Veronika Wild

  Pytor Klodt's famous horse, the one with the odd physiology, though you would be hard pressed to see it because of the smoke The water is undrinkable, the mosquitoes are legion and if you are really unlucky, the fleas from the basement will rise up and bite you because the central heating has been turned off  – and that’s just what the guide book says. For all that, Peterburg as the locals call it, is an amazing place. The tsars certainly thought so too, with most of them preferring to live here, rather than in Moscow ( Lonely Planet , 2006:225). Built by Peter the Great after his victory over the Swedes in the C17 th to make sure they didn’t try to steal it back, he hired the finest architects and artisans from all over Europe to make it one of the world’s grandest capitals ( Lonely Planet , 2006:225) and it looks like he succeeded too. There are canals very much like those in Venice or Amsterdam, beautiful gardens modelled on those at Versailles and so many palaces, mostly...

Dostoevsky's long time summer residence This is only a short post, because I could only stay for a couple of hours. There was simply nowhere to stay. Venera, a lovely lady whom I had asked for directions, walked me from one accommodation place to another and all the way to Dostoevsky’s house. I'm not sure that she didn't ring them specially to have it opened.   Venera tried to find me accommodation and showed me around This house had remained in Dostoevsky's family before it was turned into a museum, so it still contained many personal items including his writing desk and photos of his family and friends. There were also pictures of those who inspired him, such as Byron and Dickens above his desk and a delightful view of the tree –lined river beyond. It also had a lovely garden. I am sure it didn’t look all that different in Dostoevsky’s day  when he wrote The Brothers Karamazov here. Although I had the benefit of Venera's translation, this little museum had t...

Another Night - Another Monastery - Hope this doesn't become a habit! My bed in Rostov Veliky was in a monastery too Lake Nero looked inviting but... After a hot and sweaty bus ride, it was a long walk to the Kremlin. A young girl called Katya helped carry my bags and walked me all the way. I was really grateful because by now both my foot and my back were hurting. I was glad that I had sent my boots and winter clothes back to Australia! I mentioned to Katya that I was looking forward to having a swim in shimmering Lake Nero. "I wouldn't," she said. "It's much too polluted!" Rostov Veliky was even older than Suzdal having been first chronicled in 862 ( Lonely Planet , 2006: 217).  The guest house in the old monastery here proved friendly and didn’t charge the earth and so it was a great place to rest.Though many of its churches were in the process of renovation and plaster was crumbling here and there, there was plenty of evidence of Rostov's p...

  The Golden Ring is a series of towns around Moscow, including Sergei Possad. They are all rich in architecture and history.   One of the many churches in Suzdal Another The walls of the massive Saviour Monastery of Euthemyius partially funded by Ivan the Terrible. This is one of seven monasteries.  Suzdal in contrast to the grandeur of Sergei Possad, was charming and village- like because the powers that be had sensibly decided to limit the development of this former monastic centre. Some of its buildings were still a bit down at heel, but this rather added to its charm and you could see in these generally more modest and older buildings how the architectural wonders seen in Moscow and Sergei Possad evolved.  In this replica of an older church the evolution of the Pskov style can be seen Originally a trade centre, it became a regional capital in the 12 th century before being taken over by Moscow in 1392. After that, it found favour with a succession of tsars...

  The fabulous Ul Sharif Mosque, Kazan I did finally make it to Kazan, one thousand years old and the capital of Tatarstan, though I had to backtrack a bit and it was a terrible ordeal in the heat. (I promise I will stop whingeing about this after the next couple of posts!). This is also a World Heritage site and one of the places that Russian friends had recommended that I should see. The Kremlin was fabulous to look at (except perhaps for the Mirage Hotel, parked right in front of it) and had quite a history. The story goes that Ivan the Terrible sacked the city and razed the former mosque to the ground in 1552 because he had been spurned by a local princess.  The new one, Kul Sharif, is a stunning confection of white and blue domes and spires, a defiant statement by the newly autonomous Tatars who had long been a pain in the posterior of Moskovite rulers.   Mirage Hotel -I couldn't see the famous mosque at first because of it On the way in you pass St. Dimitri. Pray...