Six weeks, seven countries and twelve cities later, our tour to Russia the long way round has finally drawn to a close. It has been the most incredible experience and I am very glad to say there isn’t any one thing that stands out well beyond the others, there were so many magical moments of our trip: seeing snow and wild Elk in Golden Colorado and dining out with Jon and Julie who we both had a fantastic time with; the neon extravaganza of both Las Vegas and Times Square in New York City; the climb to the observation deck of [View Full Entry]

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Our Russian experience has been incredible and happily concern free. Upon preparing for this trip, we did what many before us had done, we read numerous Travel blog entries of peoples experienced in Russia, visited the Trip Advisor website for the dos and don’ts and for the most part they all painted a similar picture, that Russia wasn't going to be easy. Various blogs warned of trouble with corrupt policemen, requesting bribes and falsifying reports. Our research also emphasized that non-Russian speaking people will struggle and that Moscow was very expensive to live in. Although [View Full Entry]

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The Allies are back! Frankfurt has been a breath of fresh air after our 11 day tour of Russia. Don't get me wrong, I very much enjoyed my time in both St Petersburg and Moscow; I could spend a great deal longer further experiencing the history and culture of Russia, as well as the approaching minus degree Celsius temperatures, however, for a first time visit, a change of pace was definitely welcomed after the 11th day. Little things like having to carry your passport around you at all times whilst in Russia slowly became more like having a ball and chain [View Full Entry]

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Moscow Airport: Waiting on tarmac for take-off clearance We haven't even pulled out from the gate yet and already this flight has gone for long enough. Of course, the two hour delay at the gate hasn’t helped, and for the life of me still cannot fathem how a flight can be delayed for takeoff due to our ‘weather conditions’ as flight control over the intercom so put it. Looking out of the airport lounge window, at our aircraft which was sitting at its gate, not a cloud in sight, nor evidence of any wind, just sunny blue skies. Sitting immediately behind [View Full Entry]

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So far Moscow has been equally as welcoming as its counterpart to the north, St Petersburg. The following morning after our arrival the night before we awoke early, today was going to be a long day; we had two tours booked. First was a metro tour, which involved the guide meeting us at our hotel and then walking from our hotel to the closest metro station and showing us about various station stops helping us become familiar with the key transport of the city. Later that evening the same tour guide will take us on a night city tour of Moscow. [View Full Entry]

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If you haven’t already realized by now dear reader snow is something that I am easily excited about. Having seen snow only once (in my life) for a week whilst skiing in Australia before this trip, I have now seen it multiple times in different countries and it is fantastic. Unlike the locals I am not as yet put off by the slushiness occurrence that happens after snowing, it is still rather magical to me. We are currently travelling by train from St Petersburg to Moscow, and the outside view for lack of a better word is spectacular; we [View Full Entry]

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The capture of Leningrad was one of three strategic goals in Hitlers initial plan, codenamed Operation Barbarossa, for invading and conquering the Soviet Union. Hitlers strategy was motivated by Leningrads political status as the former capital of Russia and the symbolic capital of the Russian Revolution, its military importance as a main base of the Soviet Baltic Fleet and its industrial strength, housing numerous arms factories. The Siege of Leningrad, also known as The Leningrad Blockade was an unsuccessful military operation by the [View Full Entry]

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On 1 May, 1703 (Russian calendar), during the Great Northern War, Peter the Great captured the Swedish fortress of Nyenskans on the Neva river in Ingria. A few weeks later, on 27 May, 1703 (May 16, Old Style), lower on the river, on Zayachy (Hare) Island, three miles (5 km) inland from the gulf, he laid down the Peter and Paul Fortress, which became the first brick and stone building of the new city. He named the city after his patron saint, Saint Peter, the apostle. The original name was meant to sound like Dutch due to Peter's obsession with the [View Full Entry]

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After our brief two night stay in Antwerp we caught the train back to Brussels. A sure sign we were nearing the city of Brussels we passed the red neon glow of the red light district. The girls barely covered in their seductive lace outfits, in a little room, the windows facing the street of onlookers. Some girls just seemed to pace their window while others sat in the corner. Some even interacting and teasing potential clientele through the glass. I found the whole experience not to dissimilar to that of a puppy attempting to impress a shopper through a pet [View Full Entry]

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I have been looking forward to the UK ever since we left Colorado. Maybe it was because I was yearning for more cold weather after our snowy experience in the Colorado mountainside? Perhaps, though I think it was more so because London is familiar territory. In that sense we have planned out this jaunt around the world rather well, every second or third stop we make is familiar to at least either me or Michelle. Currently, we are on route to Brussels via the Eurostar rail, a two hour journey traveling some 420km. Other than this [View Full Entry]

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