Apr 15th, 2011 at 12:00PM: Just arrived? Read more about pregnancy in a foreign country, Turkish prenatal care, travel in the first trimester, and Turkish superstitions on Knocked up abroad.
"Whatever you do, if it's a girl, don't call her Natasha," was the first bit of advice a Turkish friend gave me about having a baby in Istanbul. While a common and inoffensive name in the US and Russia, in Turkey and many other ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
russia posts
Knocked up abroad: foreign baby names in a foreign country
Apr 15th, 2011 at 12:00PM: Just arrived? Read more about pregnancy in a foreign country, Turkish prenatal care, travel in the first trimester, and Turkish superstitions on Knocked up abroad.
"Whatever you do, if it's a girl, don't call her Natasha," was the first bit of advice a Turkish friend gave me about having a baby in Istanbul. While a common and inoffensive name in the US and Russia, in Turkey and many other ...Knocked up abroad: pregnant travel in the first trimester
Mar 16th, 2011 at 11:30AM: For more on pregnant travel, see parts 1 and 2 of Knocked up abroad: pregnancy in a foreign country here and here.
There's no question that having a baby changes you: your body, your lifestyle, even your shoe size. One thing I hoped not to change altogether was traveling, as long as it was reasonably safe and comfortable for me and the baby. From the beginning of my pregnancy in Istanbul, my ...Russia plans Las Vegas clone in Siberia
Mar 10th, 2011 at 1:30PM: Siberia is known for many things. Long train rides that cover almost 6000 miles, massive tigers that hunt wild boar in snowy enclaves, and a lake whose depths reach deeper than any other lake in the world. Oh and cold. Wintry, unrelenting, freezing cold weather drapes Siberia in snow and below freezing temperatures for roughly half of the year. It is a place so remote and foreboding that if you ...Photo of the Day - Matryoshka dolls
Mar 6th, 2011 at 6:00PM:
For travelers, Russia is a country that is at once fascinating and baffling. An oft-cited metaphor for Russia's many charms and mysteries is the Matryoshka doll, a typical wooden figurine pictured in today's photo. At first glance, the Matryoshka appears to be a single doll, but when opened, reveals a series of ever-smaller figures inside. Adding to the mystery of today's photo, taken by ...Five ways to get more European stamps in your passport
Mar 2nd, 2011 at 10:30AM:
Lake Ohrid, Macedonia.
Yesterday, I wrote about the fact that European passport stamps have become harder and harder to get. The expansion of the Schengen zone has reduced the number of times tourists are compelled to show their passports to immigration officials. For most Americans on multi-country European itineraries, a passport will be stamped just twice: upon arrival and upon departure. ...Travel then and now: Travel to the USSR and GDR
Mar 1st, 2011 at 3:30PM: This year is the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Soviet Union and 21 years since the reunification of Germany. While citizens of the USSR and GDR were unable to travel abroad and restricted in domestic travel, foreign travelers were permitted under a controlled environment. In the early nineties, if you were a foreigner looking to go abroad to the Eastern Europe or Central Asia, you called ...Russian truck transports plane through St. Petersburg streets
Jan 25th, 2011 at 1:00PM:
I just know there is a "In Russia...." joke to be made here. The photo shows the elaborate transport of a U.S. owned Eclipse private jet. The plane was being transported from the airport to a convention center where it was scheduled to be put on display.
According to the story, during transport, the truck hit the nose of the plane which messed up the entire plan. Originally, the plane was ...10 ways to survive a Russian winter vacation
Jan 12th, 2011 at 3:00PM:
The phrase "Russian winter" may bring to mind images of tall fur hats, snowcovered gold church domes, and steaming bowls of borscht. It may also remind you that both the armies of Hitler and Napoleon were driven off by the cold winter of the north and that "Russian winter" is also an explanation why every invader has failed to conquer the country. Winter of 2010-2011 was forecast to be the worst ...InterContinental Hotel Group prepares for 2011 openings in Russia, Portugal, Qatar, more
Jan 3rd, 2011 at 12:00PM: A new year brings new hotels. While travelers are prepping their calendars in anticipation of 2011 trips, hotel groups are working hard to open new properties around the world for guests. International expansion in Asia and Europe are top priorities for hotel groups including Marriott, Starwood and Hilton. Next up: InterContinental Hotel Groups plans their 2011 expansion including hotels in ...Winter holiday celebrations in Russia
Dec 31st, 2010 at 4:00PM:
In most of the western world, Christmas and Hanukkah have come and gone, but in Russia, presents are being wrapped in anticipation of tonight, New Year's Eve. In the days of the Soviet Union, religious celebrations were frowned upon, so Russians shifted their winter celebrating to December 31 and combining the traditions of gift-exchanging and New Year's revelry into one night. In the Russian ...Daily Pampering: Year-round yachting at Radisson Royal Moscow
Nov 15th, 2010 at 4:00PM: Feel like taking the yacht for a ride through the ice? Not a problem, if you're in Moscow.
