Travel in Russia

[Larry Mason]

On the Internet I found that the distance between Moscow and St Petersburg is about 700 km (450 miles?), and driving time is about 10 hours.

If you took this journey in a car, would you spend 2 days, and stay over night somewhere in between?

= =

Besides these two cities, which others are on your "Must See" list for a trip to Russia?

[masha]

We did alot of times without stop. Its not big problem.
Also you can take train and its very fast. Like 5 hours ..

St Petersburg is fun to visit in June July... There are "White Nights"
in the city .. It happends 3 weeks per year and you have day light even in the night .. Its very coooool!

Moscow is best to visit in New Year or in the summer like now is great.
But New Year its real fun, you wont forget it never!

Besides that well you can go to Black Sea in south of Russian and Ukraine .. In the summer those places full of reeeeaaal chicks :)

Well if you want to see our country deeper its much more serious trip and you need to prapare for it .. Its not that 1-2-3 but I am sure its very interesting for a "west" tourist.

Love Masha

[masha]

Originally posted by Tristan
Wish there was more documentary type shows on travelling to more of the exotic places in our world. The Travel Channel seems stuck on already established vacation spots, but not the more down to earth places in the world that would be interesting in visiting. I been to some of the tourist spots in Mexico, but those places was Americanized as any town in the US. They are nice, but I could have stayed in the US and went to Miami.

I'm complaining, sorry

Trist

I can imagine, most people prefer traveling known places like Spain/France/indonesia/australia above Russia. I would advice, just go here ONCE, and compare it yourself. We have a lot to offer:)

Love Masha

[tickevin]

i've never been to Europe, only to China, which explains my thing for Asians. have any of you ever been west?

-tickevin

p.s. Tickevin stands for The Incredibly Cute Kevin. wasn't my idea

[Larry Mason]

http://www.interknowledge.com/russia/
For most westerners, Russia is associated with its European cities--Moscow, St. Petersburg and Murmansk.

This is the heartland of Imperial Russia, and these great and ancient cities often become the focus for most tourists.

However there is much more to Russia, a country that spans eleven time zones and two continents, ending less than 50 miles from North America.

Within this vast expanse lie the largest freshwater lake in the world, rivers and forests teeming with fish and wildlife, awe inspiring volcanos, and towering mountains.

Russia is the largest country on earth, with enormous tracts of land that have been opened to travellers only in the last few years.

. . .

In the southwest and the southern border regions lie the Caucasus and Altai mountains. Both ranges are comparable in climate and ecology to the Alps or the Rocky mountains, with alpine mountain valleys ringed by evergeeens and carpeted with wildflowers.

In the southeast is the wondrous expanse of Lake Baikal, nestled in a massive mountain valley ringed by protected nature reserves and parks.

In the Far East, trekkers can explore the dramatic volcanic peaks and steaming hot springs of the Kamchatka peninsula.

Closer to the developed western region of Russia lie the ancient Urals, whose gentle slopes and dappled birch forests invite daylong walks in the woods.

. . .

With the completion of the impressive Moscow-Volga Canal in 1937, the capital was finally linked to the great system of waterways that runs from St. Petersburg on the Gulf of Finland all the way to Astrakhan on the Caspian Sea.

As a result, it is easy today to experience the trip that Peter the Great first dreamt of--a leisurely sail from St. Petersburg to Moscow, passing by the finest medieval cities in the country.

For the particularly ambitious traveller, it is entirely possible to follow the entire trade route along the Volga, from St. Petersburg all the way to Astrakhan, the ancient capital of the Tatars.

MASHA, have you ever had a vacation trip on the rivers and canals? Or someone who you know?

[masha]

Originally posted by tickevin
i've never been to Europe, only to China, which explains my thing for Asians. have any of you ever been west?

-tickevin

p.s. Tickevin stands for The Incredibly Cute Kevin. wasn't my idea

I have been in CZech once. I loved it. When you look through the dates you will find some pics/movies of it.

A real nice city, with friendly people. And good part was, that a lot of people spoke Russian!

Love Masha

[zulu]

I've been to Russia once. This was really impressive and adventurous. I was only 12 and i forgot a lot what i have seen, but some pictures are still in my mind and i don't wanna miss them.

My family and me took a tour from Sotchi to Suchumi at the Black Sea, to the Caucasian, further to Dnepr and Rostow and finally to Kiev.

