Beitou (北投) is a district of Taipei City at the foot of Yangmingshan (陽明山 or Yangming Mountain), a collection of mountain peaks that make up Yangminshan National Park. These include Seven Star Mountain (七星山 or Qixingshan), a dormant volcano that last erupted around 700,000 years ago.
Xinbeitou (新北投), the hot spring village around Xinbeitou MRT station, occupies a lush valley that is home to 1200 species of plants, 110 species of bird, and 160 varieties of butterflies.
Beitou Thermal Valley (also called Beitou Geothermal Valley or Hell Valley) is a second, highly acidic “green sulfur” hot spring that is a major tourist attraction in Beitou and the source of the hot creek running through Beitou Hot Spring Park.
The spring water is high in radium, which in the past underwent a corrosive reaction with the andesite rocks on the river bed about 150 meters downstream, creating layers of cream and white diamond-shaped crystals named Hokutolite or “Beitou stone”, ...
St. Petersburg, also known as Sankt-Peterburg, is Russia’s second-largest city with a population of around 5.6 million.
Situated on the Neva River delta where it meets the Gulf of Finland in northwestern Russia, it stands as the world’s northernmost city with over a million residents. Often called the “Venice of the North,” the city features an intricate network of canals, rivers, and more than 300 bridges that create a scenic, island-filled urban landscape. Its historic center blends Western European and Russian architectural styles, showcasing grand baroque and neoclassical palaces, cathedrals, and elegant embankments along the Neva River. This entire historic area is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The city was founded by Tsar
Peter the Great on May 27, 1703, during the Great Northern War against Sweden. Built on marshy and flood-prone land, it was designed as a strategic Baltic port and served as Peter’s deliberate “window on Europe.” His vision was to modernize Russia and ...
The Sapsan high-speed train, named after the swift peregrine falcon, offers the fastest and most convenient way to travel between Moscow and St. Petersburg.
This modern service, built by Siemens, covers the roughly 650-kilometer distance in just 3.5 to 4 hours at a top speed of 250 km/h, with an average around 210 km/h. It departs from Moscow’s centrally located Leningradsky Station and arrives at St. Petersburg’s Moskovsky Station, both easily accessible by metro and right in the heart of each city.
Options are between 12 and 14 daily departures, with trains running from early morning around 5:45 AM to late evening near 9:00 PM. Some services run non-stop or with minimal halts, while others make a few intermediate stops such as in Tver or Bologoye. The smooth, quiet ride provides a relaxing alternative to flying, eliminating airport security lines and transfers while delivering you directly to the city center.
Onboard, the Sapsan features comfortable carriages with large panoramic windows that ...
Izmailovo Kremlin, also known as Izmaylovo or Izmailovsky Kremlin, is a colorful modern cultural and entertainment complex located in northeast Moscow. Built between 1998 and 2007, it was designed in a fairy-tale style drawing inspiration from traditional Russian wooden architecture of the 14th to 17th centuries. It should not be confused with the historic Moscow Kremlin on Red Square.
The site features ornate wooden towers, replicas of old Russian buildings, a central square, and the tall wooden Church of St. Nicholas, which ranks among Moscow’s tallest wooden churches. The complex contains several small museums and exhibition spaces such as the Museum of Russian Folk Toys, the Museum of the History of Russian Vodka, the Museum of Bread, the Museum of Chocolate and others dedicated to Russian costumes, navy history, and folk arts.
Entrance to the grounds is generally free, although individual museums charge separate modest admission fees. The location also hosts various events, workshops, ...
