1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,480 And so we meet again. Hello. Good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening. Whatever time of the 2 00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:12,640 day it is that you are tuned in right now. Today's episode I think is going to be a little bit longer 3 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:20,960 and also quite a fun one because this episode is going to be about a place that I traveled to 4 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:29,040 nine years ago for the very first time on my own. And that is Russia. I don't think it is any sort 5 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:37,680 of secret to anybody on the planet. Russia is a place now in 2025 that is not so easy to really 6 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:46,240 travel to. This makes me so tragically heartbroken and sad because as somebody who spent 10 beautiful, 7 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:54,880 extensive, warm, and wonderful, unforgettable days in Russia in January 2016, I can say that Russia 8 00:00:54,880 --> 00:01:02,080 is a place that every single person needs to go to at one point in their lives. It really is one 9 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:07,920 of those places that takes you back in time the second you step off the plane. It's one of those 10 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:15,040 places that leaves you so, so intrigued that just leaves you feeling and seeing the world in a 11 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:20,800 completely different way than you did when you first arrived. This episode is going to be based 12 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:27,440 on the sequence of events, the lessons, the takeaways, the people I met, the things I saw, 13 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:35,120 the very feelings that I still to this day feel about Russia nine years later as I look back 14 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:42,560 on this story. Russia is also a place that friends and family and other people I have met have often 15 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:50,320 asked me about since I don't personally know other Americans or even really other Europeans who have 16 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:57,120 also visited Russia like me. That is what we're going to be diving deeper into with this episode 17 00:01:57,120 --> 00:02:02,320 today. Now that we've had more of a detailed overview of the episode, let's go ahead and 18 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:10,480 dive really deep into this episode and explore 2016 Russia and the takeaways, lessons, and so 19 00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:16,000 much more that I believe you can incorporate into your future travels to Eastern Europe or even 20 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:22,480 Russia itself one day when it opens back up to more of us. I had made the decision I believe in 21 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:31,520 the spring of 2015 to go to Russia and to go on January 1st on New Year's Day 2016. I really 22 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:37,440 wanted to experience the Christmas and New Year's spirit in Russia. Just in case you are not aware, 23 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:44,880 New Year's in Russia is a whole other level, a whole other story, a whole other experience. 24 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:51,920 It is huge. I had a couple of online Russian pen pal friends who I really wanted to meet 25 00:02:51,920 --> 00:02:58,080 and spend time with in person. I had one in St. Petersburg and one in Moscow and those are the 26 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:04,880 two places that I went to. My dad had actually gone to Russia by himself in winter time and his 27 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:11,760 entire trip inspired me to go to Russia in January and experience this winter magic. At the time I 28 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:20,080 was in university so I would work at my restaurant job throughout the entire summer saving up on 29 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:27,680 money and over time I had enough money to buy my tourist visa. My dad knew the entire time 30 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:34,480 what I was doing. He knew that I was going to Russia. He even encouraged it. I did not however 31 00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:41,440 tell my mom that I was going to Russia and there are a handful of reasons why which I'll get into 32 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:48,560 that more in a little bit but spoiler alert she did find out that I went to Russia when I got to 33 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:56,320 Russia and that was not good. The first of January 2016 comes around and it's the day of my flight. 34 00:03:56,320 --> 00:04:04,800 My dad drove me to the Atlanta airport and I took off by myself on an eight hour flight to Frankfurt, 35 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:10,800 Germany and I spent about five hours there on a layover. What I do remember and will speak 36 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:17,280 very specifically about because I think this could help somebody it certainly would have helped 37 00:04:17,280 --> 00:04:24,960 younger Mary Grace is my flight booking experience. Like I said a little earlier this was the very 38 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:31,920 first international trip that I had actually booked by myself and did everything myself. 39 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:41,760 With that being said I looked on super cheap third-party websites for flights and flight deals. 