Have just arrived in Moscow, Ruth was standing there smiling and waiting for us all. A very interesting journey through to Moskva Kyivskaya station but more later as we are off to walk Moscow... after 2 1/2 days on trains without facilities the hotel shower was the best ever.
The Accidental Round the World Trip
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... Day 1 continued, arriving at Berlin Hbf
With zero hours sleep the night before we slept for around 3 of the 5 hours to Berlin, very comfotable train.
Arriving on time at Berlin Hbf (main station) we were at journy's end for the day, but remained in the station for a while to look and absorb such a creative and technical marvel. Can't say enough good things about this station, it has to be one of the great railway stations of the world.
That evening we strolled around Berlin, first to the Reichstag and then on to the Bradenburg Tor (Gate), both look spectacular at night.
We finished up at Friedrichstrasse Station, an atmospheric symbol of the Berlin Wall and the Cold War. From certain angles it still looks and feels as it did back in the 60's and 70's, eerie and haunting.
Read some very good reviews of the 'Die Berliner Republik' pub restaurant http://www.die-berliner-republik.de/en/ maybe 50m from Friedrichstr Station right on the river Spree. Known for being very popular, serves genuine German food and has an interesting beer borse where the price of the most popular beers sold changes on the popularity of each type over the previous few minutes.
We each had a different meal and all were really enjpoyed. Portions too large but tasted very good, their deserts were even better.
All in all after an early hiccup, frequent changes of trains, arriving at a modern work of art station and ending with a great meal and company, a pretty good start to a long journey.
One of many views of Berlin Hbf
Soviet era Berlin TV tower stands in Alexanderplatz in the former East Berlin
Berlin Reichstag
Quadriga sculpture on top of the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin
Berlin Brandenburg Tor
Berlin, Friedrichstrasse Rail Station of Cold War fame
Day 2 - Tuesday 28 February 2017
Writing this from about 1 km inside Ukraine, we have just had a new set of wheels fitted I assume for a track guage change. All done in silence by a large workforce inside a train shed. Photography is not allowed and twice someone has come along and closed our compartment door for what reason not sure, but this country is at war so have to expect unusual events.
But got ahead of myself, here is Day 2
Checked out of Hotel Meininger, hundreds of younger people at the hotel so it felt very lively which is no bad thing.
Walked the 100m back to Berlin station and stood and stared at it all over again, don't seem to stop finding different views.
Train Berlin to Warsawa left on-time, modern, clean and spacious Polish Intercity style train, about 1/3 full. A pleasant 5 hour train ride across a grey Polish plain.
Our Berlin - Warsawa Intercity train arriving at Berlin Hbf
The interior, bright, modern, clean and comfortable
On the German - Polish border saw this military train heading east
Arrived at Warsawa Centralna on-time, another bright and modern main station.
The tip from Barciur re the supermarket on the upper floor of the station was great, had all we needed for our overnight sleeper with no food and drink facilities.
Our Ukrainian sleeper train from Warsawa to Kyiv arrived ahead of time in it's original blue with yellow stripe Wagon Lit livery, a real throw-back to the past. The exterior and particularly the interior pleased us all, we could have been back in the 1960's. Each couple had a double compartment which was in the same 1960's style, with plenty of room and all that you need.
The Warsawa - Kyiv train ready for boarding
Only 8 passengers in our car, the 4 of us and a Ukraine family made up of Granny, Mum and two boys. The car attendant was a severe looking lady who couldn't smile at first, but as we all became more familiar a smile would escape sometimes.
We were all treated to cups of tea in glass cups with special metal holders, this was a memorable start to our old fashioned journey.
Rosie offered squares of dark chocolate to all up and down the carriage, we were offered a bottle of Soplica Sliwkowa by Granny, Granny proved to have a big smile that escaped all of the time. Rob and Martine continued to get to know each other and so we all settled down to train life as happens everywhere.
Car corridor and this sign to indicate the toilets?
