http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/ Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love, live in or have just visited - are what make this guide. http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/24023 The guy who runs the place is incredibly helpful, however, and booked our train tickets for us - a difficult feat for people who don't speak Russian and was happy to give advice. He even took some of the other guests out for lunch and on a train journey day trip. The place is clean, but basic, the real draw are the staff (really just one guy - terribly I can't remember his name).
The location is fantastic - about five minutes walk from Red Square.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/24023 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/22737 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/22737 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/21616 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/21616 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/21208 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/21208 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18754
The Voschod Hotel say they have doubles available for 2,400 rubles per night (about £25 each). Be prepared for a very basic facility though. The Hotel Sovietsky (a deliciously kitsch venue just north of the Garden Ring) have rooms for 7,200 rubles - £156. The Warsaw Hotel has singles for 4,300 rubles (about £94) and doubles for 6,250 (about £135 or £68 each). Like Home Apartments have flats available before and after the match.

And if you need a visa try Real Russia: they’re among the cheapest, and you’ll be able to track progress of your application online.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18754 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17434 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17434 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17278 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17278 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/15836 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/15836 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/13826
It is a big advantage to know some Russian. Outside of Moscow we met nobody who spoke English. I found Moscow very stressful and expensive. It was the least pleasant city we visited. Our next stop was Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan. I highly recommend Kazan. It's an old, beautiful and exotic city with a mix of Tatars and Russes living there. The atmosphere was far more relaxed than in Moscow.

Kazan offers great mosques, and is the Muslim centre of Russia. It's a great place to relax and stroll about. This city has some stunning sights, including the UNESCO listed Kreml.

Our next stop was Ekaterinburg. We were told that it was situated in the Ural mountains, but we never saw a glimpse of them. Nevertheless; Ekaterinburg is a very pleasant and chilled city. It has a very western feeling to it. It's easy to find western food, as there's plenty of Irish pubs there. I recommend going to the Altay building. There you can take a lift and see the city from the rooftop. It's quite stunning. There's plenty of theatres all around the city, and even though you don't understand Russian, don't miss the opportunity to catch local theatre-troops.

A great place (although hard to find) to stay is the guesthouse called Academy of Geology. It's peaceful and has beautiful rooms.

From Ekaterinburg we went south to Ufa. Ufa is the capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan. Ufa was quite hard to get around, but it is still worth a visit. You can visit one of Lenin's homes and spot some unique architecture. The atmosphere in Ufa is, like in Kazan, very different from the Russian cities. I highly recommend the Azimut hotel (Bus stop Gore Moskva). It's a business hotel with great standards and a friendly staff.

On to Volgograd. Volgograd is probably one of the most beautiful cities I've been to. Situated on the banks of the Volga river with an almost tropical climate, it almost feels like you're in Greece. This is a city of history. The name Stalingrad might ring a bell. The most stunning thing to see in Volgograd is the huge Mother Russia statue. It's the highest statue in the world (72 m). It's an unbelievable sight when you compare it to a church that stands beside it. It looks more like a doll's church.

I also recommend the Stalingrad Battle museum, and the Volga river cruises. There are plenty of offers. Volgograd was really easy to get around in. The city centre is quite small, and it's easy to navigate because of the river. The Volgograd Hotel is cheap and amazing.

We had a wonderful time in Russia. My girlfriend knows some Russian and that came in extremely handy. We got quite used to people looking at us, but we never felt threatened or harassed. The most common comment we got from other women was that we were brave to travel by ourselves.

One thing that is difficult however, is buying train tickets. You will need to write down the information for the train you are going on, how many tickets you need, and what kind of cupee you want. And prepare for long lines. It might take hours to get your tickets. We always went in a 4-people compartment. It was a great way to travel. We shared compartments with so many different people, and it was a great way to get to know Russians. It's important to bring some food or beverage to share.

Girls; go to Russia. It is a fascinating place....]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/13826 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12631 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12631 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12552 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12552 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12551 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12551 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/5084 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/5084 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/4618 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/4618 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3922 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3922 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/43 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/43 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/40 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/40 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/38 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/38 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3861 www.moscow-hotels.net/, as prices shoot up if you book at the hotel itself.

The hotel is clean and quiet with excellent beds and showers. The staff are notoriously unfriendly, but efficient and English speaking.

There’s a large selection of restaurants and cafes in the hotel but they’re outrageously expensive. The hotel breakfast is interesting rather than good.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3861 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2600 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2600