This is our last major trip of 2005. Hopefully next year we'll do an African Safari, which would be a mind-blower I expect.
Hope you find this interesting.
"Natasha"
A very interesting read. Thanks!
I have long held a burning desire to go to Russia, maybe someday I will make it there. Thanks for the post, it was a great read.
BTW..Boris and Natasha works for me..(G), but instead of Boris Jr, I'd have gone with Rocky or Bullwinkle..
FYI..."peppered vodka" became a necessity in the USSR during WW II..because of shortages, the stuff was distilled using diesel fuel, which can kill you, and they didn't have really great filtration/distillation set-ups, so sprinkling pepper into your vodka before drinking..it causes the globules of fueloil left to clump together and sink to the bottom of the glass..
that smiling is against the rules or they don't like their jobs. Yes, thats easily noticeable. On the other hand I felt in Londons Heathrow that they didnt pay attention at the passengers at all.
Did you encounter any extra security measures? At Moscows Sheremetievo airport passengers go through x-ray gates twice before boarding, and they should take their boots off for inspection in a machine.
We also stumbled across a pepper flavored vodka called Nemiroff
Thats actually an Ukrainian brend which is been actively marketing in Russia. www.nemiroff.ru Anyway, pepper-flavoured vodka is traditional for Russia also.
There are places in the world that people warn of crazy drivers and St. Petersburg has to be on that list.
The St.Petersburg drivers looked polite to me, comparing to Moscows ones.
This means, if you get caught on the wrong side of the river when you're out at night, its so long to try go around that you just sit and wait till the bridges come back down.
Thats a traditional opportunity that St.Petersburgs guys take if they dont want to let their girls home after theatre or something. Distract her attention from the bridges for some time and youll be hanging out together all the night.
And, the Romanov family is now all buried there.
Id rather say they are buried in The St.Peter & St.Pauls Cathedral the tradional burial place of Russian monarchs.
We were there over the weekend and there were a lot of people on the streets carrying open containers fairly early in the morning
Yes, drinking beer in such a way is very popular in Russia. It began in mid-90s when beer wasnt an alcohol drink legally.
We ran into other tourists that said they found Moscow dirty.
I dont think so, but Moscow seems to me less interesting place for sightseeing. St. Petersburg was the capital for 300 years until 1920 and best architects worked there.
Great stories! I went on a trip to Russia and St. Petersburg in the dead of winter back when they were the Soviet Union and Leningrad. Ronaldus Maximus was president, and tensions were high over the Solidarity movement in Poland. We had a great time and enjoyed the Russians we met thoroughly (not so much the "official" Intourist types, and we did encounter a few shady characters).
I would love to go back for a visit.
I had a truly wonderful time. Outside of Moscow, Russians are as friendly and hospitable a people you could ever meet.