Riga

Riga is a city of 717.371 people in Latvia. It is a really nice and charming capital. If you arrive in Riga from Moscow, it's like comparing black and white. It's very relaxing and welcoming. The people seem to be happy and enjoying life. You can spend few days or a week; there will always be something to do. The first thing to do is a walk in the old town. You can just walk around and enjoy the architecture. There are beautiful cathedrals, churches and typical little houses. After the old town, a walk along the river is also really enjoyable. The different bridges all have something unique from old to new style. If you are a bit more adventurous, you can try bobsleighing or shooting some weapons from Russia, like the famous AK47. For the bobsleigh the price is around 50 Euros, and for the shooting about 30 Euros. Around Riga, you can go for a day skiing. The skiing station is not comparable with the Alps but good enough to have a good time.
Regarding the restaurants and the bars, Riga can fulfill all your envy. You can eat local food, Chinese, French, Italian or Mexican. For the bars the choice is as wide as for the restaurants. You can choose from jazz club to nightclub, from lounge to traditional English pub. The atmosphere is really friendly and it seems everybody speaks English.
The transport in Riga is very convenient. The tramway system covers the whole city.
Next time you have some spare time, and you are hesitating on where to go, maybe Riga could be your destination. You can take Baltic airline or easy jet, and be there in few hours depending where you are. I don't think you will be disappointed, the city is really nice and relaxing city, and the people are very friendly.

Journey from Moscow to Riga

We arrived at the station at around 20:40, we boarded the train and we left at 21:02. Once in the train we had dinner and we went to bed. At around 7:00 they woke us up for the crossing of the border. We didn't have to leave the train either for the Russian or the Latvian border. Once we were in Latvia we could see we were in Europe. The houses along the way were all made of stones. We could feel Europe's character. We arrived at Riga at 12:08.

Tips for Moscow

The first thing you have to know about; is the registration. Once in Russia you have to register your visa. Depending where you are, it will cost you 300 to 600 Rubles. Do it only once. At the hotels they will say, you have to do it every time you stay more than 72 hours in the same city. It's true but if you don't do it, it won't be a big problem to leave the country. The only time you may "need" it, is if you get checked by the police. They never check the tourists, you really have to look like Ben Laden to have problem with those guys. It's just a good opportunity for the hotels to make money from foreigners (which is actually a rule in Russia).

Trains:
If you want to buy train tickets, and you don't speak Russian, ask the staff at you hotel to write down a note with what you need. Write down as many train numbers as you can, because if the train you want is full, the won't look up by themselves for an other one, even though they might be several still not full.
Depending where you want to go, you need to know which station sell tickets for your destination.
The train station for Irkutsk and St. Petersburg is Komsomolskaya on line number 1 (red line).
For Riga, it is Rizhskaya on line number 6 (orange line).
If you don't want to struggle buying the tickets yourself, because it can be annoying, you can go on www.waytorussia.com, they will arrange the tickets for you, and you just have to pick them up either at their office or at the train station.

Hostel:
The one I can recommend is Godzilla's hostel. The place is clean, the staff is friendly and the location is very convenient. The metro station is only 5 minutes walk from the hostel. It is situated in residential area so, if you are a party person, maybe, this won't be the best hostel for you, at night it's very quite and also very safe. The place is non-smoking, smokers go outside to smoke their cigarette. If you feel like, the hostel is a walking distance from all the majors sightseeing (30 minutes walk).

