Adventures in Luxury Travel

Mimi Lichtenstein 0:01
If you're a traveler that believes luxury and adventure are not mutually exclusive, then you're in the right place. Every week I take you to a new destination with one of my partners sharing the hidden gems over the top experiences and active adventures to inspire your next family vacation. I'm Mimi Lichtenstein, an experienced Travel Advisor who has also traveled with my three teenagers and my husband around the world. Let's get started. Welcome to Episode 40 of adventures and luxury travel. Just a reminder, you can see the photos we talked about on the show, and a full video on truth a travel.com. Today, Greg and I talk about Russia. As we record this, the timings not right to visit but we share this information for one day when hopefully it is the right time. As Greg said, you don't need to fictionalize Russian history. It's already fascinating. Join us as we talk about St. Petersburg and Moscow, the historic and contemporary sites, the exclusive experiences like talking with a retired KGB officer, and Greg's Tales of a unique American bachelor party in Moscow. Hello, everyone. I'm Mimi Lichtenstein. And today I am excited to be here with Greg Tepper. We are going to talk all about the very unique destination of Russia. Greg, welcome to the show.

Greg Tepper 1:22
Thank you so much. Really great to be here.

Mimi Lichtenstein 1:24
Well, I'm excited to have you on because Russia has always been somewhere I've been intrigued by and I bet a lot of people are you and I were talking a little before the show that we plan these dates months in advance. So obviously, there's a lot going on in Russia right now. And we're not suggesting anybody plan a trip there tomorrow. But when people are ready to travel, and when the world settles down, a lot of what we'll talk about today will be fun and helpful for your visit. So if I remember correctly, I think you've been doing this for a long time. Maybe you've brought 800 plus people to Russia over the years. Tell us a little bit about your background and how you got interested.

Greg Tepper 1:59
Yeah, actually, we've been I've been in the travel business for almost 30 years now. And actually, we send about 800 people to Russia in a normal year, per year. So yeah, yeah. So yeah, we are, we've sent over the years 10s of 1000s, if not 100,000 people to to Russia to experience it. i My background was I studied Russian in high school, and then continued through college and ended up with her studies major in college. So I speak Russian I live there, I moved there in the early 90s, when it was transitioning from from Communism to capitalism. So I have a bit of Russia in my blood. It's a fascination, a hobby that kind of took over my career.

Mimi Lichtenstein 2:41
Okay. And so when you live there, were you in Moscow or St. Petersburg,

Greg Tepper 2:45
I was in St. Petersburg. Yeah. And I happen to work with one of the very first independent tour companies when I moved over there in 92. So I really, I had no intention necessarily to get into the travel business. But it was my interest in Russia that it all just sort of fell in my lap. And when the country was transitioning, transitioning from Communism to capitalism, new hotels, were opening new restaurants, you're able to we're able to control our travelers experiences with better guides and customized programs that were never available for seven years during during the Soviet Union.

Mimi Lichtenstein 3:21
Wow. Well, that's why we're so happy to have you on today. Because Russia is one of those places where you definitely want to go with somebody who knows what they're doing. So you are the perfect person to talk to, as we always do. So we're going to start just looking at a map. I thought it was funny, because when you and I were getting ready for the show, and we were talking about the different places, and I started throwing off some off the beaten path places in Russia, and you're like, me, me, actually, maybe not those places. Pretty much 99.9% of the people you say go to Russia or go to Moscow, or St. Petersburg, is that right?

Greg Tepper 3:55
That's correct. And really, for hundreds of years, Russia was the European part of Russia. If you look at that map, you know, Moscow and St. Petersburg are really part of Europe. And the vast majority of the landmass is part of Asia. So at the at the Ural Mountains, which are like the the left third or the western third of the country that divides Europe and Asia. And it's a vast not very heavily populated part of the world. But but really what draws people to Russia is not vast unpopulated areas, but the culture and history and all of that culture and history have sprung from Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Mimi Lichtenstein 4:35
And if you look at the very very far east I think where that little star is that's where Lake Bicol is which I had told Greg, I'd read the book, The Great or the long walk that's based on some prisoners of war, escaping walking by Lake Bicol, but I mean, it is very far in the middle of nowhere. So it's not like it's just a lake that someone's going to go have a summer vacation app. So

Greg Tepper 4:58
yeah, it's a great stop on the trail. In Siberian train, and the train is the experience in and of itself. So you're on the train for eight or nine days, there's a private train and one of the stops is Bicol. And it's spectacular. They also stopped in some other smaller towns, again, all of the smaller towns that are of interest are in the area of Moscow and St. Petersburg and Sumatra. And you know that there are many medium to small sized towns.