40 00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:48,160 I didn't read reviews. I didn't do research. I was just looking for the cheapest flight possible 41 00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:54,160 that would work with my schedule and that I knew I could do. At the time that I booked this ticket 42 00:04:54,160 --> 00:05:01,760 which was about six months before the trip I was freaking the fuck out. I spent eight hundred dollars 43 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:08,240 round trip from Atlanta to Frankfurt, Frankfurt to St. Petersburg, then Moscow to Frankfurt, 44 00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:15,040 Frankfurt back to Atlanta and it was a really good deal at the time. I was thinking eight hundred 45 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:22,080 dollars for that long of a distance and not having to really have too many layovers is really good. 46 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:29,600 I'm gonna book this and I'm gonna be so happy. Well I was very stressed for about six months 47 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:36,720 because the third party site that I used which was called Fair Geek I really felt that I was 48 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:44,480 gonna get scammed. I read so many reviews after booking my ticket about two-thirds of the reviews 49 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:51,680 that I read were all negative and they all said something along the lines of oh don't book with 50 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:58,960 Fair Geek. I lost all my money. No my flight got cancelled at the very very last minute and I didn't 51 00:05:58,960 --> 00:06:05,760 get refunded. I don't know all sorts of scary reviews that you can imagine. So there I was 52 00:06:05,760 --> 00:06:13,280 20 year old Mary Grace not experienced at all with booking flights. I was so scared shitless 53 00:06:13,280 --> 00:06:19,840 for six months until I actually got on my flight. So ever since 2016 I have always used Google 54 00:06:19,840 --> 00:06:26,880 flights and I've always just booked directly with the airline. No third party shit, no second party 55 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:33,840 shit. I just can't trust any platform that is not the airlines. Got on this flight from Frankfurt to 56 00:06:33,840 --> 00:06:39,600 St. Petersburg. Touched down in St. Petersburg. I think it was like a 20 hour journey when it was 57 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:45,360 all said and done. Went through passport control, customs, baggage claim and when I was in baggage 58 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:51,760 claim there was this random trained dog doing tricks with the security guards and they were 59 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:59,120 all laughing and I was like oh they're taking their job real seriously. So I saw this dog and I was 60 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:05,920 just being oblivious and American. I wanted to take a picture with the dog so I did. That was just a 61 00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:11,920 fun little moment upon arriving in Russia. I remember that first night in St. Petersburg 62 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:20,720 my Russian friend Yulia was waiting outside of the exit area with a sign that said Mary Crawford. 63 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:28,240 It was actually really cute. I arrived at about seven in the evening and it took forever to get 64 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:35,760 money in case you are not aware for future reference. Russia is an extremely heavy cash 65 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:44,240 country. Be sure that you have rubles when you go or at least you have a card or bank that you can 66 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:51,920 extract it from an ATM easily. I for some reason had so much trouble. My friend and I probably 67 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:59,040 spent about two hours simply at the airport trying to exchange dollars to rubles, euros to rubles, 68 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:04,960 like whatever we could do to get rubles. It was so much trouble and the weird thing about the 69 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:13,520 ATMs that I remember was there was a withdrawal limit at the St. Petersburg airport. You couldn't 70 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:21,680 withdraw more than 100 US dollars at a time in cash, which made no sense to me. I don't know why. 71 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:28,880 So that first evening in St. Petersburg I had almost no money. I had about 600 rubles, which 72 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:36,880 at the time this was maybe about five dollars. It was very sad. I don't know why I just walked 73 00:08:36,880 --> 00:08:43,120 around with only five dollars, but I did. Julia and I didn't have much time to really enjoy St. 74 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:49,200 Petersburg since I got there so late and the airport exchange situation took forever. So we 75 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:55,600 literally just walked outside. It was snowing. I was so happy it was snowing and we walked down the 76 00:08:55,600 --> 00:09:01,840 main street of St. Petersburg, which is also one of the most known streets in all of Russia, 77 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:08,800 and it's called Nevsky Prospekt. This street has all sorts of shops, all sorts of cafes, restaurants, 78 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:16,960 malls, you name it. It has everything and it is bustling. It is going. We literally went to Burger 79 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:24,240 King that night and we got food because I literally had no cash because the ATM at the airport 80 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:30,000 wouldn't give me more cash. So we had our first Russian dinner at Burger King, walked along the 81 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:36,480 river in St. Petersburg, and then we headed to the hotel that I had booked for both of us to stay in. 82 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:43,840 And I remember I got my Russian winter wish straight up. Even to this day, out of all the 83 00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:50,960 places I have been to in the world, Russia takes home the gold for being the coldest place that I 84 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:59,360 have ever, ever been to and experienced. I remember walking to the hotel in St. Petersburg. It was 85 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:07,520 negative 20 degrees Celsius outside. If you're American, this is negative five Fahrenheit. 