Joseph is a young Englishman who had already spent nine weeks studying Russian in St Petersburg back in 2023, and had been longing to return ever since. When a job change gave him a free month, he seized it — even though that month was December, hardly the easy season. He entered not by the usual Narva crossing but by the following route: flying to Gdansk, taking a bus into Kaliningrad, and then flying on to St Petersburg. What follows is a long, thoughtful account of a winter month in Russia, with a strong thread of Orthodox faith running through it, because that is what the trip meant to him. If you’re weighing up the land routes, you may also want to read Michael’s crossing at Narva and Leo’s account of the same border on foot.
What follows is Joseph’s own story, in his words, with his own photos. I’ve shaped it a little so it reads at an easy pace, but everything in it is his. Thank you, Joseph, for sharing it.
| Traveller | Joseph |
| From | United Kingdom |
| When | December 2025 (about a month) |
| Route | Gdansk (Poland) → Kaliningrad by bus → St Petersburg → Moscow, with a day trip to Sergiev Posad |
| Entry | Regular tourist visa (via a language-school voucher), crossing the land border into Kaliningrad |
| Getting around | Coach to the border, internal flight to St Petersburg, Sapsan train to Moscow |
| Paying & connectivity | Rubles changed at a bank, an existing Russian card, an eSIM set up inside Russia |
Approximate route of Joseph’s winter month in Russia. The dashed line is the leg outside Russia (Gdansk to the Kaliningrad border); the solid line is the journey inside the country: Kaliningrad, then St Petersburg, then Moscow, with a day trip out to Sergiev Posad.
Why December, and getting the visa
I had previously spent nine weeks in Saint Petersburg studying Russian in 2023, and I was longing to return but had no idea when I would be able to. Travelling to Russia from the UK is inconvenient, so I prefer to take longer trips, which is difficult when you work full time. I accepted a job offer that I expected to begin in December 2025, but when my recruiter called and told me I would actually start in January 2026, I immediately seized the opportunity — despite December not being the most desirable month to spend in Russia.
I already knew I wanted to take some Russian lessons while I was there, so I contacted a language school in St Petersburg (EDUCA — I cannot recommend them enough) and they sent me a tourist voucher, which you need when applying for a tourist visa. I filled out the form online, contacted the visa centre in London and booked my appointment. You have to visit the visa centre in person, which is a pain considering you’re there for literally five minutes while they take some fingerprints and your passport, you pay a fee, and they post the visa to you. I needed mine quickly, and it cost something like £300, which did sting a bit.
Planning the route: in through Kaliningrad
Once I had my visa, I had to plan my route. The crossing at Narva, in Estonia, is the most frequently used, but after hearing about long delays I opted to fly to Gdansk in Poland, take a bus to Kaliningrad, and then fly on to St Petersburg. I also needed accommodation, which I sorted out using Ostrovok, which gives you the option of paying on arrival — although as of 2026 I think you can even pay them with a Western bank card, though I may be mistaken. If you want the current picture, read this guide on booking accommodation in Russia with a foreign card.
My one tip would be to spread out your journey — allocate a whole day to the border crossing. Landing at the airport and then immediately getting a coach and dealing with the border would be an absolute nightmare, I assure you. I landed in Gdansk, checked into my hotel, and the next morning went to the bus station to travel to Kaliningrad. I bought my ticket on Busfor.ru, but you can use Ecolines or Lux Express too. The coach was very comfortable and it wasn’t particularly full.
All in all, I was at the border for maybe four hours. If you are from an “unfriendly country” they will almost certainly interview you, and you’ll then have to await the next bus coming through. The border guards were perfectly pleasant — they weren’t hostile to me at all. I was interviewed for quite some time, and it was in Russian; I’m not sure if they have interpreters, but I would guess they do. They asked general questions about my life, my family, recent experiences, trips, why I was going to Russia, and so on. I got the impression that they wanted to make sure I was who I said I was, and that there were no obvious inconsistencies. They did ask me about the special military operation, how it started, the history behind the conflict in Ukraine, and so on. Anyone who would give displeasing answers to those questions would be unlikely to be travelling to Russia in the first place.
They looked through my phone, particularly at my photos, when I told them I was an Orthodox Christian who had been to Mount Athos and was eager to visit holy places in Russia. They even asked me details about my faith: when we celebrate Pascha, about my church and my Orthodox life. After all this, I was waiting for the next bus when a Russian lady kindly offered me a lift to Kaliningrad, which I gratefully accepted.
Two days in Kaliningrad
The kindness and hospitality of the Russian people has always been one of my favourite things about travelling there. Not once did I encounter anything except warmth, kindness, and occasional curiosity and amazement at my decision to learn Russian. Nobody objected to an Englishman being in Russia, and more than once toasts were raised to better relations between our countries in the future.