There are only 3 carriages for the sleeper section and they are attached to the rear of a modern commuter style train. Close to the Ukraine order at Chelm we were separated from the main train, a shunter engine pulled us over the border for our wheel change.
At 00:16 1 March and we are under way again, Kyiv here we come...
With zero hours sleep the night before we slept for around 3 of the 5 hours to Berlin, very comfotable train.
Arriving on time at Berlin Hbf (main station) we were at journy's end for the day, but remained in the station for a while to look and absorb such a creative and technical marvel. Can't say enough good things about this station, it has to be one of the great railway stations of the world.
That evening we strolled around Berlin, first to the Reichstag and then on to the Bradenburg Tor (Gate), both look spectacular at night.
We finished up at Friedrichstrasse Station, an atmospheric symbol of the Berlin Wall and the Cold War. From certain angles it still looks and feels as it did back in the 60's and 70's, eerie and haunting.
Read some very good reviews of the 'Die Berliner Republik' pub restaurant http://www.die-berliner-republik.de/en/ maybe 50m from Friedrichstr Station right on the river Spree. Known for being very popular, serves genuine German food and has an interesting beer borse where the price of the most popular beers sold changes on the popularity of each type over the previous few minutes.
We each had a different meal and all were really enjpoyed. Portions too large but tasted very good, their deserts were even better.
All in all after an early hiccup, frequent changes of trains, arriving at a modern work of art station and ending with a great meal and company, a pretty good start to a long journey.
One of many views of Berlin Hbf
Soviet era Berlin TV tower stands in Alexanderplatz in the former East Berlin
Berlin Reichstag
Quadriga sculpture on top of the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin
Berlin Brandenburg Tor
Berlin, Friedrichstrasse Rail Station of Cold War fame
Day 2 - Tuesday 28 February 2017
Writing this from about 1 km inside Ukraine, we have just had a new set of wheels fitted I assume for a track guage change. All done in silence by a large workforce inside a train shed. Photography is not allowed and twice someone has come along and closed our compartment door for what reason not sure, but this country is at war so have to expect unusual events.
But got ahead of myself, here is Day 2
Checked out of Hotel Meininger, hundreds of younger people at the hotel so it felt very lively which is no bad thing.
Walked the 100m back to Berlin station and stood and stared at it all over again, don't seem to stop finding different views.
Train Berlin to Warsawa left on-time, modern, clean and spacious Polish Intercity style train, about 1/3 full. A pleasant 5 hour train ride across a grey Polish plain.
Our Berlin - Warsawa Intercity train arriving at Berlin Hbf
The interior, bright, modern, clean and comfortable
On the German - Polish border saw this military train heading east
Arrived at Warsawa Centralna on-time, another bright and modern main station.
The tip from Barciur re the supermarket on the upper floor of the station was great, had all we needed for our overnight sleeper with no food and drink facilities.
Our Ukrainian sleeper train from Warsawa to Kyiv arrived ahead of time in it's original blue with yellow stripe Wagon Lit livery, a real throw-back to the past. The exterior and particularly the interior pleased us all, we could have been back in the 1960's. Each couple had a double compartment which was in the same 1960's style, with plenty of room and all that you need.
The Warsawa - Kyiv train ready for boarding
Only 8 passengers in our car, the 4 of us and a Ukraine family made up of Granny, Mum and two boys. The car attendant was a severe looking lady who couldn't smile at first, but as we all became more familiar a smile would escape sometimes.
We were all treated to cups of tea in glass cups with special metal holders, this was a memorable start to our old fashioned journey.
Rosie offered squares of dark chocolate to all up and down the carriage, we were offered a bottle of Soplica Sliwkowa by Granny, Granny proved to have a big smile that escaped all of the time. Rob and Martine continued to get to know each other and so we all settled down to train life as happens everywhere.
Car corridor and this sign to indicate the toilets?
There are only 3 carriages for the sleeper section and they are attached to the rear of a modern commuter style train. Close to the Ukraine order at Chelm we were separated from the main train, a shunter engine pulled us over the border for our wheel change.
