Anyone been to Russia?

[hibbeln]

I'm just trolling for your thoughts because I am EXCITED to be going to Moscow and St.Petersburg over spring break with my 16-almost-17 year old son! (hubby and other son are hiking the Appalachian Trail the same week, leading to our first split family vacation).

 

[Ridewithme38]

I'm just trolling for your thoughts because I am EXCITED to be going to Moscow and St.Petersburg over spring break with my 16-almost-17 year old son! (hubby and other son are hiking the Appalachian Trail the same week, leading to our first split family vacation).

Wow thats really awesome....I hope you guys have a great time! Any chance you want to adopt a 31yr old son? I'd be excited to be on either of those trips!

 

[vacationhopeful]

I wonder if that is a really good idea ... you in Russia and husband hiking where there is limited cell coverage with big time zone differences.

Just thinking of possible times or whys YOU or HIM might need to get ahold of each other for a dreaded emergency. Be sure you have someone available to be phone and computer able to communicate with important papers like birth certificates and medical insurance and doctors info. Elderly parents? House catches fire?

 

[tschwa2]

I did a 4 night Moscow, 4 night St. Petersburg, 1 night Talin, 2 night Helski trip 12 years ago. I used a Rick Steves Russia and Eastern Europe guide which was great but he hasn't updated since 98 so its no longer in date. For Russia, I used a homestay organization White nights. It looks like they are still in business but if you are interested email them. They were great at answering all my questions. I used some of their services and booked most tickets ballet, theater, museums, city tours on my own. http://wnights.com/journeys/russia/moscow/. In Moscow I had someone meet me at the airport and take me by public transportation (way cheaper than taking a cab and unless you read and speak Russian it would be difficult to do with the bus and metro transfers). The host was a single mom with a 16 year old daughter at home and another daughter away at university. She spoke very good English. Breakfast is included and she made me sandwiches and snacks for my daily sightseeing which I took care of myself. She did live about a 20 minute bus ride to the central tourist area but she showed me how to get the tickets for the bus and metro and where to get on and off. I bought my own overnight train to St. Petersburg but the company can do that for you for not too much more than doing it yourself. In St. Petersburg, my host was a 70ish yo widow who spoke little English but smiled and was hospitable and we communicated in gestures and very basic English. She lived a 5 minute walk from the metro so after I took the train I made my own way to her metro stop and she met me there even though I thought I was going to have to find my way to her house by myself.

I did this trip by myself back in my mid twenties before children and timesharing when I would think- ok, Where is the most interesting and exotic place I can go to for 2 weeks with airfare less than $700.

I hope to go back to do the trans Siberian in the next 5 to 10 years with my DH and sons.

 

[Carolinian]

I have done several trips to Russia. I like St. Petersburg better than Moscow. Make sure to see the palaces on the outskirts of St. Petersburg. The golden ring cities around Moscow are well worth seeing as well, but farther out. The first trip I took was not long after Communism fell, and was a package tour, where air, hotel, and meals for 8 days was $699. The last time I was there, we rented an apartment in St. Petersburg which worked out really well. I have taken the Red Arrow overnight train several times between Moscow and St. Petersburg, and it was a great way to travel between the cities. With three people, buy all four places in a 4-person compartment, so you will have it to yourselves. The taxi from the airport at Moscow into the city can run $100. I have taken the bus and metro in from the airport for a tiny fraction of that using the directions in Rough Guide, and I don't speak a word of Russian.

 

[hibbeln]

Well now I'm REALLY excited!

I thought we might like St.P better than Moscow also (plus Moscow on weekday nights is INSANELY expensive for hotels in the central district) so we're spending 4 nights and 3 days in Moscow, and 5 nights and 4 days in St.P (plus the evening we arrive in Moscow and the day that we arrive in St. P by train).

