Vyshny Volochek
If going from Moscow to St. Petersburg, it is between Torzhok, a well-preserved "historic" town, and Valday, the center of a huge natural reserve. This city of 55 thousand is famous for a system of canals that, by the end of 1700s, formed a waterway connecting Moscow and St. Petersburg. [A page on travelling from Moscow to St. Petersburg by water will be developed in the foreseeable future] Perhaps the dirtiest city of those you'll find between Moscow & St. Petersburg, and the next biggest center of cheap highway prostitution after Tver..

"Vyshny"
or "Volochek"?

If a city, town, or village has a double or hyphenated name that you can't handle, refer to it by the second part. The first part is merely an adjective. Examples:

Veliki Novgorod = Great New-city,

Vyshny Volochek = Upper Boat-drag,

Nizhny Novgorod - Lower New-city

Most maps and directories will list them in the alphabetical order according the the main word (noun)

Recommended practical souvenir

Properly made felt boots ("valenki") are practical yet beautiful, and uniquely "Russian". One of very few shops that still made them by hand is right on the highway as you enter Vyshny Volochek when going north, on your right.

Owner: Boris Nikolayevich Smorodov
Mailing address: 171162 Tverskaya oblast / g. Vyshny Volochek / ul. Parizhskoy Kommuny 37/26
Tel.: (8-48233)63653, 8-910-533-4186
E-mail: smorodov@mail.ru
URL: www.valenki.hotmail.ru/indexe.html (in English!)

Among valenki's many advantages of western winter footwear is their light weight, ability to hold warmth even when wet, adaptability, with time, to the shape of your feet. Valenki are comfortable over an extremely wide temperature range, from zero to -30 centigrade. The downside is a certain clumsiness of cheaper types of valenki, and inability to hold shape of the softer and gentler variety. The new ones I bought there for 900 roubles ($35US) are awaiting field trials in the winter of 2005-2006.

The best time to buy valenki is in the summer, especially if you want them white with a rolled up top ("Gypsy" style). In the winter you may have to settle for what's available.

Accommodation

There is a Soviet era hotel on the main road in Volochek, to your left if travelling from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Judging, however, from the number of new restaurants and casinos around, it will not remain cheap for long.

As an alternative, budget and especially authenticity enthusiasts may consider, eg.

Motel Kolomno on the right side of the road if going from Moscow to St. Petersburg, 321th kilometer of the road , 70km from Valday, 20km to Vyshny Volochek. 400 roubles gets you a Spartan room with three beds. 100 roubles to use bath/shower, 150 roubles buys a reasonably vegetarian meal that includes a shot of vodka and a beer. The total bill for a party of three will be $30-50. Tel. 8-08233-7-9172. Functional and friendly, and people there know how to handle a dog-tired traveller. A welcomed exception from even quite expensive places, I was not required to fill out of these check-in forms. Recommended highly.