Traveling to Russia

One of the largest nations in the world that occupies part of Eastern Europe and Asia is Russia. Though not every part of it is inhabited, most of the cities where people live are rich in culture and history.

The capital of this vast country is Moscow. There are more than 9 million inhabitants and over 5,000 streets. Those who have no idea can really get lost and will surely have a hard time going back to the hotel.

In the city, the Kremlin serves as the seat of the Russian government. People will surely be in awe seeing the Tsar Bell and Cannon.

Along the Kremlin's wall lies one of Russia's oldest museums. It features weapons dating from the 15th century to the present. There are also large jewels stored here such as the diamonds of Orlov that is 189.63 carats and the Shah that is 88.7 carats.

Even before getting into the Kremlin, the ground that the tourist walks on is another important landmark known as the Red Square. The May Day parade is held here showing Russia's military might before the collapse of the Cold War.

Russians get to various places by trains more often than places. There are over 150 stations scattered all over the city and the person can get to another side of the town or decide to travel to another city that is a few miles north, south, west or  east.

Those who choose to go west will likely end up in St. Petersburg. The old name of this place as many Russians remember is Leningrad.

During the patriotic war, the residents of this city held out for more than 800 days against the Nazis. It took time before the Red army was able to fight back and drive the invaders away.

St. Petersburg is Russia's 2nd largest city and is home to the world famous Hermitage. This building is not a hotel but rather a museum housing several departments from prehistoric culture to western European art such as works of Da Vinci, Rafael, Renoir and Monet among others. There are also some sculptors done by Michelangelo and Rodin.

Nearer St. Petersburg but closer to the sea is the city Murmansk. This place is a major fishing port as well the headquarters of Russian's northern Atlantic fleet. There is not that much to see here unless the person came in the month of March to witness the reindeer races and the ski marathon.

Instead of going West from Moscow, those who go east will bet to the town of Vladimir Oblast. There are a lot of museums and other architectural buildings here such as the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Mother of God, the St. Euphymius Cathedral of our Savior, the Cathedral of the Deposition of the Veil, the Protection Cathedral and other monasteries dating to the 17th and 18th century.

Not far is the town of Suzdal that has an open air museum featuring various artworks.

The Volga River is one of the longest in the world stretching 3,700 kilometers. Along its banks is the city of Volgograd that at a point in time was called Stalingrad. It was here the Russians pushed back the Nazis until the gates of Berlin.

The city was rebuilt after the war and there many museums here dedicated to those who fought and died.