Me and my girlfriend (we are a lesbian couple) traveled from Moscow to Ekaterinburg, and on to Volgograd. The trip was amazing. We were a bit worried about traveling without male company, but I must say Russia is one of the friendliest and untouristy places I've ever been.

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....

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Most people are familiar with the beautiful multi-coloured domes of St Basil’s in Red Square whether they’ve been to Moscow or not. Fewer people seem to venture inside for a completely different experience of this iconic cathedral. It’s like wandering into something from Lord of the Rings.

Unlike most cathedrals there’s no grand space for worshipping – it’s best described as a series of small chapels connected by dark tunnels, it almost out-goths gothic. It seems appropriate that it was commissioned by Ivan the Terrible somehow, full of dark secrets as it is.

Yet it was named after the Russian saint, Basil the Fool, whose grave lies under one of the chapels. Like the building, a paradox indeed.

Red Square; nearest metro: Okhotny Ryad

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Worth pausing for a moment if you’re passing. You may remember the TV news images of this government building being bombarded during an attempted coup. In front of the building, Boris Yeltsin climbed atop a tank and pleaded with the army to side with the government.

Krasnopresnenskaya naberezhnaya 2; nearest metro: Krasnopresnenskaya

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Newly re-built (completed in 1997) after Stalin blew up the original in the thirties to make way for an open-air swimming pool. It's been faithfully re-constructed inside and out, and is a fantastic place to witness an Orthodox service taking place - the accoustics and the decor are fantastic. There's airport style security at the entrance and you're not allowed to photograph. By way of compensation, though, you can ascend to an observation platform for great views of the city.

Ulitsa Volkhonka. Nearest Metro: Kropotkinskaya

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