Kate Little

People asked me ‘why would you go to Russia in the winter?’  My answer; seeing Russia with snow was the only way I wanted to see it.    

Going in March there was a chance that there may not be any, but as we arrived late at night in St. Petersburg a blizzard started with huge fluffy flakes of snow.   After a short introduction, our group took a walk to the Winter Palace which wasn’t far from our hotel.  The fresh snow in the huge square in front of the palace was untouched and it was such a magical moment that I will treasure always.     

We were staying in the Four Seasons hotel which was originally a 19th Century Palace and was still full of the opulent style of imperial Russia.  Having been in Thailand only 2 weeks before volunteering at an Elephant sanctuary and sleeping on the floor of a large house with 8 other volunteers it couldn’t have been a more extreme contrast.    The rooms were all exquisite as was the food, exceptional breakfast with caviar, smoked salmon and champagne, how wonderful!     

We toured various land marks during the day, as well as the Hermitage museum, the second largest museum in the world.   One evening I went to the ballet, an outstanding experience, and as I walked back through the streets of St. Petersburg at 10.30 at night, alone, I felt very safe.  

After 3 nights/days in St. Petersburg we boarded the high-speed train that links the cities together and in 2 hours we were in Moscow.     Moscow was another surprise, a much more cosmopolitan city which made St. Petersburg feel quite small and quaint.    Moscow was buzzing with life and displays of amazing lights lit up the night.   

Again, we stayed at the Four Seasons, but this one was quite a modern hotel in contrast, however we did visit the Ritz Carlton which was close by and it had more of the old world feel again which I preferred.    

We were a short walk from Red Square and every chance I had I went then, drawn by the pull of such a famous historical place, with St. Basils standing proudly at the end – to me that was the picture that we have seen for years and represented Russia.   

We toured amazing palaces in both locations, quite spectacular with the gold and splendor along side the fascinating history that Russia has.    We went to the Kremlin and toured the museum there, with once again more splendor that you could imagine.  

I loved Russia and I’m so happy that I had the opportunity to go.