We had planned to do the overnight train ride, then we kind of aghast at the prices for a 2 person sleeper coach. Wow! Once we started thinking about it, we realized that to get on a train that leaves at midnight and arrives at 7 a.m. would leave us not much time for sleeping and no time to enjoy the ambience of the train.....and I am a person that enjoys my good night sleep. So my teen son suggested we instead get a good night sleep (and hot shower!) in our hotel in Moscow, then leave on the 6:30 a.m. train instead. That sounded like a much better (and cheaper, even considering the hotel room) idea, once again proving my kids are smarter than I am.

We have plans to visit Tsarkoye Selo outside StP. Unfortunately, going there at the end of March/beginning of April (which I have been told is practically the WORST time to visit, weather-wise) it means that the Golden Ring towns won't be a good idea (which is OK, we're short on time anyway), but I'm sad that the fountains won't be working at Peterhof. Many people have told me to not even go to Peterhof at this time of year, since without the fountains and gardens it's better to visit Tsarkoye Selo. Thoughts?

Yes, you're right that having half the family on the Appalachian Trail (in the Smokey Mtn segment, no less) and the other half in Russia is a bit dicey. But oh well, my son is a junior in high school and visiting Russia was top on his list, so it was either now or never. Fortunately my husband and younger son will be hiking with their boy scout troop (getting ready for Philmont in the summer) so they will have plenty of support if they run into any problems. And this is the first time EVER that I actually bought travel insurance...and looked it over VERY carefully in all the details. I'm actually more worried that something should happen to ME while in Russia (better not step out in front of busses!) and my son will be having to handle things for the both of us in a foreign country. But I guess that's how they learn,right? But we have back-up after back-up of adults back home (other than dad who will be unreachable) with all the documentation to cover any and all contingencies!

 

[Conan]

This thread on St Petersburg is great for me, too. We're going to be flying in on a Saturday in June, staying four nights through Wednesday. It follows on a timeshare week in Scotland, and we figured since we're already on the far side of the Atlantic this is our chance to see the Hermitage plus whatever else we can squeeze in. We paid US$420 per person for Lufthansa open jaw Aberdeen to St P and St P to Heathrow (stopping in Frankfurt in each direction).

We have reservations at Petro Palace for US$249/night, recommended to us by someone who's been there. Soon we need to get a suitable invite from the hotel, obtain a visa, and figure out airport-to-hotel transfer, not to mention how to spend our limited time.

Tsarkoye Selo is new to me--I'll post this and then head off to Wikipedia.
OK - - found it - - http://eng.tzar.ru/museums/palaces
25km from the center city http://eng.tzar.ru/info/transport

 

[hibbeln]

Conan - also look at visiting Peterhof. I had it explained to me that you want to visit either Peterhof or Tsarkeyo Selo. The advice that was giving to me is if you're going in the winter/spring (when the fountains won't be working) then go to Tsarkeyo Selo. If you're going in the summer (like you are) then visit Peterhof. Apparently the best way to see Peterhof is to take the hydrofoil boat to it and go first thing in the morning so you arrive just as the fountains turn on.
June should be an incredible time to visit! (But my April hotel rates are unbelievably cheaper).

 

[Carolinian]

June is the period of the ''white nights'' when you have virtually 24 hours daylight. I haven't been to St. Petersburg during that period but I have been to Tallinn then, and it is amazing.

 

[persia]

I take it this is in March? The elections are on the fourth and violence is expected. Putin is extremely unpopular and if he wins because of vote rigging there'll likely be riots. Last election the paper ballots went for Putins party and the electronic ones didn't. Be careful.

 

[hibbeln]

We're arriving March 29 and coming home April 8, so we'll be a bit after the elections. Might be an exciting time to be there! Then again, we might be walking into a hornets' nest!

 

[DianeG]

Going there in April too!

Hi Debi!

2012 is my year for Russia too! I arrive in st. Petersburg on April 22nd, staying 9 nights, then taking the early morning fast train into Moscow for 4 nights. I'm staying in a very reasonably priced B&B in St. Petersburg (SwissStar) and got a great EBB rate at the Hilton in Moscow.

