Why I Love Russia

Russia- What a vast and wonderful place and here are some of the things I love about it...

It's not only the cities, which are fascinating, but also the huge areas of forest that make this place so special. I visited Russia in 1977 and have not forgotten it. What really impressed me were the people, who were not only friendly but very helpful as well. I found them so nice and polite. I had an eye infection when I was in Russia and went to the outpatients at the hospital. I was treated very kindly and with concern. Was well looked after. To those people thank you, it was very much appreciated.

The architecture is amazing from the magnificent ornate palaces to the simple wooden houses in the villages. I saw horse drawn carts in use and large metal pails for milk. The whole place fascinated me and the history hits you in the face.

Yuri Gagarin (first man into space), is a particular favourite of mine, so I was thrilled to see his space ship mounted high above our heads, and  I thought about what his adventure must have been like. 

Russia is the place where I was literally caught with my pants down. It happened one moonlit night in the middle of nowhere, on the side of a field in the middle of the night. We were travelling by bus and a few of us needed to go to the toilet, of which there was not one for miles, so we asked the bus driver to stop, which he duly did. We climbed out of the bus and bared our bottoms to the moonlight. As we did a farmer ploughing his field in the middle of the night copped an eye full. I bet he is still telling the story as are we.

St Basil's Cathedral. How magnificent does this place look? I don't think that it would be possible to take a bad photo of this building.

Gum Store. I bought a fur hat here for my mother. It's a huge place and so impressive with lots to buy. I could spend hours there. 

Vodka. Always a good choice of drink and the Russian stuff is no exception. Drank my fair share when in Russia. Can't remember much!

Tchaikovski's Theater. Here I saw traditional Russian dancing in this beautiful theatre. Russian dancing never ceases to amaze me. The way the men leap into the air and do their crouching legs out, arms crossed movements in their boots is spellbinding. The women in their traditional outfits swirling around is a delight to witness.  

I have very fond memories of Russia. Keep reading Russia.