Part of my Russian experience was to ride a night train once. I did some digging and found that Pskov was a good destination on my way from Moscow to St. Petersburg as it also allowed me to visit Novgorod along the way. Admittedly, the experience was rather boring: All the Russians on board of the train wanted to sleep and I ended up drinking the beers I brought on my own.

In any case, I made it to Pskov and found a pretty Kreml (or Krom as they call it in Pskov). The weather was gorgeous and I had a nice time visiting and wandering around the city.

Not to be missed is the Mirozhsky Monastery on the other side of the river. The 12th-century artwork by a Greek/Byzantine artist in the chapel is astonishing and survived the Mongols. To me, these together with those in Suzdal were the best wall paintings I have seen in Russia.

[Updated July 2019] I had to update this yet again. The Unesco site today (08 July) shows all locations including Krom / Kreml. Apparently, Icomos recommended to exclude the Krom and focus on the surrounding churches and monasteries. This was approved by the committee. Let's see what happens.

The Mirozhsky Monastery is included. And I think I stumbled into plenty of the other locations spread across the city. So tick done. Still, I don't understand Icomos here at all. Why not simply inscribe a core zone than 10 locations? And why exclude the central, most prominent building in Pskov, the Krom?

Getting There

I took a night train from Moscow (I think Kalanchovskaya). We arrived in the morning at the train station on the outskirts of town and I walked into town. From Pskov, I continued on by bus to Novgorod in the afternoon. There are also direct buses to St. Petersburg.

Another option is to cross into Estonia. I think there are direct buses to Tartu where you can visit Struve's home university.

While You Are There

Around Pskov on the border with Estonia, you find Lake Peipus and the Pechory Monastery. The Pechory Monastery is known for its "eerie burial chambers". I did not make the trip.