Travel Announcement: Return to Russia!

[peacetraveler22]

It's now official! I just purchased my tickets to Russia. :) Here I am, standing on the frozen Neva River in Peter. Glorious! Dates of the visit will be 23 February - 9 March. For those in the U.S., airfares on Aeroflot are incredibly cheap now. Nonstop flights from Washington, DC or New York City to Moscow cost only $492 USD roundtrip, including taxes. I can't even fly to many places in the U.S. for this price.

The first week I'll travel with my Russian friend on a road journey to some new cities, though I'm not yet sure where. Proposed options include the following:
(1) Moscow → Yaroslavl → Vologda → St. Petersburg → Moscow

(2) Moscow → Vladimir → Novgorod → Cheboksary → Kazan → Moscow

Where to go? What to do? Suggestions for other intriguing driving routes from Moscow? Help me! :) I'm mostly interested in unusual people, wild and frozen nature and village life. Museums, Orthodox churches, and standard tourist attractions aren't really important to me.

If there's interest, I can try to arrange a reader gathering somewhere in Moscow the second week. Although I'm not sure where in the city is convenient for most people? If you know a good gathering place, like a restaurant or pub, please tell me in the comments.

I'm excited for the trip, to see if attitudes toward an American visitor have changed since my visit last February when I attended the Olympic Games. Since then, relations between our countries have shifted dramatically and even here on my blog I've noticed more anti-Americanism and hostility, even when the topic of my posts have absolutely nothing to do with politics.

Btw, I'm sure many of you saw Ilya Varlamov's post hanging in the TOP all day yesterday, but if not I suggest you give it a read. A foreign tourist's brutal impressions of Russia. Her story makes my first Russian post seem like a fairy tale. I think she was harsh in her review of the country, though she's certainly entitled to her opinion. It's especially amusing to view the reader comments to the story (over 4,000 of them now!!).

Russia - your country remains a fascinating place for me, and I'm very happy to return!

Comments

[Александр Плешков (from livejournal.com)]

Welcome to Chelyabinsk. See this amazing and real Russian city)

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I met some of your neighbors at the Olympics, who gave me this flag. It's me in this photo. :))

[ryanka.livejournal.com]

visit Nizhniy Novgorod :)
I would give you advice to see Karelia if you want to see "in unusual people, wild and frozen nature and village life" but as you read from Varlamov post it is not so safe to go and you need a good trustworthy guide to do that. but the nature is really great.. I had a few trips by car around Russian North, Karelia is the best wild place in my opinion..

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

I don't remember his post about Karelia?

[mergenius.livejournal.com]

Hi, Shannon!

The route through Kazan is more interesting as a traditional Muslim region in Russia.

There is only Buddhist(Tibetian Buddhism) national region in Russia, in Europe - the Republic of Kalmykia between Volgograd and Rostov-on-Don - interesting also.

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I think Kazan is a must see on the trip! :)

[lexkimdoors.livejournal.com]

Oh! I held my gaze at the pictures and thought it was a pleasant face is familiar to me .. Hello! Glad to see you! )

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Hi! Thank you. :)

[avanik.livejournal.com]

Hi, Shannon! I will be glad to meet with you in St. Petersburg. Write when exactly will we)

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Hello! I don't know when, or if, I will visit Peter this time. I hope so, because I have a few friends there and I'm always happy to see them.

[Ярослав Демин (from livejournal.com)]

Vladimir → Novgorod

you mean Nizhny Novgorod or Great Novgorod, I think the first one because it is on your way from Vladimir, it is mine home town and I can say that there is nothing to visit for more than 1 day, maybe 2. Of course you know that in each old Russian city the first place to see is Kremlin, than on the high Volga embankment there is a nice museum http://www.ngiamz.ru/filialy/usadba-rukavishnikovykh.html

old monastery http://tonkosti.ru/Печерский_монастырь

house of Maxim Gorky http://tonkosti.ru/Музей_детства_А._М._Горького_«Домик_Каширина»

museum of arts http://tonkosti.ru/Нижегородский_государственный_художественный_музей

museum of photography http://tonkosti.ru/Русский_музей_фотографии
Pokrovskaya street is the main one, most of this places are located on in, of course you need to see Central Bank building, which was made in 1913 and its really beautiful)
more than that you can go to Rozhdestvenskaya street, on lower Volga embankment, it is a nice place to have lunch in Stroganov Steak House and visit Stroganov Church.
On the other side of the river you can visit Alexander Nevsky cathedral, 3rd tallest in Russia, and Big traiding mall of old times.

I hope I helped you a little bit, sorry for my bad English and good luck in Russia!)

