Let’s go to the end of the world a place where the temperature can go -20 and can amaze you will the show of the wild nature i.e. Aurora Borealis.

The Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, in Murmansk, are surrounded by an air of mystery and wonder. This ethereal light display, caused by solar particles colliding with Earth’s atmosphere, appears in vivid shades of green, purple, pink, and even red, dancing across the Arctic skies. While science explains its origins, many mysteries and legends still surround the phenomenon, adding to its allure.

In Saami folklore, the Northern Lights are believed to be the energies of ancestral spirits communicating with the living. Others consider them a bridge between the earthly world and the heavens, symbolizing a connection to the divine. Some myths warn against whistling under the lights, as it is said to summon bad luck or spirits.

Daywise Itinerary: 25-Jan to 02-Feb

Which International flights to book?

What is the cost of the Visa?

Day 1-2: Moscow

Red Square is a city square in Moscow, Russia. It separates the Kremlin, the former royal citadel and now the official residence of the President of Russia, from a historic merchant quarter known as Kitai-gorod.

Lenin’s Mausoleum, also known as Lenin’s Tomb, situated in Red Square in the centre of Moscow, is a mausoleum that currently serves as the resting place of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin. His preserved body has been on public display there since shortly after his death in 1924, with rare exceptions in wartime.

 

St. Basil’s Cathedral is Moscow’s most famous artistic work of architecture. Also called “Pokrovsky Cathedral” or “The Cathedral of Intercession of the Virgin by the Moat”, it is the most recognizable Russian building. This Cathedral is to the Russians what the Eiffel Tower is to the French, an honorable symbol of their past, present, and future.

The Moscow Kremlin State Historical and Cultural Museum and Heritage Site was formed in 1991 on the basis of the State Museums of the Moscow Kremlin. It is located in the centre of Moscow, on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin. The Moscow Kremlin is one of the largest architectural ensembles of the world, including monuments built over the time from late XV to XX centuries. Historically the Moscow Kremlin has been the residence of power and in our days it is the residence of the Russian President. It is a unique museum complex including cathedrals-museums: the Assumption Cathedral, the Archangel Cathedral, the Annunciation Cathedral, the Church of the Deposition of the Robe of the Holy Virgin, the Palace of Patriarch of the XVII century with the Church of the Twelve Apostles, the bell tower of Ivan the Great with the belfry and the State Armory Chamber – the treasury. A special exposition located in the basement of the Annunciation Cathedral displays the materials on the archaeology of the Kremlin.

The earliest extant structure in town is the exceptional Ascension church (1532), built in white stone to commemorate the long-awaited birth of an heir to the throne, the future Ivan the Terrible. Being the first stone church of tent-like variety, the uncanonical “White Column” (as it is sometimes referred to) marked a stunning rupture with the Byzantine tradition.

This is what a new Russian Orthodox church ought to look like. It is so immense you’ll be wondering how many blocks of dynamite the Soviets needed to get rid of the thing the first time around. That was in 1931. This newly restored example came into being from 1994 until 2000 and is a shiny beacon for the Russian Orthodox Church at home and a close replica of the original 19th Century cathedral built in honour of the victory over Napoleon. The sprawling cathedral houses a museum on the history of the site where you can see pictures of the giant swimming pool the Soviets built here and the huge Lenin topped skyscraper they had originally planned for. During excursions (minimum 10 people) you can see the cathedral, museum and the view from the colonnade. As it is a working place of worship women are expected to cover their heads and everyone should dress conservatively.

Originally a suburb where traders from the East would arrive with their caravans, in the 18th Century the Arbat became popular with Moscow’s intelligentsia and artistic community, who enjoyed frequenting the many cafes and taking strolls along the area’s mansion-lined boulevards. Pushkin himself lived here with his wife in house number 53 (the building has since been turned into a museum dedicated to the poet) and Tolstoy resided on the adjoining Kaloshin Lane. In fact Count Fyodor was said to have modelled his famous character Anna Karenina on Maria Gartung – Pushkin’s oldest daughter, who also lived nearby.

