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Tags: Train Travel / Russia Travel / Travel News / High-Speed Trains / High Speed Rail / → All Tags

The Space Race Moves To The Rails As Russia Gets High-Speed Trains

When we talk about High-Speed Trains, it's not exactly news that the United States is extremely tardy to the party. Especially now that Russia has their act together and have debuted some Siemens-built trains designed to zip, rather than chug-chug, on the route between Moscow and St. Petersburg.

The Sapsan—or "Peregrine Falcon"—train will ride the rails beginning in December, with an average speed of 250 km/h (155 mph), shaving an hour off of the total travel time between the two metropoli. No doubt this train will fast become a tourist's best friend, smoothing the passage between the capitals like the TGV did for the route between Paris and Nice, or the Thalys between Brussels and Paris. The big deal here, however, is that now we're talking about Russia.

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Tags: St Petersburg Field Trip / Russia Travel / Museums / Jaunted Field Trips / → All Tags

The Big One: You Can’t Leave Without Visiting the Hermitage

While it's hot here in the States, our special contributor Kate Winick is headed to the cold country of Russia. To St. Petersburg to be more specific, and all this week she'll be sending dispatches from the shadow of many onion domes.

Any reasonably worldly-minded person has probably heard the warning that you can’t see the Louvre or the Hermitage Museum in one day. And well—you can’t. Don’t try. There are several special exhibitions going at any one time, although they’re not always well-advertised, and it’s best to just pick one or two sections of interest so you have time to enjoy the art and the interiors themselves—it’s a combination of grand baroque and spooky decay that just about sums up the indefinable nature of modern Russia.

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Tags: St Petersburg Field Trip / Russia Travel / Food Travel / St Petersburg Travel / Jaunted Field Trips / → All Tags

Dining In St. Petersburg: The Best Spots For Caviar, Vodka And Borscht

While it's hot here in the States, our special contributor Kate Winick is headed to the cold country of Russia. To St. Petersburg to be more specific, and all this week she'll be sending dispatches from the shadow of many onion domes.

"Pectopah" is the one word you need to know if you’re hungry in St. Petersburg. It’s pronounced “restoran,” like “restaurant” with a twist, and is displayed prominently on almost every eating establishment in St. Petersburg.

The cuisine available varies from Moroccan to European to Japanese (sushi is the latest craze with the younger set), but for traditional Russian fare, there are a few experiences a cut above the rest. Three restaurants in particular stand out:

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Tags: St Petersburg Field Trip / Russia Travel / St Petersburg Travel / Jaunted Field Trips / → All Tags

Our Beat-The-Jet-Lag Walking Tour Of St. Petersburg

While it's hot here in the States, our special contributor Kate Winick is headed to the cold country of Russia. To St. Petersburg to be more specific, and all this week she'll be sending dispatches from the shadow of many onion domes.

So what do you do first in a country where you don't speak the language and you're still slightly suffering from jet lag? We took a cab into the St. Petersburg city center, down Nevsky Prospect, and this is the best place to start leisurely exploring. As the main street in St. Petersburg, Nevsky Prospect is marked by the Admiralty building with its tall gold spire on the north end (although there are several of these around, it’s the only one you’ll see at the end of the street) and the Nevsky Monastery to the south.

Worth stopping for a look outside are the Kazan Cathedral, the Dom Knigi bookstore (an Art Deco confection that formerly housed the Singer sewing maching company), the Russian National Library, monuments to Catherine the Great and more field marshals than you can shake a stick at, and the Anichkov Bridge, with its four famed equestrian statues. It’s also the central street for shopping, restaurants, etc., with the Gostiny Dvor, the city’s largest department store, on one side of the street, across from the Grand Palace luxury complex.

Even though Russia is no known for its love of luxury, St. Petersburg isn’t a shopping city—high prices and limited selection means that most wealthy Russians do their shopping on vacations in the rest of Europe or America.

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Tags: St Petersburg Field Trip / Russia Travel / St. Petersburg Travel / Jaunted Field Trips / → All Tags

Negotiating A Flight From The US To St. Petersburg, And We Mean Russia

While it's hot here in the States, our special contributor Kate Winick is headed to the cold country of Russia. To St. Petersburg to be more specific, and all this week she'll be sending dispatches from the shadow of many onion domes.

You’ll have to pick your poison flying from the United States to St. Petersburg—direct flights are available mainly to Moscow, although finding a connection there is simple. On the other hand, you’ll get to pass through a hub that isn’t Atlanta. Finnair connects through Helsinki, KLM through Amsterdam, Alitalia through Rome, etc.

We chose to fly Lufthansa’s business class through Frankfurt, and were grateful to have the option of a lounge in which to pass out at 5:30 in the morning, after a not-long-enough rest on the flat seats.

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Tags: Russia Travel / Russia / → All Tags

Discover the "Real" Russia Amid the Modern Glitz of Moscow

Everybody has their own favorite travel memories, transcendent moments occurring far from home that spawn a new awareness and perspective on life. For me, a snowy trip to Moscow in January, 1993 is one of the fondest, as it was a moment that awakened in me the idea that the world is there for the taking, and all that is needed to visit somewhere exotic is simply to get up and go.

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Tags: Obama-Around-The-World / Presidential Travel / Barack Obama / Moscow / Russia Travel / Michelle Obama / → All Tags

More Museums For the Obamas As They Take Moscow

As President Obama continues to tour the world, we love that he's including his family and allowing them to be cultural ambassadors while he's tied up in meetings, like today's talks with Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev over arms control.

