How to survive the Moscow metro

I have decided that if I can survive the Moscow metro, I can survive anything. Being thrown into the endless sea of people all pushing and squeezing past as we tried to navigate our way with ridiculously large luggage during the hight of rush hour was a serious achievement.

The crazy metro system of Moscow is famed and for good reason, the stations themselves are works of art, decked out in everything from floor to ceiling marble to stained glass and mosaic murals. It feels like an entire other city buried deep under ground and to get to many of the tracks you have to ride one of the endless, wooden escalators which can take several minutes and go up to 100 meters below the ground. Once at the platform, trains speed past every 30 seconds (and yet we still saw people sprinting to make each one, as if that extra half a minute was the time between life and death) and the train doors shut sporadically and with no warning, which resulted in one instance where I managed to squeeze on, before the doors promptly closed in Sam's face, producing a moment of pure panic, and I'm sure a priceless shocked face on my behalf, before the realisation that we would simply meet at the next station set in.

Other hazards to watch out for includes buying tickets. We had no idea how the system worked which resulted in frustrated ticket officers yelling the same phrases at us getting louder and adding angrier hand gestures each time, which seemed who be a common Russian way of trying to explain things.

To avoid this bewilderingly scary experience, know that all journeys are the same price regardless of direction or distance. Once you finally make your way through the snaking queue to the ticket both, you simply need to indicate how many rides you want. Don't expect anyone to speak English, holding up the appropriate amount of fingers is enough followed by a 'spasiba' so you don't seem completely rude and incompetent.

It also pays to know the name of your desired and current stops in Cyrillic as almost none of the maps or station lines are in the English and the letters look so completely different it's pretty much impossible to guess, counting the number of stops was our main survival technique. At least pretend you know what you're doing and try to move with confidence as in the push of the 7 million people who take the metro every day, it's easy to get stuck in the middle of an impenetrable crowd going the opposite direction.

Of course outside of peak hour is not quite as crazy but I would still definitely rate the Moscow metro experience as more hilarious than traumatic, at least with a little hindsight!

The Red Arrow Train

For me, one of the biggest drawing cards for Russia was its rich and enigmatic history. I love the idea of diving into a culture that has such a vivid past which is still apparent in its present, so when I found out about The Red Arrow train, I just couldn't resist.

The train provides an overnight service between St. Petersburg and Moscow and is the oldest in Russia, earning it the title of train number one on all tickets and departure boards (number two does the reverse trip nightly as well).

Known as 'Krasnya Strela' in Russian it has run daily since its inception in 1931, only pausing between 1941 and 1943 during the Seige of Leningrad.

In Soviet times, The Red Arrow carried the Communist Party elite between the country's two main cities and this historic feel is still very obvious, from the red and gold colour scheme, to the hammer and sickle emblems stamped into the cast metal cups that sat next to the little vase of flowers on our table.

The experience is even topped off with the train's own imperialistic sounding theme song that plays proudly as it pulls away from the platform just before midnight.

As we were in second class we were joined by two other passengers, and while like most of the Russians we encountered neither spoke much English, both were polite and friendly, and clearly pros at taking down the cabin's folding bunk beds.

We awoke to a little packed breakfast of bread rolls, cheese and salami, but if it hadn't been for the wale up call I could have happily stayed snuggled in my little bed enjoying the lulling rock of the train for hours more.

Would I recommend The Red Arrow train? If you're into the history and want a bit of an experience, absolutely. Yes it was a bit kitsch but I love kitsch and while there are plenty of night trains that do the same route for a slightly lesser fee, for me the history geek out moment it provided was priceless.

St. Petersburg

Armed with a basic phrase book and high expectations, we hit St. Petersburg bursting with intrigue and while I was far from disappointed, the city definitely presented some serious challenges.

From the huge, gold plated buildings that line the main streets and fairy tale cathedrals that burst with colour, to the men who almost all seemed to be in uniform and the majority of women who tottered around in sky high heels dressed in head to toe designer labels, everything about St. Petersburg seemed to scream excessive extravagance.

We ate macaroons the size of our palms dusted with gold leaf, and survived potent vodka shots in glasses double the normal Australian size, but beneath all the decadence we couldn't help but feel that there was a more gritty and realistic underside of St. Petersburg that was being hidden.

It was a city where you were very obviously either a tourist or a local, and while I always felt surprisingly safe wandering through the streets, it was much harder to uncover the little gems off the tourist track that other cities had delivered.

However in a city where the tourist attractions really are so spectacular, I was more than content to spend a few days touring through the canals and being in awe of the rich history that the city is built on. We did manage to stumble upon an awesome little restaurant around the corner from our hostel called Zoom (find it at 22 Gorohovaya Street) that provided by far the best meal of all our time in Russia. With walls filled with art and postcards, and a range of both traditional Russian and other European food, it was clearly a popular option as we had to wait about 20 minutes to get a table, but the delicious food and seriously affordable price made it well worth the wait.

Russia had always been an absolute dream destination of mine and St. Petersburg definitely lived up to my hype but next time I will definitely be visiting with a local to try an scrape more than just it's beautifully embellished surface.

Helsinki

Proudly claiming its title of World Design Capital this year, Helsinki was definitely out on show during our visit.

We were blessed with beautiful weather which made for perfect conditions to explore the city's many marketplaces. The harbour-side fresh fruit and veggie stalls of Kauppatori was an ideal place to stop for lunch, with a colourful array of food sizzling on giant grills. Here I tried the local speciality muikku (tiny vendace fish battered and fried whole) served with crispy potatoes and a generous helping of delicious garlic mayonnaise. I quickly learnt that this was a favourite among ALL the locals, as before I had even sat down to take my first bite, I was swooped by a far too brave seagull who flew away with an entire greedy mouthful. Egged on by their friend's success I was repeatedly dive bombed, giving the crowds a good laugh as I tried to duck and dodge the oncoming attacks in a state of panic and paranoia, until a local woman pushed me in the direction of a nearby tent dramatically yelling 'RUN! RUN FOR COVER!' after me.

Other markets like the Hakaniemi Market Hall, provided a much more calm experience but were still fascinating, showcasing everything from piles of antique spoons and vases, to various paraphernalia from the 1952 Olympics, an obsession the city seems to be reluctant to let go of. This was also a great place to begin exploring the design centric Kallio District. Here we found cute cafes on every corner and a range of shops whose products were as quirky and interestingly designed as the buildings that housed them.

When we ventured back that night, the streets were alive with little bars and people enjoying late night picnics and drinks in the park. Eventually we stumbled upon 'Siltanen' which was a perfect place for a drink on the deck before heading inside for a night of hilarious Scandinavian dancing.

From its melting pot culture that bridges Scandinavia with the Baltic countries, to its obsession with Angry Birds (whose creator is Finnish and somewhat of a national celebrity), Helsinki is full of pleasant surprises and was a great launch pad to the next leg of our journey into Russia!