Way to Russia Talk Lounge

Gustavo · Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 7:42 pm Post subject: Is it possible?

Hello!

First post here Smile

I live in Chile, and I´ve been attracted to the Russian culture since I have memory.

The time has come for me to visit Russia. I´m going with my mom, since it´s her gift for (hopefully) passing my BAR exam in law.

I´ve studied Russian here, and I have a basic knowledge of the language, even though I´m planning to resume my lessons after the exam.

What I´m wondering is the following...

I hate the "guided tours". They always seem to take to little time to see anything, and you can´t spend all the time you´d like seeing an attraction, or just walking through the streets.

We went to Europe last winter, and we planned all the trip by ourselves, and it kicked ass.

So, I´m just planning to do the same in Russia. I´ve read some books, and visited many websites, so I have in mind the places that are a "must". Plus, all the info given here in WTR seems very reliable and simple to have a "self-made trip"...booking hotels in advance, etc.

Is it possible to plan a trip just like that?, I mean, will I have problems with the VISA or something on that matters?...

The main idea is the following:

Going in June, 2009, for, hopefully, 3 weeks.

1 week in Moscow
1 week in the Golden Ring
1 week in Pieter.

Is it recommended?, is it too much time?...

Any inputs are highly welcome.

Spassiba Smile

camarks · Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 9:38 pm Post subject:

For an experienced traveler, making your own plan is the way to go. The only thing I would suggest is that two weeks for Moscow and the Golden Ring might be too much and one week for St. Petersburg (and the surrounding palaces) might be too short, but it depends on your preferences.

Gustavo · Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 11:35 pm Post subject:

Hey, thanks a lot for your comments!

How many time should be recommended for Moscow/Golden Ring?....10 days?...

I´ve always felt very attracted to Moscow, and walk through it, take a banya (that´s a MUST for me!)...I thought that 1 week was going to be enough, but I haven´t been there, so I don´t really know.

I´m likely to spend hours just sitting and drooling in the Red Square, and walking thoroughly in Moscow streets, the metro, entering the churches, going to the hills and make as much as I can.

About Pieter, I was thinking.
1 day for Peterhof
1 day for Tsarskoie
1 day for Hemitage
4 days for walking through the city

Maybe the greatness of Pieter recommends it to be a more extensive journey.

Oh!; and about the golden ring, I read the recommendations here on WTR, and it said 5-6 days, so that´s what I´m planning.

The idea is to get the more I can for the 20 days (or 3 weeks) I´ll be spending on Russia.

Sbassiba balshoi druzia!

Varrah · Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 5:50 pm Post subject:

The timing seems quite good to me.
The advice for both Moscow and Piter is to list all the places you want to visit - both cities are quite big and walking from one place to another can really take a lot of time. But if you'll have the list, you could just go here and there by bus, tramp, subway etc. and see it all with the life of the citizens from the inside.

Again, having a list made, you'll be able to refine you schedule, once you'll see to many points to visit.

June is also a perfect time to vizit Piter, since the white nights are in full effect then. So count your strengths to take night-walking as well Smile

Just FYI: You can find a banya in every city and almost every village in Russia. Though finding it in a city is easier of course.

Gustavo · Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 9:17 pm Post subject:

Thanks a lot Varrah!

That´s why I loved the explications on WTR of the cities, since they divide them by "parts". Therefore I should be able to get the best out of the time I´ll spend in Russia.

Paul Holmes · Lounge Wizard Joined: 12 Apr 2005 Posts: 1071

I would spend two weeks in Piter and one week in Moscow.
But other cities like Vladimir, Novgorod, and Pskov and such are great.
If you go to masterrussian.com, I am sure that you can find a penpal that will help you learn Russian and help you with a tour also.

BTW, you cannot see the Hermitage in one day unless you bring roller blades. Piter must be seen in the summer especially the Summer place.

Why just admit that you have to visit again and see cities like Yekaterinburg, Volgagrad, Kazan, Sochi, and many more.

Gustavo · Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 6:58 am Post subject:

Wow Paul, thanks a lot for your valuable input!

As soon as I have a more "planned" schedule, I´ll post it here to receive comments and suggestions.