Mimi Lichtenstein 5:22
Okay, great. Well, so let's dive in. I mean, the reason you got a rush, as you said, is culture, beautiful building. Tell us a little bit about what it's like to be in Moscow. And let's talk about some of the different there's lots of UNESCO sites, there's, you know, food and shopping and all the regular stuff. But what are the highlights?

Greg Tepper 5:39
I think what shocks people the most about Moscow is that it's an absolutely stunningly beautiful city. No one would create architecture like what you're looking at right now in the Kremlin from without, without a whimsical kind of concept is to his creativity and color. And we think of Moscow, often as a place that's dark and gray and cold and depressing. And then you get there and it's just full of color. And over the past 20 years, the city has been lit and repainted and pedestrian pedestrianized. So major thoroughfares are now full of cafes and shops. If you go there in the summer, or in the winter, you'll you'll see a city that you had no idea would look like this. And I always say that the the other thing about about Moscow, is that Red Square is one of the few sites in the world that does not disappoint. It's not smaller than you think it is. It should be, you know, the colors, the drama of that of that square, is is so extraordinary with with Lenin's tomb there, and St. Basil's Cathedral and the Kremlin walls and the Grand Kremlin Palace inside. So that's that's always been my feeling. And I have to say, every time I'm there with with travelers, it's the first thing they say and you know, I expected St. Petersburg to be beautiful. And then Moscow was so stunning.

Mimi Lichtenstein 6:57
I think, is it common? Have you worked with a lot of people where it's common that they have sort of St. Petersburg is number one on their list, but then they also decide that they'll go to Moscow, and then they're equally pleased with Moscow.

Greg Tepper 7:08
But I have to say that quite often people think they're not going to go to Moscow, and we have to talk them into it. And I always tell people, if you're gonna go through the trouble of getting a Russian visa, don't miss Moscow, even if it's for a couple of days. And then they come back and they say, you know, I actually preferred Moscow to St. Petersburg. So it is it's a beautiful city. It has amazing art museums. The Kremlin is just stunning, as I said, The Red Red Square. This year, the Michelin guides came out with I think it's seven restaurants in Moscow have Michelin stars. So it's a great culinary city. It's a very, it's very hip and fashionable city. So it really depends, whatever it is that you're looking for, you're going to find it in Moscow.

Mimi Lichtenstein 7:49
And so now we're looking at a picture of a stunning sunset with the river. Is there a lot of action on the river? Are people taking little boats to go from place to place?

Greg Tepper 7:57
Mostly the river I believe? Yeah, the way you can kind of see on the right side of the river bank fair. They have these evening riverboat canal cruises that go back and forth. And it's a wonderful way to see the city not so much small boats, not not too many private boats. St. Petersburg does have those on the canals. But But I do recommend if your schedule allows when you're in Moscow to take one of those cruises they even on some of the boats serve serve meals, like you can have a lunch cruise, you can have a dinner cruise.

Mimi Lichtenstein 8:24
Mm hmm. Beautiful. And then I think for a lot of people when you think of Russia and and things that they're famous for. One is vodka. Another one is the ballet. Tell us a little bit about are you I know there's some exclusive experiences going to the Russian ballet. Tell us a little bit more about do a lot of people do that. And have you been and what is it really like,

Greg Tepper 8:45
you know, the the arts are a big, big draw for Russia. And you know, as we spoke about earlier, it might not be the ideal time to go to Russia right now. But the things that Russia has that you will never experience anywhere else. And the level of ballet, the level of opera, the level of Symphony conducting the theater, and then the paintings in the art museums, I know that I can keep going going on are set at such a level that you really can't experience that anywhere else, you know, not even in New York or Paris or London do they have the depth that they do in both the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and the Mariinsky theater in St. Petersburg. Mariinsky, of course, changed its name back from the communist name, which was Kirov. So a lot of people still know the Kira opera or the Kara ballet, but it's the Marian scheme. And it is it's unforgettable. And when people come to us and say that that's what they're interested in. Of course, we make sure that they get the best possible tickets to the performances while they're there. But they can do things like go backstage and do a backstage tour at the Bolshoi, which, by the way, finished an $800 million restoration renovation a few years ago, so it's gorgeous. And then same in St. Petersburg at the Mariinsky go backstage. We also for if you're really serious about LA, we often take people into the Vaganova Ballet Academy, which is the Imperial Ballet Academy. It's a real school full of children come from all over the world like a boarding school for ballet. So it's not for your casual ballets fun. But you know, someone who says, I've taught ballet, I am a passionate in a ballet fan, we will take people in there, and they absolutely never forget it, because you're an invited guest of the Academy for the day.

