Russia. Day 9. Saint Petersburg. Along Nevsky Prospect to Vasilyevsky Island
“If the weather is so good, Petersburg is so unfamiliar to you that you certainly want to walk, you will not regret. I advise you to always start from the Lavra…” …
This just happened
Russia. Day 8. Along the Golden Ring through Pereslavl-Zalesski to the train from Moscow to Saint Petersburg
Our last morning of the Golden Ring trip was in Pereslavl-Zalessky, an old Russian city about 140 km, 87 miles, northeast of Moscow. It was founded by the same prince, Yuri Dolgoruky, and at the same time, as Moscow. In 1374, an important congress of …
Russia. Day 7. Back to the Golden Ring — Yaroslavl, Rostov the Great
Leaving the Myshkin house, with its overgrown garden was not easy. In the morning, we walked around quite a bit taking pictures. It was sad knowing that most likely we will never come back here again. The world is big and time is scarce. Final …
Russia. Day 6. Myshkin — Volga, Banya, Vodka
— Go look around the house. It’s different in the morning, — Tanya said when I waddled into the kitchen still in my pajamas. It was. At night, the circle of chairs in the living room on the second floor set the mood for a conversation …
Russia. Day 5. Motley Crew Hits the Road. The Golden Ring Fragments — Sergiev Posad, Kalyazin, Uglich, Myshkin
The business of renting a car in Moscow is not for the faint at heart. Last night, we tried so many different places, even Charlotte without much Russian found a few numbers to call. It seemed like car rental offices in Moscow did not have …
Russia. Day 4. Moscow. Down through the Underground to the Not Good Apartment
Fourth day was the day to take care of business and renew my papers. Most of it was spent in Soviet style offices waiting on line, curtsying, smiling, providing champagne and candy to grouchy officials who didn’t even notice me. Nothing changed in that department. …
Russia. Day 3. Moscow. Up North to the Soviet showcase. Back to the Boulevard Ring
When someone asks me about my roots, it feels odd to say I am from Russia. I am Russian but from the Soviet Union. To me, Russia before the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union, and Russia after the Soviet Union are three completely different countries. …
Russia. Day 2. Moscow. Off to the left, through Sparrow Hills to the City
“If you want to see a city like a local and understand it, visit a market, a train station, and a cemetery.” …
Russia. Day 1. Moscow. Off to the right and through Gorky Park
“In Moscow, you’d sit in an enormous parlor of a restaurant where you don’t know anybody and nobody knows you and you don’t feel that you’re a stranger. And here, you know everybody and everybody knows you, and you’re a stranger, a stranger… and a …
Russia. Departure Day — Arrival Day. From Ridgewood to Moscow
Our firm plan was to fly a red-eye. Direct. JFK to Moscow. Nine hours and some. We did get a few sympathetic words from friends about night flight hardships. The plane was scheduled to take off after midnight NY time and land in Sheremetyevo early evening. The …