August 10th we took a vacation to Russia. This was a much more complicated experience than I had imagined. We randomly decided to go a couple of weeks ago, so we quickly bought airline tickets to Moscow, not realizing until afterward that we needed Visas to the country. I was surprised considering how long ago the communist regime fell, that it would be this complicated, but I now know that everything related to Russia is a challenge, at least still in 2006. We didn’t have enough time to go through the regular visa application channels, so I paid way more than I paid for the plane tickets to get the visa. And once we realized how hard it was to get to Russia, we decided to visit St. Petersburg as well as Moscow (not to mention everyone we told that we were going to Moscow for 4 days, asked “what are you going to do in Moscow for 4 days!!!??). So we bought a ticket from Moscow to St. Petersburg to visit that city, which was much more beautiful and exciting than Moscow (outside of Red Square, at least). We flew to Moscow and immediately got a bus to the regional airport to get on a plane to St. Petersburg, the once ca
pital of Russia from 1712-1918.. This city is so much more European than Moscow. We got in late in the day Thursday, so we just checked into the hotel and relaxed. Friday morning we started early with a walk to the Hermitage, an actually quite interesting Museum complex at the Winter Palace. While waiting for it to open we were in the middle of the square where we watched a Russian film crew film a movie that had a big crowd of people dressed up in what looked like early 1900 military gear and old cars. Right across form the Hermitage is the dock to catch a hydrofoil on the Neva 
River to the Gulf of Finland to Petrodvorets, Peter the Great’s grand palace, Peter’s “Window on Europe”…”Too Russian to be European, too European to be Russian”. It has beautiful grounds, with 12 miles of manmade canals. We took the hydrofoil back to the Hermitage and walked to see the Grand Hotel and Mariinsky theater (Kirov in Soviet era), where the famous (supposedly) White Nights Festival is he
ld. Finally, we ended the day walking to the Yusopov Palace, once owned by one of the richest families in Russia and the Nobleman’s Nest restaurant. The cellar of the palace is where Rasputin, the Siberian mystic who somehow, like Jafar in Alladin, maintained some influence over the last Czar, Nicholas II, was killed by Nicholas’ friend, Prince Yusupov in 1916 . At first he tried to kill him with cyanide laced wine, but when that didn’t work he tied him up and tossed him into the Neva River (while still alive, supposedly).
The next day we got up early and went out and visited Pavlosk, the summer palace that Catherine the Great built for her son Paul I (Pavel in Russian). This one was hard to find and required us to take some rickety trains and the subway (not necessarily real fun with 2 young kids in a country where we can’t speak the language). Finally we arrived and enjoyed a walk from the train station through the vast grounds finally coming upon the palace about 45 minutes later. Hitler’s troops occupied this palace as Gestapo headquarters before setting fire to it in 1944. So Russia spent 25 years creating the replica back to what it was.
We finished here and found our way back to the airport where we flew to Moscow. We landed early evening and spent the next day visiting the sites in Moscow. I am glad that we included St. Petersburg because we saw everything we wanted to see in 24 hours in Moscow, including the Bolshoi Theater (which was under complete renovation, so not so spectacular-actually closed and the Ballet troupe performs in a nearby location instead).
We took the Moscow subway and were amazed at the impressive structure this is, in design and ornament. Chandeliers, statues, gold leaf, etc. etc. We specifically stopped at Mayakovskaya, Kievskaya, and Komsomolskaya. We had to just count the stops between stations because we couldn’t understand anything that was announced. We walked to Red Square and the Kremlin and St. Basil’s Cathedral. 
This was truly an amazing site (including Lenin’s tomb next to the Kremlin-we didn’t go in to visit as the line was particularly long and the girls never would have survived it). Thinking about the Soviet era and being in this place was fascinating. We passed old men with tape players playing old Soviet propaganda music/speeches and waving the Soviet Flag, longing for the days when everything was handed to them (or not, most of the time). The Russians we encountered were not friendly at all. Often, as I tried to communicate with them for directions they would just turn away. I get that English is not common, but some common decency would have been appreciated. They all just seemed very sad. It is amazing to me what 
Hungary and Czech Republic, and Slovakia have achieved in the last 15 years vs. the Russians. And it makes me think what kind of economy these countries could have today if the Communists had not deterred their growth. It actually upsets me. Hungary could be Austria if not for the Communists. We then went to a Russian Flea Market, the highlight of the trip for Heather, where they had EVERYTHING. We bought a lot of Fabrege eggs, Russian nesting dolls, plates, and Christmas decorations.We completed our trip visiting the Tretyakov Gallery, where I enjoyed making up 
stories about each painting for Katie, which actually kept her interested the whole time. “What’s the story about this painting, dad?”. So I would make one up based on what I saw in the painting. I took a good picture of her in front of a huge painting of Ivan the Terrible (who actually is depicted in the painting as looking quite terrible!). We flew home and while driving back from the airport in Budapest Heather made a sigh of relief on how great it was to be back home! (Crazy considering we are still in a country that is not as comfortable as our own, although simply amazing as I can not mention enough). It goes to show how different Russia has evolved (or not evolved, rather) than Hungary. It really was nice to be home. A great trip culturally, but hard, nonetheless.
