Having just arrived at Irkutsk after a four day train ride it is so nice to be on solid ground. The width was probably only about two single beds put together with four people crammed inside. It was fine for a few days but by the forth I definitely had cabin fever. I watched the world go by, slept and drank vodka with our group. We were put in a gorgeous chalet with amazing views of Lake Baikal. The lake was pretty much frozen over, and ice had formed that looke...

If St Petersburg was Russia's Paris, then Moscow would be its London. A bustling metropolis with a grumpy man in a woolly hat for every one of St Petersburg's fur clad fashionistas, it has a grandeur expressed more through its metro system and towering Seven Sisters skyscrapers than palaces or cathedrals. The Soviet legacy is most keenly felt in the bold Constructionist architecture than anything else, with the Russian State Library opposite the Kremlin a neat ju...

Hey Everyone :) We are curently in Moscow and about to set off to visit St Basil's cathedral and the Kremlin. We arrived here by overnight train. The carriage was tiny with 4 people squashed into it but luckily we are with our tour group so know the people in the bunk opposite. Our group is lovely, everyone is British which is nice because we can actually have conversations with people. Our Honcho in St P was called Vadim and he was very friendly and fun and ou...