Kyoko and I went to Russia during Golden Week. It was the first time for both of us to visit this large country. The process of getting a visa for Russia is a little difficult, but Kyoko did a lot of research to make the process easier.
We stayed in two cities, Moscow and St.Petersburg. Moscow is a large city with a winding river going through the middle. It also has many parks that are fun to explore. The most famous place in Moscow is Red Square, right near the large fortress called the Kremlin.
St. Petersburg is a beautiful city with canals and historic buildings. It reminds me very much of Venice (Venezia) because it is such a romantic place. This city is famous for many things, but perhaps most famous for its museum called the Hermitage. This is in the Winter Palace of the former Russian leader, or czar. In this museum, there are over three million works of art.
On our last day in Russia, it was a national holiday. There was a big celebration with a parade and fireworks. Over17,000,000 people went to see the celebration!
We enjoyed the trip very much. We were surprised how friendly the people were. Everyone was kind and helpful to us. We were thankful for this because we only know about ten words in Russian!