Shining domes standing out against the blue sky, fairy-tale palaces where you breathe the sumptuous atmosphere of the age of the tsars, enormous squares that have known the splendour and the horrors of Russian history, finely decorated churches, glorious Kremlins from which the largest country in the world was governed. A small piece of Russia is perhaps not enough to get to know a nation so large and so ambiguous, but a journey through its undisputed symbols, St Petersburg, Moscow and the Golden Ring, lets you discover a place that remained isolated for centuries and that only in recent years is opening up to the world. With its pros and cons... I don't know why, but Red Square has always represented for me a place that had to be visited (along with many others...).
Now that I have seen it I know the reason: it is immense, solemn, spectacular, truly unique and certainly the most unforgettable place in all of Russia!!!
95% of the tourists you meet in Russia travel with an organised group: for the remaining 5% (including us), it is not always easy to find your way through the maze of rules and bureaucracy, through underground systems and attractions with signs only in Cyrillic, or to ask for information from a population most of whom do not speak a single word of English. Precisely for this reason, the country is not at all organised from a tourist point of view, especially for independent travel. In any case, apart from a few moments of discouragement at wandering around in search of the entrance to some church or museum, or at finding the right direction to leave a metro station, the experience of independent travel in Russia is undoubtedly fascinating and not as complicated as it might at first seem. Certainly St Petersburg is much easier than Moscow, which is chaotic and disorganised.
Between the two, though, Moscow is the one I liked best.
My guide and travel diary on Russia:
Day 14 Aug 2011
St. Petersburg, Moscow and the Golden Ring for €1,000… it's possible!
Naturally, on 3 conditions:
1) moving well in advance and planning the itinerary in detail, knowing well the places you're going to visit and how to reach them 2) having a bit of luck in finding a good deal for the flight, continuously searching for the best offers for hotels, moving with public transport 3) moving independently in Russia requires a bit of patience when, for any question, you won't get any satisfactory answer (except in hotels).
A sufficient travel experience is recommended before tackling Russia independently and a bit of a spirit of adaptation.
WHERE TO START
Flight: by searching well in advance it's possible to find very advantageous offers, for example with Lufthansa.
Visa: the cheapest way is to go directly to the Russian Consulate (Milan) or embassy (Rome). But first, you'll have to obtain a tourist invitation and insurance recognized in Russia. All things considered, it can be more convenient, even in terms of time, to rely on some agency. The most convenient one I found offered the complete procedure for 99 euros per person (invitation, 10-day insurance and visa). Reliable and fast (phone 02-45071475).
Attractions: search the internet for as much updated information as you can find on the places to visit, the hours, the closing days, the entrance costs, the means to reach them. The websites of the most important attractions are also in English, many only in Russian, but with google translate it's not impossible.
Trains: on the internet you can find some English-language site that offers the possibility of booking, unfortunately the prices are decidedly higher compared to the official rates. The only way to save, is to do everything through the official website of the Russian railways....ONLY IN RUSSIAN:
First of all it's necessary to create an account by registering, then it's possible to book. Here too, it's possible to manage with the help of google, there's also a very useful site, in English, that translates page by page what you'll find during the booking, with relative instructions.
Not all credit cards are accepted (with Visa I had no problems). You'll get an electronic ticket that you won't even have to exchange at the ticket office: you just need to show up on the train where, before getting on, they'll verify your booking with your passport.
Hotel: search for offers on the best sites (also help yourself with trivago.it), book cancellable rates, so that, if you should come across some great offer later, you can easily cancel and proceed with a new booking.
Suzdal
Day 25 Aug 2011
My rough itinerary:
Lufthansa flight from Milan to St. Petersburg via Munich, return to Milan from Moscow via Dusseldorf. 4 nights in St. Petersburg, train to Vladimir (2 nights), visit to Vladimir and Suzdal (Golden Ring), train to Moscow (3 nights) and visit to Sergiev Posad (Golden Ring) by train from Moscow.
I left out the remaining towns of the Golden Ring, more complicated to reach and offering attractions similar to those of the places already visited. The two unmissable cities of the Golden Ring are Sergiev Posad and Suzdal, while Vladimir offers little but is well connected by trains, so it makes a convenient base to start from.
Costs: Here are the costs incurred for a family of 3:
Lufthansa flight € 435 (an unmissable deal…€ 145 round trip per person) Visas € 237 Train St. Petersburg – Vladimir € 270 Train Vladimir – Moscow € 65 Hotel 5th Corner St. Petersburg € 90 – 3 stars, triple room with breakfast Hotel Vladimir € 85 – 3 stars, triple room with breakfast Hilton Leningradskaya Moscow € 152 - 5 stars, triple room with breakfast Entrance to all attractions and local transport: € 400 10 dinners: € 430 (plus quick lunches at the kiosks)
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