Mimi Lichtenstein 10:30
That sounds amazing. And I don't know how many little people go to Russia, you know, families with younger children. But I did take my daughter to the New York ballet once and I had her do a class with New York ballet dancer, he was a man, so not a ballerina, and it was magical. She looked absolutely adorable. And it was a really amazing experience is, is something like that doable. Yeah,

Greg Tepper 10:56
Moscow, Moscow and St. Petersburg, we can do you know, that's my favorite thing when I talk to people about about their interests. And if someone tells me, you know, my son or my daughter are interested in anything from chess, or ballet, or anything that soccer, you know, even or boxing, I think we talked about that also in earlier, we can set up experiences that give them that contact, you know that, especially at their age, they can meet people and other students who are interested in the same things that they are. And that makes it that takes it to a whole different level of experience.

Mimi Lichtenstein 11:29
Absolutely. And it makes it so that the kids are having an amazing time as well, which is always so another stunning picture of the Red Square.

Greg Tepper 11:38
Yes, yeah, that's, you know, interesting picture. comment about that picture. If you look to the, to the left side of that picture, the red, the red, two gates, right there. That is a restoration, Stalin had that removed, so that if you know those old pictures during the Cold War of missiles and tanks rolling through Red Square, he couldn't get them through into Red Square without removing that. So that was gone for 50 years, and then was replaced in the early 90s, mid 90s. And returned and restored to its its rightful place. Yeah, it's in a red square is a living history. And there's still talk about removing Lenin's tomb from Red Square, but it's a choice of production now, so hopefully they don't.

Mimi Lichtenstein 12:19
Yeah, well, that was on our list. So tell us since you brought it up. So he's, he's there. And you can

Greg Tepper 12:26
he's irrelevant to most Russians. There's no reverence for him, particularly, you know, his people who grew up back in the in the 50s, or the 40s 50s 60s. They did revere him and Stalin. But that's all you know, that too much information has come out as to what, what he did to the country and such So and there's no no one really misses communism, if which he represents and what he brought to the Russian Empire. So it's become a tourist attraction. If you go there, you're it'll be 99% of people in line to see it will be we'll be those people interested in history and those of people who are interested in a very dark, dark experience of seeing a man and bombed man, he's still there, and he still looks like he might get up on the table at anytime.

Mimi Lichtenstein 13:13
That's crazy. But right for the right person, interesting.

Greg Tepper 13:17
I mean, it is living history. As I said, you know, I find it interesting. I, I've done it several times, myself. Oh, one of the things I like about going to to to Lenin's tomb is behind it are all of the communist era leaders. So Brezhnev even Stalin is there hid their tombs and their busts are behind Lenin's tomb and you can only see them if he goes he lands.

Mimi Lichtenstein 13:39
Okay, good to know. And then Moscow has their version of New York Central Park where you can get out and about in some grassy, beautiful flower area. Gorky Park

Greg Tepper 13:51
Gorky Park is really becoming gorgeous, really beautiful. And there's a new contemporary art museum there called garage. And so it's it's becoming a place that that Russians love to go all seasons of the year and not just the summertime. And it was a pretty depressing place. I have to say 25 years ago, and now I absolutely love it. And I love going to garage depends on what exhibitions they have. But if you're interested in contemporary art garage should be on your list.

Mimi Lichtenstein 14:17
I mean, for someone like you, who has been going for, you know, 25 ish years, how interesting to be able to see that transformation from, you know, where they were to the beauty just in Gorky Park, as you said where it is right now.

Greg Tepper 14:31
Yeah, the beautification of both cities has been dramatic. And it's something that the leadership in Moscow is very, very interested in in Korea, so people can see that they live in a beautiful country. There even rules about lighting up buildings in both cities. So because there's so much darkness in the winter, all the buildings that are you know, the beautiful facades and pastel colors, they're all lit so that it's like a piece of art as you walk down the street, even if it's you know, was dark winter months.

Mimi Lichtenstein 15:01
Yeah, fascinating. I couldn't not put these up there. I had these when I was a kid. The I can't pronounce them. Well. You pronounce it for me most of the Oscar. matryoshka dolls. So the little dolls that are nesting dolls that go one in the other. I mean, so many American kids have these, Russia is the originator of them. Is that right? I hate to

Greg Tepper 15:20
tell you Japan is but

Mimi Lichtenstein 15:25
from Russia, then yeah,

Greg Tepper 15:26
it the Russians made them made them popular. And it was a Russian tradition that was borrowed from the Japanese many, many, many years ago. I don't know if it's hundreds of years ago. But but it is a truly Russian thing. But it's like so many things. I mean, you know, pasta came from from the Far East. And yet we think of Italy when we think of pasta, and dumplings.