Moscow

Moscow is a big city of 13 million. Like other big capitals, it’s vibrating, fast and there is a lot to see and to do. The transport system is really good; there is an underground network that covers the whole city, as well as a very good bus system. Everything is obviously in Russian but, with a good map, you shouldn’t have any problem getting around. The city is really enjoyable. The architecture is a lot more European than what we can imagine. After having seen all the sightseeing, it’s really nice just to go for a walk around to discover this interesting city. Any where you go; there will always be a good sight to have a look at. There are also quite a lot of churches spread all over the city, if you are a fan, you can manage to see them all in few days. There are a total of 65. The different sightseeing are well known to most of us.
The first one is the Kremlin, which is something no one can miss when visiting Moscow. The architecture is really typical from Russia, compare with the rest of the city with its European style. Most of the roofs are covered with gold and the buildings are enormous. You can really feel a certain power was, is and will always be in Russia.
The second one, you will see next to the Kremlin, is the Red square with the amazing Vasilevsky Spusk, which is the famous Orthodox Church with this really cool design and multicolor roof. When you arrive on the red square, no matter which side, no matter what is the weather like, you can really feel you are in Moscow when you see this sight. We all saw it many times, in books, on TV for the New Year or some other reasons, but it really is something to face this mythic building with this red, blue, green, white and so on roof.
The third one is the cathedral of Christ the Savior. It is situated 300 meters from the Kremlin along the Moskva River. Even though you are not a big fan of cathedrals, you might be impressed with this huge white building and golden roof.
The forth one is the seven sisters. The building was made under Stalin’s government. He wanted to be remembered so he asked to have this building made. It’s a massive grey building you will see straight away once you are out of the station.
For the rest it’s really a matter of choice and time. You can check Izmailovsky market, which is a flea market for your soviet kitsch souvenir and everything else. You will find matryochki (nesting dolls), the lacquer boxes, carpets, Soviet posters, badges and so on. The Muscovite Harrods, GUM, is also something you might be interested in. it’s, like Harrods in London, a huge shopping mall with most of the well known brand (Gucci, Dior, Calvin Klein etc…). The architecture is quite interesting because they kept the old building and covered it with a huge glass roof. There are also few museums like; History of Moscow museum, Gulag history Museum and the Great Patriotic museum.
For the restaurants it’s just a question of taste. You can have Asian, European, and Russian. Traditional Russian food is rich and stodgy peasant-fare from the village. Muscovites love their restaurant so they tend to fill up fast, which means you will need to book in advance to be sure of getting a table.
For a night out you have lots of choices. Whether you after an elite nightclub with a pyrotechnic show and a face control policy or a dingy dive or a comfortable English style pub where you can hole up until the wee hours of the morning, Moscow’s famed nightlife scene shouldn’t disappoint.
Moscow is not the dream destination for holiday but, it is something to see at least once in a life time. Its style, its sightseeing, its restaurants and nightclubs and its history is something you will want to discover. The language can be a barrier but apart from hotels and restaurant you won’t have much to talk about with Muscovites. The young ones might be a bit more open but that’s it.
If you have a few spare days and you wonder what to do, give it a trial to this mythic city you may love it or may hate it; it really is only a question of taste.

Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal is a must see in a life time. We arrived there at around 10:30 on December 25th. We all were a bit hangover but once we saw this beautiful lake, we just forgot how short the night had been. The sky wasn’t very clear but there was still an amazing view. We could see the steam rising over the lake with the sun going through the clouds. We stayed at least half an hour, staring in silence to this unreal view, before going for a walk. The weather got better after we arrived but the temperature was still -30°C. Since we were in Russia, and the temperature was at a level my body never experienced before, I decided to buy a bottle of vodka to get warmer (which was very effective). We then started our morning walk around the lake. The shore was covered with ice and snow. There were some people fishing, others were working on a pipe line, we were just enjoying this amazing experience. The lake was surrounded by mountains all covered by a pure white snow. When walking next to the lake we realized how clear the water was, so we just decided to have a drink and feel up our bottle. We left the shore to go higher in the mountain. We found ourselves in an empty village where, only the dog and the smoke from the chimney could remind us this village was inhabited. At last, we met a woman in her 50’s, wearing a fur hat, a yellow and orange coat, who took us next to her house. When we got next to the house, we saw a big 4 while drives, then we figured out she wanted to take us to the top of the mountain. The price was 500 rubles each. We didn’t really feel like using a car in this untouched landscape, we kept on going. From higher, the view of the lake took a different dimension. We couldn’t realize, the lake in front of us, was actually a lake and not the sea. I had this feeling, only once, on a cloudy day in the Lake Leman in Switzerland. After this morning walk, which lasted until 14:00, we took a break in the little village next to the lake to have lunch. We ate some grilled pork and chicken. We stayed in this restaurant for a little while checking around what was going on. We could see people getting busy the way they could. There was a group of young people playing some kind of football, some others were having a talk outside in the cold, and the boss of the restaurant was serving the rare clients in the restaurant. We paid our bill and left. On the way to the bus station we stopped at a little market to have a look at the souvenirs.
Not many vendors were showing their articles. The cold, the calm season didn’t really motivate them to show their products. We still had a look at some matryoshki (Nesting dolls) and we left. We took the last bus at 16:30 for Irkutsk.