New Arbat was initially included in the Moscow construction development plan in 1935. The idea was to build a road connecting the Kremlin and the famous Rublevka area where most of the communist party elite had their country side residencies. They simply needed a modern highway that they could use to travel between Kremlin and their dachas. The original name of the street was Kalinin Prospekt, named after one of the revolution leaders Mikhail Kalinin. The name was changed to Noviy Arbat during the post-soviet period in 1994.

Entry is mostly free or minimal (less than 200 RUB) and drinks aren’t expensive when compared to any metro city in India. The sex ratio is almost 1:10 that’s right for every guy there are 10 girls! Da Da Ding! Not to mention the party goes on till 6:00 AM!

Some of the best clubs include City Space Bar, O2 Lounge, Bar Gipsy, Kot Shredingera, and Night Club Icon.

MOSCOW TO MURMANSK:

Take an early morning flight from Moscow to Murmansk. We will help with bookings or you can book a flight directly.

Why Murmansk:

MURMANSK

Day 5

Post breakfast, we explore the Saami culture.

For a long time, the Saami, a local ethnic group belonging to the Ural race — intermediate between Caucasoid and Mongoloid, lived in this territory.

The total number of Sami in the world is 80 thousand people, of which 50 thousand live in Norway, 20 thousand in Sweden, 8 thousand in Finland, and two thousand in Russia.

In Russia, the capital of the Saami is Lovozero village. There the Sami National Cultural Center, various Sami festivals are held, the Kola Sami Radio is broadcast, the Museum of the History, Culture and Life of the Kola Saami is working.

• Saami people, their nature, traditions and lifestyle;
• fauna of the Saami: reindeer, foxes and husky dogs and have a chance to stroke and feed them making new friends;
• traditional Saami cuisine and taste it;
• the alley of majestic idols and have a chance to whisper them your secret dreams;
• the traditional houses of Saami people with interiors full of their belongings.

Stay in a Hotel

Day 6

Today you can go on an optional tour to Teriberka (you will pay directly to them)

Teriberka is a small fishermen’s village, located at the shore of the Arctic Sea, at the mouth of the Teriberka River. The name “Teriberka” means “Tersky coast”, “Ter” – the old name of the Kola Peninsula, according to some versions. It is 20 degrees off the North Pole, so it is almost at the edge of the Earth.

It is located 120 km from Murmansk, this small village has just 617 residents and a wide selection of picturesque abandoned houses. During your tour, you will see a wooden ship’s “cemetery”, the Arctic Ocean coast, frozen rocks, tundra, and waterfalls all against the mighty Barents Sea.

On the way to Teriberka we cross 3 climate zones. The first, in which Murmansk itself is located, is called taiga. Here you can see trees, both coniferous and deciduous. Then begins semi-tundra, or forest-tundra. Trees are getting lower, mostly there are shrubs. And then – tundra.

In 2014 Russian drama movie “Leviathan”, which won a Golden Globe in 2015, was filmed in Teriberka.

This event provoked the new development of the place and people began to learn about the forgotten Teriberka, as it is the only place in the European part of Russia that can be reached by road to see the open Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean.

Stay in Murmansk

Day 7

Day 8

ST. PETERSBURG:

Post breakfast, we will explore the most beautiful city in Russia.

St. Petersburg is a Russian port city on the Baltic Sea. It was the imperial capital for 2 centuries, having been founded in 1703 by Peter the Great, the subject of the city’s iconic “Bronze Horseman” statue. It remains Russia’s cultural centre, with venues such as the Mariinsky Theatre hosting opera and ballet, and the State Russian Museum showcasing Russian art, from Orthodox icon paintings to Kandinsky works.

The State Hermitage Museum is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The second-largest art museum in the world, it was founded in 1764 when Empress Catherine the Great acquired an impressive collection of paintings from the Berlin merchant Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky.

