Russian Brides Ok for those of you wondering why on earth I have 20 photos of random strangers in wedding costumes as a photo album... Rachel & I were wandering around St Petersburg the first day and happened upon a guy videoing a bride and groom, with 2 people in red sashes walking behind them. Given it was a Monday, around midday, and it looked reasonably staged, we thought maybe it was some sort of photo shoot for the world's most horrific bridal cou...

Executive Summary - Lake Baikal & Irkutsk Saw: Trees, wildflowers, a very large lake, funny hats, couple of brides, Lenin statue. Did: Couple of hikes, a short boat cruise, a Russian banya - whacking each other with birch leaves after an extensive process of a 100 degree (celcius!) sauna, followed by tea, followed by sauna, followed by tea, Ate/Drank: 'Salad' of cream/prawns/gherkins/dill/egg, more minced meat in pastry, native fish (...

Life on the Iron Rooster With apologies to Paul Theroux St Petersburg - Moscow Travel Time: 8 hours, 1 overnight Departing St Petersburg for Moscow late on Wednesday night we were all excited to start the train journey and get a feel for what this would be like. The cabins were fantastic - certainly better than the cabin I was in from Milan to Naples on my only other overnight rail journey. Didn't sleep well, and on arrival at 8 am was a bit tired and groggy....

Executive Summary - Trans- Mongolian Railway Saw: Trees, lakes, rivers, factories, farms - all from the window of the train carriage; Russian men wandering around without shirts on, the inside of my eyelids for more than half of the 87 hours Did: Read The Poisonwood Bible, slept, taught 3 Irish lads with questionable motor skills how to shuffle cards (still working on that one), slept, looked out the window, recovered from hangover, slept, competed ...

A Guide to Russian Cuisine* Use this handy Russian Recipe builder to make any Russian dish you desire! Step 1 - Select Meat Ingredient a) "meat" b) sausage c) offal d) herring e) all of the above Step 2 - Select Vegetables a) potato b) potato and cucumber c) potato and cabbage d) potato and beetroot Step 3 - Choose Meat and Vegetable Enclosure a) pancake b) cabbage leaf c) flour dumpling d) broth Step 4 - Preparation Method a) fry b)...