Recent Hols

[nivrip]

A few pics from the hol.

Went from here

The cathedral on St. Peter and Paul Fortress, St.Petersburg.

The Hermitage Museum, formerly the Winter Palace of Tsar Nicolas II, stormed in the 1917 revolution.


To here

St. Basil's, Red Square, Moscow.

The world's largest ever bell in the Kremlin. It was never hung as it cracked shortly after it was made.Complete with sundry Russian citizens.

With places like this in between

Church, constucted entirely of wood, on Kizhi Island, Lake Onega.

Same church, different view.


First day was pouring with rain, the rest of the trip was sunshine.

 

[Becky]

Looks incredible! I'd love to go to Russia someday However the first 4 attachments don't seem to be working - could you try re-attaching them?

 

[Taffycat]

I'm only seeing two pics of that beautiful wooden church too Niv, which looks pretty spectacular. Looking forward to seeing the others very much.

 

[nivrip]

Hmmm............ I'll try again.

I'll post some of the Moscow Underground later. See if you think it compares with London.

edit (Ian): Fixed image links for you and added them back to 1st post.

 

[itsme]

Love to go in winter just to feel how cold it is

 

[Becky]

It looks like a really interesting place, and that bell sure is a whopper! Such a shame it never rang.

My step-brother and sister-in-law started off their year long honeymoon (yes you read that right!) in Moscow, they said it was a fascinating place.

 

[bootneck02]

Hi nivrip great photo's you certainly had a good time there. Unfortunately the the ones in your last post I get an error on them ( 404 - File or directory not found.
The resource you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable.) but would love to be able to see them.

 

[Ian]

Cracking pics Niv! Would really like to go there myself some time

Out of interest, how did you find the people there?

 

[muckshifter]

happy holiday ... can I come next trip.

... how did you find the people there?

same as in this country, just go out of hotel.

 

[bootneck02]

Hay we could all come it could be a PCR week out

 

[floppybootstomp]

Great pix

Russian architecture definitely has an Asian/Mongol/Middle East influence, all them rooftop onions

 

[Becky]

Hay we could all come it could be a PCR week out

I'll second that!

 

[Abarbarian]

Niv yer a real lucky git. Did you get to see the Amber Room at the Palace ?

 

[Taffycat]

That's a beautiful ship in the first pic and such a lovely coach outside the Hermitage Museum. Was that for a dignitary, or is it for the tourists?

The buildings look amazing... and that bell looks enormous! Must have been a fantastic place to visit Niv.

Will there be more - pics I mean?

 

[nivrip]

Out of interest, how did you find the people there?

As someone else said "it's very easy, they're everywhere you look"

But seriously, the people in Russia are wonderful. Very friendly, helpful and they have a great sense of humour, probably the nearest to our own that I have ever come across. They refer to the embalmed body of Lenin, still on show in Red Square, as "Pickled Lenin".I suppose they need to have a good sense of humour considering what they have lived through, especially wars and the horrors of the Soviet times. Now,however, they can speak freely about times past and realise that things are much better now. Only some of the older people long for the old days when everyone had a job, got the very basics in foodstuffs and all got a pension, however measly. In short, they didn't have to think for themselves as everything was done for them and they simply had to do as they were told.

I went to Russia in 1996, just five years after the break up of the Soviet Union when you might expect that Russians would be very wary of foreigners. But even then they were so, so friendly. A Russian I knew took me to meet several friends of his and they could not do enough for us. We slept on their floors, they fed us and, of course, gave us lots to drink. I dug out some of the photos from then and the big difference is the traffic in Petersburg and Moscow. In 96 there was very little traffic but now both these modern cities are just long, long traffic jams.

Having said all that, I have been very lucky to travel to a great many places on this big world of ours and I always, yes always, feel that people everywhere are basically friendly and willing to help

 

[captain zed]

I'd love a trip to Russia meself.....pics were great pics Niv.

 

[bootneck02]

Great Pictures nivrip, aint it strange that where ever you go in the world you can always find some one who can speak english but many of us cannot speak any foreign languages at all. I remember when I went to the Olympic Games in Rome in 1960 I met a Italian lad and at school he was learning three foreign languages French, German and English I at the time was just learning English and now I cannot remember any of my French.

 

[nivrip]

Did you get to see the Amber Room at the Palace ?

Certainly did. In the Catherine Palace at Pushkin just outside Petersburg. The whole room is constucted from amber, gold leaf and mirrors.

These are not my pics as photography is strictly banned in the Amber Room.

a lovely coach outside the Hermitage Museum

Simply for tourists, TC.

 

[nivrip]

I said I'd post some pics of the Underground in Moscow, so here goes.

Went on a quick trip which involved changing at a couple of stations and took these pics.

Incredible. Almost as good as some of the stations on the Northern Line.

 

[floppybootstomp]

Ugh, it's ghastly Not my taste at all. Almost as bad as those gaudy buildings in Barcelona.

Sorry, but riding the Metro would probably give me nightmares.

Gimme white tiled tunnels and adverts for Gossard bras and Wrigleys spearmint any day