86 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:17,920 On top of this, there was wind. So it literally felt like a knife was stabbing into my cheek, 87 00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:25,760 a knife that I couldn't get out. And it was just painful. It just felt frigid cold. It felt like a 88 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:32,800 knife was stabbing my cheek the entire way to the hotel. It was, wow. It was an adventure to say the 89 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:39,280 least. Got settled at this hotel. The hotel for two nights for two people was the equivalent of 90 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:48,560 about 180 US dollars, which wow, in a very main part of St. Petersburg for two people in a very 91 00:10:48,560 --> 00:10:55,600 nice hotel, that was really cheap. We gave each other gifts. We made hot drinks. We sat in bed 92 00:10:55,600 --> 00:11:01,520 together and we just talked about, I don't know, like girl stuff and turned on Russian cartoons 93 00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:07,360 on TV because there was nothing else to watch. Went to sleep that night. It was probably about 94 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:15,360 2 33 in the morning. I woke up randomly thinking I want a journal about my first evening in Russia. 95 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:25,600 And it was in the middle of me writing that my mom called. My mom somehow found out that I had gone 96 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:32,240 all the way to Russia and had not said a damn thing to her. My dad, like I said, knew the whole 97 00:11:32,240 --> 00:11:40,160 time, but my mom, no, the reason I didn't tell my mom that I was going to Russia is because my mom 98 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:47,920 is not a very travel savvy, open minded person when it comes to traveling to other countries. 99 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:53,440 She's very skeptical. She doesn't give other places a chance. Yes, in the Western perspective, 100 00:11:53,440 --> 00:12:00,000 it is Russia. It is normal to be a little bit skeptical, but it was perfectly safe. I didn't 101 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:05,760 want her to freak out. I didn't want her to scream at me. And at the time, frankly, I didn't want her 102 00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:13,040 to prevent me from going. So I didn't say anything, but she found out somehow she called me. I think 103 00:12:13,040 --> 00:12:18,880 it was on WhatsApp and she immediately started screaming at me. I remember her saying, why the 104 00:12:18,880 --> 00:12:24,560 hell are you in Russia? What are you doing there? You need to get out. If you don't get out right 105 00:12:24,560 --> 00:12:31,360 now, I'm going to cut off your phone. Why the fuck are you there? I mean, it was not good. And as she 106 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:38,960 was saying this, my Russian friend who was in the bed sleeping right next to me woke up and was like, 107 00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:45,360 what's happening? Are you okay? And I had to tell her, my mom is screaming at me. I actually did 108 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:52,400 not tell her that I was coming here. She is very skeptical of a lot of places and things that I do. 109 00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:58,720 And I didn't tell her, so she's pissed at me. So that bit me in the ass, but it's fine because it 110 00:12:58,720 --> 00:13:04,560 was so worth it. Honestly, I think she probably stayed mad at me for a day or two. There was 111 00:13:04,560 --> 00:13:10,160 nothing she could do. I was already in fucking Russia. Like, what are you going to do? You're not 112 00:13:10,160 --> 00:13:16,080 going to cut off my phone. You're not going to do that. I only spent three full days in St. Petersburg 113 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:23,280 and seven in Moscow. But I will say that the three days that I spent in St. Petersburg were so 114 00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:30,880 extremely heartwarming and really to this day still truly touched me. What I got out of those 115 00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:37,440 two or three days in St. Petersburg was something that I truly was not expecting. It was the most 116 00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:44,640 surprising realization, the biggest lesson that I learned about traveling that I also really applied 117 00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:51,520 to future trips in years to come was not having to do with the sites at all. Let's just say that it 118 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:59,360 was a lesson that a Russian book, movie, media, whatever in America would never have been able to 119 00:13:59,360 --> 00:14:06,800 teach me had I not experienced this for myself. But I'll get into that. Julia and I wake up the 120 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:14,560 next day and we spent about 10 hours from about 10 AM until 10 PM out on the street, out and about 121 00:14:14,560 --> 00:14:21,120 exploring, spending time