Blogs from Vladivostok, Far East, Russia, Europe

Many of you ask how I travel, mostly solo these days. Sheri and Mike seem to mastered the couch potato movement in all of its pandemic glory. But for me, I would rather go, like Eddie Aikau, only I translate it to "Gerry would go." Many of you ask about how I go about making these trips. Some are set in stone before I go, some are done "on the fly" when visiting new and unknown places. And some are combinations, with only a round trip flight sandwiching the lack of a set itinerary. As I have gotten older, hopefully, aged somewhat gracefully, the great unknown has become more challenging. I don't seem to have the stamina for more than three weeks on the road. And I do not pack as much into each day as ... read more

8-21-2019 At sea Hom nay tau di tren Sea of Japan de den Vladivostok, Russia. 8-22-2019 Vladivostok, Russia 60F Day la thanh pho cua Nga va duoc thanh lap nam 1860 co 604,000 nguoi song tai day, cach Moscow 9,000km. La The Easternmost Russian City. La thu do cua Primorsky rai, Russia. Cach bien gioi cua North Korea va China khong xa khoang 515 km va cach Japan khoang 775km. Thanh pho nay co sea Port lon nhat Russia Pacific coast. Truoc kia vung dat nay la cua China duoi thoi Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming, Qing…truoc khi thuoc ve Nhat do hiep uoc Beijing Treaty nam 1860 duoi thoi Qing China. Khi tau thua tran chien Bach Phien Opium war voi Anh roi thi Tau khong the giu Vladivostok ma luc do ten la Haishenwai va ... read more

As of today, January 2, 2018, forty of our fifty states are under a severe weather warning. Here are a few cold places I have visited: Vladivostok is in url=https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2016%2F07%2F24%2Fworld%2Fasia%2Fvladivostok-china-haishenwai-tourists.html%3F_r%3D0&data=02%7C01%7C%7C84fb850128614f95ce0508d552b76efe%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636505870162792546&sdata=TYuCIis%2BRLA1Y4tjfvT83VcEHrmuLqXMk2%2BIh1PfkeI%3D&reserved=0Russia’s Far East, near the country’s border with China. Average January temperatures reach url=https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.yr.no%2Fplace%2FRussia%2FPrimorsky%2FVladivostok%2Fstatistics.html&data=02%7C01%7C%7C84fb850128614f95ce0508d552b76efe%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636505870162792546&sdata=nHn5z... read more

So, I decided to add up the miles I have traveled by rail, including three trips across the U.S., and a trip across the Russia (one third of the earth's surface). The fascination with riding the rails began quite by accident. Somewhere, somebody gave me the idea that riding the passenger rails would be a great experience. They were right! My first trip cross country on Amtrak was the California Zephyr, from Chicago to Martinez, CA. Total time was close to 51 hours. The mileage was 2379 miles. It was relaxing and enjoyable, and I met many interesting people. Just for contrast, the Tour de France cycling race usually covers 2,276 miles. My second cross country trip was the Sunset Limited, from Los Angeles to New Orleans for Super Bowl 47. The total time was 48 ... read more

Aeroflot's reputation is far from glowing but I found there food to be excellent at least. As usually I had one of those people who insist on reclining their seats within minutes of the aircraft taking off so the 8hr flight was far from comfortable. When we arrived at the airport all factors conspired to ensure we missed the 9am train ro the city, the baggage took an eternity to come out, then it took ages to get past baggage control and then the persistently bored looking and unhelpful stsff ensured we would miss the train my just moments. In Russia air travellers appear to ho to extremes in wrapping their luggage in plastic, it was only later when I found one of my locks damaged that I understood why, they also have that annoying habit ... read more