I'll be buying a multi-day pass for the Hermitage and I'm thrilled at seeing Swan Lake and Firebird at the Mariinsky Theater (old Kirov). I booked the ballet tickets online, directly from the theater. I've also lined up a couple of cheapie walking tours for both cities. Did you look into a visit/private tour to Star City (Moscow)? Your son would probably get a kick out of that!

How did you book your train tickets?

It's thanks to Air France that I'm finally visiting Russia: in August, I was pricing tickets to France for my brother's wedding there in May. Turns out that I saved $300 on my ticket to Paris, by going to St. Petersburg and returning from Moscow, with a stop-over in Paris on the way back... weird, but good!! :whoopie:

 

[hibbeln]

We're stopping over in Paris on the way back too (or rather, flying through CDG).

I haven't bought our train tickets yet. We're also plannning to do the early morning fast train (just in reverse, fromMoscow to StP) after really mulling over the overnight train and deciding it didn't sound like we'd get any rest (and I was stunned by how expensive it was!). You can buy them on the official russian website if you can read Russian, though I have someone that gave me a step by step tutorial on how to do it so I'm sure I could walk through it. I'm just not sure our American credit cards will work? Otherwise to buy them in advance you have to go through something like russiantrains.com which has a very high markup. So I'll either try to figure out the real russian site in advance, or just buy them once we get there (doesn't sound too hard).
Who are you doing walking tours with? We have 2 set up with Moscow Free Tours (or something like that) and then one set up for StP with Peter's Walks (though I'm thinking maybe we might want to hire a guide to take us to Tsarkeyo Selo so we get the most out of it???).
We're staying at the COmfortHotel in StP for a great price, and the Hotel Budapest in Moscow for a good price (considering!). April sure seems to be a cheaper time of year to go than the summer!!!!! I liked the central location of both.

 

[Carolinian]

We're arriving March 29 and coming home April 8, so we'll be a bit after the elections. Might be an exciting time to be there! Then again, we might be walking into a hornets' nest!

I suggest that if you see political demonstrations, stay away. I had a colleague who was in the Republic of Georgia during some of their political demonstrations and decided to go see them but from a distance. He made the mistake, however, of being downwind and when the teargassing started it quickly reached where he was and proved to be quite an unpleasant experience. When there were political riots in Moldova, the government closed the land borders for a number of days, but even then you could still leave via the airport. I have been in a number of west European cities when there were major political demonstations and nothing got out of hand, but in eastern Europe you need to be a bit more careful.

 

[hibbeln]

Will do, Carolinian! I once lived (at the age of 18/19) in a North African country where we lived through 3 coup attempts in 2 months. One of them included machine gun fighting in the tiny street directly in front of our flat (luckily we were on the 2nd floor!). Ever since then I have learned what CAUTION is!
We will "peek" but not get swept up in it, and the suggestion to stay carefully upwind is an excellent one!

 

[marinatexno]

I like Moscow. It's the most beautiful city in the world. I visited Moscow last year ( watch my video on YouTube - Moscow City Tour). The bus tour of Moscow is an excellent way to see the exterior of famous buildings and places..Red Square, the Kremlin and Bolshoy theater ... wonderful panoramic views of the old town from different locations. Vorobiev Hills - the highest point of Moscow with fascinating view to the city.

 

[DianeG]

Tours and Sapsan train

I have some tours already booked with Moscow Free Tours as well, a mix of free and private tours (including Kolomenskoye and the Cosmonautics Museum). I'm currently trying to see if I can arrange a private tour of Star City. My time in Moscow needs to tightly scheduled and carefully programmed, as I arrive in the city during a major holiday - May 1st. It's also my train day, so I have been advised to book my Sapsan ticket as soon as the booking window opens (45 days) because of that specific date. Are you going to try using the RZD website, with help from the PDF tutorial available from TA's Ebertsj?

