sterlingice

My wife and I are planning a trip to Russia in April/May timeframe next year. Some of the hard stuff is taken care of: airline miles to get there and 5 days of hotel each in Moscow (Courtyard Paveletskaya) and Petersburg (Courtyard St. Petersburg Center West/Pushkin Hotel) through Marriott points. We're looking to be there 2-2 1/2 weeks and have never been to Russia before. We both know a little Russian but it's going to be rusty at best, inadequate at worst.
(Thanks to those in this thread: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/russi...es-points.html)

The simple structure is fly into Moscow and stay 5 nights there, take the train to St Petersburg and do 5 days there, return to Moscow and then fly back. However, we also are looking to add a few days to the trip, either between Moscow and Petersburg or after returning from St Petersburg. Below is the results of our brainstorms: lists of items we would like to do tho not an itinerary: we're just working on winnowing the list down and planning the days. Also, any items we're missing that are can't misses or personal favorites?

Moscow:
-Red Square (St Basils), Kremlin (Armoury, Diamond Fund), Bolshoi Theatre, Tretyakov Gallery, Pushkin Museum, Gorky Park, Patriarch Pond, Gum, Space Monument and Museum, Additional churches (Church of the Great Ascension? Cathedral of Christ the Savior?), Kuskovo Estate, Izmailovsky Market/Old Arbat/Tverskaya Street (souvenirs); Novodevichy/New Maiden Convent and Cemetery; Lenin's mausoleum
-The first day, we're looking at getting a guide for a day to help show us around the city and get us acclimated. Then we'll work in the rest in an order that makes sense spatially and time-wise
-We'd love to do a show at the Bolshoi but tickets seem hit and miss

St Petersburg:
-St Petersburg: The Hermitage/Winter Palace, Russian Museum, Peter and Paul Fotress, Mariinsky Theater, Nevsky Prospekt
-Can the Hermitage be done in a day if you only speak limited Russian? I remember feeling somewhat rushed at the Met in NYC and the Vatican spending "only" a day at each. Same idea here where it might be better ot plan a day and a half?
-Tickets for the Mariinsky (vs Bolshoi) seem more "available" (tho expensive); Ideally we'd like to do a show at each- say, an Opera at one and Ballet at the other
-I assume the 4 hour high speed train is the way to go between the two cities

Day Trip Questions:
-My wife is really into Russian literature and wants to do a day trip out the Tolstoy estate (Yasnaya Polyana). Is this a full day? Is there other stuff to do out that direction?
-Are there any day trips out from St Petersburg? I just don't see a whole lot. I'd love to do something related to being close to the Arctic Circle- something out in nature- but I didn't see anything easily accessible.
-Speaking of which, are there any good "national park" equivalents near where we are going to be? I'd love a chance to go see wildlife or see something unique that's safe for tourists and gets some non-urban flavor.
-Another quality candidate seems to be to hit up one of the Golden Ring cities- train out there, tour the city, maybe spend a night, head back to Moscow. It seems like all have good churches and town squares. Are there any that have something that sets it apart from the others?
-What about the Trans-Siberian Railroad? Is it worth it to head out to Yaroslavl or another city for a day and head back?

Additional Questions:
-May 9th looks like a huge national holiday. I've even heard there are a lot of places open that are not open any other day of the year. Is this a good thing to be there for first time visitors where you would get to see something interesting like parades and other celebrations? Or is it something that would be more of a hassle where everything is crowded, it bogs down the city, and/or Russians don't really want to "share" the holiday with foreigners and it's better to leave before that?
-Our idea of night life is going to shows (want to do Bolshoi and Mariinsky) or sporting events. For instance, we both love going to baseball games and I'm up to 20 stadiums (19 for her). Is there something we would enjoy seeing? It looks like the KHL season would be done by then. What about basketball, soccer, or something else? And is it safe for foreigners?
-We're looking for a mix of different activities that work for those with limited Russian. This trip so far looks pretty museum heavy (tougher when you don't know the language), monument heavy (doesn't take too long), and light on most else (a couple of shows but that's about it). Normally, we'd hit up, say, a zoo for a change of pace but the reviews are pretty bad and we don't really want to waste our time there. What else could we see to add some variety?