Mimi Lichtenstein 15:49
Yeah, that's true. And then so transitioning to St. Petersburg, this does happen to be a cloudy gray sky J in this particular photo, but we're gonna believe you that sometimes it's blue skies and sunny.

Greg Tepper 16:00
Oh, yeah. We had some super hot weather. I was in St. Petersburg this past June, and it was sunny and 95 degrees Fahrenheit. And almost every day I was there, which I like to tell people that Russia does cold better than it does hot. So if you're concerned about comfort, and normally crowds, I stay out of the summer months, like you know, late June, July and August is not the best time to go. Because theater is all closed. It's not not a good time for Opera Ballet and Symphony cruise ships come in to St. Petersburg. And that releases a lot of people. So it's great to go in the spring in the fall. And of course I love I love the winter there. But but nobody goes to Russia for the weather. You know? I say? No, it's like a building like the Winter Palace that you're looking at the Hermitage is not air conditioned except in a few rooms. So if you go in there with 10,000 people, it's going to be warm and uncomfortable in that in that palace.

Mimi Lichtenstein 16:56
Okay, that is a good tip. I'll say the other thing to think about. We were in Alaska last summer, you know, it stays light until 10 o'clock. 1030 at night, which I love in the summertime personally, St. Petersburg. Same thing right in the middle of summer, how much? How many hours a day? Are you getting sunlight? Yeah,

Greg Tepper 17:11
the whole period between late May into late June is called the White Nights. And it's the white nights because it's white almost all night long. It's like almost all night long. It gets to be dusk for just a little bit, maybe 90 minutes, two hours from like three o'clock, four o'clock, and then the sun comes up again. So you lose all sense of time.

Mimi Lichtenstein 17:32
Yeah. And actually good question. We'll talk about some hotels later on. But you most of the luxury hotels, then have blackout blinds in the room, I would hope

Greg Tepper 17:40
they do. I do encourage people if you're very light sensitive to bring your eye shades, or take them off the airplane if you're if they're given to you on the plane. And the reason for that is that there are very few hotels in the world that can create 100% blackout. And if if the sun will go up and even with heavy dark curtains, the room will start getting light.

Mimi Lichtenstein 18:03
And for an everyday Russian living in St. Petersburg, like do people in their homes all have blackout blinds in their bedrooms, or how does Are they just used to it?

Greg Tepper 18:12
Yeah, they grew up with it. So I don't know anyone who complains like they, they it they can sleep right through at six o'clock in the morning, five o'clock in the morning when the sun it's like midday sunlight in June, and people sleep until nine o'clock. But But I do think that we all need a little less sleep in the summertime and a little more sleep in the wintertime. I think it's a natural circadian fact, the Russians have it in the extreme.

Mimi Lichtenstein 18:37
Yeah, it's kind of like being a kid growing up in Chicago next to the elevated train. And like, you know, by the time you know, you're 12 or 16, you don't even notice that it's going by I guess, exactly. Okay. So this is one of the reasons that St. Petersburg has always been on my list. I look at this building. And I think oh my gosh, that's so beautiful. I must see that. Yeah, tell us tell us more about it.

Greg Tepper 18:57
So that's the church on spilled blood, which was Alexander The second was assassinated on that spot. And that was his favorite type of architecture. But if you look at the building to the left, you'll see that Italian Renaissance type of architecture, and that is when Peter the Great founded St. Petersburg in 1703. He did not want the traditional Russian architecture in that city at all. So it was forbidden. So the church on the right is was forbidden by Peter the Great and was only because his ancestors love that traditional Russian architecture that that in almost that alone is the only onion domes, very, very Russian church in the whole city of St. Petersburg, which I always think is so ironic because it's one of the symbols of St. Petersburg, is that church but yeah, so his son Alexander the third had that had that cathedral built it is one of the only churches or cathedrals built inside and out of mosaic. So the inside is as stunning and beautiful of semi precious stones as the outside is as you can See, I mean, it's on one of the major canals of St. Petersburg.

Mimi Lichtenstein 20:03
Love it. It's so beautiful. Here's a great picture, I included a picture of you in there, where oh, this is in front of it from another direction.

Greg Tepper 20:09
No, that's actually back in Moscow. But as you can see, they look very similar because of the type of right. Yeah, it was a great example of that architecture is what Peter the Great grew up with and did not want to bring into his new city at all, he wanted his city to be a window onto Europe. So he did not allow churches like that to be built in St. Petersburg.

Mimi Lichtenstein 20:32
And it looks like the Church of the Savior of spilled blood has, like you said, it's mosaic. So it has definitely a different facade than the one that's in Moscow.

