That would be Joseph Stalin's Dacha (term used very loosely as most dachi are way, way smaller compared to Uncle Joe's) near Sochi's coast that I toured today. Interesting place set several hundered thickly wooded feet above the Black Sea and totally painted green to blend in with the surrounding environment. There is puportedly an elevator and tunnel to the Black Sea but that was sadly not included with the 300p. tour price. Bummer. Couple more days along the Black Sea then Monday night flying to Yerevan, Armenia via Moscow. There does exist a short, direct one hour flight on one of the Baby-Flots but my flight on S7 was purchased for a mere $25 and 10,000 American Airlines frequent flier miles. Cha-ching! I've already flown on S7 twice and was impressed by the service but ... read more

I left Siberia last Friday and have spent the last couple of days in Kazan, capital of Russia's Tatar Republic. It is a very nice city and blazing hot at the moment. $US ≈ 33p. (Russian rubles) Казань Kazan Accommodation and food Stayed at Tatyana's Day booked through hostels.com for the low price of 350p.in a dorm with only 2 other people. It was supposed to include breakfast but we had to settle for just tea. WiFi is intermittent. The location was far from the center but it is a 5-10 minute walk to the nearest metro station which zips to the center in a few minutes for 15p. Near the hostel is Dobraya Stolovaya which is ridiculously cheap but closes early Saturday and is not open at all on Sunday. No prob as right around ... read more

Spent a few days in Krasnoyarsk in between 2 weeks around Lake Baikal and an upcoming planned 2 weeks in the Tuva and Altai Republics. I liked Krasnoyarsk and it's perfectly situated to break up the trip between the 2 far apart regions. Last night I left on the train for the 10½ hour ride to Abakan. At the train station there is a beater bus leaving for Kyzyl at 7:50 am for 600p. and arriving at 4:00 pm. It was sold out so I waited for the much more expensive and faster share taxi to leave at 8:20 am. The driver first asked for 1500p. but since I was able to ask the correct price from fellow passengers I paid 1200p. Comfortable ride but the scenery was somewhat obscured by the smoke from the nearby ... read more

The grammatical topics are just two of many extremely difficult elements of Russian language. One year of formal classroom studies was a great introduction to the most complicated language I’ve ever studied but practically a lifetime is necessary to understand all of its intricacies of which there is no shortage. Of course it was far better to have studied Russian than not because since St. Petersburg and Moscow I’ve been in the Siberian boondocks where very little or absolutely no English is spoken. Currently in Severobaikalsk at the north end of Lake Baikal. Tomorrow will hop on a train for 27 hours to Krasnoyarsk where I will spend 4 days before heading due south to the Tuva and Altai Republics near Mongolia and Kazakhstan. Mid-July I fly to Kazan in European Russia (precluding a 36 hour ... read more

Innsbruck has been a justifiably popular destination for many years but for me it will always be synonomous with the 1976 Winter Olympics. If anyone from my generation knows anything about Austria, it is probably the men's downhill gold medalist - local icon Franz Klammer. Accommodation and Food Stayed 3 nights at Pension Paula conveniently located very close to the start of the hike to Hungersburg and above. My own super quiet room, share bathroom, WiFi, and breakfast with the best coffee you'll find in Austria was 33€. The place is busy with guests from all over and the hosts are terrific. First meal was at an Indian restaurant buffet at Sahib without asking the price prior. Food was good and I did in fact pig out for sure but the damage was an unconscionable 15€. ... read more