Rivaling the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow as the world’s finest collection of Russian art, the State Russian Museum has an illustrious history that began when the fiercely nationalist Tsar Alexander III became the first Russian ruler to make a significant collection of art by Russian artists. His son, Nicholas II, decided to open a museum in his father’s honour and, in 1895, bought the Mikhailovskiy Palace to house the collection. Originally called the Alexandrovskiy Museum, it was opened to the public in 1898.

The first structure to be built in St. Petersburg, and thus the birthplace of the city, it never served its intended defensive function. Instead it has had a rich, hugely varied, and sometimes sinister history as a military base, a home of government departments, the burial ground of the Russian Imperial family, the site of groundbreaking scientific experiments, and a forbidding jail that held some of Russia’s most prominent political prisoners.

The official date of its foundation is August 29, 1703, when by Peter the Great’s decree a special Zeughaus (Ger. — Military storehouse for armaments, uniforms, equipment, etc.) was built on the territory of the St. Petersburg (Peter­-and-­Paul) fortress for the purpose of storing and preserving old guns and cannons. The Military­-Historical Museum of Engineer and Signal Corps is now one of the most significant military-historical museums in the world having precious collections of artillery armaments and ammunition, rifles and cold steels, military-­engineering equipment, signal means, combat banners, military uniforms, battle artworks, various insignia, as well as archival documents giving evidences of Russian artillery development history and feats of arms. The Museum holds impressive collections of paintings, drawings and sculptures. Amongst exhibits are works of art reflecting Russia’s heroic past, portraits of Emperors, Grand Dukes, famed commanders, plus soldiers and officers who distinguished themselves in military operations.

The monastery was founded in July 1710 – seven years after the foundation of Petersburg – by Peter the Great near to the spot where contemporary Swedish maps showed the Swedish fort Landskrona had stood. (This was during the Northern War between Russian and Sweden, so it was a symbolically important location – especially as it had been sacked in 1301 by an army from Novgorod under Prince Andrei, son of legendary Russian leader Alexander Nevsky, during a previous war!) In 1712, the first church was built, in wood, on the site of the future monastery, and consecrated in Peter’s presence on March 25, 1713. The monastery began working shortly afterward.

The area that has been known as the Alexander Nevsky Monastery since 1797 had its beginnings in 1710, just a few short years after the city of St. Petersburg was founded. It was located at the former site of the Swedish Fort Landskrova, a significant location during the Northern War between Russia and Sweden. Peter the Great chose to name the monastery after Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky, who defeated the Swedes in a 1240 battle at the site.
The first church, a small wooden structure, was built in 1712, but a new church, designed by Italian architect Domenico Trezzini, was added in 1724. It was this building, in particular, that was named for Nevsky, who was considered a saint in the Russian Orthodox Church. His remains were moved here from a church in Vladimir and for many decades, the day they arrived was celebrated as a holiday.

Whilst taking a stroll along Nevsky Prospekt  you cannot fail to notice the impressive Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan. Kazan Cathedral, constructed between 1801 and 1811 by the architect Andrei Voronikhin, was built to an enormous scale and boasts an impressive stone colonnade, encircling a small garden and central fountain. The cathedral was inspired by the Basilica of St. Peter’s in Rome and was intended to be the country’s main Orthodox Church. After the war of 1812 (during which Napoleon was defeated) the church became a monument to Russian victory. Captured enemy banners were put in the cathedral and the famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov, who won the most important campaign of 1812, was buried inside the church.

The church itself is an architectural marvel. Built by the French-born architect Auguste Montferrand to be the main church of the Russian Empire, the cathedral was under construction for 40 years (1818-1858), and was decorated in the most elaborate way possible. When you enter the cathedral you pass through one of the porticos – note that the columns are made of single pieces of red granite and weight 80 tons (about 177,770 pounds) each. Inside the church many of the icons were created using moaic techniques and the iconostasis (the icon wall that separates the altar from the rest of the church) is decorated with 8 malachite and 2 lapis lazuli columns. The cathedral, which can accommodate 14,000 worshipers, now serves as a museum and services are held only on significant ecclesiastical holidays.