The Radisson Royal Moscow just introduced a fleet of specially commissioned river yachts now equipped with ice breakers -- just so that winter travelers can still see the [snow-capped] sights while in Russia.
The yachts provide year-round, private cruises along the Moskva River, where guests can take ...Top ten cities with best public transit systems
Nov 4th, 2010 at 11:30AM:
These ten public transportation systems, in random rather than top-to-bottom order, are among the world's best. The transit systems profiled here include some of the most impressively massive as well as some of the best-scaled urban transportation systems. Today's focus is on international public transit systems; as such, the better US public transit systems (New York, Chicago, and Portland, ...Photo of the day (10.29.10)
Oct 29th, 2010 at 5:30PM:
This photo, taken by Flickr user Andrey Dorokhov as part of a 365 Project, captures Moscow's Mezhdunarodnaya metro station in a moment of real stillness. Opened in 2006, the Mazhdunarodyaya station really does look like a spaceship from this angle. No surprise then that Dorokhov titled the photo Day 246, Spaceship.
Got a spaceship-esque image in your personal photography library? Post it to ...Photo of the day (10.21.10)
Oct 21st, 2010 at 6:00PM:
Do spies wear sundresses? Flickr user jrodmanjr snapped this woman in Moscow's Red Square and imagines she may be a cold war spy, her black briefcase full of classified documents. More likely an art student with a portfolio, but any any rate, its fun to speculate on the secret lives of strangers. As a photo, it's pretty interesting too: nicely framed, distinctly Russian, and the mysterious girl's ...Transaero launches direct service to Moscow
Oct 19th, 2010 at 2:00PM: Competition for direct flights to Russia is growing this month with the addition of non-stop service from New York JFK and Miami International Airport on Transaero Airlines.
"Transaero," you ask? "Isn't that the second largest Russian carrier serving over a hundred destinations worldwide and sporting a wide assortment of fancy Boeing widebodies?" Why yes, dear reader, it is. ...Ten wild cab rides that you'll never forget
Sep 20th, 2010 at 3:00PM: Everyone has their own way of immersing in a culture. Some jump in knees-deep into the food scene, massacring the local food blogs and munching their ways through every gastic adventure that they can find. Others enjoy the philosophical and soft-edged days of lounging in street side cafes, watching passers-by and drinking coffee in the early afternoon sun. Here at Gadling though, we prefer the ...Wanderfly.com travel-planning site launches in beta
Aug 4th, 2010 at 10:00AM:
A new travel-planning website and booking engine is launching this month in beta, and I was excited to give it a test run, having first heard about the site this spring at a EuroCheapo travel happy hour. Wanderfly.com is a "personalized recommendation engine" that takes your interests, budget, and even social network connections to give you inspiration and help you plan your next vacation. ...New Moscow luxury hotel opens in historic "Seven Sisters" structure
Jun 6th, 2010 at 12:00PM: If you're Russia-bound soon, this hotel is a must-see: Radisson Royal Hotel Moscow recently opened in one of Moscow's legendary "Seven Sisters" skyscrapers after a three-year renovation of the former "Hotel Ukraina."
The Seven Sisters structure, built between 1949 and 1957 and combining neo-classical, Russian Baroque and Gothic architecture, is now home to a new 506-guestroom Radisson.
"This ...Russia pushes visa-free Russia-EU travel
Jun 2nd, 2010 at 12:30PM: At the 25th European Union-Russia summit in Rostov-on-Don, Russia yesterday proposed that both parties mutually abolish visa requirements. Currently, the two entities impose reciprocal visa requirements upon each other's citizens.
In the name of improving business and tourist links, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced that Russia is ready to drop its visa requirements of EU citizens. He ...Explorers prepare to sail around the North Pole
May 31st, 2010 at 8:00AM: In a few weeks time, Norwegian explorers Borge Ousland and Thorleif Thorleifsson will set out on a daring expedition in an attempt to become the first people to sail around the North Pole, a feat that has only become possible in recent years thanks to global climate change. The two men will have to successfully navigate both the Northeast and Northwest Passages if they want to accomplish their ...