together, cafe hopping, whatever it is. We really, really used up all the 122 00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:27,680 time that we could. We started off at this breakfast place in St. Petersburg, which apparently does not 123 00:14:27,680 --> 00:14:33,120 exist in other cities in Russia and is a place that I would personally recommend if you ever go 124 00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:40,560 to Russia. It is a breakfast slash cafe place called Dunaugh. So it's French Dunaugh. This place was 125 00:14:40,560 --> 00:14:46,880 really fancy and antique on the inside, but it was super cheap, especially if you are coming from the 126 00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:54,960 West. At the time for two people, we had two boiled eggs, a salmon and cream cheese sandwich, 127 00:14:54,960 --> 00:15:01,680 a pastry and orange juice, a cappuccino, and maybe one or two other little treats. And we paid the 128 00:15:01,680 --> 00:15:09,760 equivalent of seven US dollars for all of this really good stuff in a very fancy kind of ambiance, 129 00:15:09,760 --> 00:15:16,000 relaxing kind of cafe environment. It was so incredible. It was at this place, Dunaugh, 130 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:23,760 that Julia taught me the first lesson about Russia that I didn't know before I actually went there. 131 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:29,360 And it has to do with tipping. I don't know if this is the same case for all of Russia, 132 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:36,960 but at least in the big cities, Russia's tipping etiquette is a mixture of the European standard 133 00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:45,680 with an American twist. And what I mean by that is in Russia, tipping like in Europe is not required. 134 00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:52,160 It's not obligatory. The waiters don't rely on your tip to survive. However, the waiters do expect 135 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:58,400 a tip. So that's where the American twist comes in. Russian waiters don't need a tip, but it's 136 00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:04,640 rude if you don't tip them. It can literally be the equivalent of one or two US dollars. 137 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:10,800 That's enough. So my friend and I gave about $2 worth in a tip. At the time that I went to Russia 138 00:16:10,800 --> 00:16:22,240 in January 2016, one US dollar was equivalent to about 73 Russian rubles. In January 2025 money, 139 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:30,000 one US dollar is now 110 rubles. Just like every other country, there's been some inflation. 140 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:35,440 The point that I'm trying to make is even nine years ago, it was really cheap and it's even 141 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:42,800 cheaper now. Also, another really big tip to keep in mind before ever coming to Russia, you really 142 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:49,440 need to learn at least a little bit of Russian to communicate or at least be able to read some 143 00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:57,120 Cyrillic before you go there. All of the signs, even in big cities, for the most part are all in 144 00:16:57,120 --> 00:17:04,160 Cyrillic. There is some English on some major streets, but at the time that I went, there were 145 00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:11,440 some places where there was zero English and I was really lost. I luckily had my friend with me 146 00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:17,360 to translate and help, but I still made an effort to learn at least just a few phrases to be polite 147 00:17:17,360 --> 00:17:22,080 and to understand at least just a little bit. So those two or three days in St. Petersburg, 148 00:17:22,080 --> 00:17:28,960 we saw the main sites, all of which included, if you are curious, the Nevsky center, which is a 149 00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:34,720 very big shopping mall with a lot of different shops and cafes and delicious places to grab a 150 00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:40,560 snack, especially when it's freezing outside. We then went to another mall. Russia has a lot 151 00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:46,080 of malls. We went to this other mall called gallery or gallery, and this is where we found 152 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:51,920 a photo booth to take a whole strip of pictures. That's another thing in Russian malls. Photo booths 153 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:58,400 are very common to find. We then went to see the Kazan cathedral, which kind of looks like some 154 00:17:58,400 --> 00:18:05,440 German influenced architecture. And my personal most favorite, you really cannot miss this in 155 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:11,600 St. Petersburg at any time of the year is a beautiful structure called the church of the 156 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:18,960 savior on blood. It's kind of an interesting name, but when you see this thing, it is so magical, 157 00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:24,960 so beautiful, so colorful. It's gorgeous. There was also this famous Russian dish that I would 158 00:18:24,960 --> 00:18:31,600 personally really recommend that you try. And it's a dish called Sereniki. This is basically a split 159 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:37,520 between cottage cheese and cheesecake, and you can have it with some different sauces. So maybe 160 00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:44,320 some jam or some cream cheese, very local, very fresh, very cheap, highly recommend. And then at 161 00:18:44,320 --> 00:18:50,800 some point I went to this famous bookstore along Nevsky prospect. So the main street of St. Petersburg. 