Blogs from Russia, Europe - page 5

One of the more interesting and unusual places I have visited is Lake Baikal in Siberia. I stopped there for several days while taking the Trans-Siberian Railway from Vladivostok to Moscow back in 2014. I will spare you the facts, you can google, or refer to my emails from 2014. Recently, a hockey game was played on Baikal's famous clear ice. Small air bubbles can be seen beneath the surface of the ice, since it is so clear. And the Russians even drive over the ice in winter. Yet when they tried to traverse the lake with a branch of the Trans-Siberian, the very first train plunged into the lake! The lake is fed by warm, volcanic springs. A few things stand out from my visit. The lake contains plentiful fish, the most famous of which ... read more

17th January Today’s tour in Moscow was to Zaryadye Park. It was minus 17 degrees but our guide Anna was well wrapped up. As we entered the Park area we passed The Old English Court, a stone mansion erected in the early 16th century, one of the earliest surviving specimens of Moscow's secular architecture. Most importantly it witnessed the birth of Anglo-Russian relations in the age of Ivan IV (the Terrible) and Elizabeth I. For it was here from 1556 to 1649 that the first English trading and ambassadorial office in Moscow was located, the first official residence of a Western power in the Russian capital. The bulldozers were out clearing the snow and whizzed passed Anna as she explained about the history of the building. Next to the Old Courthouse was the Church of St. ... read more

29th December St. Petersburg The last of yesterday’s tours- I’m surprised I’m not jet lagged all this zipping about. 4 years ago we visited St.Petersburg (our 2nd visit) but have not visited in December so it was nice to see the Hermitage and surrounding buildings looking all festive. The view of the small canal behind the hermitage brought back memories of the trip we took through the canals of St.Petersburg back in 2016. Tsar Peter the Great founded St Petersburg in 1703 on the marshes at the mouth of the Neva River where the Rus Vikings, the founders of ‘Russia’, had passed through centuries earlier. Peter’s city of timber, mud and stone was transformed by the Tsarina Catherine into a Baroque fantasy. This glorious 18th century city is characterised by elegant and extravagant architecture: St Peter ... read more

21st November 2020 Another enjoyable virtual trip to Moscow Red Square with Anna our tour guide. One of Moscow’s & Russia’s – We entered through the Lions gate. The original gate was built in 1535 during the Ivan the Terrible reign, designed by Italian architect, Petroc Minor. Since several lions which were a gift from the Queen of England to Ivan the Terrible, lived inside the moat near the gate, the gate acquired the name the Lions Gate. Once inside the square we passed Lenin’s mausoleum, St Basil’s Cathedral, & the Kremlin Walls. The Kremlin is separate from the square. The square's name has nothing to do with communism or with the colour of many of its buildings. In fact, it comes from the word 'krasny', which once meant 'beautiful', and has only come to mean ... read more

Did you know the Japanese provided safe passage through Japan for Jews escaping from Europe to escape extermination by the Nazis in the Second World War? Hitler sent emissaries to get Japan to cease and they refused. About 24,000 Jews were saved before a Japanese leadership change resulted in incarceration in Shanghai instead. In 1919 the Japanese while fighting alongside the White Russians against the Bolshevik communists, were introduced to an anti-Semitic Russian publication advocating that the Jews were planning economic World domination. The Japanese having their own desires for World domination saw potential and formulated a plan to have Jews from Europe settle in Manchuria and help Japan financially become an economic power. A plan so audacious they called it the Fugu Plan...like the seafood delicacy...if not prepared carefully its poison could kill the consumer. ... read more