OK .. I'm just interested with all you well travelled people out there .. Anyone been to Russia ? My brother lives there and i've been about 12 times I guess . Since madridman.com is all about embracing and enjoying cultural differences I thought i'd just find out if there are any Russian fans out there and maybe set up a discussion . Steve ( whilst respecting the fact that this is a Spanish site )

Hi Steve,

Just saw this message. I can't say that I am a Russian fan as I have never been there. But my sister lives in St. Petersburg and we are planning a trip to visit her and my brother-in-law in September.

Where in Russia does your brother live? Have you been to St. Petersburg? Any recommendable not-to-miss tourist things to do (besides the obvious Hermitage)?

My brother's lived ther 13 years now .. Russian wife he met after just one year of being in Moscow AND 3 beautiful ( i'm biased young daughters - all completely bilingual ) . They lived in St. Petersburg for nearly 3 years but his wife always pines for Moscow .
For me , St. Petersburg is the best !! Yes the Hermitage ... you need a whole day and it's amazing but exhausting . For me The church of the spilled blood ( central ) , and a hydrofoil to Peterhof .. a palace with gardens full of golden statues and even fun fountains that takke you by surprise .. you can get soaked hahaha .
Moscow is wonderful too but chaos ... A visit to see Lenin in his glass casket I think is a must , not least because there has been talk it will be closed ( side of Red Square )
I've been to Russia 13 times i think now .. I'm happy to give you other recommendations . Steve

Thanks for the recommendations Steve! They have been duly noted.

I am sure my sister and brother-in-law will have a very interesting agenda planned for us (there was rumor of touring a vodka factory!)...but I will surely pass your recommendations along to them to work into their tourguide planning!

Any special recommendations for children? We will be traveling with our 2.5 year old son.

Thanks in advance!

Hi "chica" ,
Well I definitely think the trip to Peterhof would be good with a kid in tow ! First off you have to take a jetfoil boat to the island which is pretty cool .. Then you have all the gold statues ( kids like shiny things , right ? ) , and then the fountains that spring up unexpectedly and randomly .. meaning you can get a soaking . My nieces were about 3 and 5 when we went and the photos show what a good time they had .
I just spent 2 weeks in Puerto Banus with my brother and his family and he and his Russian wife will send me an e-mail with any other ideas they may have .

Steve

Hey Steve,

We are back from our whirlwind trip to Russia. We were there for a week and spent the time in St. Petersburg.

Following your recommendation, we took the hydrofoil to Peterhof on the only sunny day that we had while there. It was a great experience and our son loved the surprise fountain. All the Japanese tourists loved seeing him have fun in it too. I am sure his picture is on more than one Japanese computer.

Church of the Spilled Blood was absolutely beautiful and the Hermitage...well, no words for it. Unfortunately one section that we really wanted to see, that of the Byzantine and East, was closed for renovations.

I have never felt so illiterate in my whole life lost admist all the cyrillic!

Ha ha I , by chance , studied Russian ,so I can read it ok ...I'm so pleased you went to Peterhof !! I loved the place .
Church of the spilled blood is astonishing .... I actually think it's better than st. Basil's in Red Square .. Incredibly spectacular.The Hermitage ...Yeah amazing .. But it can't have been difficult with your young son ... As a "European" i can actually get bored with the museums/galleries etc... But the Hermitage is spectacular.Glad you liked Russia -- It's a great country ! Steve

Ha! Ha! Your comment
Made me smile. I was worried about touring the Hermitage with child in tow, but he got a kick out of talking about all the colors and animals he saw. Perhaps a bit loud for the other museum goers, but at least he wasn't running wild. In fact, in one room there was a lion statue to which he promptly said "Mama mama, mira mira... roooaarr!" It had the security guard in stitches!

Nice when you can get a Russian museum official to laugh then you've cracked it ! Haha .. But the Russians love children . I find my brother's Russian family as hugely friendly and welcoming but , in general , Russians need to know who you are before committing their friendship . Ohh and my English was terrible "it can't have been difficult " ! Ouch ! Steve