I spent two days in Kaliningrad, exploring the beautiful city and attending the Divine Liturgy at a lovely wooden church near the train station. I decided to change my money to rubles. I visited a currency exchange, but unfortunately I encountered a group of men who were pressuring me to swap my money for their rubles and wouldn’t take no for an answer, even following me when I left. In the end I went to Sberbank and accepted a slightly worse exchange rate for the comfort and ease of use. I should say that I already had a Russian bank card from a previous visit, when the process was much easier, so I can’t offer much advice on that front. If you’re starting from scratch, this guide on where to change money for rubles is the place to look.
After this I managed to set up an eSIM with Maya Mobile. I couldn’t do it on the other side of the border, but inside Russia I managed to set it up with relative ease and didn’t even have to wait the usual 24 hours before using the internet. The connection isn’t completely consistent in Russia, but most of the time I got by just fine (If you’re comparing providers, Irena tests them regularly in her roundup of the best eSIMs for Russia).
Another great tip is to have contacts in Russia lined up ahead of time. Do you study Russian? Make friends on a language-exchange app, or reach out to the friends and family of your Russian-speaking friends back home. Russians are eager to help, especially when it comes to showing you their country and city — and all the better if they can practise their English. Instead of paying a higher price for a plane ticket to St Petersburg once I was in Russia, my Russian tutor and very dear friend had already bought me one ahead of time.
St Petersburg in winter
Getting to Saint Petersburg felt almost like coming home. I love the city; even in winter it is absolutely beautiful. I spent three weeks there catching up with friends, visiting churches, and taking Russian lessons.
On the bright days, the city rewards you for braving the cold. The canals freeze at the edges and the low winter sun turns the facades gold for the few hours it’s up.
Much of my time went on the churches and the places of prayer. St Petersburg has an extraordinary density of them, and each one I stepped into was a world of gold, icons and quiet.
One place that moved me especially was the Chapel of St Xenia of St Petersburg, at the Smolensky cemetery. Pilgrims come and press themselves against the walls to pray, whispering their petitions to a saint the city holds very dear.
I also travelled a little outside the city, to the Feodorovsky Cathedral, which glows in the blue light of a winter afternoon in a way that’s hard to forget.
Not everything is solemn, of course. The city’s walls are full of surprises, and I stopped more than once in front of a mural I hadn’t expected.
On to Moscow
After three weeks in St Petersburg I took the Sapsan train to Moscow, where I spent ten days enjoying the hospitality of my brother’s wife’s family and really getting a chance to explore. Moscow is the most impressive city I have ever seen: huge, lively, and yet clean and beautiful and filled with history.
My strongest impression of Moscow is that a city with so many holy places and monasteries has a palpable effect on its atmosphere and way of life. There are countless small oases dotted around the city — little communities of monks and nuns living lives of prayer, interceding for the city, the country and the whole world. I felt it when I visited Sretensky Monastery, and the Convent of St John the Baptist, and when I venerated the relics of St Alexei of Moscow and of Blessed Matrona.
What makes Moscow stand out is that it is a city of prayer. It is not just a modern, thriving commercial and industrial capital; there is a rich history of Christian piety here. Saints and men of prayer have walked these streets, asking that God’s grace fall upon this remarkable city, and for more than a thousand years the Divine Liturgy has been served here daily. When you look at the history of the city and everything it has overcome, it only makes sense when you realise God’s hand is upon it. Truly, the third Rome. The true treasure of Russia is the Orthodox Faith.
A day at the Trinity Lavra of St Sergius
From Moscow I made the trip out to Sergiev Posad, to the Trinity Lavra of St Sergius, the spiritual heart of the Russian Church. Even under a heavy grey December sky, it’s a place that stops you in your tracks.
Inside, the candlelight and the icons do their slow work on you. Watching an old woman light a candle before the iconostasis, I understood again why people come here from all over the country.
Two cities, and how safe it felt
People from the two cities often ask me to compare St Petersburg and Moscow and say which I preferred. It’s hard to say — both are magnificent in their own way. I spent more time in St Petersburg, so out of familiarity it is more dear to me, and I like that you can still find quiet, peaceful corners there, whereas Moscow feels busier and more chaotic. The other thing that amazed me about both cities was seeing young women walking alone at night with headphones in, even as late as 1am. There are tragically few cities in Britain or Europe where that is still possible.
Russia feels very safe, and I frequently went for walks alone at night with no issues whatsoever. On that note, I’d recommend a decent pair of boots if you’re likely to be there in winter; a friend chose to wear trainers when we walked around a palace’s grounds, and she had a miserable time with wet, cold feet. I loved my time in Russia, and I dream of returning and staying even longer next time.
Have you travelled to Russia recently and want to share your own experience? Tell me about your trip here and I’ll publish it in this section, with your name or anonymously, whichever you prefer. You can also drop by the Russiable forum to ask questions or compare notes. Stories like Joseph’s are the ones that really help people who are planning their own journey.
