Category: Russia

I have recently stumbled across some hand written notes from a trip log taken during our first visit to Russia in the winter of 2005. I wanted to share these observations with you;

1. Their rules are a little odd – You can smoke anywhere, drink vodka and beer anywhere but coats are not allowed in the Mariinsky theatre (as I found out to my detriment when chased across two floors by a shouting and surprisingly nimble old lady wielding a stick when I put my coat on upon departure from our seats).
2. Incidentally – crazed old Russian Orthodox women can run really fast when / if angered!
3. On the Moscow metro it might look like you can wander through the ancient looking barriers without buying a ticket…but if you try you will lose the ability to bear children (the snapping motion of the barriers is at exactly the right height!)
4.  Even if you don’t drink vodka, you will find ourself presented with many an opportunity to drink it at various points in the day….when drank neat in a Russian winter it has very definite warming properties
5. Champagne is cheaper to drink than wine – enjoy!
6. Pink soup rocks!
7. The Kremlin Stars when lit up at night are the prettiest in the galaxy!
8. Malacho (milk) is not for adults – or tea! Ask for it at your peril (or stick with Vodka!)
9. You will ‘play’ the Moscow Metro for at least 90 minutes before you obtain some small piece of understanding of how to use it and where you are. What’s more – seeing the less grand stations first makes the elegant stations all the more worthwhile visiting.
10. When navigating the metro use the numbers of the lines and not the colours
11. Everyone must find their Yolky Polky (this is, in fact, the name of a popular chicken restaurant but I applied it to mean a favourite Fabergé souvenir).