(currently having WiFi issues uploading—populated galleries in red, the rest coming as soon as whoever runs the interwebs here in Hanoi wakes up the hamsters powering the generator turbines.)
Russian here, Russian there, we were Russian everywhere! From the cobbled streets of Moscow to the non-stop party that is St. Petersburg, we barely made a dent in Russia, but it left quite an impression on us. Suffice it to say that of all the Russian phrases I’ve learned the hardest one to say was до свидания!*
Moscow, including the streets thereof, Red Square, miscellaneous Orthodox churches, the mind-blowing Armory Museum, an even more mind-blowing Toy Museum, Tolstoy’s House, and realPotemkin Village of a city park
St Petersburg, including the streets thereof, a hip-hop festival we stumbled on, Mini-Russia (exactly what it sounds like), a fantastically creepy collection of medical oddities (trigger warning: not for the easily disturbed), a walking tour full of hidden gems, oh—and the palaces and museums: the Hermitage in St. Petersburg itself, and day trips to CAtherine’s Palace in nearby Pushkin, and Peterhof, completely demolished in WWII and lovingly restored to its former glory.
*das vedanya = goodbye