While Obama conducts business in the Kremlin, Michelle and the girls are literally down the hall with first lady Svetlana Medvedev, who took them on a tour of famous tourist sites within the palace, such as the Cathedral of the Assumption and the Amory Museum and its 190-carat Orlov diamond. The girls even took tea in the Winter Garden; we are so jealous.

According to the Russian paper Pravda and USA Today, the Obamas might however be sleeping outside of the Kremlin walls at the Ritz-Carlton, since the hotel has suspiciously blocked off reservations for July 5 thru 8. There's yet another clue as to the Obamas' hotel sleeping arrangements: "In its lobby, the Ritz-Carlton installed an over-sized, chocolate statue of an American Eagle and a Russian Bear in honor of the visit." Our jealousy sees no end.

Related Stories:
· US first lady Michelle Obama tours Moscow's Kremlin as summit talks kick off [LA Times]
· President Obama's likely hotel choice while in Moscow: The Ritz-Carlton [USA Today]
· Presidential Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Stringer / AFP / Getty ]

Tags: Worlds-Coolest-Pools / Moscow / Russia Travel / Communist Travel / → All Tags

No Need to Russian This Moscow Pool

Last one in's a rotten egg! We're finding the best places in the world to stick our toes in this summer (or next winter) for our World's Coolest Pools map. Know of any pools we must check out? Let us know.

Ah, life is short and time is fleeting! We didn't get to Moscow in time to use one of the world's largest public pools—it closed in 1990—but its traces are still readily apparent on the site. Besides, we don't know of any other pools which later became houses of worship.

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Tags: Guidebooks / Cellphones / Maps / Conde Nast Traveler / → All Tags

Technology Gets Smacked Down by Old-School Guidebook in Moscow

The folks over at Condé Nast Traveler recently sent three writers on a mission to Moscow and gave each of them a different tool to use in completing some touristy activities. One writer was armed with an iPhone, the other was given a new BlackBerry Bold phone and the last writer was left with an old-school guidebook from Eyewitness Travel.

Interestingly enough, the writer saddled with the guidebook ended up completing the required tasks much faster than the other two with the internet at their disposal. And here's why:

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Tags: Celeb Travel / Music Travel / Madonna / Museums / → All Tags

Museum Directors Are Not Happy About Madonna Concert

According to the New York Post, Madonna is planning a concert in St. Petersburg, Russia this summer in the main square next to the Hermitage Museum. The historic art and culture museum is part of the royal Winter Palace which served as the home for Russian Tsars Nicholas I and Nicholas II.

When Madonna arrives in August, the museum will be showcasing its "Treasures of the Great Moguls" exhibition. And the museum officials are none too pleased.

[B]randing the event a "natural disaster," the museum's director Dr. Mikhail Piotrovski said, "We want guarantees that there will be no blasphemy."

Uh-oh, now that you said that, Madonna's gonna cook up something blasphemous for St. Petersburg. Unless you consider her dating a 22-year-old Brazilian model to be blasphemous enough and to be honest, we kind of do.

Related Stories:
· Russian Authorities: Madonna Concert a Natural Disaster [NY Post]
· Heritage Museum [Official Site]

[Photo: Anirudh Koul]

Tags: Amazing-Race-14 / Amazing Race 14 / Chasing Racers / Television Travel / TV Travel / → All Tags

'She's a Little Scared of Stick'

Chasing Racers is back, with a brand new Amazing Race 14 mashup. This map will update the morning after every new episode. Send along tips, rumors, gossip, locations and spoilers to our map editors, become a member and comment on the stories below and add to the Jaunted-Flickr photo pool to get in on the fray.

Remember to zoom in, out and around on the map--with so much happening in each episode, it's easy to miss a map point.

Last week, Christie and Jodi finally used their travel smarts to land in first place, keeping competitors Kisha and Jen and wonder twins Tammy and Victor safely behind them. Will they be able to parlay their road warrior skills to another top finish, or will another team power ahead and claim victory?
LET'S FIND OUT!

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Tags: Drug Travel / Russia Travel / Aeroflot / Drugs / Illicit Travel / → All Tags

Fly the Drug-Addled Skies of Aeroflot

Often we wonder why airlines still remind you, at the beginning of every flight, that "this is a non-smoking flight," because who can remember the last time open flame was welcomed in the sky? Of course, this innocent reminder goes for the flight attendants just as much as the passengers, but apparently needs to be broadened into "this is a non-bonging flight" for some Russian crew.

Thanks to Gadling, we've been turned on to this video of a possible Aeroflot crew not only smoking in the galley, but fashioning a plastic bottle into a personal bong for smoking hash. Aside from the obvious major no-nos associated with this (like setting something on fire, doing drugs on the job and doing drugs on the job when you're job is to protect the safety of others), we wonder at their stupidity to then film it and post it online.

If anyone happens to speak Russian and can translate their giggly words, which we bet are saying "oh man, this is totally going to get us fired," then let us know in the comments, because from now on, we'll be wondering what exactly is going down in the big galley in the back.

Related Stories:
· Russian flight crew smoking pot mid-flight [Gadling]
· Pilot and Stewardess smoke hashish during flight [LiveLeak]
· Drug Travel Coverage [Jaunted]