162 00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:57,120 So the typical sightseeing, going down the streets, enjoying the snow, going to different cafes to 163 00:18:57,120 --> 00:19:05,760 stay warm. All of that was really magical. But the most magical part of St. Petersburg for me personally 164 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:13,040 was the evening of my third day when I went into a Russian home in a suburb of St. Petersburg called 165 00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:20,960 Pushkin. This was a visit that changed my life. This was really an amazing insight into Russian 166 00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:29,360 culture and hospitality in a way that I never had seen coming. This home was my friend's mom's 167 00:19:29,360 --> 00:19:36,480 friend's home. I hope that makes sense. We were invited. The host name was Maria. Maria had never 168 00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:43,120 met an American before. Maria also had a son. He was also there and he spoke English very well. 169 00:19:43,120 --> 00:19:49,280 So Julia and I get to this Russian home. We take off our shoes and that is when I learn another 170 00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:55,680 thing about Russian culture that is essential to know if you have never been in Eastern Europe 171 00:19:55,680 --> 00:20:03,280 or just to be aware of in general. Walking into a Russian home with shoes is a no-go. 172 00:20:03,280 --> 00:20:10,080 Do not walk in with your shoes. Take your shoes off and put on some slippers. Slippers are really, 173 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:16,240 really commonplace in Russian homes and I think just about every single home has them for their 174 00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:23,040 guests. I put on the slippers and I just feel so at home. I just think, oh, this is so cute. 175 00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:29,040 And I'm immediately offered wine along with pigs in a blanket, which I didn't know were really huge 176 00:20:29,040 --> 00:20:36,160 in Russia. Pigs in a blanket, wine, great company. I talked a lot with Maria's son, Goryn, and he was 177 00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:43,120 really so knowledgeable and so welcoming and so nice. And then we also enjoyed a very hot bowl of 178 00:20:43,120 --> 00:20:48,320 Russian borsh, which is a Russian specialty. There's a chance you may know already. I took some 179 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:54,720 pictures with Maria and my friend's mom and with my friend and with Goryn. It was all just such an 180 00:20:54,720 --> 00:21:01,440 eye-opening experience because as much as many people don't want to say or admit, politics, 181 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:08,240 especially in the U.S., can really get in the way of seeing the people and not the politicians, 182 00:21:08,240 --> 00:21:15,360 not the policies, not seeing the bad things. In a place like post-Soviet Union, it's very easy to 183 00:21:15,360 --> 00:21:21,840 make assumptions because of the news that we watch. It is so important to understand that a 184 00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:29,520 country's government is not the same as its people. And this experience that I had of meeting Maria, 185 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:36,560 who had never met an American before, was as welcoming, as nice, as hospitable, as loving 186 00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:43,760 as you could imagine any other host in any other home around the world would be. Maria hugged me, 187 00:21:43,760 --> 00:21:49,600 I don't know how many times. She constantly made sure we were fed. She was so understanding that 188 00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:56,640 my Russian was shit, but that I really made an effort. It was all just very eye-opening to truly 189 00:21:56,640 --> 00:22:03,280 see the beauty of the people and to truly realize that a place anywhere you go is about the people. 190 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:09,440 To this day, when I think of St. Petersburg, I think of the people. Whether they had less, 191 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:16,000 whether they had more, it didn't really matter. What mattered and what I saw was that they are 192 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:23,120 just like anybody else. They cherish happiness. They cherish love. They cherish hospitality. 193 00:22:23,120 --> 00:22:29,440 They cherish good luck. They cherish good food. They don't want violence and they just want peace. 194 00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:36,160 If only the world that we lived in was that simple. You then realize truly when you're in 195 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:43,120 situations like this, how truly small the world is. That was the perfect way to close off my time 196 00:22:43,120 --> 00:22:50,080 in St. Petersburg and subsequently Pushkin, this southern suburb of St. Petersburg. These three days 197 00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:57,440 in St. Petersburg really set the bar high for the seven days ahead in Moscow that I was about to 198 00:22:57,440 --> 00:23:04,320 experience. But little did I know that Moscow, at least in my view, blew St. Petersburg out of the 199 00:23:04,320 --> 00:23:10,720 water, but in ways that most people wouldn't expect either. My friend Julia dropped me off or took me 200 00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:18,720 to the train station and we parted ways. We said goodbye. It was sad, but I was very excited at the 201 00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:25,920 same time for this new adventure in this other part of Russia in Moscow. I took a four-hour 202 00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:32,960 sub-sun train, which is basically the high-speed railway train in Russia from St. Petersburg to 203 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:41,360 Moscow. I still remember