Founded by Peter the Great back in seventeen hundred and three, Saint Petersburg recently had its three hundredth birthday. The name was switched to Leningrad in nineteen seventeen when Lenin rose to power. But was quick to switch back around…
Moscow Mules: Russian Alphabet Basics
We spent two days (and an evening and a morning) in Moscow. So little time to see one of the great cities of the world. I’m embarrassed to admit that is all the time we could give it. The good…
Yekaterinburg, Russia: How to Save Humanity
It is three thousand four hundred kilometres – a two full-day journey – to get from Irkutsk to Yekaterinburg. It is the most amount of time at one go that we will be spending on a train on the entire…
An Evening on a Trans-Siberian Train
We board our westbound Trans-Siberian train in Irkutsk. In Russia there are four classes: third, lower second, upper second, and first. We opt for lower second to: save a bit of money, and, avoid meeting no one but other foreigners.…
Baikal Lake, Russia
Lake Baikal. Our first taste of Russia. The majority of travellers cross Russia starting in the West, ending in the East. But not us. Not this time, at least. Our decision to do the Trans-Mongolian route east to west meant,…