I've always been fascinated (and a bit shocked, at first) to see how Russian cities still have active power plants right in the middle of the city, often in nice, upscale, residential neighborhoods. This is not a case of a city "growing around" industrial buildings that were, once, in the outskirts or even in the... Continue Reading →
«Big Wood» is the name of a ski resort in the town of Kirovsk, located at the spurs of the Khibiny Mountains on the shores of the Lake Bolshoy Vudyavr, 175 kilometers (109 mi) south of Murmansk. The skiing trails are located on the southern and northern slopes of the Mount Aikuaiventchorr (I'll give you a minute to try and... Continue Reading →
Russia can undoubtedly be a wonderfully inexpensive holiday destination (see also my previous post on the price of medicine in Russia). The country's largest cities, Moscow and Saint Petersburg in particular, offer a huge choice in prices for lodging and eating. For hotels it might be sometimes less than advisable to choose the cheapest option... Continue Reading →
Every year the Russian capital spares no expenses when it come to Christmas lights. This has been particularly true since 2015, with the first Moscow Christmas light festival. That first year the festival comprised 100 km of garlands and 8,000 different decorative elements, along with 20 luminous art objects by famed international artists. The festival has steadily... Continue Reading →
We recently spent about a week in and around the Russian city of Murmansk, the largest city on Earth North of the Artic Circle, discovering new places preparing a new photo itinerary. I will post more pictures and infos on this trip in the coming days and weeks, but, first thing first, let's start with what... Continue Reading →
Tsarskoye Selo (or "Tsar's Village") was the town containing a former Russian residence of the Romanov imperial family and visiting nobility. It is located 24 kilometers (15 mi) south from the center of Saint Petersburg. It is now part of the town of Pushkin ( which got its name in 1937 to to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of the Russian... Continue Reading →
Many foreigners, and western in particular, have a mental image of Moscow as a drab, grey city. This comes from years of movies where the Russian capital was portrayed as such, especially during the cold war years. But in reality Moscow is a very green city, with over 40 percent of its territory consisting of parks,... Continue Reading →
I have wanted to write about this for a while, but for a long time I didn't know whether finding caviar in a fast food was more of a culture shock (it certainly was!) or a travel tip (certainly worth following!). In the end I decided it was definitely both and so I put this... Continue Reading →
In 2009, Russian Railways made an order with Siemens for a development of an electric multiple unit train adapted to the Russian environment. The new trains were planned to be used in Sochi for suburban passenger traffic during the 2014 Winter Olympics, and then to be partially transferred to other train lines. Now, three and a half years after the Games, you... Continue Reading →
Russia Through The Lens 