[ross-kramer.livejournal.com]

Oh, no! Be very careful out there! Russia is full of vodka, snow and bears. They say, this mix is incompatible with civilian life, especially if you are from South Korea.
All the Russian really hope that you are not going to ride on winter time a summer bike on the M-18 highway(also know as 666 route) heading to the city of Murmansk, which means straight to HELL!
Enjoy your time but don't forget - bears and wolves are behind every corner!

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Haha...it's not my first visit to Russia! :)

[kin-anvar1.livejournal.com]

привет, еноты !

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Привет! Это не енот! Это медведь! :))

[vlad-lark.livejournal.com]

Если поедете на машине, то советую следующий маршрут: от Москвы по трассе м7 на Владимир, в городе столько мест можно посетить что все не перечислишь , затем есть смысл заехать в Суздаль там советую посетить музей деревянного зодчества и Спасо-Евфимиевский монастырь, затем вернуться на м 7 и через Гороховец на Нижний Новгород посмотрите кремль, да там много что можно посмотреть, от Нижнего на Казань, очень красивый древний город. А обратно возвращайтесь не через Нижний, а через Арзамас и Муром в этих городах много достопримечательностей, возможно Вас заинтересует Дивеево. Если совсем хорошо со временем то от Мурома не на Владимир, а на Касимов. И оттуда уже в Москву. Извините но с английским у меня не очень.

[qi-tronic.livejournal.com]

Мы там ездили в прошлом году, как раз в Дивеево, тоже зимой.
Там по дороге от Арзамаса до Сарова в чистом поле знак стоит, что иностранцам дальше нельзя.
Арестуют Шеннон как шпионку :))

[vlad68borisov.livejournal.com]

Можете заехать ко мне во Владимире,вот мой сайт о достопримечательностях России http://zolkoltsorossii.ru/

[old-perduccio.livejournal.com]

Give Russia a chance of making a much more positive impression by going there in the summer. :)

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

But I do not like warm weather! Winter is better for me. :)

[modest-so-zvezd.livejournal.com]

you did not come to Volgograd((

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

No, unfortunately not this time. :( Maybe on another visit.

[dontwannaborrow.livejournal.com]

А что, американов еще пускают в Россию? Напрасно.

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

You wish to ban Americans from visiting your country?

[maadmike.livejournal.com]

I'll be glad to see You, if you will have time to arrange a meeting with your English-speaking followers. ))
I think the Golden Ring is a good choice for travelling. There are many interesting things to see.

http://www.goldenring.ru/

Cheboksary or Kazan directions nice in the summer, I think, and it's nine hours by bus from Moscow.
The Golden Ring is on the way to the Cheboksary and Kazan, so you can save time if you will decide to take a trip to Kazan after Vladimir...

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

I will travel by car, or train. :) I can't imagine being on a Russian, or American bus, for 9 hours! I think the other route looks more interesting from a cultural perspective, esp. the stop in Kazan.

[2tvlad.livejournal.com]

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

She has a lovely voice, but I have no idea what she's saying! My Russian is very bad. :(

[anna-sollanna.livejournal.com]

Good luck in Russia! Take care of yourself!
Do you know that your first route (with Vologda and Yaroslavl) is more to the north than the second one? I think you should choose the first.

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I always take care of myself in travels. :)

Places to visit in the vicinity of Vologda

[(Anonymous)]

Shannon,

Sorry for the late joining of the discussion; let me add some suggestions.

I've spent seven years in Cherepovets which is not far from Vologda. My opinion is that for sightseeng Vologda is overestimated and even boring -- comparing with few brilliant sights in the vicinity of Vologda.

There are two places to discover in one day (if you have a car of course):
A) Ferapontovo (Ферапонтово) - Indeed, the unique place: the museum of frescoes in the former very old monastery, est. 1397, World Heritage listed. The frescoes was painted by Dionisy in 1502 and now paintings have the fantastic level of preservation. Sorry for a link: www dot dionisy dot com / eng / ; and
B) Kirillov (Кириллов) - also the old Kirillo-Belozersky monastery, since the same 1397, but acting now. Being located at the mirror of the lake, the monastery with high castle walls is very picturesque and very, very interesting. Sorry again: kirillov-monastyr dot ru.

Both places have some tourist infrastructure (toilets, cafeteria). I beleive you can book an English speaking guide in Ferapontovo, but call them in several days in advance.

My suggestion is to start from Ferapontovo in the early and to go to Kirillov for the lunch, self catering canteen Пир Горой was acceptable couple of years ago.