Greg Tepper 20:43
Moscow is it's brick, painted brick. And then and the other is it's covered in tiles, color tiles.

Mimi Lichtenstein 20:50
Mm hmm. It's beautiful. And we always love meeting fascinating people, and we go places, and I feel like Russia is probably full of fascinating people. Maybe we can't talk to all of them, but some of them. You help us do that. Tell us a little bit about who you're talking with here.

Greg Tepper 21:06
Yeah, actually, this is was a very, very famous guy during the 80s because he was the primary and really the only translator for Mikhail Gorbachev. His name is Pavel chenko and super wonderful guy. And for people who are interested in politics, of course, his English is flawless. We love to set up a meeting with with someone like Pavel to just understand, ask him all the questions that you had about the US Soviet relations, what it was like meeting Reagan during their summits together. So anyway, it's a he's a, he's a terrific guy. And you're right, it's a good example of somebody giving us information about what they're interested in. And then allowing us to suggest all sorts of people that you could meet, whether it's in politics, or in the arts, or in, you know, everyday life. You know, we've even had doctors who wanted to go meet their contemporaries and do rounds with them in the Russian hospital. So So yeah, and as I said, it just takes a regular trip to elevates it to a completely different level.

Mimi Lichtenstein 22:05
Absolutely. And I think another person that you could potentially meet as a retired KGB officer.

Greg Tepper 22:10
Yeah, absolutely. He actually founded the KGB Museum in in the Lubyanka building. Unfortunately, the museum has been closed, but he still is happy to sit down and meet with our, with our travelers who are interested also in some of the stories of the Cold War, and they the CIA and the KGB going at thing going at each other behind the scenes quietly and spying on each other and even has some of the some of the gadgets that that they use. But yeah, he's a fascinating guy.

Mimi Lichtenstein 22:40
Yeah, I think for some teenagers too, right? They would, could be easily fascinated in something. And then give us a little insight into the culinary aspects of Russia. I don't personally think of Russian food. Oh, my I must go to Russia to eat Russian food. But maybe you feel differently. It's a little bit more about like your What are your favorite restaurants and you know, what kind of food people like to try there?

Greg Tepper 23:01
Well, I would be totally honest, that that the Russian food was not the thing that made me excited about Russia ever. You got to remember that it's in a very cold environment, not a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables for most of their time. I'm talking about through history, you know, hundreds of years. So the food that they have is lots of boiled meats and dumplings, like how many you've probably heard of and pickled, pickled everything, which can be delicious, but we're used to fresh salads and fresh fruits and fresh herbs. And that was just not part of the Russian diet. But what's happened over the last few years is that restaurants have taken those classic Russian dishes and elevated them with ingredients that were not available. So there's a restaurant in Moscow that serves handmade dumplings, pale Mini, but instead of being stuffed only with red meat, they're stuffed with crab or mushrooms or a delicious roasted fish or you know the completely different approach to a classic Russian meal. One of the things I love also and when we talked about Russia, we think it was a big empire and also part of the Empire were regional cuisines. And one of my favorite regional cuisine is Georgian cuisine, which does appeal they did so far to the south. They do have fresh herbs and vegetables and fruit. So it's heavy on all of those things. Lots of fresh basil and cilantro, lots of grilled chicken and the national dish of Georgia is called HaCha Puri, which is a big cheesy bread Majan fresh pizza dough thrown into an oven brought out to your table. It is delicious, so that I've never met a traveller from North America who didn't go absolutely nuts for at a Georgian restaurant.

Mimi Lichtenstein 24:45
Yeah, well, especially maybe if you've been eating boiled meat potatoes for a few days.

Greg Tepper 24:51
As I said, I don't think that you don't really get that anymore in Russia, you know, it's theirs. They really elevated it. So I think you know, I was talking to you before Are the show that there are seven Michelin starred restaurants in Moscow alone. So this is, you know, if you're a foodie and you're used to great cities like Paris or New York, you will not run out of extraordinary culinary experiences in Moscow, St. Petersburg.

Mimi Lichtenstein 25:14
Okay, well, we like over the top experiences. And sometimes that means, you know, Michelin star tasting menus. So that sounds like a good plan. All right, you gave me ahead of time. And we have a few pictures of some of your favorite hotels between St. Petersburg and Moscow including, we'll start in St. Petersburg, the four seasons. Tell us a little bit about why you like the Four Seasons in St. Peter's

Greg Tepper 25:36
work well for for season, St. Petersburg has a an extraordinary central location right in between St. Isaac's Cathedral and the Winter Palace. And the Armitage it's a beautiful historic facade of a building the palace, the whole interior was ruined through history. So they created a very modern, technologically advanced hotel inside this historic facade, so it's a perfect location. And for those people who have fallen in love with four seasons as a brand, you're gonna find everything that you expect at this four seasons.

