7 "+" FACTS ABOUT RUSSIA

#1. Size: Russia is indeed a huge country. For your better understanding how big this country is, the train on the route Moscow (West) - Vladivostok (East) will take you about 1 week making 120 stops on its route. It is so big that even Russians can't say they know Russia (I don't, guilty as charged). Unless you are a dedicated traveler it's almost impossible to visit every part of Russia which makes it a mystery country. Even for Russians...

#2. History and Culture: Russia has a very long and truly great history with its ups and downs, wars, revolutions, but also modernization and unique culture. There are a lot of museums and historical palaces, where you can see a very old but gorgeous architecture and weird costumes that Russians had to wear before. By the way, if you want to see some Russian traditional costumes it's not necessary to go to museum. If you visit Russia during some national holidays, you will be able to see our old tsars (kings) walking around and even take a picture with Lenin or Stalin. And no, they won't kill you afterwards!

#3. Nature: The nature in Russia is almost impossible to compare with any other countries. Being a farmer's wife, it let me visit different parts of Russia where I could truly enjoy different nature's wonders, great woods and forests, long rivers across the whole country, big lakes that remind you seas, limitless fields and a big variety of animals (yes, those bears again). By the way, you wont't really see this nature and bears in the downtown, but once you step out of the trivial tourist places then you'll be able to get to know the real Russia better.

#4. Moscow. Almost everybody in Russia know this sentence since school time: "London is a capital of Great Britain". But not a lot people in the world know that Moscow is the capital of Russia (now you know). If you ever want to visit Russia Moscow should be in your list of "must do". In Moscow you can find everything: history, architecture, entertainment, business, education, even some nature - it will save you from travelling all across the country on that train! Being born in Moscow (like me) gives you lots of opportunities, better schools, more money, good shopping and high-quality life so if someone will ever think about moving to Russia I would advise Moscow as it has everything there to satisfy your needs and interests!

#5. Cuisine: Food in this country definitely deserves another post which I will do because it is VERY delicious!!! Yes, we do have restaurants with different cuisines from all over he world, but Russian cuisine is absolutely worth trying. I think the main reason of this food to be so good is the fact that it is always fresh. Russians don't really like processed and GMO foods, so that big amount of land I talked about before is used mostly to produce fresh fruits and vegetables. By the way, Russian cuisine is my husband's favorite!

#6. Entertainment. Russia has good entertainment sources. And you don't even have to spend much time finding it - it will find YOU everywhere. First of all, the biggest entertainment for ALL the tourist that visit Moscow is... subway! Yes, that simple. When tourist guides plan an entertainment program for tourists they already know they will have to spend half a day in subway stopping at each station, taking pictures and looking for tourists that got lost in that subway system that look really complicated but in reality is very well laid out. By the way, my husband still hasn't figured out our subway system so if you plan to go there without a guide - GOOD LUCK! There are a lot of other places to go but I will talk about it later.

#7.Language. Last but not least, Russian language. If you will ask people whether they want to learn Russian language or not - 99% will say no! I am personally happy that I already know this language because if not I would be one of this 99% of people who doesn't want to learn Russian. It is really complicated and really easy at the same time. I tried to teach my husband some Russian, had more luck then with subway system but still it's a long way to go...
When I say that I'm Russian people always ask me to say something in my language so here is what I usually say: "Всем привет! Меня зовут Лиза, мне 23 года, я из России и в принципе могу сказать все что угодно, потому что вы все равно ничего не понимаете." Translation: "Hi everyone! My name is Liz, I'm 23 y.o., I'm from Russia and basically can say anything I want because you don't understand me anyway!"