Beleive it helps.
Regards, Alexander

Re: Places to visit in the vicinity of Vologda

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Hi Alexander! Thanks a lot for the advice. :)

[liver22.livejournal.com]

In terms of saving money the route number two looks more interesting than the first, because the exchange rate.

In Kazan (can be seen) is the сentre of the city, in particular the recommendation to the river port (also in the city centre), because there is a frozen river, the port is not very big (excluding cargo terminal) but there may be a bit of a stroll and take photos. Here one could arrange a meeting with your readers, as there is a bus stop and more or less you can park your car.

There are ideas on the countryside near Kazan, if necessary I'll draw routes on the map. This option can be useful if you have problems with time.

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Kazan is your hometown?

[inoi-razum.livejournal.com]

Hi Shannon!
I know at least two unusual places to visit in central regions. But both of them are more enjoyable in summer, of course.

1) Nikola-Lenivets.
Very magical and atmospheric park in Kaluga region, about 250 km south-west from Moscow. Contains many strange and interesting architectural installations which are made from natural materials. In summer time this park hosts several musical and arch/design festivals. It's strongly recommended to meet a sunrise there :))
New installations are being presented every summer during the fest "Archstoyanie" (middle of july).
And, of course, very peaceful landscapes and russian nature )

Location: https://www.google.ru/maps/@54.7511661,35.6079634,15z




2) Sculptural park "the Legend" in Ramzay near Penza. I've never been there but it looks interesting.
http://vendettasephivendetta.diary.ru/p168644244.htm

Location:https://www.google.ru/maps/@53.311231,44.7752805,3662m/data=!3m1!1e3

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Hi! Thanks for the suggestions. I especially like the interesting architectural installations. :) What types of natural materials are used for construction? It looks like metal or some type of wire in the photo you attached.

[yacc11.livejournal.com]

Good news! Will try to meet you that time ( will try to get one day off :) )
Btw Have you had a chance to visit LOFT project ETAGI?

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure I'll be in Peter this time, but I hope! What's "LOFT project ETAGI?"

[pavel tarasov (from livejournal.com)]

Hi Shannon,
I would recommend you to visit "Новый Иерусалим", about 60km from Moscow.
It's a nice place with nice museum.

http://goo.gl/oJhVlx

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Hi Pavel! Thanks for the suggestion. Is it your first time visiting my blog? How did you find me?

[(Anonymous)]

Suzdal is for sure. It's a lovely sweet town with a lot of churches. Успенский cathedral in Vladimir has amasing Rublev's wall-painting. I sugest to visit Kolomna. Not far from Moscow and very interesting.

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the advice!

[nemesid.livejournal.com]

Make sure you travel in platzkart type of train wagon :) This is how you get to see real Russia ;-)

And Kazan/Cheboksary- make sure you walk alot in suburbia, evening time.

PS Buy a gun

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

I wrote stories about my journeys on Russian trains. Actually, I liked it a lot but I was in a private room The real adventures happen in the dorm areas of the railcar. :)) Buy a gun? I'm American - I already own guns! :)

[perycalypsis.livejournal.com]

Many foreign people say that getting of Russian visa is very difficult procedure. What would you advise them ? How to simplify ? Do you use invitation of the local person ?

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Hello! I discussed the visa process in my very first post about Russia a few years ago. I didn't use the invitation of a local person, it's too complicated as numerous government agencies are involved. If you're a solo traveler (as I was) you basically have to use an online service to generate an "invitation" from a hotel, and there's a fee for this. Then, once you arrive, you also have to "register" at the post office or local police station. Putin must track all potential spies in the nation and know their location at all times! :))

The most ridiculous procedure was for my Belarusian visa. :)) You can read about it here http://peacetraveler22.livejournal.com/49652.html. My story about the Russian visa is at this link http://peacetraveler22.livejournal.com/10309.html.

new double-decker train Moscow-SPB

[dass-79.livejournal.com]

Shannon you like Russian railways and this news is interested for you!
From 1 February launched a new double-decker train between Moscow and St. Petersburg.
link
http://pass.rzd.ru/luxtrain/public/ru?STRUCTURE_ID=1374&layer_id=4814&refererLayerId=4813&id=136

but this news only in russian :-( English version http://eng.rzd.ru/ don't have all infomarmation if compare with russian version

sorry,my english is terrible

Re: new double-decker train Moscow-SPB

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Hello! Thanks. :) I was supposed to take a double-decker train to Sochi last year, but unfortunately it was full and I went on a regular train. To Peter, I've only been on the Sapsan. Your English is good! :) Now, I'm considering taking the Trans-Siberian Railway to Lake Baikal. What do you think? Will I survive for three days on a train? :))