Mimi Lichtenstein 26:07
Nice. And they have a variety of rooms that have terraces, which number one, I love outdoor spaces in rooms. And then I love it when they have a view. And I think they have some of both of this.

Greg Tepper 26:16
It's not my favorite room during the winter, but it is in the summer. So like as you see in this picture, here you have this, some of the rooms have enormous outdoor terraces with historic views over the city. It's on the mansard the top roof of the four seasons. So they just have great great views and in wonderful wonderful rooms but but really just in the months that you would spend some time outside

Mimi Lichtenstein 26:39
and I think this is the view from the four seasons or near the Four Seasons right? Up to it's

Greg Tepper 26:45
not too far away. But that is that is not the actual view of the horse. Yep.

Mimi Lichtenstein 26:50
Okay. Yeah, not of the four seasons. Okay. And Rocco forte, another one of my favorite brands. They have a great hotel there too.

Greg Tepper 26:56
Yeah. So the hotel Astoria was built just before the revolution starting in 1913. The hotel open if you can imagine it was only open for four years before World War One broke out and then the revolution right after that. So but it is it's the the oldest or one of the two oldest hotels that was built as a hotel and I absolutely love it. It's famous for for during World War Two. This is where Hitler expected to have his victory dinner and even printed up cetaceans. Of course, he never got into Leningrad at the time, which is now St. Petersburg. But it's a great hotel. It's right across the street from the four seasons, right by right by St. Isaac's even closer to the Mariinsky. The Kirov theatre and has great history has great charm. The rooms have been beautifully restored and renovated by Rocco forte, and it's probably my personal favorite.

Mimi Lichtenstein 27:47
And it's interesting because the decor here is very different than some of the other ones where it's much more of this sort of opulent, Russian detail. This is very minimalist, it seems to me,

Greg Tepper 27:59
it is very clean. I mean, I Rocco forte, Sister Olga does the design of many of his hotels, and she has a very clean, aesthetic, Italian, you know, English aesthetic. But, again, when you look at the ceiling in here, it has all the architectural details of a building built over 100 years ago. So that's the feeling that you get when you're inside the Astoria and I don't know if we have a picture of the lobby, but it's absolutely gorgeous.

Mimi Lichtenstein 28:24
I don't think we do. All right, it will go to Moscow real quick. So there's another four seasons in Moscow.

Greg Tepper 28:31
Yeah, the irony about this four seasons is almost in Red Square, which is great unless there's a big government event. And they, they actually if you have a view of Red Square from your room, they will block your windows with blackout shades that you are not allowed to touch. So my gosh, it's always good to know what days you're going to be there. Because if you're there in May, like during the victory parade, you cannot use your view. As a matter of fact, you'll be blocked out from it, but the building and again, something that only Russians would do, was completely destroyed, dismantled, and then a replica was built. And so this is a replica of the building that was built in the 50s by Stalin's order, or even the late 40s. It's also the building. If you look at us for Legionella vodka. That's the hotel muscavado which is that recreation on a part of it is where the Four Seasons in Moscow is. So again, it's the insides are not historic, but the location is is mind blowingly spectacular. You literally just step out the front door, and you're in Red Square.

Mimi Lichtenstein 29:31
I love that mindblowingly spectacular. That's a great description. We like staying at mindblowingly spectacular places. Yeah, I love this one because it has lots of outdoor space.

Greg Tepper 29:42
Yes, yeah. So the park the Park Hyatt, I love this hotel. It's just a very comfortable, charming hotel, the small you're looking at toward Red Square and that building that you see on the right side of the photo is the backside of the four seasons so you can see where every everything is very, very close. And then the other building that is on the left side down through the glass guardrail is the Metropole hotel which I think I think I also mentioned

Mimi Lichtenstein 30:09
you did but I don't have a picture of it but yes, so okay, they're all very close together

Greg Tepper 30:12
very close together and then actually to the right, um, this photo is a great photo to use is the Bolshoi Theatre. So all of the Opera Ballet and symphony that you would want to see is right there so you can stay at any of those three hotels and walk across the street and you're seconds away from from the best of Opera Ballet and symphony.

Mimi Lichtenstein 30:31
Perfect. Oh, then this I thought this was quite a fancy photo. So it's kind of looks like you're in some sort of a glass stones, you know, garden.

