Why Travel to Russia? Putting aside the political issues, Russia is simply a fascinating and diverse country. From the imperial capital of St. Petersburg and the bustling metropolis of Moscow to the natural beauty of the Ural Mountains and Lake Baikal, Russia has a little something for everyone. And while the people often …
I have written before about my affection for guidebooks, as sources of both information and inspiration. While I rarely leave home without my Lonely Planet guides, one of my favorite guidebook publishers for inspiration is DK Eyewitness Travel. My affinity for DK guides is in large part due to the visual effects throughout the books that make destinations come alive. From colorful pictures to detailed, three-dimensional diagrams of attractions, DK’s guides really help me picture what I might potentially want to do or see when I visit a place.
Crossing Russia on the Trans Siberian Railway is on many traveler’s bucket lists. I flew to Vladivostok and spent a month taking the train all the way back to Moscow, making multiple stops along the way. I had read a lot about traveling the Trans Siberian Railway before I began the journey, but there was …
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Dasha knocked on my door around 8:20, asking if I was ready to go. She had shyly asked me the night before if I could come to her school that day. Her English teacher was excited that a real live American was living with her and wanted me to visit the school to meet the …
It has been more than a year since I first set foot in Russia. Twenty months since I first arrived in the country that inspired my whole trip in the first place. Eighty-three weeks since I pulled up outside a ramshackle home on the outskirts of St. Petersburg to begin my three month adventure in …
On a Saturday afternoon in mid-October, I nervously sat down on a black leather chair in a hair salon on the outskirts of Moscow and held my breath. I had been on the road for nearly two months and I was feeling like an ugly duckling in the fashion conscious capital of Russia. When my …
I first studied Russian in college, which was a long time ago. I was majoring in Russian & East European Studies and one of the requirements was to learning Russian language. The fact that the class met every single morning at 8:00 a.m. did not make it very appealing. Neither did the fact that the …
Traveling along the Trans-Siberian Railway was definitely the highlight of my three months in Russia. While I loved St. Petersburg, my train journey gave me the unique opportunity to see more of Russia in one month than most Russians will probably see in their lifetimes. I outlined my itinerary before I began and now I …
My final stop on the Trans-Siberian Railway before returning to Moscow was Kazan, a city that is as ethnically and religiously diverse as Ulan Ude – perhaps more so. It is the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, an autonomous region within Russia populated over 50% by Tatars – a Turkic people with roots dating …
If you travel to Russia for a week or two, you’ll certainly be aware of how different it is from your home country. Spending three months in Russia gave me a lot of time to notice things – big and small, good and bad. I personally tend to notice (and sometimes get amused by) the …