Beyond that, we're just looking for any other great ideas- like that great site off the beaten path that was very much worth visiting. We're also wanting to know about general pitfalls like the fact that getting a visa appears to be a pretty big hassle.

SI

sterlingice

Bump

I'd really appreciate people's thoughts on what to do outside of Moscow/Petersburg and other possible activities.

Also, very curious about experiences on May 1/2 and May 9 as those are holidays. Is it better to plan around those days and go either earlier in April or later in May. Or would you get a treat in seeing some of the holiday festivities?

SI

davewill

It seems like you have a good plan. After reading your message, I'm not really sure what you're looking for. I'll try to answer with some suggestions:

I highly recommend all of the theaters you mentioned. A quick trip to a teatralnaia kassa when you get to town and you'll find dozens of theaters, ballets, and operas. Sometimes the student/conservatory theaters have shows just as good as the Mariinsky.

Unless you really love art, the Hermitage is likely to cause artistic overload. Perhaps balance out all that high art by taking in the Kunstkamera just across the bridge. The Russian Museum also presents a great overview of particularly Russian art. Also, be sure not to miss St. Isaac's Cathedral, in my opinion the most impressive structure of any kind in Russia.

I've never been, but friends have recommended Yasnaia Polyana as a great day trip from Moscow. If you're really into Russian writers, the main event is in Mikhaylovskoe (near Petersburg), where Pushkin spent several years in exile. It's a strange and wonderful place combining Pushkinia and the Soviet cult of high literature/literary tourism. Accomodations, as I remember, were a little dodgy however. Plus the natural surroundings are absolutely beautiful.

The city that stands out the most in the Golden Ring is Suzdal. It is somewhat difficult to get to though, as there is no train station there. We got there by bus from Vladimir, but I'm sure it's a relatively easy drive.

Yaroslavl isn't particularly worth your time. Try Velikii Novgorod instead, where you'll find plenty of old churches and history galore. It's an easy trip from St. Petersburg.

Another incredibly unique place to visit (probably best visited by ferry) is Valaam Monastery on an island in Lake Ladoga. The ferry ride is quite beautiful, you get a sense of the Russian north (birches and pines) and wildlife. When you arrive, the churches there are some of the most beautiful and well-preserved in Russia. If you wanted to be more adventurous, you could add on either the Solovki Monastery in the White Sea (ferry tours go there quite regularly, though it's a long trip) or Kizhi Architectural Preserve.

And if you have a multi-entry visa and want a little break, Tallinn, Estonia is a 4-5 hour bus ride from Petersburg.

sterlingice

The answers are greatly appreciated. With the itineraries, I wanted to see if there were things I should avoid that I have on there and things that I might have missed (you mention some). We're only partways through gathering info about Petersburg so I know there's some incompleteness there.

For the questions- any help on the two "questions" sections: suggestions for day trips and just addressing the couple of other questions (like you did with May 9) is greatly appreciated.

Right now, we're looking to pick the days we want to go so we can lock in plane and hotel reservations. The rest, we can sort out over the next few months: it doesn't matter if we go to see the Kremlin on a particular day versus Tretyakov. However, if, say, the Kremlin has a good chance of being closed the entire time we're there, we should move our trip one or two weeks one direction or another. We're not locked in stone as to when we have to go- we're taking ~2.5 weeks of vacation either way. We should make the most of those 2.5 weeks. We have the flexibility to go in April/May as opposed to some who are locked into summer so we want to take advantage of that.

Noted. We'll do some research as to what shows to get tickets to. I noticed the Mariinsky wants a handsome price for their tickets (on par with Broadway) and I suspect the Bolshoi is even more expensive but they don't have tickets for when we would be there on sale yet.

Just looking at it, it feels a lot like the Met. I felt more disappointed that we only got a few hours there when we went rather than getting bored. That said, I'm for Renaissance art much more than more modern art. We spent a whole day at the Vatican and it just breezed by in my mind. Same with exploring Florence (between the Academy- which is basically just David, The Uffizi, and Bargello): I felt 2 days there for that was about right.

But like I had mentioned- I feel the need to make sure and mix it in with other activities. If we had just done art museums, then we'd have been tired of it and the significance would be lost on us. Also, as I had mentioned, I feel we're really museum heavy on this trip and would love some other suggestions

Noted and will definitely check out.

