Blogs from Siberia, Russia, Europe - page 36

Writing this short piece, I’m starting a small series of so-to-say traveller’s notes, describing places which I’ve visited and which left a pleasant impression on me, both in Russia and Europe. To tell you the truth, no single place so far has left a negative impression on me. What I’m not quite accustomed to yet is Moscow’s whirl of life. Frankly speaking, I wouldn’t like to spend a week there, for example, though I don’t object to its majesty. Looking back, I actually see that my series of travels began from Moscow when I went there for the first time, heading for the native Birsk; it was lovely – the warm days of August made me so full of energy that I had endless walks – the Kremlin, the Arbat, Vorobyovy Gory, and, surely, the Red ... read more

Km travelled 10344 19.10.08 Our arrival at Jack's hostel has been an easy one, and comfortable. We've been soon caught by a young girl, also a guest (and please don't make any comment on the fact that she was a kiwi as well!) that drowned us into words for a while. This morning we're ready at 10.00 when Jack comes to pick us up and start our great tour to Lake Baikal. We're both dead tired but we're going to have some amazing time. Jack seems a nice guy and driving for almost five hours is a good chance to have a chat. As we get outside Irkutsk we're surrounded by yellow fields dotted with cows, and hills behind with lines of trees that look like brushes. It's really beautiful. We stop for lunch at a ... read more

So having spent the past 4 nights on the train....we weren't exactly smelling of roses! We were really really looking forward to a hot shower.....so when we were told there would be no shower where we were staying....our jaws droppped & we all looked at each other thinking 'what the ....' Little did we realise that we were getting SOO much more than an electric shower......... We had signed up to stay with a Russian family in a traditional log cabin in the beautiful village of Listvyanka! Being traditional meant there was no running water. So our toilet was in a little hut at the end of the garden....lovely when you have to pee at 4am......up outta bed.....jacket & shoes on...slipping like an idiot over the icy pathy way leading to the hut!!! Ha....it was comical! ... read more

We left Mongolia on the 15th and boarded the train headed to Irkutsk which was to be our first stop in Russia. Once again we had a compartment to ourselves, and the Provodnitsa (carriage attendant) was a jolly, gay German who would surreptiously wink and blow kisses to me on his way past. The trains between Mongolia and Russia are full of Mongolian traders, smuggling their wares across the border. We had been warned to check the shelves and under the seat compartments in our carriage, so that there was nothing stored there that did not belong to us. What we were not warned about was the endless procession of these traders up and down the carriages in the no-mans-land between the two countries, looking for somewhere to spread their loot. A woman came and innocently ... read more

The Transsiberian Train is a journey by itself. There are many travelers leaving their countries just to take the longest train ride in the world. To be precise we didn't ride across the Transsiberian line, this one connects Moscow to Vladivostok. We crossed the Transmongolian line, from Beijing in China over Mongolia finishing in Moscow (The Transsiberian and Transmongolian join they journey around half way near lake Baikal in Siberia). There are so many ways to do this trip. From a nostalgic direct, super luxury coach to a cattle-class hop-on hop-off vodka filled adventure. It all depends on you (and your budget!!), what exactly you want and expect from the trip. The direct train from Beijing to Moscow or Vladivostok to Moscow are the most well known, but that's not the only way you can do ... read more