Russia and Autumn Memories

Moscow, from the heart of Russia

We started from Red Square, the center and heart of great Russia, which since my childhood, I had seen countless times through very old postcards, or on the covers of Soviet magazines sold on the newsstands at the local market near my house. Childhood memories are hard to fade. And when I set foot on the cobblestones of Red Square myself, I suddenly felt my heart tremble with emotions that are hard to describe in words.

But why is the central square of Moscow called Red Square? Not only because the buildings surrounding the square are painted red, but also because historically the square was named in Russian “krasnaya”, which means “red”. This word comes from the Old Slavic language and also means “beautiful”.

Indeed, Red Square is the center of Moscow with a complex of magnificent architectures worthy of the long history of the city in particular and of Russia in general. The most magnificent is the Kremlin, where the Russian President's Palace is located, the center of power of the country. The Kremlin was built starting from the 14th century, is a complex of a system of fortresses, palaces, large and small towers, Orthodox churches through many periods, the most typical of which is St. Basil's Cathedral, beautiful as a fairy tale castle.

The day we visited Red Square was a beautiful sunny day, the autumn wind was blowing gently, the leaves around this ancient church were golden yellow and began to fall sporadically on the flat brown stones under the feet of pedestrians. Autumn is around the beginning of October, when the showers stop, the weather gradually gets colder and the trees seem to be shedding all their old leaves, as if shedding all their worries to start a new cycle of time. Russia is famous for its romantic and heroic love songs, with masterpieces of charming golden autumn. Against the backdrop of majestic citadels, the music of nature rises into the space as if gilded by the afternoon sunlight slanting through the tree canopy, shining shimmering spots of light on the reddish-brown brick walls like the color of wine, the color of time and a beautiful, unforgettable color of memory...

Saint Petersburg, the heritage metropolis

In terms of size, Saint Petersburg is ranked second, both in terms of administrative position and economic development, always behind the capital Moscow. However, Saint Petersburg is a metropolis containing a terrifying number of architectural works listed as heritage sites. In every ranking of tourist cities that I have read, Saint Petersburg is always ranked in the top 10, regardless of the criteria, this city is attractive to tourists, even more than the capital Moscow.

Saint Petersburg, the city that was known as Leningrad for more than half a century (from 1924 to 1991), is typical and a mark of a great, proud, and tragic Russia throughout most of its history. The metropolis lies on the banks of the Neva River, which flows into the Gulf of Finland, and began to be officially planned and built in the early 18th century during the reign of Peter the Great - also one of the most prosperous periods of the Tsarist and Romanov dynasties. Through ups and downs, Saint Petersburg has witnessed some extremely fierce turning points in the annals of Russian history, such as the revolution that overthrew the last Tsar in 1917 or the historic siege by Nazi Germany during World War II in 1941.

Now, like every other city in Europe, Saint Petersburg has left behind the upheavals of the times, chaos has given way to peace. And what remains are countless historical buildings, tangible heritages, beautiful architecture and Orthodox churches with fairy-tale onion architecture. We stood in the middle of the city's central square, named Palace Square, where the Winter Palace and the State Hermitage Museum system are located - a gem in the middle of the city known as the "Northern Capital". Hermitage is one of the largest museums in the world with the number of artifacts preserved up to 3 million, of which about 60 thousand artifacts are displayed regularly in about 1,000 rooms.

From Palace Square, looking beyond the Hermitage Museum, is the famous Neva River with countless beautiful architectural buildings on both banks. In the center of the square, tourists only need to walk southwest for a few minutes to see the headquarters of the Russian Navy, a massive ancient building with a very recognizable pointed spire. Next to it is the famous bronze statue of a horseman. Also in that direction, going diagonally up, you will see St. Isaac's Cathedral, the patron saint of Peter the Great, the founder of this great city of Saint Petersburg. St. Isaac's Cathedral is one of the most magnificent religious architectural works not only in Russia, but also in the world, built continuously for 40 years with a height of 101 meters above the dome. On sunny days, visitors can climb to the observation deck on the top of the dome and admire the entire ancient, splendid city of Saint Petersburg on the banks of the Neva River.

