| In 1939, Winston Churchill called Russia a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. For centuries, journeys in Russia were fraught with difficulties, regardless of the method of travel. Today, a Viking River Cruises journey provides the perfect way to experience Russias countryside, culture and two great cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg. Moscow, Russias capital, boasts some 2500 historical and architectural monuments, 70 museums, 50 theaters, 4500 libraries and 540 colleges and research institutions. There is so much to see and experience there—Red Square, with the colorful onion domes of St. Basils Cathedral, the tomb of Vladimir Lenin and the massive 120-year-old GUM department store, the nearby Kremlin, and of course the citys world-famous Metro system. St. Petersburg provides gentler and more graceful pleasures with its romantic canals, baroque palaces and lovely avenues and squares designed along European lines. You will want to visit the Hermitage, both the historic Winter Palace and a world-class art museum with an extensive collection of works ranging from da Vinci and Michelangelo to Cézanne and Picasso; you will gaze in wonder upon the Peter and Paul Fortress with its baroque cathedral inside; and you will enjoy strolling and shopping along Nevsky Prospekt, the citys main promenade, with its lively culture of street artists and performers. Or, follow in the footsteps of the Cossacks along Ukraines Dnieper River from Kiev to Odessa by way of Zaporozhye ... |