As for St Petersburg, since I will be there for over a week, I'll wait to book until I get there. I am very glad that I bought my ballet tickets for the Mariinsky back in Sept. though, since the Swan Lake production has few tickets left already and the other production (Firebird) has no decent cheap seats left either!

 

[hibbeln]

Yep, I would use Ebertsj's tutorial if we book in advance....which I will probably do. I'm just putting it off because it sounds complicated! Ebertsj is a great guy, he wrote out a note in Russian for my teen son to carry since he has a pacemaker and can't go through normal security....which I'm guessing will be an issue!
We're doing the KGB tour with Moscow Free Tours as my son would love to work for the CIA so he is VERY interested in the KGB.

 

[hibbeln]

I'm so conflicted about the Marinskii, Bolshoi, etc as we have no background in ballet or opera ( well, we DID watch Amadeus! ) and I'm traveling with only my teen son. I should probably look and see if there is anything reasonable so we could give it a go. What would be great is to see a Tchaikovsky concert or something like that in beautiful surroundings.....but I wonder if we could find something AND go in our tourists-packing-light clothes?!

 

[DianeG]

Ballet

Hi Debi!

I travel very light, but always with one pair of dark pants and dark top (black). My walking shoes are black. In the daytime, these clothes get "mix-and-matched" with my basic travel color palette. Although not chic, and as probably the most casually dressed person in attendance, I have never felt as if I stick out.

Although not a fan of opera, I attended my first one in Florence. My first ballet was in London. I have also attended symphonic orchestra concerts in Budapest and Barcelona, and listened to lovely chamber music in Vienna and Salzburg, as well as many other European cities. I even tried an all-organ music concert and was blown away by my first Bach experience! Can I remember who I actually saw perform or even the names of most of the composers? No... BUT I remember each experience and just how enjoyable it was to split my attention between listening, watching the performers, and gawking at the surroundings.

I now ALWAYS include a concert or two everywhere I go in Europe, if I can. Many times, the best experiences have been in churches -- watch for anyone handing out leaflets or for small posters pasted on posts or walls for these. I also always buy the cheapest seats possible -- in Covent Garden, we laughed because we were as high up as the rafters!! I regard attending a classical performance as a different kind of cultural experience while traveling... something that I wouldn't normally do at home.

So why not?? Give it a try!! The chance to be in one of these take-your-breath-away venues can be worth the price of the performance ticket itself! If your teenager hates it, it'll be a good travel story. If they love it, it'll become a great memory...

 

[hibbeln]

Great ideas! We'll keep our eyes open and ask around once we get there. I'm especially interested in trying to find a choir concert at a church. That would be quite the cultural experience!
My son is one of those teenaged boys that will gamely go along with anything, and make an attempt to enjoy anything (heck, otherwise we wouldn't be going to Russia!!!!) so he would probably LOVE a concert or ballet or anything like that just because it was different and new.

 

[DianeG]

Yep, I would use Ebertsj's tutorial if we book in advance....which I will probably do. I'm just putting it off because it sounds complicated!

Hi Debi,

You must be getting pretty excited about your upcoming departure!

Have your booked your train tickets yet? I have just used a combination of Ebertsj's "cheatsheet" and Google translate in order to successfully book my train ticket on the Sapsan train between StP and Moscow.

I had advised my credit card company that I would be putting the charge through the day before. I had also checked out the seats layout on the English webpage beforehand, and picked out the seat that I'd like, taking note of the direction of the train.

http://eng.rzd.ru/statice/public/rzdeng?STRUCTURE_ID=4146

And this site to actually purchase the tickets (in Russian only):
http://rzd.ru/

Two details that were interesting for me:

1. The ticket confirms that the cars are non-smoking (yeah!)

2. Apparently, car #10 is 2nd class but was originally intended to be 1st class, so the seats are wired for notebook use...

Thanks to the cheatsheet - the booking process was very straightforward. So, if you have not done so yet, I'd definitely encourage you to go ahead and book your tickets online.