Olkhon Island, the biggest island on Lake Baikal, is a popular destination for tourists who want to get away from the big cities and see nature’s amazing beauty. Here are some photos that show us a bit Olkhon’s beauty.
by lemmingby on Flickr.
by acidka on Flickr.
by thor_ on Flickr.
by mnru05 on Flickr.
by Slavophile on Flickr.
One of the fun fountains at Peterhof takes visitors by surprise!
Photo by victor2107 on Yandex Photos
Martyn Andrews of RT continues his series on the most famous tourist destination in Moscow with this 12 minute video featuring the Moscow Kremlin. If you’re planning on visiting Moscow, we recommend watching this video. There are lots of interesting facts and beautiful sights to be discovered inside the Kremlin.
YouTube – Moscow Out: Kremlin inside the walls.
This eleven minute show, which recently aired on RT, gives a nice overview of the sights around Red Square and the area near the Kremlin walls. If you’re planning on visiting Moscow, we recommend watching this video. If you’ve recently been to Moscow, you will see some familiar sights here and maybe have some of your questions answered.
YouTube – Moscow Out: Kremlin outside the walls.
We recently found this tourism advertisement for Kazan. It appears to have been released sometime last year. The ad features many beautiful views of Kazan and creates an almost Disney-like image of this historic city. While we found the text of the ad to be a bit over-the-top, it is certainly worth viewing. Perhaps a trip to Kazan is in order?
YouTube – Tourism Ad Kazan,Russia.
The Chelyabinsk region of Russia is located in both Europe and Asia. It is a place where East meats West. The region’s capital is traditionally known for its industry which grew rapidly in the Soviet era. However, there are still vast parts of the Chelyabinsk region that are still very far from the industrialized world. In some areas of Chelyabinsk there is a new tourism industry trying to get started. Here’s a fascinating report from Russia Today about the Chelyabinsk region and the beauties you can see there.
Link: Chelyabinsk Region (Oblast) at Wikipedia
Link: Chelyabinsk (capital city) at Wikipedia
Russia continues its bid to have the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. Here’s an English language promotional video we found online.
The UK based company GW Travel Limited is launching a new luxury train service on the Trans-Siberian railroad. With tickets ranging in price from $10,000 to $17,000, you’re unlikely to see many backpackers or traditional Trans-Siberian tourists on this train.
The Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express will accommodate guests in 12 new sleeping cars that are made up of Gold and Silver classes. The six Gold class feature modern en-suite amenities including power showers and under floor heating. Cabins are equipped with state-of the-art DVD/CD players, LCD TV screens, audio system, individual air conditioning, and wardrobe space.
You could choose to travel in a Silver class car, but they are equipped with smaller shower areas.
The Golden Eagle’s inaugural departure is on 6 May, 2007, and the 14 night journey will leave from Moscow, travelling more than 6,000 miles (10,000 kms) to its final destination, Vladivostok, on the Sea of Japan.
Link: GW Travel Limited – Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express
Link: New York Times – A New Luxury Train on Trans-Siberian Route
Link: Reuters – All aboard Russia’s luxury hotel on wheels
Link: Wikipedia – Trans-Siberian Railway
In a small village called Verkhnie Mandrogi, not far from St. Petersburg, you can find the Museum of Russian Vodka. This museum features over 2600 different kinds of Russian vodka. Bottles range from the ordinary to the extraordinary. You can see vodka in bottles shaped like guns, swords, crowns, and even statues. Here are a few pictures of the museum.
Stuffed Russian bear near the entrance to the museum.
Link: Flickr photo set with more pictures of the museum
Link: Village of Verkhnie Mandrogi
The St. Petersburg Zoological Museum is one of the largest zoological museums in the world, with approximately 30,000 exhibits. The museum was opened in July of 1832 and is located in the center of St. Petersburg. The museum is a highly recommended destination for tourists in St. Petersburg. Some of the more modern exhibits include English translations, but most are only in Russian (and Latin). Here’s some pictures from inside the museum posted by Kevin Hamm on Flickr.
Whale skeleton on display.
Polar bear display.
Mummified baby mammoth.
Shark display.
A small part of the massive butterfly and insect exhibits.
Link: Official museum site
Link: More photos of the museum by Kevin Hamm.