pital of Russia from 1712-1918.. This city is so much more European than Moscow. We got in late in the day Thursday, so we just checked into the hotel and relaxed. Friday morning we started early with a walk to the Hermitage, an actually quite interesting Museum complex at the Winter Palace. While waiting for it to open we were in the middle of the square where we watched a Russian film crew film a movie that had a big crowd of people dressed up in what looked like early 1900 military gear and old cars. Right across form the Hermitage is the dock to catch a hydrofoil on the Neva 
River to the Gulf of Finland to Petrodvorets, Peter the Great’s grand palace, Peter’s “Window on Europe”…”Too Russian to be European, too European to be Russian”. It has beautiful grounds, with 12 miles of manmade canals. We took the hydrofoil back to the Hermitage and walked to see the Grand Hotel and Mariinsky theater (Kirov in Soviet era), where the famous (supposedly) White Nights Festival is he
ld. Finally, we ended the day walking to the Yusopov Palace, once owned by one of the richest families in Russia and the Nobleman’s Nest restaurant. The cellar of the palace is where Rasputin, the Siberian mystic who somehow, like Jafar in Alladin, maintained some influence over the last Czar, Nicholas II, was killed by Nicholas’ friend, Prince Yusupov in 1916 . At first he tried to kill him with cyanide laced wine, but when that didn’t work he tied him up and tossed him into the Neva River (while still alive, supposedly).The next day we got up early and went out and visited Pavlosk, the summer palace that Catherine the Great built for her son Paul I (Pavel in Russian). This one was hard to find and required us to take some rickety trains and the subway (not necessarily real fun with 2 young kids in a country where we can’t speak the language). Finally we arrived and enjoyed a walk from the train station through the vast grounds finally coming upon the palace about 45 minutes later. Hitler’s troops occupied this palace as Gestapo headquarters before setting fire to it in 1944. So Russia spent 25 years creating the replica back to what it was.
We finished here and found our way back to the airport where we flew to Moscow. We landed early evening and spent the next day visiting the sites in Moscow. I am glad that we included St. Petersburg because we saw everything we wanted to see in 24 hours in Moscow, including the Bolshoi Theater (which was under complete renovation, so not so spectacular-actually closed and the Ballet troupe performs in a nearby location instead).
We took the Moscow subway and were amazed at the impressive structure this is, in design and ornament. Chandeliers, statues, gold leaf, etc. etc. We specifically stopped at Mayakovskaya, Kievskaya, and Komsomolskaya. We had to just count the stops between stations because we couldn’t understand anything that was announced. We walked to Red Square and the Kremlin and St. Basil’s Cathedral. 
This was truly an amazing site (including Lenin’s tomb next to the Kremlin-we didn’t go in to visit as the line was particularly long and the girls never would have survived it). Thinking about the Soviet era and being in this place was fascinating. We passed old men with tape players playing old Soviet propaganda music/speeches and waving the Soviet Flag, longing for the days when everything was handed to them (or not, most of the time). The Russians we encountered were not friendly at all. Often, as I tried to communicate with them for directions they would just turn away. I get that English is not common, but some common decency would have been appreciated. They all just seemed very sad. It is amazing to me what 
Hungary and Czech Republic, and Slovakia have achieved in the last 15 years vs. the Russians. And it makes me think what kind of economy these countries could have today if the Communists had not deterred their growth. It actually upsets me. Hungary could be Austria if not for the Communists. We then went to a Russian Flea Market, the highlight of the trip for Heather, where they had EVERYTHING. We bought a lot of Fabrege eggs, Russian nesting dolls, plates, and Christmas decorations.We completed our trip visiting the Tretyakov Gallery, where I enjoyed making up 
stories about each painting for Katie, which actually kept her interested the whole time. “What’s the story about this painting, dad?”. So I would make one up based on what I saw in the painting. I took a good picture of her in front of a huge painting of Ivan the Terrible (who actually is depicted in the painting as looking quite terrible!). We flew home and while driving back from the airport in Budapest Heather made a sigh of relief on how great it was to be back home! (Crazy considering we are still in a country that is not as comfortable as our own, although simply amazing as I can not mention enough). It goes to show how different Russia has evolved (or not evolved, rather) than Hungary. It really was nice to be home. A great trip culturally, but hard, nonetheless. 
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