Blogs from Northwest, Russia, Europe - page 148

A 'riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma...'. The 'Iron Curtain', the 'Russian Bear', the 'Great Game'... vivid images but what does all this mean today? And what can you learn of the famous Russian soul armed only with a few words of the language and a Trans-Siberian railway ticket? My expectations were low as I picked my way across the mini-potholes littering the platform at Belorusskaya Station. I did, however, have my own Russian Bear to help me through the culture shock and language barrier: negotiating potholes both literal and metaphorical. Vyachaslav, an aeronautical engineer, had come crashing into my sleeping car at Hanover. A high-flying scientist in the Cold War, he had been brought low by the botched reforms of Perestroika and the rise of the oligarchs. Now he survived on $200 a ... read more

Moscow, the nerve center of the Russian Federation whose landmass constitutes the majority of Asia and formerly extended all the way to the edges of W. Europe; this is the epicenter of the former communist experience where you can find the buildings of the former, but still infamous, KGB, the Kremlin, and the tomb of their still preserved icon Lenin planted firmly in the middle of the Red Square. I noticed immediately upon arrival that Moscow moves fast; it is a city that’s going somewhere and boasts a more reliable subway than any I have ever seen. I could swear that there is a train every 30-45 seconds. It’s a city that’s also struggling with its identity as it attempts to dismantle the pillars of socialism and move towards a market economy; however, from what I ... read more

It's been a while since you heard from us, but cheap and affordable internet has been hard to come by. We are now in Salzburg, but must tell you about our trip to St Petersburg first. We flew from London, Heathrow direct to St Pburg with BA. A short trip, about 3.5hrs. The airport at St Pburg is a bit like landing at a country strip in the 70's, but none the less has all the functional bits required. No dramas at passport control, so off to get the bags and meet our driver. Maree is a young university graduate who studied languages and ancient history - hence an excellent tour guide. Her english is very good and her knowledge of all things Russian (and indeed greater Europe) is exceptional. We were dropped off at our ... read more

Technically I count it as yesterday as I'm not here the whole day- leaving at 12.30 for the airport. Yesterday I headed out with Sr. from the church and a couple of the youth and this nice fellow Sr. got to drive us as the priest's car was broken down. So we spent four hours driving trying to find this dacha (country house) that was donated to the church. One of the girls told me when the priest drives it takes 2 (probably because he knows the way, and probably also because this man driving us was probably the most cautious driver in the entire country). The whole experience was quite comical. We asked directions often, and turned around a few times. The last time we got stuck in the mud, though it only took us ... read more

hi everyone. thanks for all the comments again, great to hear from u. Well we have made it to moscow after 65 hours on a train through siberia. the train ride has definitely been the highlight of this entire trip so far for us both, it was really amazing, lots of relaxing, reading, playing cards, meeting ppl, eating the the dining cart, drinking lots of russian vodka of course. it was really great. The train stopped in stations everY 5 hours or so for about 20 mins and we'd jump off to buy food from the locals and get some fresh air. We slept a couple of hours each day, hung out the windows or just sat chatting in our compartment letting the hours pass away. We'd do it all over again in a flash except ... read more