Le Huy, a 37-year-old male tourist from Da Nang, just spent 10 days traveling around Russia in a peaceful and complete way. His journey started from the capital Moscow to neighboring cities such as Vladimir, Suzdal, Sergiyev Posad, Saint Petersburg... in the middle of Autumn.
Initially strange in Russia
Traveling with 8 friends, Le Huy's group stayed in Moscow for 5 days, 2 days in Suzdal and Sergiyev Posad and 3 days in Saint Petersburg.
Before the trip, Le Huy had consulted many articles about the schedule, weather, and how to get around in Russia. Most of his friends in the travel community who returned from Russia had a good impression of the country, so he was not too worried.
“Anything can happen at this time, but I have been closely monitoring the information and have not seen any major changes. Furthermore, the airline has a policy of refunding air tickets. Therefore, my group and I can still feel secure in changing our schedule a few days before the flight,” Le Huy said.
When the group landed at the airport, they immediately saw military forces and sniffer dogs walking around, checking carefully but not too harshly.
“The loudspeaker was playing Russian, but no one in my group knew the language, so we couldn’t understand anything. Personally, I felt that everyone in the airport was a bit tense. However, surprisingly, when we left the airport, everything outside was back to normal. Vehicles were still speeding along the 80km road from the airport to the center of Moscow,” said Huy.
Le Huy's group asked Vietnamese people in Russia to help them as tour guides for 10 days in Russia. They are all graduate students who have lived and worked in Russia for more than 10 years with extensive knowledge of the culture and history of this country.
On the evening of the first day in Moscow, Le Huy and three members of the group walked from the hotel to the restaurant. After successfully pointing and ordering, his group was informed that they needed to go to the counter and pay first. However, after using both English and body language, it took more than 15 minutes to successfully pay and return to the table to taste the first Russian dishes.
Le Huy recalled: “The trip really did not go as planned. Thanks to the two fellow researchers, we were able to immerse ourselves in the bustling modern life in Moscow, the vast countryside with birch forests, golden wheat fields stretching from the capital to Suzdal, Sergiyev Posad, as well as the slow and peaceful pace of life in Saint Petersburg.”
A trip without regrets
The weather in early October when Le Huy's group arrived in Russia was a time of changing seasons. He said there were some cool, breezy afternoons in Moscow, sunny days the next day when the group visited Red Square, and some days it rained non-stop during the entire visit to the Museum of the Great Patriotic War.
Even the morning of leaving Moscow for Suzdal was pouring rain, the road was jammed due to a traffic accident, but by noon, the sky cleared up and the bright sunshine woke up the whole group.
Two days walking in Saint Petersburg, the group leisurely strolled from the hotel along the canals, past libraries and gardens to the bronze horseman statue on Senate Square, from where they could look out over the Neva River.
The tourist destination that impressed Le Huy the most during the whole trip was still Red Square located in the center of the capital. Because this is where two legendary parades in Russian history took place.
On November 7, 1941, the Soviet Red Army held a special parade in the context of the country's most difficult days. The parade lasted an hour with the participation of 28,467 people.
The parade opened with a display by cadets of the Artillery School, artillery and infantrymen, anti-aircraft gunners and sailors carrying large flags across Red Square. It was followed by cavalry, machine-gun carriages, T-34 and KV tanks.
The parade used 16 horse-drawn carriages, 296 machine guns, 18 grenade launchers, 12 anti-aircraft machine guns, 140 artillery pieces and 160 tanks. After the parade, many tank and motor vehicle units were immediately transferred to the Western front of Moscow.
Since 2003, the parade has been held every November 7 on Red Square, to commemorate the October Revolution.
The second major event that must be mentioned is the first Victory Day Parade on Red Square, which took place on June 24, 1945. This parade is associated with an important historical milestone.
In April 1945, the Soviet Red Army launched an attack on Berlin, the last stronghold of Nazi Germany. At 00:43 on May 9, Moscow time, the Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet and German armies signed the declaration of Germany's unconditional surrender, ending the war. Since then, Victory Day has been celebrated on May 9 throughout the former Soviet Union and the Russian Federation.
“Standing in the middle of Red Square, sometimes you can feel the shouts and murmurs of the parade through the gentle breeze...”, Le Huy said.
Male tourists also enjoy the Museum.
Hermitage in Saint Petersburg with about 3 million works of art and World Cultural Heritage.
The strongest impression for Le Huy and his companions was certainly the Russian friends they met for the first time but treated guests from far away with many local specialties.
Le Huy recalls: “Going to a restaurant in Suzdal for dinner, although we were complete strangers, after just one minute of introducing ourselves as Vietnamese, a Russian customer at the next table came over to shake hands, take a photo and offer a bottle of champagne.
Out of surprise, we gave him a Vietnamese banknote in return, and, 15 minutes later, we were offered a second bottle of champagne. Russians will not smile at strangers, but once they call them “friends”, they will be very affectionate.