Greg Tepper 30:40
Yep. Yeah. And that whole outside terrace in the summertime, they they have grilled sandwiches, grilled chicken, hamburgers, so it's a wonderful place to come back after some sightseeing and sit out there have a glass of wine overlook that view of the Bolshoi Theatre that you saw on the other picture. It's really wonderful. I agree. You know, when I if I choose for myself, which of these hotels I stay in, it's all from the park guide.

Mimi Lichtenstein 31:06
Oh, we'd love to hear that. Okay. Good to know. I'll make a note of that. And then what about new hotels opening up our recent hotels that have opened up tell us a little bit about those

Greg Tepper 31:15
so I just actually just a couple of hours ago played the video of the new general manager of the Bolgheri Moscow and learned a bit about that hotel. It's going to be at rooms not far away from from these three hotels that we've been discussing, but very very Bulgaria so if you're if you've ever seen there are other hotels inside will look exactly like the Bulgarian Paris. So it's not really for people seeking history so much as people are fashionistas interested in that kind of cool Italian vibe. But for a five star hotel that's quite boutique. The metropole hotel that I did mention is truly the most historic hotel in in Moscow in his finishing an extraordinary top to bottom restoration and renovation. And that will be completed smooth time in this this year. So either this summer or this fall. While the rooms are beautiful it is it's hard for me to describe a hotel that is such a part of the history of a city but that is the Metropole there's a book that we have since we were talking about books called a Gentleman in Moscow, which is fiction, but it's based on an aristocrat who was who was forced to live in this five star hotel after the revolution, which of course wouldn't happen in reality, but it's a fun book, and it's all based on the Metropole.

Mimi Lichtenstein 32:33
Okay, so since you brought up books, is there are there any others that you would recommend that would be sort of intriguing, whether it's nonfiction or fiction about wanting to go to Russia?

Greg Tepper 32:43
You know, I also mentioned earlier that that Russian history reads like fiction, so you don't need to fictionalize Russian history. Read the biography of Catherine the Great by Robert Massey, you just can't believe that this German princess came at 16 years old to St. Petersburg and then ended up being the Empress for decades. So I love that book, Robert Massey, and Suzanne Massey, there, they were married at one time, wrote some of the best books on Russian history. Suzanne's book of lops is the history of the owl simple lots. I absolutely love it. It's a great way to learn some Russian history through art and architecture, which is how this palace got built and why it got built. But yeah, you know, there's Natasha's dance, which is a great Russian, like a review of Russian history. That is Orlando feeds is a wonderful writer as well, I as I said, I love Russian history. And those books all you know, give you that drive, you'll put that book down and then you'll absolutely want to go back to it.

Mimi Lichtenstein 33:44
Yeah, I love giving people that for gifts at Christmas time, you know, or for birthdays. It's so fun to read something it's like long ago when the year in Provence came out right. And like people started showing up at Peter males door and wanted to go sort of experiences life. So anything that inspires people to travel, it's something that I love.

Greg Tepper 34:05
I agree. I think books inspire travel almost more than anything. And I love to grab one of those books and take it with me on the way to the destination because you're reading things. And you know, I just read that yesterday, you know, yeah, we don't remember all the details. But if you grab one of those books, and just a little bit of reading on the airplane, it can make the trip that much better.

Mimi Lichtenstein 34:24
100% Okay, so at this point of the show, I always like to talk about some takeaway tips or insights about different things we need to think about. And earlier on, you brought up visas. Tell me a little bit about what is sort of the process or the hoops you have to jump through to get a visa to go to Russia.

Greg Tepper 34:40
So the Russian visa still is an arduous process. We have the Russians have a big approach to reciprocity. So if we the US government makes it difficult for Russians to get an American visa. The Russians make it very difficult and the application itself is long and has a lot of questions on it. And it isn't that translation of the application that the US government requires of Russians to get an American visa. So as much as we like to complain, we can only complain about ourselves that this process is is not that easy, because this is what we do with the Russian. But we take our clients through the whole art travelers through the whole process and make it very, very easy. So there's not, it's not an obstacle, it doesn't, you know, if you need an emergency visa and you want to go next week, we can make that happen. I Oh, if we're given the time, I always recommend that we get three or multiple entry visas for our travelers, so they can go back, even if it's two years later, and just pop into St. Petersburg, while they're in Europe, which is an easy thing to do when you have the visa in your in your passport.

Mimi Lichtenstein 35:42
And just out of curiosity, what's one of the most interesting questions they might ask you? I assume there's a little bit of why do you want to come to Russia in there?

