It was February and I was in Russia!
Most people that know this think I am stark raving mad. Who in their right mind goes touring in Russia in February?
Well, you might have to be a little crazy but more importantly you need REALLY GOOD footwear and thermal socks (these will quickly become your best friend's). Of course while your packing the socks don’t forget a good overcoat. It doesn’t have to be a sable or mink though you will see plenty of those in Russia during the winter. A good hiking jacket will work but you will need long thermals to keep the lower nethers warm if your coat doesn’t extend further south than your waist. And of course a hat…..a silly looking woolly tam that you can pull down over your ears works well but I can almost guarantee you will come home with a Russian style fur hat with flaps. Which looks sillier? – you can be the judge of that but the fur (real and synthetic) hats with ear flaps are everywhere in Russia and work a treat.
Once you have the right clothing the rest is easy. Russia in winter is simply magical. It can snow almost every day, several times a day or just all day. A blanket of white covers everything and you expect Dr Zhivago to come strolling across the park at any moment. The gilded domes of churches and the gold filigree on palace gates shines in stark contrast to the milky skies and snow covered trees and ground.
Is it really that cold – yes, you’d better believe it is, especially when you get away from the cities and towns and out into the countryside, but somehow the fact that you are in Russia in the middle of winter makes the searing cold perfectly fine. After all isn’t that what you expected?
You won’t want to walk too far but the scene will beckon you to stroll through parks and along streets watching children slide down the snow covered hillocks or being pulled along on sleds behind their parents. Of course not everyone has time for fun and as often as not that sled will be carrying the weekly shopping. Horse drawn sleighs are common place – in the countryside anyway. While they are there for the tourists there are so few tourists that they are really a means of daily transport for the locals. In some rural locales you either ride in a sleigh or propel yourself on cross country skis.
Yes, the city streets are often slushy and only half their normal width with snow accumulated on either side of the road but canals are spectacularly frozen over (even the major rivers carry a surprising amount of ice at this time of the year) and parks glisten in the little sun that makes its way to the frozen earth.
Don’t ever hesitate to travel to Russia in winter. It is a completely different world and the beauty far outweighs any inconvenience. A bonus - you will have the museums almost to yourself. And guess what? – the Russians love heating! You will never be so happy to walk outside into that cold crisp air.
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