Golden Fall

Autumn starts earlier in Russia than in most of the US or Europe and it is one of the best time to visit this beautiful country. Green alleys and forests turn into gold, yello and red colors. Temperatures lower to a comfortable level of around 70s Fahrenheit (or 20s Celsius), which is perfect weather for sightseeing. Occasional rain purifies air of busy cities and crows of visitors disappear. Russia's celebrated poet Sergey Esenin well described the mood of Russian Autumn in his famous poems:

 

The Drops

Beautiful are pearly drops on a sunny day
When they shine in the arches of gold,
Yet in sorry weather, on damp windows, they
Dread like drops of black autumn’s mould.
People are happy in oblivion; (I was told)
Their stature in the eyes of the others
Matters not, nor do the awards of this world.
(Are people living here, or yonder? I wonder.)
The drops of autumn flood hearts, veins,
And souls with sadness; they wander
While they quietly glide on the window panes,
What fun they seek, what joy? I wonder…
Unhappy people, crushed by life, often foul
Their future with soul-pains of old times,
If joy relieves sadness and heals the soul,
Why they recall the sad, not the happy times?
The grove of golden trees has fallen silent…
The grove of golden trees has fallen silent,
Shorn of its gay leaves, in mute silhouette,
And so the cranes in sad file past it flying
Have no cause any more to feel regret.
For whom, for what? We are all rovers, starting
Out, coming home awhile, then traveling on.
The hemp field's dreaming of all who departed
And there's a full moon gazing at the pond.
I stand alone, the bare expanses viewing,
While on the wind the cranes are borne away.
Remembrance of my merry youth pursuing,
I find nothing I would relive today.
I don't regret the years that I have wasted,
I don't regret the lilac time of life.
A rowan fire is in the orchard blazing
But none shall from its brightness warmth derive.
Red rowan-berry clusters cannot scorch you,
The grasses will no yellow and decline.
As leaves fall softly from a tree in autumn
So I let fall these mournful words of mine.
And if time with its breezy broom should pile them
Into a heap to burn without regret…
Just say this … that the golden grove fell silent,
Shorn of its leaves, in pensive silhouette.

Travel advisory

Customers scheduled to travel in early Fall should be advised that period of higher-than-average temperatures in Western Russia has come to an end and temperature now are slightly below average. We recommend that all travelers scheduled to visit Russia this Fall bring a sweater,  a light jacket and an umbrella. You can check weather in Russian cities here: Moscow, St. Petersburg