Getting naked in front of others is something I usually avoid at all costs. Exposing my sixty-year-old body intimidates me. Ten years ago, I envied the thousands who stripped off on the Opera House forecourt for photographer Spencer Tunick, wanting…
Descending into the cool darkness, I hold tightly onto the railing being careful not to slip on the shiny black marble stairs. As my eyes adjust to the dim lighting, a uniformed man points urgently towards my chest. He has…
“Street Art” and “St Petersburg” are seldom heard in the same sentence. Yet, here I am in St Petersburg on my way to a Street Art Museum. Getting to the Street Art Museum Getting out of the city centre by…
Doctor Zhivago, in the epic drama, returns to his Moscow home to find it occupied by several working-class families. Bolsheviks had taken over the large house, divided it into tenements and handed the accommodation over to strangers. Today in Russia,…
Mention Moscow’s Red Square and rows of tanks and military parades might come to mind, not a world class shopping centre. Yet, along the eastern border of Red Square an intricate neo-Russian façade opens into GUM, a large shopping mall…
Venturing aboard the Trans-Mongolian is to embark on an adventure, an adventure that it is well to be prepared for. Friends who’ve travelled on the Trans-Siberian and Trans- Mongolian trains tell colourful stories about their experiences. One couple (granted this…
Hunting for Street Art in Moscow is one way to get off the beaten track and see more of the ‘real’ city away from the tourist sights. As a fan of street art, and someone who enjoys finding local haunts,…
The Moscow Cosmonaut Museum is a ‘must visit’ when in Moscow. An English Audio Guide enhances the experience.
Labour Camps (Gulags) were a cruel reality during the Repression years in the USSR. A visit to Russia really is incomplete without spending at least a little time learning about the Gulags and the system of repression. Perm 36, the…
Instead of signing up for a Moscow Metro tour, buy a metro ticket and explore the grandeur of the Moscow underground independently. Plan your own route and take your time admiring the architecture and artworks without being tied to a…