Greg Tepper 35:49
Yeah, no, actually, not so much. It's really your background, you know, if you're doing a former military police describe, have you ever been trained in weapons? You know? Are most of our travelers just it's all No, no, no, list every country you've been to in the last 10 years, which is an impossibility for people like you and I, who travel all the time. But if you write down we know, we know the ins and outs, you know, we know how to answer the questions without you know, doing three days of research on every time you left the United States. Okay,

Mimi Lichtenstein 36:19
good to know. And then, like I love what you said, when we first spoke up maybe two months ago, everything is difficult, but nothing is impossible.

Greg Tepper 36:30
Make daily life easy for Russians and it's not personal to us. It's it's what they do to themselves. But if somebody tells me they want to do something as outrageous or outlandish, you know, go into museums that are you know, before they open in the morning or after hours or do a reception. Nothing is off the table. He really they're they're very very I can only remember a couple of times I had one a professional photographer wanted to photograph the muzzle Liam of one photograph Lenin, and that was a hard No, I never did. They just if you look online, there are a few people over the over the decades that have snuck a photo, a photo of him. But basically, basically, there are no photos of Lenin.

Mimi Lichtenstein 37:12
I know that you said that's a hard no. Because I always say to my clients who asked me something I'm like, I'm always happy to ask for anything. But I like the expression. Well, no, that's a hard No. So I have

Greg Tepper 37:25
a country like Russia to have only one heart. No,

Mimi Lichtenstein 37:28
I mean, yeah, that's your that's your only hard dough so

Greg Tepper 37:31
far. Yeah, you know, and the irony, Mimi is that we also operate in Scandinavia, and it is one of the hardest places in the world for us to operate. Because everyone is equal, you know, so if you want to go into the, into the museum before hours or after hours, they don't even understand what you're talking about. Whereas Russia, it's like, yeah, we charge this for that, you know, it's like, well, you know, that we'll have to hire people to come back in, you know, security and whatever. And if you want to have a midnight dinner, you know, that they'll be more expensive, but you know, everything's on the table.

Mimi Lichtenstein 38:02
Interesting. Okay. Well, there's some reasons that more, you know, nimble entrepreneurial type places are better for our clients, because they might want to do something really cool. And if you're going to Scandinavia, the answer might be no, yeah,

Greg Tepper 38:16
we did a we did a bachelor party for a group of guys from New York investment bankers and lawyers, and they were all in their 20s. And they wanted the most outrageous bachelor party and we had them driving tanks. And you know, they sat down with a with a general, who poured them all vodkas for an hour, and then they drove the two and then started shooting. You know, the bazooka? I mean, yeah, this guy I ran into the guy just recently did a forest like it was the most extraordinary trip that they've all take any of them have taken for the rest of their lives.

Mimi Lichtenstein 38:47
So that does sound really unique. I wonder whose crazy idea was to have a bachelor party this was where was this in St. Petersburg or in

Greg Tepper 38:55
Madison? Actually, they just say Moscow in Moscow.

Mimi Lichtenstein 38:58
I don't know who thinks the stuff like that. I feel like sometimes bachelor parties things can go wrong. And if things go wrong, I don't want to necessarily be maybe in this particular country,

Greg Tepper 39:07
it was all under control. We even had a nightlife guide who you know, help them at night and ease their way to go into some of the hot nightclubs which can be very difficult for eight guys to go into, but ya know me so I make it sound a little bit thinking about the drinking and the guns, but but it was all safe. It was all the guardrails, were still up. Okay, good.

Mimi Lichtenstein 39:28
And so it sounds like maybe with the hot nightspots rushes, like other places where if it was eight women who wanted to come in, it wouldn't be so difficult, but a guy's it's a different story, correct? Absolutely. It's no. All right. Well, thank you so much, Greg. This has been a wealth of information and super inspiring. I look forward to my first trip to Russia one day, we'll see if I'll get there more than once in my life, but I'll definitely get there once. So I

Greg Tepper 39:53
hope I hope I get a chance to get to take you there myself. Absolutely. Well,

Mimi Lichtenstein 39:57
I look forward to that. Thank you so much for your time. Day and we'll be in touch when, when it's ready and the right time to get people to Russia. Perfect. Thanks, David. All right, take care. If you enjoyed today's show and don't want to miss an episode, you can subscribe and follow the show wherever you listen to your podcasts. And if you haven't already, I would really appreciate it if you can leave a rating and review to let me know what you think and to help others find adventures and luxury travel. I want your honest feedback so I can create a podcast that shares lots of insights to help travelers have more amazing adventures. Visit true Bay travel.com backslash podcast launch for step by step instructions on how to subscribe rate and review adventures in luxury travel today. See you next time. Thank you for listening to this episode of adventures and luxury travel. If you want more travel tips, go to tube a travel.com where you can sign up for our newsletter that shares more inspiring travel ideas around the world. See you here next week.