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Our next destination after spending a few days in Moscow was Vladimir, a former capital of Russia. Our first day in this region was spent in Suzdal, where we visited a local church to witness the noon churchbells played by a local monk. We also had the opportunity to experience a traditional Russia sauna. The sauna is called a banya and is a winter activity that is embraced whole heartedly during the winter months. Unlike any other sauna, part of the banya experience involves laying down on a bench inside the sauna and being beaten on the back by veniki (birch twigs and leaves that are softend in warm water). Apparently the purpose for the thrashing of the veniki on the back is to use its essential oils to ease the aches and pains and encourages the release of toxins the body stores from eating the nutrient restrictive Russian diet. After spending enough time, you plunge into pools of water outside in the snow and this process is repeated several times. It sounds strange, but is an exhilarating and relaxing experience which served to cure several aching heads and bodies.

Vladimir also proved an ideal place to participate in other winter activities such as ice skating and cross country skiing. I decided to try the latter, as the former is readily available in different places around London. Although there seems to be a certain skill to doing cross country skiing well, it did not seem too difficult to just get started, and was as easy as simply walking with long skis on. Skiing was cheap at only 200 rubles (about £4) for over an hour and included low cut soft boots that reminded me very much of football boots and were both comfortable and easy to move about in. The skis as well, though long, were also quite flexible and manoeuvrable. I can understand cross country skiing’s popularity as there is something magical about being surrounded by pristine white fields, and peacefully trekking through them.

We celebrated Christmas back at our hotel, a strange place where the second floor seemed to be a popular hang out for locals. It contained several pool tables (all with a slight slant), several bowling alleys and a club that played crazy Russian disco dance and some Western pop songs. There was a folk show over dinner and as strange as this was for a Christmas evening, everyone still had a great night.

I returned on Thursday night after spending ten days in Russia, the coldest country I have ever visited by far. Unlike many other countries, Russia is one of those countries that you need to be ‘invited’ to go to, so joining a tour group was the easiest and best way of ensuring a visit. Once you are invited, getting a visa was an adventure of its own which we experienced back in October. We got to the consulate early as it is only open three hours each day, and stood in the freezing cold until, as the last people, were finally let in two minutes to noon, although the morning sacrifice meant making up hours at least guaranteed us entry into the country.

It was a great experience visiting several different cities in the biggest Eastern European country and learning more about their history, which although considerably tragic, is still part of what constitutes Russian culture and their current way of life. From my personal view, I think the country has had it quite hard, from the 200 years of halted progress caused by invading Mongols, the seemingly back-stabbing and murderous royal families that ruled and hoarded exquisite European artefacts at the cost of the nation to the communistic views of a Marxist Lenin and the harsher Stalin. Russians are extremely proud of their country and there were quite a few people we saw that carried cards of famous figureheads such as Peter the Great in their wallets. These people still manage to keep up with the pace of change, rapidly embracing the current capitalistic nature of the world.

To state that Russia is cold is a big understatement. Although I spent some time in upstate New York during the winter months you cannot but help feel the cold even with up to five layers of clothes when you walk around in -10, sometimes -15 degree snowy conditions. I can, therefore, completely understand why a shot of vodka is popular with locals at meals, being the quickest way of returning some heat to your body.

Although we flew in later than everyone else we were picked up in Moscow and escorted to our hotel with ease. We were lucky that our tour group was a more ideal size of just over twenty people, made up of a good mix of people (though mainly Antipodean) and did not have any major personality or lifestyle clashes. We were also just as lucky to get our tour group leader, who was a young passionate Russian woman who spoke excellent English and possessed deep knowledge about the history of pretty much all the places we visited. During our stay in Moscow we visited Red Square, the Mausoleum where Lenin’s body lays, St Basil’s Cathedral, the Kremlin and its armoury where many historical and national treasures are on display.

On one of the days we spent in Moscow we visited the KGB museum. The museum is not very large, only really composed of about four rooms located on the grounds of the new replacement agency, the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation or FSB for short. The four rooms contained pictures, tools and artefacts from an era filled with life through the stories told through our guide, a now-retired soviet spy with a good sense of humour. We were told about some of the greatest spies that worked during the Second World War and the Cold War and even say the remains of a few spy gadgets that were employed by the agents.

Getting around Moscow is quite easy if you know what station you want to get to and once you get used to the long Russian names. The entire system is excellent, both being quick and seemingly reliable and is copiously decorated with intricate mosaics, elaborate chandeliers and the sort of sculptures you expect to see in museums or galleries, a direct result of the “Palace for the People” concept that Stalin had which resulted in something quite positive.