Europe’s easternmost country
Russia is much talked about, but less travelled. Naturally a journey through Europe’s easternmost country is slightly more intimidating than booking an all-inclusive stay at a Spanish beach resort, yet it is also more rewarding. Russia is plain amazing and the sense of discovery when travelling around is enormous, as most of what you’ll see will have been unknown to you previously.
Start your trip from the west part of the country
As the country is much too vast to actually travel with your cheap car hire in its entirety we recommend that you concentrate on the western part to start with. This is where cultural sites are dense and transport with car rental relatively easy . Once you’ve been bitten by the Russia bug you will want to return and see the Ural Mountains, Siberia and even the far-eastern Kamchatka Peninsula.
In the former capital: St. Petersburg
A good place to start your journey is mighty Saint Petersburg, the former capital on the Baltic Sea, founded by legendary Peter the Great who has been laid to rest in the cathedral of Peter and Paul Fort. Petersburg is one of the most attractive cities in the world and wherever you turn you will find heavily decorated buildings and grand palaces. The most famous are the Hermitage, a museum topped in fame only by the Paris Louvre, and the Winter Palace along the Neva River waterfront. Other notable sights, though the list is sheer endless, are the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, one of the most beautiful churches in the world, Saint-Isaac's Cathedral with the world’s biggest gold-plated dome, Catherine Palace, and Nevsky Prospekt, the main boulevard.
Moscow
From Petersburg you can get with your car hire to Moscow via the M10 highway. You might want to set aside as much time for the capital as for St. Petersburg, as for its sheer size (and a population of over 10m) there is plenty to see, like the fabulous Kremlin, the legendary Red Square, St. Basil’s cathedral, Lenin’s mausoleum and more. For a truly unique experience attend a ballet performance at the famous Bolshoi Theatre, probably the best ballet you will ever see in your life.
From Moscow it is only a short ride on the M8 highway in north-eastern direction to the Golden Ring of Russia, a group of old cities which has preserved Russian architecture for centuries. Cathedrals, monasteries, fortresses, and churches still look exactly like they did centuries ago, and the cultural experience is phenomenal. Since you will probably not be able to visit all of them, focus on Suzdal, Vladimir, and Uglich, though all of them are quite fascinating.
Along the Volga River
From here on head south along the Volga River. First go to Nizhny Novgorod on the confluence of Volga and Oka River. The red brick Kremlin building from the early 16th century is the most distinguished landmark, though the Archangel Cathedral from the 17th century will take up some space on your camera’s memory card. Also visit the Art Gallery, displaying roughly 12,000 pieces of mainly Russian and some Western-European art, and the Pechersky Monastery from the 17th century.
Following the Volga further south you will get to Kazan, founded by the Golden Hords in the 15th century. Kazan continues to be the centre of Tatar culture, though modern Russian lifestyle has long moved in. This is perfectly reflected in the Kremlin, founded by Ivan the Terrible. The oldest building inside the Kremlin walls is the 16th century cathedral, and since 2005 the Kul-Sharif Mosque represents Muslims inside the Kremlin walls, making this place a symbol for multicultural harmonic cooperation and coexistence. UNESCO has marked it World Heritage Site.
After so much cultural adventure simply continue south along the river and turn with your car rental west towards the Black Sea, spending a few days in Sochi, the popular beach resort and host of the 2014 Winter Olympics.
