10-day journey to discover 3 Russian cities of Vietnamese students

Ancient and poetic cities of Saint Petersburg, Sochi and Crimea during the student’s trip to Russia.
Nguyen Tran Kien (1996) majored in Nuclear Power at Saint Petersburg Polytechnic University, Russia. After more than 6 years of studying, before graduating and returning to Vietnam, Kien decided to make a trip through 3 cities of Saint Petersburg, Sochi and Crimea to record student memories.

“There are many reasons why I made the trip, because of its convenient geographical location and reasonable cost, but importantly, after graduation, there will be less opportunity to return to this beautiful land,” Kien shared. . Tran Kien made the trip to keep memories of his student days in Russia. The Ancient Capital of the North – Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg is the second largest city in terms of economy, culture and science of Russia. This place is also known as the Northern capital of the birch country. This city is where Kien has lived and studied for the past 6 years. “The dormitory where I live is only a 5-minute walk from the Akademicheskaya subway station, so it is very convenient to move to points in the city,” Kien said. Sights: Saint Isaac’s Church, Statue of Pie the Great, Winter Palace, Our Lady of Kazan Church, Peter & Paul Fort Church and Rabbit Island… Church of Saint Isaac From Akademicheskaya I moved to Admiralteyskaya wharf. Travel time between 2 subway stations is about 30 minutes. From the pier, it takes about 10 minutes to walk to St. Isaac’s church, you can’t help but be overwhelmed by the magnificent historical architecture. This place is an ideal place when coming to Saint Petersburg, especially for those who love to explore art. Not only can you visit the inside of the church, you can also set foot on the detour around the giant dome to admire the whole scene of the ancient city. Monument to Peter I I continued walking for about 10 minutes to get to the Monument of Peter I, which is considered one of the symbols of the city of Saint Petersburg. The statue is made of green bronze material, so it is also known as the “Green Bronze Horseman” statue. View of the street and some symbols of the city of Saint Petersburg. Winter Palace From the monument, walk along the banks of the Neva River about 15 minutes to the Winter Palace. Located on the Neva River, this is the most famous architectural work of the city of Saint Petersburg. Palace with rooms decorated lavishly, splendidly with many famous works of art. Church of Our Lady of Kazan The next day, I took the subway to Gostiny Dvor station, then walked along Nevsky Avenue to visit the Church of Our Lady of Kazan. Located in the heart of the city center of Saint Petersburg on the famous Nevsky Street, the Church of Our Lady of Kazan is the symbol of Russia. I was really impressed by the unique and delicate architectural style of the church. Peter & Paul Fortress Church The next day I went to Admiralteyskaya Wharf, walked around the street corners, looked at the beautiful Neva River and visited the Peter & Paul fortress church on Rabbit Island. Inside the fortress grounds are the galleries of the St. Petersburg. Ancient city with iconic architecture of Russia. Sochi and the romantic Crimea Olympic City – Sochi Sochi is a city in the Krasnodar region, located just north of Russia’s border with the republic of Abkhazia on the Black Sea coast. This is considered the largest resort city of Russia. Sochi became more known to the world in 2007, when it was selected to host the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games. My first impression when coming to Sochi is that the atmosphere is very pleasant. Sochi has enough qualities to become an attractive destination on the world tourism map from nature, climate to people. The forests, the beach, the high blue sky, the snow-covered hills and the busy streets at night give the city its very own beauty. This is the right place for adventure game lovers. I traveled by taxi along the mountain road, looking from the top of the hill down to the vast space, the majestic forest and the cold winds blowing incessantly made me overwhelmed. There are many thrilling games for visitors such as bungee jumping, Sochi swing, zipline… Sochi is Russia’s largest and busiest summer seaside tourist city. Crimean peninsula Crimea is a large peninsula in Europe located between the Seas of Azov and the Black Sea, connected to the mainland of Ukraine by the Isthmus of Perekop. Having just arrived at the airport, I had to buy a new phone SIM to be able to connect to the internet. Although Crimea is part of Russia, a separate sim must be used here and private taxi services are only available locally. The network here is quite weak, the taxi service is not good, it is difficult to book a trip, so the travel is quite tiring. In return, here has a cool climate, beautiful natural scenery, mountains running along the coast create a feeling of peace and lightness. The first day in Crimea, I went to the castle of the Swallow’s Nest, built on top of a cliff reaching out to the sea, creating a majestic and romantic landscape. On the second day, I went to Vorontsov castle – one of the oldest and largest royal castles of Crimea, located in the town of Alupka. The building was built by Prince Mikhail Vorontsov in 1828-1848 as a personal guesthouse. On the 3rd day, I booked an apartment in Cape Fiolent to enjoy the unique natural landscape on the Black Sea coast, then visited the heart lake. The lake, formed in the Kadykovsky quarry in Balaklava, is one of the most interesting and beautiful places in Crimea. This landmark is famous for its interesting heart shape and turquoise water. On the last day of the trip, I got up early to walk on the beach in Cape Fiolent, then took a taxi to the center of Sevastopol, to visit the iconic Shipwreck – one of the most famous monuments here.