolia I thought I'd share with you some of my impressions . Mind you this country is so huge that Ive only seen a little bit of it. Although Ive travelled over 5000km from Moscow I could go on another 3,500km to Vladivostok and even then I'd only have seen a fraction. It really is massive. The place to start is with the friendliness of the people. Wherever Ive been people have been friendly and helpful. When I was struggling with the...

May 12, 2013 - Half way down the line

Comrades I've now crossed 5 time zones since I left Moscow almost 10 days ago, travelled over 5000km and have reached over half way to Beijing. I'm officially in Siberia and don't I know it! A cold Siberian wind is blowing and its sleeting. On route I have visited Perm, Yekaterinburg, Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk. Perm is an industrial city which grew rapidly in the Second World War ( referred to as the Great Patriotic War in Russia after they transferred factories East as the Germans invaded). It was a restricted city in the Soviet era which...

Mar 19, 2013 - Russia

Hi Everyone I'm in the capital of Russia! I'm in Moscow Russia! Did you know the first woman to go to space was from Russia! I went to a really famous circus in Russia. The circus had very dangerous acts! I love the matryoshka dolls! The dolls are very unique! The dolls have one huge one on the outside, then in the huge one there is a big one, inside the big one there is a medium one, inside the medium one there is a small one, finally in the small one there is a tiny one! I bought one for the house. I went to St. Basil's Cathedral. Russia...

Mar 19, 2013 - Russia

Ha people I will be teaching you a bout Russia sit back and in joy the show.The nation's history began with that of the East Slavs, who emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, the medieval state of Rus arose in the 9th century. The nation's history began with that of the East Slavs, who emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. In 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire,...

Mar 19, 2013 - Russia

Hello Everyone, Today I went to Russia and it was so much fun. I went to Mount Elbrus is was phenomenal it is the highest peak in Russia. I also learned that there are a lot of volcanoes in Russia I can not remember how many volcanoes there are in Russia. I think it was about 124 volcanoes in Russia and about 26 are active. Although I can't remember how many volcanoes there are in Russia I still remember one of the names of the volcanoes it is called Anaun. This journey to Russia was my first and last day in Russia. Tomorrow I am going to...

Mar 19, 2013 - Russia

Hey guys, I just got back from Russia. It is amazing there. But again it is hard to understand what they were saying. I visited the Space station. It is so awesome. I also learned that there are over 200 volcanoes. Did you know that one volcano erupted in 2013! that was probably just a few months ago. I saw the dance they preformed. It was very cool. I liked the part where they came out and tried to jump in the air and touch their feet. I know I cold not do that. You must go to Russia!

Feb 25, 2013 - Friends hostels in St.Petersburg

Хостел Друзья в Санкт-Петербурге. Friends hostel in St.Petersburg Named after the famous TV show, the hostel chain “Friends” offers budget & cool accommodation in the center of St.Petersburg. All four locations are great: Friends on Griboedova, Friends on Bankovsky, Friends on Nevsky, Friends on Vosstania. Almost all the major sights of St Petersburg are located within easy walking distance of the hostels. Range of comfortable private and dorm rooms, clean bed linens, free wireless as well as computers for guest use, free national and...

Jan 6, 2013 - The Nutcracker- where it all began

1/6 Wow. 8 hours of sleep. Haven't seen that in 6 days. I rise immediately at 9am - even though its still dark. I have to say living here is hard. Really hard. Cold, snowy,dark from 5pm to 11am. No light. It's night all the time. And Moscow is dirty and slopping with the snow on the ground. I wake with an extra 4 inches. Yeah!! At least it gives me grip on the layers of frozen ice. I have a quick breakfast - included in my $150 a night great hotel and head out to the Bolshoi theater to watch The Nutcracker- where it all began. I head to the...

Jan 5, 2013 - Beautiful Moscow

Have to share from last night- no English TV. Not even BBC. I did watch international skiing and the US didnt qualify for the final. Interesting being telecast in Russian. Also watched fear factor in Russian. English or Russian - eating insects is gross either way. Picked up in a brand new Mercedes 500 - less than 100 miles in it so it was a great 'new' car smell. It had snowed all night and my driver was spectacular so we stopped at a bunch of great spots to take pics with snow. I arrive at the train station. Not a lick of English. No...

Jan 4, 2013 - Smoking, Prostitutes and Fur

I wake after only 2 hours of sleep. I get in the shower and prepare for my day. I'm heading to the inside of the church of spilled blood, the cathedral and shopping down Nivesky Prospekt to shop. St Petersburg is known for its shopping. Fourth learning after freaking cold weather, prostitutes and smoking. Lol. And ... I must say the furs here are GORGEOUS. I mean one after the other is more stunning. I was shopping for a white fox babushka. But the coats were calling me in. Fur was attached to every coat, somewhere. These Russian men and...

Jan 3, 2013 - Dark and frozen tundra of St Petersburg

Well didnt matter that I fell asleep at 5:30 the night before. The sun doesn't rise until 11am. Yes 11am. And sets at 4:30. Only 5-6 hours of daylight. Well you can't really call it daylight. It's dark and bleak all the time. I wake at 930 and actually do my hair. I head out at 10:30 toward the hermitage. It's breath taking. Absolutely gorgeous. It's cold and windy and negative 3. I didn't care. I was so excited to see the worlds most famous museum. I must not have cared. I stood in queue for 2 hours waiting to get in. At one point I was...