this train going through all sorts of very tiny villages in Russia. And of 204 00:23:41,360 --> 00:23:48,880 course, this is January. It's snowing like crazy. And I just remember seeing these countryside towns, 205 00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:56,640 not even towns, not even villages. I just remember seeing these pockets of civilization just in the 206 00:23:56,640 --> 00:24:03,600 middle of nowhere, just constantly for four hours. There would be like a little shop or two and then 207 00:24:03,600 --> 00:24:10,080 maybe a house or two or three. And I don't even know if they had electricity from the look of it, 208 00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:17,120 but it was really interesting to see how people were living, how simple their lives seemed, 209 00:24:17,120 --> 00:24:24,000 how even in the dead of winter, they seemed to be doing pretty well and pretty okay. After several 210 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:30,880 hours, I got to Moscow where I would be spending the remaining seven days of my trip in Russia with 211 00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:37,280 my dear friend, Stacey, who I'm still in touch with today and who is now based in the Netherlands. 212 00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:43,040 But at the time of this story, she was still living and studying in Moscow and living with her 213 00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:50,720 parents. My friend Stacey and her boyfriend at the time waited for me at the main train station. And 214 00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:57,120 I remember when I saw her for the first time, it was incredible. I couldn't believe that she was 215 00:24:57,120 --> 00:25:02,080 standing right in front of me because we had only talked online and we had sent each other Christmas 216 00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:09,200 packages. It was just a whole other feeling and experience to meet in person for the first time. 217 00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:16,640 We hugged each other. We got in the Moscow Metro, which was very old. Like it felt like it was built 218 00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:26,240 in 1920, very not modern, really yellow everywhere. That's kind of random. Very, very beat up seats 219 00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:32,960 in some of the cars and a lot of old people who did not look very happy, but it's cold outside. 220 00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:39,280 I get it. The first thing that Stacey and I and her boyfriend at the time did, her boyfriend's 221 00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:45,600 name was Maxime. The first thing that Stacey and I and Maxime did when they picked me up from the 222 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:52,720 train station and when we got into the Metro is we went to a famous site in Moscow and this site 223 00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:59,360 was called the Bolshoi Theater. For some reason, I don't remember why, but there were even in 224 00:25:59,360 --> 00:26:07,600 frigid temperatures like negative 17 degrees Celsius or one degree Fahrenheit, there were these 225 00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:15,680 special birds that were flying around and Stacey and I managed to get a couple of them on our arms 226 00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:21,360 and we got some pictures. We were later told by some people in charge of the theater that we should 227 00:26:21,360 --> 00:26:27,520 delete those pictures, but I guess we just got away with it. We never did. The first impressions 228 00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:33,440 I got of Moscow when we had this evening out at the Bolshoi Theater and saw the different light 229 00:26:33,440 --> 00:26:41,520 displays was this is such a festive city. I love it here. There were Christmas trees or New Year's 230 00:26:41,520 --> 00:26:48,560 trees as they are called in Russia on every block. There were New Year's decorations with 2016 on 231 00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:56,320 so many buildings. There were literally lit up ornament balls as displays on every other street 232 00:26:56,320 --> 00:27:04,160 like New Year's like I said in the beginning is so massive in Russia. Moscow was so beautifully 233 00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:10,640 decorated everywhere. There was quite a bit of snow. Everybody had like five layers on them, 234 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:16,400 including me. We went to McDonald's that evening because it was just convenient and it was cheap. 235 00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:22,400 Actually, there were a lot of occasions in Moscow when we all just went to fast food places and that 236 00:27:22,400 --> 00:27:28,560 was when I realized too that all of the Western fast food places, McDonald's, Burger King, 237 00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:35,680 Krispy Kreme, Starbucks, Pizza Hut, literally all of these places were everywhere in Moscow. 238 00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:42,240 And I think we went to all of those at least once. It was really fascinating to me to think 239 00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:50,640 and realize at the time. Wow, Russians really love fast food like we do. I also remember feeling 240 00:27:50,640 --> 00:27:57,760 so warped when I saw all of these fast food places written in Cyrillic on every single sign. 241 00:27:57,760 --> 00:28:03,760 We went to McDonald's, walked around Moscow a little bit, and then we got to Stacey's home where 242 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:10,640 I would be staying with her, which was about three miles away from Red Square where the Kremlin is, 243 00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:16,160 which is a really famous site that you probably have seen of Russia on postcards and on other 244 00:28:16,160 --> 00:28:22,080 media all around the world. And I remember we walked into the door. The first thing that I 245 00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:28,960 learned about Russian culture when it came to being in Moscow at least was another little etiquette 246 00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:37,520 thing about Russian homes. Every Russian home has a broom or mop specifically for cleaning up snow 247 00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:44,720 from shoes after being outside. So we walked in and Stacey told me this. There was literally this mop 248 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:51,280 and when we walked inside and took off our shoes, the slushiness of the snow kind of got everywhere. 