For peace of mind, when I arrived in Russia I went for an unexciting but predictable & safe international chain hotel. My room in Moscow was a mirror of but otherwise identical copy of my room in St Petersburg, an edible and plentiful breakfast was available every morning and there were English-speaking staff on hand … More Murmansk Vs Ekaterinburg apartments
Quite possibly the best thing I did in Russia was go to Red Square by night. So, the way the trip worked was that I started in Moscow, journeyed to four other cities and then flew home again from Moscow. I gave myself a couple of days there. If something messed up my plane from … More Red Square by night
When I went to Pax Lodge for the Thinking Day weekend a few years ago – 2016? 2017? – I completed their challenge and the receptionist who signed it off said they’d never seen a challenge completed so thoroughly. I might do a blog post about it later in the year. It’s partly about Pax … More The Our Chalet Challenge
Friday was more or less a free day. All we had to do was pack and leave Our Chalet and then my flight didn’t leave Geneva until gone 9pm. It takes a while to get to Geneva from Adelboden but not that long so I intended to have a day out to play in Switzerland. … More Our Chalet: Friday in Switzerland with a suitcase
Thursday was our last full day. Really, it was our last day at all. We’d all be leaving fairly early on Friday morning, having accomplished nothing more than a quick breakfast and the last of our packing. We met at 9am at the flagpole with our hiking stuff because today we were going to the … More Our Chalet: walking to the woodcarver on Thursday
After our busy day on Tuesday and our late night, Wednesday started in a leisurely fashion. Instead of being summoned to breakfast at 8am by a bell, we had a casual drop-in brunch from 9.30. It had the usual breakfast items of toast and cereal but it also had two baskets of miniature croissants and … More Our Chalet: Lazy Wednesday
Our first full day at Our Chalet is Tuesday. Monday is spent flying to Switzerland, taking two trains along foggy lakesides and a final bus ride into increasingly perfect mountain views. Then we get settled in and introduced to our new home. On Tuesday we’re up early for the Pinning Ceremony, a celebration of international … More Our Chalet: Tuesday up the mountain
The last city on my itinerary was Perm. Why? I can’t remember. One thing I really like about Iceland’s Snæfellsnes peninsula is that it’s a chilled day, away from the worst of the tourists, seeing the scenery and not having to worry about any particular Major Must-See Site. That’s what Perm is like. In Moscow … More Perm: fighter jets & fallen leaves
After Ekaterinburg, I moved on to Perm. I’d opted to travel by train – I can’t remember if I’d looked at planes and discovered it wasn’t possible or if I just thought they were close enough to do it but for whatever reason, I made that decision. I could have bought the ticket online beforehand … More Trans-Siberian Railway 101
This is the first of the Russia blogs I’ve actually written and I’m still in Ekaterinburg right now. In the giant jacuzzi in my own apartment, actually. For context, I have my own 17th floor apartment overlooking the city and it has a huge jacuzzi and I even have my own private sauna in my … More Ekaterinburg: Religion & Romanovs
I Am A Polar Bear 