Visiting the RealRussia- Ann’s blog on her recent visit
The one thing that marketing as a profession provides is an opportunity to develop into new markets and new opportunities. Over my 30 years in marketing I have been lucky enough to experience many cultures across the world, but I have never worked in Russia until now.
Having flown on Aeroflot to Moscow from Heathrow I arrived in Volzhski on Wednesday night , a city about 30km from Volgograd (the former Stalingrad), and then onto Volgograd. The brand new Airbus planes were superb, lovely, and very comfortable – this would not be the first of my Russian perceptions to be proven to be misguided.
Moscowairport was heaving as people in the domestic departures sought to get home after their commute toMoscowand our flight toVolgogradwas full.
Thursday and Friday, saw me in the offices of Real Russia. The team there works so hard and pride themselves on delivering excellent customer service – we could learn a few things in the UK from their commitment to ensuring customer satisfaction. The travel operators are so knowledgeable they can answer any questions related to tours on the Trans-Siberian express, the best routes to take, what you need if you go to places like Mongolia or Belarus, it was fascinating. The visa team was equally knowledgeable on how to obtain visas and what you need when traveling around Russia.
The offices of Real Russia are situated in an old children’s nursery and the building houses a sauna, steam room, swimming pool and a lovely café/restaurant. I did enjoy some traditional Russian food for lunch, but did not have time to relax in the leisure facilities.
I have experienced many restaurants (the food is excellent) and have taken in the local sites of the impressive Russian Orthodox churches and the statute of Lenin. I cannot get over how wide and spread out everything is here. The city is similar in size to Leicester, but you hardly notice people as the roads and pavements are so wide. Many buildings are typical Soviet block and not the most attractive in the world, although practical, not too tall and broken up by trees and shrubs. Yesterday, I visited the impressive Mamayev Kurgan monument and the memorial in Volgograd from the battle of Stalingrad, where I felt truly humbled. People in that city were under siege for 18 months and 2 Million people died in the battle.
The river Volga is a truly impressive site with sand banks and sandy shores, not what you would expect fromRussia’s longest river. Children were diving in and the water looked so clean and inviting in the temperatures of low thirties centigrade – wait until summer fully arrives. The realRussiaI have experienced is not all about Vodka andMoscow– it is about a different way of life, we are 100 miles fromAsiaand on the edge of the Steppes. It has helpful people, fantastic food, great scenery and some interesting history – and yes some good beer and vodka.
My time here in Volzhski has been tremendous and I look forward to working with the office to develop the marketing further. Yes there are challenges for a Western European visiting Russia – you can’t read all the menus, you don’t always have a clue which is the ladies and men’s toilets and life is different – but that is what adds to the charm of visiting a destination and widening our horizons as people. Even I have managed to learn the odd word here to make life a little easier and make me feel a little less stupid. I strongly recommend anyone interested in European history to visit Volgograd and for the independent traveler to take time and visit the Real Russia.
I left Volgograd on an 18 hour train journey to Moscow. After discussing with the travel staff at Real Russia, I decided on booking a women’s only cabin in business class. This 2 person cabin had two beds, a TV and electrical points for my computer and iPad to recharge. As I went into the cabin I was delighted to see some complimentary refreshments. This included a miniature bottle of vodka, but this was not the size you get on a plane, it was twice as big! I later shared the bottle with my client, as it is very bad form to drink alone in Russia.
The train journey was fascinating – we went through miles of open countryside, disused factories, villages and large towns. Every few hours we stopped at stations and had the opportunity to stretch our legs.
One stop was for about 20 minutes and the station had small shops selling souvenirs. The station buildings were beautiful – not like the modern shelters we see in many European towns. During the evening, I made my way to the restaurant and enjoyed a meal of local food – which I cannot pronounce, but included tongue. Well, when you are in Rome . . .
The train ride was smooth for most of the journey and not quite the same roller coaster that one experiences on the Midland Main Line, Leicester to St Pancras journey. Sometimes on those journeys, you struggle to drink a cup of coffee without spilling it due to the train movement.
After dinner, I settled down to bed in my comfortable cabin, watching a film on my iPad, knowing that in the morning we would be approaching Moscow. I had an excellent night’s sleep and after a wash and breakfast was looking out on the suburbs ofMoscow. At 9am and in bright sunshine, we arrived into Moscow station, I was impressed at the art deco sign highlighting Mockba – it seemed to provide a presence amongst the crowds.
We made our way to the hotel, showered, changed and were in the office for late morning – what a pleasant way to travel. During my two days in the office, I met the staff and many of the customers who were travellers from all over the globe. They had fascinating stories to tell about their experiences in Russia and most of them were collecting tickets for the Trans-Siberian Tour – something which I now would love to do.
Unfortunately, my time in Moscowwas spent mainly in the office, but I did manage a quick tour of Red Square, Lenin’s memorial and some of the city’s fabulous architecture. If anyone is interested in visiting Russia, I would recommend giving Real Russia a call, they can help you with train tickets, tourist information and visa support, I found them very helpful and supportive, and, as I said in my comments above, determined to give great customer service and to help as much as possible. They also speak perfect English, which I found a big help!