249 00:28:51,280 --> 00:28:59,360 I then understood why this is so customary. Stacey prepared a cozy, beautiful little room with a tree 250 00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:05,600 and super warm blankets for me to sleep in. She even prepared a plate of Christmas cookies and 251 00:29:05,600 --> 00:29:11,920 gave me some other little presents that I really, really loved and appreciated. I had also given her 252 00:29:11,920 --> 00:29:19,840 some little gifts from the U S I can't even begin to say and share every little detail that we 253 00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:26,400 experienced together in the seven days that I was in Moscow or else this episode would be way longer 254 00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:34,160 than it already is. But what I can say is that it was jam packed with all sorts of cafe hopping, 255 00:29:34,160 --> 00:29:40,640 Krispy Kreme donut runs, pizza hut runs, hot drinks at home, lots of sightseeing, traveling back in 256 00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:46,320 time with seeing the architecture, going a lot to the mall or to the gum, which is the main mall 257 00:29:46,320 --> 00:29:53,840 right next to red square. And again, just seeing all of the trees on every block, seeing the lights, 258 00:29:53,840 --> 00:30:01,520 seeing 2016 written everywhere, even compared to St. Petersburg, I really felt that there was no 259 00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:08,960 other place that did New Year's better than Moscow. I was so incredibly impressed with Moscow. 260 00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:16,400 Another interesting thing that I remember seeing in Moscow that you don't often see on the streets 261 00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:26,240 of Russia, even now, were these Soviet soda machines that specifically sold old USSR sodas 262 00:30:26,240 --> 00:30:32,480 and drinks. You can still find them in some places of Russia today, but for the most part, 263 00:30:32,480 --> 00:30:39,440 you can really only find them in museums or specifically designated Soviet artifact regions 264 00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:45,600 or stores. But this specific soda machine happened to be at a mall, some favorite places in Moscow 265 00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:51,760 that I would personally recommend for you to see or to add to your future bucket list include, 266 00:30:51,760 --> 00:30:58,240 of course, Red Square, the Kremlin, the Gum Department Store, the big mall close by to Red 267 00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:05,920 Square, the Ismailov Kremlin. That place was just wow. The Bolshoi Theater, even if you don't go 268 00:31:05,920 --> 00:31:12,560 inside, just seeing it from the outside is majestic enough. If you happen to go in winter like I did, 269 00:31:12,560 --> 00:31:18,160 definitely go and see an ice sculpture festival, walk around various ice skating rinks, even go 270 00:31:18,160 --> 00:31:24,640 skating yourself if you're able to skate, go coffee shop hopping because there are so many coffee shops 271 00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:30,240 in Moscow and in Russia in general, you could never run out of coffee shops. And if you have 272 00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:37,120 any other specific recommendations or requests on other things to see and do in Moscow, please feel 273 00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:42,800 free to send me a message and I will definitely be more than happy to get into more details with you. 274 00:31:42,800 --> 00:31:52,400 Those seven days with Stacey in Moscow were absolutely incredible. Those seven days went by 275 00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:59,600 in a snap. I remember on the 10th day when I had to say goodbye to Stacey, we were both so sad. 276 00:31:59,600 --> 00:32:05,760 It wasn't like we were going to see each other the next month or the next several months, 277 00:32:05,760 --> 00:32:10,880 maybe even the next year. We didn't know when we would see each other again. So we stood at 278 00:32:10,880 --> 00:32:19,360 the airport together. We said goodbye probably five or 10 times. I left with so much Russian love, 279 00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:25,520 so much hospitality under my belt, wonderful lessons about the culture, wonderful insights 280 00:32:25,520 --> 00:32:32,800 about the people that I hadn't and wouldn't have seen had I not gone and was just downright touching. 281 00:32:32,800 --> 00:32:40,000 Even in the coldest of winter, I couldn't have felt warmer. I couldn't have felt more welcomed. 