Russia: by you
Ekaterinberg in the snow. Photo: tipster Alison Reid
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Can you help Brit?
An anguished email landed in our inbox yesterday:
'We visited St. Petersburg on a Celebrity Cruise and had a private tour with a former Russian teacher and driver named Serge. After the tour he stopped at a store selling all kind of merchandise with a liquor and tasting store in the basement. This was on a square and I don't recall name and know this is a long shot ...
I bought a bottle of Russian plum liquor and he mixed it with vodka. The bottle has a red label and here are words (I have no Russian alphabet on my keys). OCHOBAH, HANNBKA, 3ANEKAHKA. At the bottom of label is: PYCCKAR: 3AO<
CAN YOU HELP? Email us if you can!
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Brilliant, just brilliant. It all started with Marcel Theroux's epic train journey across Russia and then Been there tipsters took it and ran. Loads of tips were posted about Russia - a country which until now was looking pretty barren in tip land. Great pictures and introductions were emailed in too.
Many thanks also to Moscow Life for flagging up our desperate pleas for vodka, I mean tips.
So here's the lowdown so far. Remember - if you fancy sharing your hard-earned travel knowledge and making everyone jealous of your travels, it's never to late to tip. Just click here, then click some more and eventualy, just as you're losing the will to live, you'll be signed in and can tip.
First up, Emma Burrows has written a fantastic guide to Russia including how to stay sated on a long-distance train ride and where the best bars in St Petersburg are. Check out her piece here.
On a similar theme, Andyfied has given an extract from his Gonzotourism blog which details his experiences of travelling 'platzkart' and no, it does not sound pretty.
John Webber shines the spotlight on Uglich, a town north of Moscow, on the Volga. Does a good line in watches apparently ...
Sarah Davoren takes us on a whistlestop tour of the Atlai mountain range which borders Mongolia.
We've had loads of great tips sent in - some of the best are here, so check them out and post your own if you fancy it.
Luke Coleman has a gallery developing of images from his trip to Kalmykia. He's off the 400th Jangariada festival in a few weeks, so should have more pictures up then.