The first residential building to be built in the newly founded city of St. Petersburg was a wooden house or cabin, intended for Tsar Peter himself. The cabin is very small – only 60 sq. meters in area and is a strange combination of a traditional Russian house – izba – and a Dutch home with large and elaborate windows and high roof, covered with wooden tiles. Tsar Peter lived in this house between 1703 and 1708 and the living room, bedroom and study, still filled with Peter’s original belongings, still bear the mark of his presence. Peter the Great wanted all the houses of his new city to be built of stone, the way it was done in Europe. But he could not afford a stone house at the time, so he ordered the walls to be painted as if the house was made of bricks.

The Narva Triumphal Arch was erected in the vast Narva Square, Saint Petersburg, in 1814 to commemorate the Russian victory over Napoleon. The wooden structure was constructed on the Narva highway with the purpose of greeting the soldiers who were returning from abroad after their victory over Napoleon.

WHERE TO PARTY:

St. Petersburg has umpteen number of places to party but the must-visit places are:

• Coyote Ugly
• Underground: An amazing ex USSR bomb shelter
• Morrison: Open till 6:00 AM, rooftop and cocktails under 100 RUB
• Chroniki: One of the best in STP

What To Eat :

 

Borscht is the most well-known Russian dish in the world. Thanks to its bright red color, this soup has become one of symbols of Russia on a level with Matryoshka dolls and AK-47 assault rifle. There are many recipes of borscht, and every region of Russia and Ukraine is proud of its own list of ingredients and preparation technology. During your travel to Moscow, you will find two most popular types of this soup – Ukrainian (“Ukrainsky”) and Moscow (“Moskovsky”). Other sorts of borscht are not widespread in Moscow restaurants and supermarkets, and you will have almost no chances to find them.

 

Olivier salad, also known as Russian Salad, was originally invented by Lucien Olivier for the Hermitage restaurant in Moscow in the 1860’s; it was then adapted by Ivan Ivanov, who later sold the recipe for publication. Over the years, it gained in popularity not only in Russia, but throughout the rest of the Soviet Union and Europe.

Shashlik in its most basic form is pieces of meat grilled on a skewer over coals. The “classic” shashlik, Granny says, should be made with mutton. That’s how it’s often made in the Caucasus, where the dish originated, and where there’s lots of sheep. In Moscow, however, there is less mutton, and Russians became more creative with their shashlik. Here it’s made with chicken, pork and fish, the meat interspersed with pieces of onion, peppers or tomatoes. Everyone developed his own marinade (ketchup and garlic usually factor heavily). From the beginning, shashliking was a competitive sport.

These thin, crepe-like pancakes have been consumed in Russia for centuries. Today they are the most popular type of Russian street food, and the most popular place to buy them is the “Teremok” chain. The staff at these cafes  dress in old-style Russian costumes and address their customers as “sudar” and “sudarynya” – the old Russian form of “sir” and “madam.”  Solid round blini are cooked on a griddle while you wait and can be had with fillings ranging from ham, cheese or red caviar to honey, jam or sweetened condensed milk. Teremok is even expanding its empire abroad – you can find an outlet in Midtown Manhattan!

Russia is open for Indians, You can apply directly from this website or our visa agent can help you.

https://russiable.in/getting-russian-visa-india/

Q: Can I see your pictures of the last trip?

Ans: Follow the link: PICTURES

Q.Is it safe to travel to Russia?

Ans: Russia is generally a safe country in which to travel.

Q. Why this trip is less costly because all the trips for Russia are starting from 1 lac?

Ans. We believe in passing the benefits to members also, as we are a group of passionate traveller who is running this company and not a business-oriented company.

Q. How will I meet the group if I come?

Ans: We will add you to our WhatsApp group for further communication and if you are coming alone then we will arrange an airport pickup for you.

Q.Any discount for a group?

Ans: Yes, if you are more than 2 then you will get a group discount of 3000 Rupee.

Q.Where can I see T&C of the trips?

Ans: Follow this link: CLICK ME

How to Contact us?

Call us on 9029099709 or E-mail us at info@travelbuddiestalk.com

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