Trans-Siberian Moscow to Vladivostok

"Why would you want to do such a strange and dangerous thing?"exclaimed most of our Russian friends and students! Undaunted by their comments, tickets were bought and we busily planned what we needed to take for the long journey of 6 days and 7 nights on the Trans-Siberian Train for the 9289km from Moscow to Vladivostok. Thinking that we could easily purchase things from sellers on the platforms at the regular stops along the way, we assigned other food items that we believed would be useful: Instant noodles, packet soups, tea, coffee, biscuits, chocolate, milk, cereals etc. We had set aside plates, cups, bowls, tea pot, coffee plunger and a little travel jug that we inherited from Julia and a few other useful items. These we packed in the food bag that we purchased from the market and added thing as we packed.

 Much work was needed, cleaning the flat, assigning clothes etc that we couldn't take home to be given to friends and downsizing to the alotted weight for the final flight home.

The Adventurers hop into the suitcase too. They are very excited to be going on the train!

All completed we waited for Sergey who was taking us to the station. He and Ellie, helped us carry our gear for the last time down from the 4th floor apartment and we were on our way. Farewell Podolsk! Stopping at a lovely Italian Restaurent in Moscow, on the way was a treat together before getting aboard the train at 11.45pm.

We arrive at Yaroslavsky Station.

We guarded our gear closely as a gypsie watched on.

Time for final goodbyes.

All aboard and checking the cabin! Quite comfy home for the next week! Our beds have been carefully made for us and we find places to stash our luggage.
Precisely on the time the Rossya pulls out of the station and we are on our way.

Happy Heart train spotting!

Our Journey following the red line.

Settled in we watch the scenery pass, as at this time of the year the nights are short. I manage to stay awake till Vladimir and then accidently drifted into a deep exhausted sleep,waking as we crossed the Volga.

The Train keeps a tight schedule along the route and stops are timed according to this schedule. Throughout the journey the train  runs on Moscow time even though we actually cross 7 time zones  along the way.
John Foster Fraser, wrote in 1901 in his book, The Real Siberia:
"Off to Siberia! there is something uncanny in that phrase. The very word Siberia makes the blood run chill. It smells of fetters in the snow....for generations, to whisper Siberia in the ear of a Russian has been to make the cheek blanch. No one ever went there but in chains.....Yet Siberia, the land of criminals and exiles, is pushed into the dusk when we think of Siberia with its millions of miles of corn growing land, minerals waiting to be won, great tracks of country to be populated. Siberia is the Canada of the eastern world!
Our Russian friends lavished upon us what they considered to be essentials for the journey: 40 fresh organic farm eggs, 3 bottles of  the best RussianVodka,heaps of chocolates, a bag of  dried wild herb tea (Lemon Thyme) and a bottle of homemade delicious honeysuckle jam. Let's put it this way.....the eggs and delicious tea and jam were indeed great travel companions. The Vodka was not needed.

We are on our way home, leaving Russia slowly and enjoying the cultural experiences and watching the changing landscapes of Siberia as they roll by.

Squarky keeping an eagle eye out for bears...hiding in the woods.

Changing engines and drivers.

Lake Baikal shrouded in mist. What an amazing body of water, some 636 km long and around 79km wide with the deepest part measured at 1642 meters. It is frozen between Jan and May to a depth of 1 to 1.5 meters. The rail now winds it's way around the lake shore where two huge ships, the Baikal and Angara once transported trains and passangers across the lake. They were built at Newcastle-on-Tyne in England and every part was numbered and packaged and sent across European Russian and Siberia to be reassembled at the lake shore. The Baikal was launched in July 1899. It boggles the mind to think that, in 1904-1905 in a severe winter when both ships were ice bound at temperatures of -40 degrees, the Japanese launched a surprise attack on the Russian fleet at Port Arthur and it was imperative to get reinforcements rushed to the east..... tracks were laid on the ice and 2,300 carriages and 65 locomotives were hauled across the ice by horse drawn traction over a period of 17 days. 
More interesting facts can be found on this site:
http://www.irkutsk.org/baikal/

 

Summer is short and gardens and very productive.

The Adventurers amazed at the size and beauty of Lake Baikal.

Nothing like a good read of Dostoyevsky ...'The Brothers Karamazov' as the train chugs on into the night!

We could have tea at any time with hot water from here.

Bridges and tunnels are guarded.

Fields are full of wild herbs and flowers.

Early in the morning as we arrived at Vladivostok the port city was shrouded in a heavy mist. 
We took this picture later in the day.
http://maps.google.com.au/maps?hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&q=vladivostok+russia&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=
&hnear=0x5fb39cba5249d485:0x186704d4dd967e35,Vladivostok,+Primorskiy+kray,+Russia&gl=au&ei=auEtTumMJO
_umAWs3d3lBg&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=2&ved=0CC8Q8gEwAQ
Vladivostok is hellishly close to North Korea and China. 
Just south of Vladivostok is an amazing reserve where Siberian boar, black and brown bear, Siberian tiger and leopard can be found.
http://russia.rin.ru/guides_e/2428.html 
More can be found about this amazing region  through this link.


We had booked a hotel for 3 days and proceded to explore and prepare for our return flight home via Korea.
The whole city seemed like it was trying to reinvent itself.
Whole streets and footpaths were rubble sites making negotiating the steep paths a hazardous persuit.

However we made some interesting discoveries as we tramped the streets like mountain goats for hours on end.

Tucked away behind buildings and shrubbery we found this plaque. 
Yul Brnner's family were merchants who lived and worked in this city.

The train station is old and very elaboratly decorated.
The city is a busy railway and ship destination, 
so it brims with trains, ships and monuments to past heroes!

Two Russian warships at anchor.

A new bridge is under construction as it looms over the harbour.

Peter meeting some of the locals!

A Russian sub. from the past( S56) Peter did some exploring!

A massive memorial to those who perished in war.

                      Sunsets over the bay are quite spectacular.

Brave fishermen taking great risks fishing off this rusted and delapitaded jetty.
Encircling the city are 16 disused protective forts. One, 14 km north, sports some 1.5 km of tunnels and was once a hive of activity.
Now with fewer imminent invaders, it lies dormant and is said to be inhabited only by 2 pet cats to keep the local invaders (rats) at bay.

These bikes are set for a further adventure across Russia and back to England as a fund raising venture for prostate research. The brave guys were staying at our hotel (That is a feat of bravery to begin with....(the hotel was a real 'hum-dinger'...more hum than ding!).....with no back up team they travel alone...rather commendable! All the very best Guys!

Time for one last gaze out the hotel window to the bay before departure. 

 A taxi to the airport was a bone rattling experience as there were road works and rubble all the way! The read-up said that the airport was 'roughly 40km north of the city'. Little did we know how literal that was...(roughly the whole 40km) The tiny airport was packed with North Koreans getting their hundreds of packages weighed for a flight home. There was no where to sit so we scrunched up with the rest and watched the circus...nothing else to do!
What an amazing journey it's been! From St Petersberg in the north to the Samara region and east through Siberia and Russia's far east to Vladivostok. We have had many adventures....seeing the glamour of Moscow and St Petersberg, the glitter of many palaces, the unbelievable poverty of small villages that time and gov. seem to have forgotten, experienced all the Russian seasons, survived a winter, walked on the frozen waters of St Petersberg, dipped our feet in the Mighty Volga and the waters of Vladivostok. Now time to bid farewell with many fond memories.

                    Welcome home Grandpa and Grandma!

The adventurers have returned!