If you've ever been to Russia, you definitely know that this outstanding country leaves no one indifferent, as it inspires its visitors, exceeds expectations, and gifts plenty of joy and pleasant surprises.
We are excited to share heartwarming poems about Moscow and St. Petersburg written by our gifted traveler, Denise Lariviere, who recently returned from one of our Russian river cruises.
Moscow
Race Moscow's airport to catch our next flight
Valery deftly maneuvered our trip
Cutting all obstacles and queues in sight
Humbly refusing our five-dollar tip
Through noise and mosaics, Moscow derails
Six million Muscovites daily engage
Russians on subways and all it entails
Order in this proletarian age
Tretyakov Gallery, paint smartly tossed
Repin and Surikov, true to their eye
View rooms so numerous, one could get lost
Like looking at Shishkin's "Road In the Rye"
Armory showcased how rich one could get
Gold-plated carriages, crowns of fine jewels
Pure ostentation from serf blood and sweat
Proof tsars and empresses made their own rules
Walk in the Kremlin as free as you please
More onion-shaped spires to witness and view
Icons and frescoes as far as one sees
Viewing these sights gives one something to do
Alone, standing here, at history's wall
Attempting in vain to take it all in
So many people have given their all
Fighting a Cold War that no one can win
Partying Russians amid hard-rock song
Funny, we thought it a place filled with gloom
Here in Red Square, to the night we belong
Never are we to forget Lenin's Tomb
Born in the cold of political foe
Forged by inferno of secret police
May Mother Russia continue to glow
Hopefully, Moscow will lead us to peace.
Top sights in Moscow:
- The Moscow Kremlin
- The Red Square
- St Basil's Cathedral
- Bolshoi Theater
- The State Tretyakov Gallery
St. Petersburg
In Russia, we woke the great sleeping bear
St. Petersburg, green with water galore
Catherine's Palace, brown feet everywhere
Schadenfreude bombed this treasure through war
Boat up the canal, straight from the sea
Peterhof waits to regale and rejoice
Welcomed by gods to applaud victory
Then nazis destroyed this cultural voice
Walk among fountains on grounds beautifully
Arranged to be viewed by nobles of old
Payment for grandeur fell too frequently
On serfs without choice, and always controlled
The Hermitage holds three trillion antiques
More things to learn than one ever could know
Flood of humanity forcefully speaks
Its true name should be the Hall of B.O.
Peter was great when he laid the first stone
Knowing the challenge, at last, would begin
St. Petersburg, you are never alone
Facing the West with a light from within.
Top sights in St. Petersburg:
- State Hermitage Museum
- Winter Palace
- Catherine's Palace
- Savior on the Spilled Blood
- Peter and Paul Fortress
- St. Isaac's Cathedral
Treat yourself to a journey to the biggest country in the world that you will remember for years with our award-winning tours to Russia and Russian river cruises.