Visit the Real Russia website for any travel or visa needs in or around Russia
The one thing that marketing as a profession provides is an opportunity to develop into new markets and new opportunities. Over my 30 years in marketing I have been lucky enough to experience many cultures across the world, but I have never worked in Russia until now.
Having flown on Aeroflot to Moscow from Heathrow I arrived in Volzhski on Wednesday night , a city about 30km from Volgograd (the former Stalingrad), and then onto Volgograd. The brand new Airbus planes were superb, lovely, and very comfortable – this would not be the first of my Russian perceptions to be proven to be misguided.
Moscowairport was heaving as people in the domestic departures sought to get home after their commute toMoscowand our flight toVolgogradwas full.
Thursday and Friday, saw me in the offices of Real Russia. The team there works so hard and pride themselves on delivering excellent customer service – we could learn a few things in the UK from their commitment to ensuring customer satisfaction. The travel operators are so knowledgeable they can answer any questions related to tours on the Trans-Siberian express, the best routes to take, what you need if you go to places like Mongolia or Belarus, it was fascinating. The visa team was equally knowledgeable on how to obtain visas and what you need when traveling around Russia.
The offices of Real Russia are situated in an old children’s nursery and the building houses a sauna, steam room, swimming pool and a lovely café/restaurant. I did enjoy some traditional Russian food for lunch, but did not have time to relax in the leisure facilities.
I have experienced many restaurants (the food is excellent) and have taken in the local sites of the impressive Russian Orthodox churches and the statute of Lenin. I cannot get over how wide and spread out everything is here. The city is similar in size to Leicester, but you hardly notice people as the roads and pavements are so wide. Many buildings are typical Soviet block and not the most attractive in the world, although practical, not too tall and broken up by trees and shrubs. Yesterday, I visited the impressive Mamayev Kurgan monument and the memorial in Volgograd from the battle of Stalingrad, where I felt truly humbled. People in that city were under siege for 18 months and 2 Million people died in the battle.
The river Volga is a truly impressive site with sand banks and sandy shores, not what you would expect fromRussia’s longest river. Children were diving in and the water looked so clean and inviting in the temperatures of low thirties centigrade – wait until summer fully arrives. The realRussiaI have experienced is not all about Vodka andMoscow– it is about a different way of life, we are 100 miles fromAsiaand on the edge of the Steppes. It has helpful people, fantastic food, great scenery and some interesting history – and yes some good beer and vodka.
My time here in Volzhski has been tremendous and I look forward to working with the office to develop the marketing further. Yes there are challenges for a Western European visiting Russia – you can’t read all the menus, you don’t always have a clue which is the ladies and men’s toilets and life is different – but that is what adds to the charm of visiting a destination and widening our horizons as people. Even I have managed to learn the odd word here to make life a little easier and make me feel a little less stupid. I strongly recommend anyone interested in European history to visit Volgograd and for the independent traveler to take time and visit the Real Russia.
I left Volgograd on an 18 hour train journey to Moscow. After discussing with the travel staff at Real Russia, I decided on booking a women’s only cabin in business class. This 2 person cabin had two beds, a TV and electrical points for my computer and iPad to recharge. As I went into the cabin I was delighted to see some complimentary refreshments. This included a miniature bottle of vodka, but this was not the size you get on a plane, it was twice as big! I later shared the bottle with my client, as it is very bad form to drink alone in Russia.
The train journey was fascinating – we went through miles of open countryside, disused factories, villages and large towns. Every few hours we stopped at stations and had the opportunity to stretch our legs.
One stop was for about 20 minutes and the station had small shops selling souvenirs. The station buildings were beautiful – not like the modern shelters we see in many European towns. During the evening, I made my way to the restaurant and enjoyed a meal of local food – which I cannot pronounce, but included tongue. Well, when you are in Rome . . .
The train ride was smooth for most of the journey and not quite the same roller coaster that one experiences on the Midland Main Line, Leicester to St Pancras journey. Sometimes on those journeys, you struggle to drink a cup of coffee without spilling it due to the train movement.
After dinner, I settled down to bed in my comfortable cabin, watching a film on my iPad, knowing that in the morning we would be approaching Moscow. I had an excellent night’s sleep and after a wash and breakfast was looking out on the suburbs ofMoscow. At 9am and in bright sunshine, we arrived into Moscow station, I was impressed at the art deco sign highlighting Mockba – it seemed to provide a presence amongst the crowds.
We made our way to the hotel, showered, changed and were in the office for late morning – what a pleasant way to travel. During my two days in the office, I met the staff and many of the customers who were travellers from all over the globe. They had fascinating stories to tell about their experiences in Russia and most of them were collecting tickets for the Trans-Siberian Tour – something which I now would love to do.
Unfortunately, my time in Moscowwas spent mainly in the office, but I did manage a quick tour of Red Square, Lenin’s memorial and some of the city’s fabulous architecture. If anyone is interested in visiting Russia, I would recommend giving Real Russia a call, they can help you with train tickets, tourist information and visa support, I found them very helpful and supportive, and, as I said in my comments above, determined to give great customer service and to help as much as possible. They also speak perfect English, which I found a big help!
Visit the Real Russia website for any travel or visa needs in or around Russia
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