282 00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:47,760 I couldn't have left with more bittersweet, unforgettable memories in Russia like I did. 283 00:32:47,760 --> 00:32:53,760 If you have traveled very far away from where you live and you've seen a different culture for 284 00:32:53,760 --> 00:32:59,920 yourself and you've seen in the news that this specific place or these specific people are 285 00:32:59,920 --> 00:33:07,040 portrayed as evil and are really bad, but yet when you go and you interact with the people and you 286 00:33:07,040 --> 00:33:14,080 speak to them and you get to know them, you truly do realize that the media and the news only go so 287 00:33:14,080 --> 00:33:20,320 far, but not quite far enough to touch who they are and the things that they stand for. I really 288 00:33:20,320 --> 00:33:27,440 look back at my time in Russia, how I met some really wonderful people, ate delicious food, 289 00:33:27,440 --> 00:33:34,240 saw incredible traveling back in time sites, but what I still remember most to this day is how 290 00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:41,280 impactful of an experience it was to just go. I hope that this Russia trip encourages you if you 291 00:33:41,280 --> 00:33:48,880 have never traveled solo before to really break free from your shell sometime this year in 2025 292 00:33:48,880 --> 00:33:57,200 and take a wild adventure. This was my first true solo adventure in a completely different place 293 00:33:57,200 --> 00:34:03,360 with people who I hadn't previously met and to this day, it still is one of the most heartwarming 294 00:34:03,360 --> 00:34:11,760 experiences that I have ever had. This first solo international trip that I ever took to another 295 00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:19,040 country outside of North America truly set the standards high for future travels and future trips, 296 00:34:19,040 --> 00:34:26,400 future lessons and future adventures. It was this very trip that really invigorated a deeper 297 00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:32,640 spirit and motivation to really travel so much more and make it a priority in my 20s. 298 00:34:32,640 --> 00:34:39,920 So just to reiterate the key takeaways of my personal Russian trip to you to apply to your 299 00:34:39,920 --> 00:34:47,120 future Russia trip or Eastern European travels, tipping in Russia is not mandatory, but you may 300 00:34:47,120 --> 00:34:52,720 look rude if you don't tip. Learning some sort of Russian, even if it's just greetings and 301 00:34:52,720 --> 00:34:59,040 enough Cyrillic to be able to understand signs will go a long way. My personal specific 302 00:34:59,040 --> 00:35:06,560 recommendation of a breakfast and cafe restaurant in St. Petersburg is Duna. Very general foods 303 00:35:06,560 --> 00:35:12,640 that you need to try include sereniki, which is a split between cottage cheese and cheesecake, 304 00:35:12,640 --> 00:35:20,160 borscht, the classic Russian hot soup. There is also a raspberry pastry sold in many cafes 305 00:35:20,160 --> 00:35:25,840 and bakeries that is special specifically to St. Petersburg and of course, Bellinis, 306 00:35:25,840 --> 00:35:32,880 which are basically Russian crepes. Russia is a very cash heavy place even today. So be ready and 307 00:35:32,880 --> 00:35:39,360 be sure you can access cash so that you can actually buy things in Russia. If you go to a 308 00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:46,000 Russian home, wear slippers and take off your shoes. Every Russian home has a broom or a mop 309 00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:52,640 specifically for cleaning snow off of shoes. So be mindful and be sure to look for that broom or 310 00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:59,920 ask for it if you go in winter or when there's snow. If you find these red Soviet soda machines 311 00:35:59,920 --> 00:36:06,640 by any chance, consider yourself lucky because they are not everywhere. Russians, especially young 312 00:36:06,640 --> 00:36:13,760 people are just as much into the Western fast food chains as Americans and Westerners are. Again, 313 00:36:13,760 --> 00:36:19,920 we're talking McDonald's, Burger King, Krispy Kreme, KFC, Starbucks, all of it. You can find 314 00:36:19,920 --> 00:36:26,640 that in Russia. And last but most importantly, interact with the people as much as you can, 315 00:36:26,640 --> 00:36:32,800 or you can even try to befriend somebody before you go because that will make all the difference 316 00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:39,280 in the world with how you see the country, culture, and people. Don't let the news dictate 317 00:36:39,280 --> 00:36:46,000 the views of the people. They are so different than what you see on the news. It's with these 318 00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:52,960 takeaways and wrap up that I'm now going to start closing in on the end of the episode for today. 319 00:36:52,960 --> 00:36:58,480 I hope that you took something interesting, something insightful, inspirational, or maybe 320 00:36:58,480 --> 00:37:06,160 all of those things away from this story. Russia, again, is not a place where touristic travel is 321 00:37:06,160 --> 00:37:14,720 really possible right at this second as I record this in January, 2025, but I still highly encourage 322 00:37:14,720 --> 00:37:20,800 and recommend Russia as a place to visit in the future when we are able, whether it is during the 323 00:37:20,800 --> 00:37:27,840 summer for white nights in St. Petersburg, which is basically when the sun never goes down, it stays 324 00:37:27,840 --> 00:37:34,160 white all night long, or whether you go in the dead of winter like I did to see snow and experience 325 00:37:34,160 --> 00:37:41,360 new years and really get into a holiday spirit. Whatever time of the year you go, I encourage you 326 00:37:41,360 --> 00:37:47,600 just to go. If you have ever been to Russia and you have some different experience or you learned 327 00:37:47,600 --> 00:37:54,080 other things that I did not mention here, or if you simply want to express your interest in one 328 00:37:54,080 --> 00:37:59,520 day going to Russia, mentioning some places that you'd really like to see, please do let me know 329 00:37:59,520 --> 00:38:06,640 on Instagram at once upon a trip dot PC or on my host account at Mary Grace Crawford. I would really 330 00:38:06,640 --> 00:38:12,240 love to hear all of it. I really thank you so much if you're still here and you're still listening. 331 00:38:12,240 --> 00:38:18,480 I really do appreciate you and I look forward to being back here next Tuesday with another 332 00:38:18,480 --> 00:38:37,280 fun adventurous trip of an episode. I will see you next week.