Russia – Vodka

Caucasus Mountains, Russia

What people usually drink in Russia?
-Well, my answer would be black tea. But, I can imagine that many may say “vodka”. 😉

I’m from Poland, and Polish have similar reputation concerning drinking vodka as Russians. But in both countries, there are many people who don’t drink alcohol at all. However, there has to be some truth, that Russians (and also Polish) can drink much more vodka than other nationalities. 😉

Russia – Climate

Caucasus Mountains, Russia

Is “Russia” a synonym of “cold country”?
Well, I guess it may be.
In this huge country, you’ll find many places with extremely cold winters. However, the continental climate dominates in Russia, so in winter it can be very cold (even about -70°C), and very hot in summer (even +45°C). These numbers are quite extreme!

My first trip to Russia was in winter, and it wasn’t actually so cold. Well, it was quite mild period, with not so much snow, I was lucky. 😉

Russia – Europe & Asia

Caucasus Mountains, Russia

Russia is located partly in Europe and partly in Asia.
About 25% of the total area of Russia is located in Europe, but this part is inhabited by almost 80% of Russian citizens.
So majority of Russians can say they are Europeans. I guess, not so many people say that they are from Eurasia – but that sounds much more unique than “I’m from Europe”. 😉

Russia – Large & Empty

Caucasus Mountains, Russia

Russia is the largest country in the world.
Its area covers over 17 million square kilometers, it means Russia occupies one-tenth of all the land on Earth!

Russia shares land borders with many countries (in alphabetic order): Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia, North Korea, Norway, Poland, Ukraine.

There are almost 150 million people living in Russia. That’s a lot! But taking into account its total area, Russia seems to be quite empty. There are huge cities with many citizens, but there are also many completely empty places in Russia.
So Russia is large, populous and empty.

Russia – Introduction

Caucasus Mountains, Russia

Welcome to Russia!
October on my blog is going to be all about the Russian Federation.

Since many years, Russia has been a controversial country (because of different reasons). I know people who doesn’t want to go there because of political reasons. On the other hand, it’s still a very interesting country.
I’ll show you places that I’ve visited in Russia, and, as always, I will try to skip politics but will mention some historical facts.

Have you been to Russia? What’s your favorite place in Russia?

Malta – Final impression

Mdina, Malta

It’s already the end of September, so the series about Malta on my blog is almost over.
How did you like it?

As a summary, I’ll give a list of my favorite places from Malta:
-Megalithic Temples (all are great!)
-Marsaxlokk (lovely town)
-Ta’ Kola Windmill (Gozo Island)
-Mdina & Rabat
-Valletta
-and coast, especially with nice rock formations, e.g., nearby the Blue Grotto.

See you tomorrow! 🙂

Malta – Rabat

Rabat, Malta

The town of Rabat is located just outside Mdina.
St. Pauls’ church (today’s photo) is usually listed as the main attraction of Rabat. However, I was mostly impressed by the catacombs of St. Paul and St. Agatha. They are Early Christian underground cemeteries. I can highly recommend to visit them!

Malta – Mdina

Mdina, Malta

Malta has a few treasures and Mdina is definitely one of them!
The small city of Mdina dates back to 8th century BC, and it’s one of the main attractions in Malta.
It’s a very unique place! While being in Malta, you just must take a slow walk and explore this special town! 🙂

As a curio, Mdina is sometimes called Silent City; and only people who live there can drive inside the city.

Malta – Popeye Village (Sweethaven)

Popeye Village (Sweethaven Village), Malta

The movie “Popeye” from 1980 was made in Malta. To that purpose, the Sweethaven Village (Popeye Village) was built there. Currently, the film set is an attraction fun park. I haven’t been inside, just saw it from the other side, and it looked lovely (together with turquoise water). All wooden, colorful buildings are so picturesque – a perfect location.

Malta – UNESCO

Tarxien Temples, Malta

There are three Maltese sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List:
-Megalithic Temples
-City of Valletta
-Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum.

All sites are worth visiting, especially the temples and hypogeum. 🙂

Currently, on the UNESCO list, there are 6 Megalithic temples (Ġgantija, Ħaġar Qim, Mnajdra, Skorba, Ta’ Ħaġrat and Tarxien). However, there are more Megalithic temples existing on Malta. Maybe one day, the UNESCO list will be extended?

Malta – Prehistoric Statues

Tarxien Temples, Malta

How do Megalithic temples look like?
-Well, it depends which site. In general you’ll be able to “explore” the interiors of the Megalithic structures; reconstructions of e.g., doorway; examples of prehistoric art; large prehistoric statues and of course lots of stones (very, very, very old stones).

The statue presented today comes from Tarxien Temples, that’s located just outside Valletta.

Malta – Ancient sites

Malta

When I was visiting Malta, I had a chance to visit a few Megalithic temples.
Each site was very interesting. Everywhere, I met friendly people, proud of their culture and place they work. I also liked the way some Megalithic temples (not all of them) are protected, e.g., with a “tent”.
And in general, it’s a very unique experience to be in such an old place, even if their age is not so precisely estimated, they are still impressive!

Malta – Megalithic Temples

Malta

I’ve already mentioned, that Megalithic temples are the most interesting sites of Malta.
They are considered as one of the oldest free-standing structures in the world! First of them were built around 3600 BC (some sources even say 5500 BC). They are really unique sites, and when you’re in Malta – it’s a must to visit at least one or two Megalithic temples. 🙂

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