I've been pointed to this in a couple of other places, too. I think we'll work in a 2 day trip out to Vladimir and Sudzal, staying overnight at one of those two.

Sounds interesting- I see some mentions of overnight cruises up there and back so that could be an option. I really need to do some more research about it. I'm trying to get as many travel accommodations set up before we go through as reputable of places as I can.

Sadly, my wife has put a kibosh on the international trips, saying it's too far. Considering it's only a 4-5 hour train ride to Helsinki, I put that on the table but she objected. Same with attempting to visit Vilnius or Kaunas (I'm Lithuanian), Kiev, or Minsk.

SI

davewill

A lot of what you get out of Russia will depend on how interested you are in Russian history and culture. The Kremlin, Lenin's Tomb, etc, are obviously on everyone's list. Try to show up early to the Kremlin as there are usually lines of tourists there waiting. A nice tour will likely take an hour or two.

Some of the other stuff in downtown Moscow won't take too long. St. Basil's Cathedral is mostly interesting from the outside. The inside is not super impressive (although perhaps worth a look). GUM is basically just an upscale shopping mall, only the architecture is worth looking at. Lenin's Tomb can be difficult to see. It is only open on certain days (and I would imagine it's closed on holidays). So if that's a big draw, plan around that and try to do Lenin and the Kremlin in one day.

Both May 1 and May 9 will likely result in all museums (you'll have to check theaters) in both towns being closed. Interestingly the Hermitage appears to be have a Sunday schedule on most holidays. There will, however, be large parades and other interesting related events, especially in Moscow though in Petersburg as well.

There are plenty of day trips from Petersburg, including Petergof (Peter the Great's palace), Pushkin (Tsarskoe tselo) and the Amber Room of Catherine's Palace. These are both outstanding palaces and easy to get to from downtown Petersburg.

Tverskaya Ulitsa, Arbat, Izmailovskii Rynok: Izmailovskii is not worth your time. It's a hike to get out there and there is nothing of interest to see. Tverskaya is a big street with mostly banks, gov't ministries and upscale restaurants. Probably also not a big draw for a foreign tourist. The Arbat is a pretty, walkable pedestrian street with souvenir shops, art galleries, street performances and cafes. In May it should be quite pleasant. Gorky Park is a thoroughly pleasant place to be, but it's just a park. There are some cafes and lots of Russians strolling in the pleasant surroundings. A good place for people watching on a nice day.

Novodevichy is pretty, but it's a cemetery. All the inscriptions will be in Russian. Some famous Russians are buried there. So it may or may not be of interest to you.

SPBanker

Yasnaya Polyana is a great place to visit. Depending on the traffic and where you depart from in Moscow, the bus to Tula can take 2-3 hours, so it definitely is a day trip. When in Tula, also the Kremlin is worth a visit. The Museum of Weapons (inside an old cathedral!) is interesting with its Soviet time frescoes etc.

sterlingice

Do you think train or bus is better down that direction?

I would think an itinerary for that day looks something like:
0700 wake
0800 depart for Tula
1100 arrive Yasnaya Polyana
1400 finish Yasnaya Polyana, eat lunch
1500 spend 2 more hours in Tula, visiting sites
1700 head back to Moscow and arrive around 2000

Also, there's some word of a Pryanik Museum in Tula that sounds amusing

SI

sterlingice

There seems to be some odd maneuvering at the Kremlin to get a tour from what I've read. By early are we talking 6am? 8am? Before opening or just in the morning before the midday crowds arrive?

I've also read about a lot of failed attempts to see Lenin's tomb but we're all for trying. It's not as if my trip won't be complete without it, but this does say build in some flex time to make additional attempts.

This seems to be the unique challenge if we schedule the trip during one or two of those days: things shut down and we don't really want to waste a day we have there. However, it would be neat to see a parade in another country- see how people celebrate.

I think the palaces have found their way onto our ever evolving itinerary.

Helpful information. I've been trying to build up a composite trip plan from a lot of different places so some information is more reliable than others. Personal accounts are still the best and I really appreciate the time you've spent answering questions.

There are a lot of big names there so if I can find a good, reliable map- there's some definite value there and something we'd want to see. The hard part is going to be finding said map in a format (read: English) that is useful to us

SI