Saint Petersburg is large in scale and carefully planned since the Russians started building it. Up to now, Saint Petersburg is still one of the cities that best preserves its architectural heritage in Europe. The grandeur of Saint Petersburg can be easily seen when standing on a high platform looking down. All the old architecture within a radius of 10 km from the city center is preserved intact, no architecture is built higher than the dome of St. Isaac's Cathedral. This is truly a carefully preserved metropolis...

Saint Petersburg or Moscow is also famous for its “forests” right in the middle of the city. It is a system of green parks and gardens located everywhere, making this most crowded city in Europe have extremely fresh air and poetic beauty like in movies, in music, in the beautiful autumn paintings of the famous artist Levitan.

During our stay in Saint Petersburg, we also had the opportunity to go to the outskirts of the city, to Pushkin village (formerly known as the village of the Tsars) to visit the Catherine Palace system and the autumn gardens as beautiful as in fairy tales. Visitors have many choices because around Saint Petersburg there are countless palaces of the rare kind in the world, such as the Peterhof Summer Palace, world-famous for its system of gilded fountains on an extremely large scale, combined with the beautiful autumn gardens. From the Peterhof fountain, visitors can also look straight out to the Gulf of Finland on beautiful days, or can stroll along the canal full of trees on both sides with extremely vivid sculptures...

Russian Federation, country - people

During our stay in Russia, we had the opportunity to experience most of the basic services, as well as contact with most of the social components. The Russians, above all, still have many good feelings towards the Vietnamese. Although the wheel of history has rolled through ups and downs, stumbles and turning points of the times, the Russians still maintain their sincerity, sincerity, generosity and enthusiasm. There were times during our journey when we encountered many difficulties in terms of language communication, we also received sincere support from strangers.

Russia today is like a multi-tone symphony, with high notes as well as low notes. Tourists may have some difficulty in daily communication, tourist services in Russia cannot be called perfect, it still has a bit of the subsidy period in Vietnam. If you have experienced it, you may find a certain interest or familiarity. Go patiently and slowly, you will discover many beautiful and simple things.

In general, Russian society seems to be standing between two paths, there is still a class of Russians who are proud of the glorious past, the period when the Soviet Union was still an international superpower and experienced tragic periods in the Great Patriotic War. Besides that, there is a class of young Russians with aspirations and faith in the future. Russia is probably still in a transitional period like the trains running on the same size rails, but the Sapsan high-speed train represents the young generation, rushing from one city to another; and there are also trains, slowly, leisurely going towards the suburban forests, where the sunset is covering the thick forests...

More information

Visa:You must pay the visa application fee in advance (20 USD) at the Vietnam - Russia Bank (No. 1 Yet Kieu, Hanoi), then bring the receipt to the Russian Embassy to complete the visa application procedure.

Trip:From Vietnam, there are 2 airlines operating the Hanoi - Moscow route, Vietnam Airlines and Aeroflot, for tourists to choose from. Vietnam Airlines will arrive at Domodedovo Airport (about 50 km south of Moscow), while Aeroflot will arrive at Sheremetyevo Airport (about 30 km north of Moscow). Round-trip ticket prices from Vietnam to Moscow range from 17 to 20 million VND.

Transportation:You can take the express train from the airport to the metro station (Pvavelevskaya station) or take a taxi to the center of Moscow (about more than 1 million VND/trip). The public transportation system in Russia is very good, especially the metro in big cities. Almost all train stations in Moscow have a metro system nearby.

In Moscow, buying multiple passes is cheaper than buying a single ticket.

Accommodation:Hotels in Russia are not cheap like many European countries. To save money, you should stay in dormitories or apartments. In Moscow, you should book a room around the Arbat area for reasonable prices and the most convenient transportation.

Cuisine:Borscht - Beetroot soup, Russian bread, Russian salad, salmon caviar, Shashlik grilled lamb, Okroshka cold soup... are some dishes you should try when coming to Russia.

Weather:Autumn in Russia has temperatures ranging from 15 - 25oC, very pleasant for Vietnamese tourists.

Money:Russia uses the Russian ruble (RUB), 1 ruble is equivalent to 352 dong.

Other notes:

- To use the network in Russia, the most convenient is to buy a 4G SIM. Tele2 SIM is super cheap, 200 rubles for 2GB of internet access (quite good for a 7-10 day trip) and 120 minutes of free calls to all networks. You can buy it at the airport or at metro stations and large shopping centers.

- Most attractions offer free luggage storage services.

Phuong Nguyen