Paka! Very Happy

Varrah · Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 9:14 am Post subject:

camarks · Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 5:17 pm Post subject:

What Varrah says about the Hermitage is true. You need to have a plan and/or a lot of time. When my wife and I went we had mapped out what we thought would be the most interesting rooms from its days as a royal residence (less than a century ago) and for distinctly Russian exhibits. We spent about half a day there and accomplished all we wanted to. We are fortunate to have been to the Louvre and are often able to visit the National Gallery of Art at the Smithsonian in Washington DC, so we weren't too interested in spending our valuable time looking in detail at all the European artwork. From this perspective, The Russian Museum is equally interesting and we also spent about half a day there; I recommend it.

Gustavo · Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2008 12:18 am Post subject:

Well, I´m definitely not a huge fan of art, and that´s why I´m thinking in 1 or half day for the Hermitage.

When I went to the Louvre, we spent all the evening there, and had quite some time to see the most interesting works.

My mom wants to see Rembrandt´s paintings in the Hermitage, and I just want to get inside and walk through it...

I do not want to spend much time in museums, since I prefer to walk through the streets, and enter the Churches.

Too much stuff to do, and you always have to leave something behind to have an excuse to return Laughing

Varrah · Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2008 2:02 pm Post subject:

one more FYI: there's a church INSIDE Hermitage Smile

and a theatre as well Smile

UsualSuspect · Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2008 2:11 pm Post subject:

Gustavo,
You'll get "sensory overload" trying to "do" the Hermitage in a day. Unless you bring roller skates Laughing

. Maybe two half days? The schedule you posted looks pretty good. I didn't go outside the city limits and just wandered around for 4 days seeing what I wanted to. I was tired of churches by the time I got there so used the Church on Spilled Blood as a reference point in my wanderings

Usualsuspect

Paul Holmes · Lounge Wizard Joined: 12 Apr 2005 Posts: 1071

Minimum two days for the Hermitage. You can take boat to the Summer place also which is also at least one whole day if not more.

So when you say only a week. I think not. Plus Novgorod is only 3 hour train trip away and it is the oldest city in Russia. It is a nice place to stay to get the small city feel of Russia and there is a little beach, their Kremlin, and the wooden city. Novgorod is worth a visit. Pskov is not that far either.

Gustavo · Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2008 8:55 am Post subject:

Too much awesome stuff to visit.

Will see what the money / time allows to make. I really appreciate all your comments, and always looking for more of them Cool

As soon as I have a tentative schedule, I´ll post it here to receive comments and to see what can I do to make the most I can of this life time dreamed travel Smile

Spassiba!

Jebber45 · Frequent Guest Joined: 31 Mar 2008 Posts: 17

Hello Gustavo,

I actually just got back from a very similar trip this past saturday (oct 11th).. My girlfriend and I spent one week in St. Petersburg, one week in Moscow, and a two-day trip to Sergiev Posad and Rostov.

In my opinion, your plan for STP is good.. One week will suffice even given a day in Peterhof and Tsarkoye Selo. We also spent one full day in the Hermitage.. and that is true that one day is not enough to see everything. The thing is, we did not want to see EVERYTHING. For instance, ancient Egyptian artifacts, really wasn't our bag. One full day allowed us to see the entire 2nd and 3rd floor (the 3rd floor is not as full) and a few rooms on the first floor.

If you want to walk around the streets and enter churches, Moscow is your place. We are both Orthodox, and learning more about this culture in Russia was important to our trip. There are many, many more very neat neighborhood churches in Moscow. We spent a whole day walking around Zamoskvarika and visiting churches and it was great. However, If you are in STP on a Sunday, go to a liturgy at St. Nicholas, it is a very neat church.. liturgy is at 10am.

You have a lot of time there, which is cool. I would be careful on how you plan your golden ring trip. Granted, I only went to two GR cities, but we stayed in Rostov for the night, which I do not recommend. Figure out which cities are worth more time, and keep in mind that they are pretty far apart!

Like I said, we just got back.. So I'm happy to help with any questions as we got a lot of from this board in our planning!