In this part of Russia especially in the Caucasian you'll find a really great nature. I remember a desert we went through in a very old bus dandling like a funfair carousel for about 15 hours. After that we felt like skipjacks. Also Russia's got impressive buildings such as churches and train stations. Also the huge streets seem to be from another planet.

We've met lots of nice and friendly people over there, some still worn the old liveries.

But there live a lot of poor people, too. I don't know if it has changed much but in those days, lots of them were begging in front of the churches.

Overall, I just can recommend a travel to this very beautiful country.

Well, with 12 i wasn't interested in the sweeties that much, so i can't make a statement in this matter ;) but you see here how hot they are!

see ya...
zulu

[Larry Mason]

I had several trips to Vienna, and to Dresden just before and after the Wall fell (1989).

One thing was very fortunate for me: Some US friends knew a family at Vienna, and they knew a guy at Dresden. So I was not entirely a "tourist." With my new Austrian and German friends, I was able to visit less known places that are very interesting.

Then some of those new friends came a year or two later and we went back packing in the Sierra (high mountains of California).

= =

I think, a good place to start would be at a University near wherever you live. If you are a student, or if you know a student, you might be able to find out who is at the University who came from a place where you would like to visit.

[Larry Mason]

Originally posted by fexel
So how did u like the parts of Germany u've seen. Ever been to Leipzig, i mean it's not that far from Dresden...

Greetz

fexel I have a lot of ancestors from Saxony, from the Erzgebirge (mountain mining region) southeast of Chemnitz. Other ancestors came from near Lobau east of Dresden.

My g-grandfather who lived near Lobau once wrote that he remembered watching Napoleon retreat from Moscow (Jan 1813, I think, when he was about 8 years old). His father died when he was 12, and he went to live with an uncle who was a gardener at Pilnitz (court gardens near Dresden). Later he came to USA.

I have visited Dresden and the Erzgebirge several times, and Lobau once - but somehow I never made it to Leipzig, although I knew it was not far away and there are many historical sites there.

Do you live at Leipzig?

[Larry Mason]

Originally posted by Tristan
. . . I also like the out of the way stuff you can't get in package vacation deals. One idea I been bouncing around in my head is to maybe hire someone from that part of the world to act as tour guide. . .
Trist When you go to some totally new place and you don't know anybody and you haven't found a local tour guide, it's OK to take one of the standard tours, usually on a bus. One all-day tour is usually enough for any metropolitan area.

This is a good way to get a general idea of what is there. Then maybe you spend one more day just walking around in the central city, or at one or two of the sites you spotted on the tour.

While walking around, you try to talk to some of the people. Unfortunately, language can be a problem here, but in the central cities you can often find a way. You can take along a phrase book, and memorize "Does anyone here speak English" in their language.

Maybe you go to an open air food market and see if one of the customers will discuss some kind of vegetable that is unfamiliar to you, and explain how it is cooked and served.

If you try to be kind and friendly, you can make friends.

= =

The worst thing you can do is go with an attitude, that their stuff is inferior just because it is not what you have at home. (This is true at restaurants also.) If you only want what you have at home, just stay home and the whole world will be more comfortable.

[masha]

Originally posted by Larry Mason
http://www.interknowledge.com/russia/


MASHA, have you ever had a vacation trip on the rivers and canals? Or someone who you know?

I never did myself but I know its FUN ..
Everything has analog russian looking :) ..
But its best for summer of course

Love Masha

[masha]

Originally posted by zulu
I've been to Russia once. This was really impressive and adventurous. I was only 12 and i forgot a lot what i have seen, but some pictures are still in my mind and i don't wanna miss them.

My family and me took a tour from Sotchi to Suchumi at the Black Sea, to the Caucasian, further to Dnepr and Rostow and finally to Kiev.

In this part of Russia especially in the Caucasian you'll find a really great nature. I remember a desert we went through in a very old bus dandling like a funfair carousel for about 15 hours. After that we felt like skipjacks. Also Russia's got impressive buildings such as churches and train stations. Also the huge streets seem to be from another planet.

We've met lots of nice and friendly people over there, some still worn the old liveries.

But there live a lot of poor people, too. I don't know if it has changed much but in those days, lots of them were begging in front of the churches.

Overall, I just can recommend a travel to this very beautiful country.

Well, with 12 i wasn't interested in the sweeties that much, so i can't make a statement in this matter ;) but you see here how hot they are!

see ya...
zulu

Its been alot of years ago but nothing really changed alot there :)