St Petersburg | Moscow | Russia
The country spans 9 time zones, meaning that when it is evening in St. Petersburg, it’s already the next day on Russia’s Eastern Pacific shores. Consider that Russia borders Poland in the West and Japan in the East (maritime border), and you can see why Russia is often called a "bridge" between Europe and Asia, both culturally and geographically. The Ural Mountains (the oldest land based mountain range in the world) divide European Russia from Asian Russia.
St Petersburg
Built by Peter the Great on swamp land, St Petersburg has developed into a beautiful city with its network of canals, impressive architecture, and European feel. We’re guaranteed to find lots to keep us entertained, given that it’s reported that the Hermitage Museum itself would take 11 years to look around if you looked at each exhibit for 1 minute (I think we’ll opt for just the 1 day).
Catherine the Great is most commonly credited with founding the Hermitage collection, but she had another passion in addition to art... ice slides! She had one installed at her palace and had a hilly wooden track built at her summer palace. This was the makings of the first roller coaster and sparked a craze across Europe.
Image of Catherine the Great's ice slide from: Encyclopedia of the exquisite
. Not going to St Petersburg, or don’t fancy spending 11 years looking round the Hermitage? You can always visit the museum virtually through Hermitage Museum.org
Moscow
The capital of the largest country in the world, Moscow is home to eleven million Muscovites (or 13 million depending on which website you read), making it the most populous city in Europe. Moscow sits on the Moskva River, which winds its way through the city. The other major waterway is the Yauza River, which flows into the Moskva east of the Kremlin.
Russia | Our Verdict
After a couple of days in Tallinn we took the EuroLines overnight bus further East along the Gulf of Finland, and crossed the border to our first Russian destination, St. Petersburg. From there our train adventure began; we followed the silk route from Russia’s ‘Northern Capital’ (St Petersburg), down to Moscow and then onwards to Central Asia as we enter Kazakhstan.
St Petersburg was absolutely beautiful in the snow. Of course a trip to St Petersburg wouldn't be complete without a trip to the Hermitage Museum. St Peter and Paul fortress and the river front looked particularly magical at night. A highlight of our time in and around St Petersburg was a trip out to the coast, just a short train trip from central St Petersburg.
The tourist information centre in St Petersburg was incredibly helpful so do drop in if you're in St Petersburg.
St Petersburg is still my favourite Russian city, but we did enjoy Moscow too. The Winzavod Centre for Contemporary Arts, located in an old factory in Moscow's meat-packing district is definiately worth checking out.
St Petersburg was absolutely beautiful in the snow. Of course a trip to St Petersburg wouldn't be complete without a trip to the Hermitage Museum. St Peter and Paul fortress and the river front looked particularly magical at night. A highlight of our time in and around St Petersburg was a trip out to the coast, just a short train trip from central St Petersburg.
The tourist information centre in St Petersburg was incredibly helpful so do drop in if you're in St Petersburg.
St Petersburg is still my favourite Russian city, but we did enjoy Moscow too. The Winzavod Centre for Contemporary Arts, located in an old factory in Moscow's meat-packing district is definiately worth checking out.
Russia Blog Posts
Further information about what we got up to in Russia can be found in our blog posts for St Petersburg and Moscow. For more photos visit our travel photos page.
St Petersburg Accommodation
Acme Hostel in St Petersburg had a great location and very friendly staff, but the kitchen could have done with a good clean. The nightclub across the road play thumping music until about 4am at the weekends so earplugs are a necessity (if only we had known at the time).Moscow Accommodation
Godzillas Hostel in Moscow was a great find. Although not particularly central, it had easy access to the metro (which was cheap and efficient), was close to a local supermarket, and in a quiet residential neighbourhood. The rooms were a little cramped, but the rest of the hostel was fantastic. All being cleaned continuously, with two very well equipped kitchens, a lounge with lots of DVDs to choose from and two computers with free interent. Fantastic.Other General Resources
A great resource for a whole host of Russian info: http://www.waytorussia.net/Good info on Russian Visas (as well as others), Russia train timetables and booking: http://www.realrussia.co.uk/
Moscow | St Petersburg | Russia Photos
.