Journey from Irkutsk to Moscow

We took the train on the December 26th 2008 at 13:18 Moscow time, which was 18:18 for us in Irkutsk (the trains in Russia all follow Moscow time).We boarded the train, which was older than the one we took from Beijing, with more character, 15 minutes in advance. The train had nothing amazing from outside but the inside was really typical. The alley was covered with a light red carpet; the windows’ frames were made of wood, themselves covered with by a beige/orange color, which gave a warm look to the car. The compartment had 4 berths each. There was the same carpet and curtains as in the alley, the same wooden window and, the beds were made of wood covered with leather. After the departure they gave us covers and sheets to make our bed. We were sharing our compartment with two Ukrainians men in their 40’s. Once again there was the barrier language but, we all made an effort and manage to “understand” each other. They were in Russia to work, make some money and go back home for the New Year’s holiday. They were looking forward to spend some time with their families. Most of the car was actually crowded with Ukrainians people going home for holidays.
The trip was really enjoyable. We just had to eat, drink, read and socialize. All the people in our car were really nice. We didn’t have the chance to meet all of them but we had a little “talk” with some. We were able to have a longer chat with a young Ukrainian boy, who was going back home after some holidays in Russia. His father was Russian and his mother was Ukrainian. He was going back to Ukraine were he studies. The food we had was really good. We bought some before leaving Irkutsk and we were able to buy more at most of the stations. It’s not a problem at all. At every train stations there are a lot of locals selling homemade food, like bread with potatoes, dry fish or some food from the supermarket.
Along the way we also had time to enjoy the Russian county side, which is beautiful. I said it and I will say it again; the best time to visit Russia is winter. It’s another world, everything is white; the wooden houses, the trees, the plants and the rivers. In the morning when the sun raises it’s a spectacle, at night, when the sun sets it’s also amazing. Those red and orange colors’, reflecting on this frozen nature, is something you don’t have the chance to see every day. Since everything is white and frozen, it seems life has stopped for a little while. Apart from some birds, and humans we didn’t see much life on the way. Everything is waiting summer and the warm of the sun to melt all the snow around them.

Tips for Irkutsk

There are few hostels in Irkutsk but the best one (for me) and the most convenient is Downtown hostel. The price is 500 Rubles, 12.6 Euros (depending on the exchange rate) with breakfast included. It’s really cozy, the staff is nice, helpful, and it feels like home. You don’t have to go out every night for dinner, you can just buy all you need and cook it at the hostel. The only thing you could complain about is that there is only one shower. But hey, organize yourself and you should be fine. Try to book in advance because there are not many beds, it gets full very quickly.
To get to the hostel from the train station it’s really easy. Take the tramway number 1 just in front of the station. Buy the tickets at the front of the tram (10 rubles). At the second stop just after the bridge, get out. On your right you will see the bridge, on your left a shop and in front of you 2 buildings. Go on your left toward the shop. Once you are getting close to the shop you will see number 12 on the second building. Go around it and the second door will be the entrance of the hostel.

If you want to go to Lake Baikal, there are several options. The first one, the easiest one but not the cheapest one, is to book a tour from your hostel. The second one is to go to the bus station and buy the tickets yourself. Since not many Russian can speak English, the best is to ask one of the staff at the hostel to write down on a piece of paper what is your destination.
To get to the bus station it’s really easy. Take the tramway number 1 and stop at Torgovy Complex or central market and walk down the street until you see the station (you should see it easily).

Irkutsk

Most of us just go to Irkutsk for a stopover before going to Lake Baikal or Olkhon Island; maybe you should think spending a whole day in Irkutsk. It is far from being a waste of time. It’s a nice little Russian town which is worth visiting. There are few interesting things to see. First, you can find really nice orthodox churches. You can’t really miss them; there are at least 5 of them in the whole city. The famous ones and the most beautiful ones are, the Transfiguration Church next to the bus station and the church of the exaltation of the cross. After this, you can go and see Kirov square where you will see beautiful ice sculptures (if you are visiting Russia during winter; which I think is the best time). If you go for a walk in Irkutsk, you will see many little squares or parks, with those ice sculptures, where children enjoy so much playing with and roll in the snow, you might wonder if the temperature is really -20°C.
After the discovery of this nice Russian town, you may feel a bit hungry. For food shopping, there is no better place than the central market. It’s a real example of what kind of food you can find in Russia. There are a lot of cheeses, sausages, dry and fresh meat, dry and fresh fish and some vegetables which are a bit expensive in Russia. Once your basket is full with delicious food, you may want to try some vodka. For this, you have 2 shops in Central Market which have a great choice. Most of the vodkas in the shops are unknown to us; it can be a bit of a challenge to choose the right one, they all have different sizes and price. The size is from 25cl to 1l and the price from 50 to 700 rubles. Don’t choose the cheapest one you will be disappointed. For the size it’s all a matter of taste. If you are 4 or more go for the big one, otherwise you can choose 3 or 4 small ones to be able to taste different type of vodka.
Once you are done with all the shopping you can go back to you hotel and enjoy your meal with a nice vodka. Be careful with the vodka you may regret it the next morning.