Well, it’s happening. After weeks of rumours and whispers and threats, Russia has invaded Ukraine. I’ve lived in the same world as plenty of wars – two of my friends were sent to fight in a couple of them – but none have been as near as this one or as personal. War in Europe. … More Some of my thoughts on Ukraine
Today is the second anniversary of me flying back into Moscow from my adventures in Murmansk, Ekaterinburg and Perm, the second anniversary of seeing Red Square properly for the first time, and I think the post I’m going to commemorate the event with is this one, Russia on film. Back in 2018, I found three … More Russia on film
It’s now two years since my big Russian adventure and to celebrate the anniversary, and because I was talking about language-learning the other day, I want to talk about overcoming the Russian language barrier. I put off my Russia trip for years. Russia was well outside my comfort zone. It’s so… Russian. It never feels quite … More Overcoming the Russian language barrier
How has it taken me this long to realise I should do a Russia packing post? Everyone loves a “how did I manage on hand luggage only?!” post. My not-quite-three weeks is at the very bottom end of the long trip-minimum luggage ladder. However, I was visiting three distinct climate zones – Moscow & St … More Three weeks in Russia on hand luggage
You might have noticed that I went to Russia last year and even though I made a point of writing down every penny I spent, it’s taken nearly ten months for it to occur to me to talk about the cost. How much does it cost to go to Russia? How much does it cost … More How much did my three weeks in Russia cost?
While we’re all safe at home for the foreseeable future and with no new travel on the horizon for some time, it’s a good time to look back at our past travels and one of my favourite ways of doing that is by making scrapbooks. Actually, I’ve discovered I have a surprising amount of scrapbook … More Stay At Home Storytelling: too many photos in a travel scrapbook
Well, now seems as good a time as any to go back to my trip to Russia last year because one of my major projects at the moment is to get the scrapbook finished. The main obstacle is picking which of the 2-300 photos to have printed. The other obstacle is making it fit in … More Stay At Home Storytelling: Russia scrapbook, Moscow pages
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
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
I Am A Polar Bear 