Steve2009

I'm off to Russia next month and have 3 days to spend across these two cities. It's actually a choice between:

A) An evening and night in Yekaterinburg plus two whole days in Moscow.
B) Two full days in Yekaterinburg and one whole day in Moscow.

Anyone with knowledge of Russia care to comment or advise?

Amazulu

Gonna buy a house there Irish?

I hear that the Moscow bubble has not even started inflating

Loch Lomond

Option A.
Moscow has so much to see and experience. I lived there for 2 years, and spent a further 4 years working in Siberia. Ekaterinburg is really no different than any other Siberian city.

Steve2009

Thanks Loch Lomond. I actually had it wrong, it's a day and a half in Yekaterinburg and two days in Moscow. While I have your attention, what's it like getting around Moscow as a visitor?

Swerv-o

Moscow is actually pretty easy to navigate, despite the cyrillic alphabet. I don't know if you speak any Russian, but it's pretty easy to read once you get your head around the sounds of the letters - everything is pretty much phonetic from there in.

Kypckar => Koor-sky-ya

Pectopah => Rest-o-ran (Restaurant)

I have never had any problems in Moscow, and the Russians are generally a friendly bunch, and in the capital English is widely spoken.

As for your trip, I would probably aim to spend more time in Moscow. Not that I have ever been to Ekaterinburg, but there is so much to see and do in Moscow, I wouldn't want to wast too much in a regional city.


S

Steve2009

We're taking the train from Beijing and stopping off in Lake Baikal too. I'm bringing some Pimsleur language tapes so we should have a bit of Russian by the time we get there. 55 hours from Beijing to Irkutsk should be long enough to pick up the basics. What do you guys reckon about security in Russia? A Russian friend has advised taking a guided tour in Moscow to avoid dodgies.

Loch Lomond

The Moscow metro is easy enough to use, there are metro maps with English station names easily available. Don'T use it during rush hour though, it gets very busy. I was told that 5 million people a day use it.
i never had any security issues in Russia, most people are willing to help, particularily if you attempt to speak a bit of Russian. If you look like a Chechnian you might have a problem.
My interests are modern history and understanding different cultures, I enjoyed visiting the Soviet throwback restaurants, shops etc. China town is interesting.
Carry your passport and immigration papers with you at all times, sometimes the police will see you as a source of revenue, if they do give you unnecessary hassle ask to speak to the British / Australian consulate, that usually concludes the issue. I'm speaking from experience here.
I wouldn't bother with an organised tour, but maybe that's just me, as I would rather see what interests me and not the tour company.

newjersey

Ekaterinburg is the place where the last tsar, Nikolas II Romanov and the royal family were kept prisoners, killed, their bodies burned and buried in the nearby forest in a pit. The house where they were kept was demolished as well. There is a memorial chapel at that place now that you can visit. A local piece of history, if you are into this kind of thing, anyway.

Steve2009

It's also close to where the U2 spy plane was shot down. Might visit both sites.