Blogs from Volga, Russia, Europe - page 8

The sky was blue today also, with a few more grey clouds, and it was as warm as yesterday. I even spent the morning without my coat on. We strolled around town for a couple of hours to find some more places. Kazan isn't just beautiful due to the architecture, the people are beautiful too. The boys dress from the MTV Moskva guide-book in expensive jackets and ripped jeans; for the girls ulitsa Baumana is a catwalk, to show off their new hairstyles and spring collection miniskirts. the Tatar girls dress a bit more modestly, but are just as stunning. The town speaks both Russian and Tatar. About every third person is of Mongol descent, with higher cheekbones and ever-so slightly darker, oriental skin. It is impossible to judge what language a person speaks from how ... read more

So liebe Leute, ich habe von den letzten fuenf Tagen mindestens die Haelfte im Zug verbracht. Dabei ca. 2500 km zurueckgelegt und zwei Zeitzonen hinter mir. Nun bin ich nach Zwischenstopp in Ufa wieder in Chelyabinsk gelandet. Komisch, wenn ich hierherkomme, als Gast, als Reisender und dennoch irgendwie auch als Rueckkehrer. Doch zuerst einmal kurz die Reiseerlebnisse beschrieben: 1. Start in Moskau: ich habe ein Video wie ich der Verkaeuferin erklaere das ich ein Zugticket nach Ufa moechte. Werde ich euch dann zuhaus vorfuehren. Ging alles reibungslos. Im Zug bin ich wieder per "Platzkart" unterwegs, dies ist ein Riesenabteil, mit Liegen uebereinander und ca. 50 Personen pro Wagon. Dies ist billiger, unbequemer und dennoch sicherer als ein Einzelabteil, da bei diesem, sobald die Tuer geschlossen ist, drin quasi alles moeglich ist...(ich werde diesen Punkt nicht ... read more

We had breakfast at a diner on ulitsa Karl Marx, then went on a tour of the town. All of us had had enough of not being taken seriously, so we spoke Russian with each other and let the imam know we were annoyed. Kazan is bigger than Yaroslavl, but it has many gardens and parks so it feels like there is more space. The buildings are newer and better looking - houses are built in white brick in different designs, as opposed to Yaroslavl's uniform grey blocks. Also the people are more diverse; Kazan is half Muslim and half Russian Orthodox and there is both a mosque and a cathedral within the walls of the kremlin, the only one of it's kind in the Russian Federation. Our first trip was to the Kul Sharif mosque. ... read more

Right So my trans-siberian adventure starts in moscow (obviously) Spent a few days there its enormous, lots going on and lots to see- then one evening i realised id seen enough and was itching to become an intrepid adventurer, so i headed on over to the train station, arriving at 9:15, after a couple of minuites i decoded the Cyrillic timetables (with the help of lonely planet of course) and discovered the train to Novgorod left at 9:20. so, after a moment of feeling smug that i had timed my arrival at the train station well i realised i need a tiket. cue mad rush to 'kacca' to buy ticket and 15 minute queue. never mind i thought, and with the help of russian english student i took the next train east to Vladimir- which is ... read more