London-Berlin-St.Petersburg-Moscow-Lake Baikal

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What a whirl wind start to the trip. We were definitely not ready to go what with wedding planning beginning (alot earlier than D thought)! Anyhow...

We got dropped off by S' parent very early in the morning-thanks Mum and Dad!

Got to Berlin very efficiently as only the Germans know how. Settled into a very comfortable hostel in the middle of town for 3 days stay. Did all the usual stuff, saw the sights, cycled around the city and ate lots. Wonderful start to the trip and would recommend to any age (v. shoreditch).

To continue the train theme, we arrived on the platform at Berlin HBF to find a rather dodgy looking train. Since we had booked a first class cabin, S was expecting James Bond style with full wood veneer and a walk in wardrobe. Perhaps unsurprisingly this was not the case...it was fine though...

The biggest shock to the system was the lack/any English speaking people - this is a theme that has continued throughout Russia. In most other countries we expect others to 'make an effort' with us - not the case in Russia. As a result we had no idea when/where the train was stopping, matching symbols to our Russian dictionary was only so much use! THis resulted in an interesting 5hour Russian boarder crossing at 3am in our pjs....nonetheless WE WERE IN...

St.Petersburg

Bad start as the hostel was a complete dive, 2 bathrooms for about 60 guests and loads of hand drawn posters saying "Best hostel in Russia"...all we kept thinking was, if this is the best the next two weeks are going to be hell! Thank goodness they were wrong! Met Tama and our group for Trans Siberian and did all the usal sights. The highlight of St P is supposed to be the bridge openings at dusk (1.30am-due to White nights). Sadly, we have been spoilt by our very own Tower Bridge, but was pretty funny with club tunes booming out to keep everyone awake.

Overnight train from St P to Moscow-was very lovely. As there is 5 in our group and 4 to a cabin we pulled out of a hat to see who would be in the "random" cabin. S got it and had the pleasure of company of an old couple. For those of you thinking being the girl she shouldnt have gone in - she picked out the hat first and chose to go in! What can I say she knows how to make friends!!

Moscow

Met off the train by our honcho who was a 21 year old called Ivan. Brilliant guy who gave us a whirl wind tour of all the main sites that everyone will be familiar with e.g. Kremlin, Lenin's gross body, the "ice cream cones" of St.Basil's.

After Moscow we stocked up for a 4 day trans siberian train trip. Plenty of pot noodles, warm beer and vodka were on the menu and we were on our way. Luckily the three of us had a cabin to ourselves, which was bliss. Turns outs D snores after a few drinks - most of us slept well but D kept waking himself up. Day 1 was blisteringly hot 40 degrees in the cabin, we were sweating like a Geordie in a maths test. Luckily, there was a thunder storm and so the remaining days were a lot cooler. Met 2 girls from Ireland, who were cool (and attractive but I think only one of us noticed). Will probably see them in Beijing when we get there. The train itself was really good fun (difficult to understand I know - we were worried about it as well!) Lots of stops to get off and buy food, drink on the platforms from the babuschkas...

Arrived in Irkutsk on Wednesday morning, went straight to Lake Baikal. It is really beautiful and very hot. Have been on a couple of very scenic hikes. D and T went in Lake Baikal, a mere 6 degrees. Would try and attach the video of Tama trying to get in but it is VERY long! S went up to her knees (D says princess, S says ample)!!!!

Still working on the tans. T says she still needs sunglasses whilst looking at D. Will update again once out of Outer Mongolia, with more tails...

Love to all

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Comments

[Mum]

Good work
Guys, lovely blog - will look out ofr the next installment and love the map attachment xxxx

[Louis]

Lots of blogs please!!
Good first blog... can't believe how far you've gone already!!! And you're gonna have 6 1/2 months of this... going from hostel to train to hostel to stadium... no spreadsheets... lots of lie-ins... 3-day hangovers without having to call in sick... endless stop offs to update your blog... the days of your lives!!! 4 days on a train though... wow... That's longer than it took to film Bagwine and the Crab... I hope you used your time productively!! what games did u play? As Doddsy said 'it's amazing how much fun life is, when you're not at work'... I've noticed this also!!! 'Berlin... v shoreditch' I agree... cool place. Are there any pics of the hot Irish girls?? I like the idea of Sarah leaving the gang to hang out with an 'older couple'... very amusing picture to paint ; ) Looking forward to more blogs... don't worry about being 'gap yah bores'... knowing that someone is having the best time of their life, and hearing all about is fun. I would fill you in on my news... but ladies clothes haven't changed much in the last few weeks. xxx

[Tania]

Great post!
How long will you be traveling? Yep, they usually recommend traveling with a guide in Russia because everything is in Russian! Glad you made it through ok :) So many interesting customs & traditions throughout Siberia. Have you learned any fun ones? Let me know if you need any info in the area - know a great operator down there (White Umbrella) who would be willing to give lots of advice!

[Jo Taylor]

..you never know who is watching you!
...sounds super cool guys. As you are so much more savvy than us oldies - it is such a great way to keep us all updated. Am keen to know what camera lens you guys opted for if any? I now have the perfect travel lens which I took on tour in the USA last month - Phil keeps pinching it. Its a canon 17- 55. I get the impression that Sarah does most of the writing. I am sure D wouldn't tell the world that he snores - otherwise Richard might be in for some serious competition. Off to watch the Bledisloe cup on Saturday in Auckland. I shall yell extra hard for all the ex-pat Kiwis. Looking forward to the next installment. Take care and keep having fun!!