At 00:16 1 March and we are under way again, Kyiv here we come...
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Barciur
OBS Chief
Great! I'm glad my tip was helpful. Good to hear you had a good trip to Berlin and again on the Ukrainian wagon. I hope you waved to my hometown, Lublin 
Border control OK? No problems with either Polish or Ukrainian checks?
Border control OK? No problems with either Polish or Ukrainian checks?
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Under More Reply Options I added a photo to be attached here, the photo title showed but the above message appeared. I tried this about 6 times with both cropped and uncropped photos but nothing changed. Tried Basic Uploader and same result. Re-started computer and tried it all again, could see all the photos numbers that were selected but same message. About 14 hours ago with the same Notebook I uploaded the photos above with the same method, any ideas?
Under More Reply Options I added a photo to be attached here, the photo title showed but the above message appeared. I tried this about 6 times with both cropped and uncropped photos but nothing changed. Tried Basic Uploader and same result. Re-started computer and tried it all again, could see all the photos numbers that were selected but same message. About 14 hours ago with the same Notebook I uploaded the photos above with the same method, any ideas?
Day 3 - Wednesday 1 March 2017
Fairly uneventful night after Passport and Customs twice plus the axle changes, although Rob and Martine who have brand new passports and came in for fairly close scrutiny.
The car rode really well, almost as good as the best of much newer rolling stock. All the fittings are solid and everything looked of good quality if a little dated, testament to the craftsmanship of days gone by.
Arrived In Kyiv with a little drama. Our phone didn't update the time zone change after the Poland/Ukraine border crossing, so according to us in our compartment we had 1 hour and 7 minutes to wash, dress, pack away and get ready to de-train, in reality we had 7 minutes but didn't know until a few minutes later...
Rob and Martine's phone did update, they were in the corridor ready to de-train 2 minutes after we woke up, oh dear.
Train staff told us we had to get off immediately as the train was pulling out even though it terminated in Kyiv, so poor Rosie got a little flustered as we were in underwear but we managed ok and the train hadn't moved 4 hours later which we could see when crossing the track bridge later in the day.
Our car just arrived at Kyiv Pass, Ukraine
First job was using our ticket voucher to collect our tickets for the Kyiv - Moskva sleeper later that same day. They were to be found in Hall 4 at Window 12 for ticket collection for internet sales. Already knew from Seat 61 that the window was open 24 hours with closed for rest breaks times posted on the window. We were in good time with no break just gone or due but the office behind window 12 looked a little dark. After waiting around for a few minutes with no one in sight we went to window 11 (strictly for Service personnel only!) where there were two people sitting there, but no attention was paid until a hello was said and the ticket voucher was produced. At which point no argument that it was the wrong window, 4 tickets were printed in under 60 seconds, with a smiling thank you off we went to find left-luggage. Again we knew in which part of the original station it was located thanks to Seat 61 (in the old station to the left side of the escalators up to the station connecting bridge and down several flights of stairs so you have to be fit). Tokens bought for 2 lockers and packed but wouldn't all go in, 3rd token and now ready to lock them but we needed help from a friendly attendant who had guessed we were about to have trouble locking up. All accomplished then back across the bridge (about 600-700m long) and out through the new station to a Ukrainian eatery opposite, very good food selection, astounding prices and tasty.
A note about Kyiv. It feels a little edgy in particular in and around Kyiv Pass stations, there are a lot of tough looking service men and police with serious expressions but we didn't feel intimidated. They appeared lightly armed compared to what we see in parts of London and at airports. It did not feel threatening it's important to say and often saw young men and service men helping the elderly with luggage.
It's late here in Moscow so more later, but just to paint the picture I'm sitting here writing looking through a panoramic window on the 11th floor of a good hotel watching low rise Moscow go about it's night business. Moskva Kievskaya station is below us so we can watch all the train movements in and out too if we stand up.
Fairly uneventful night after Passport and Customs twice plus the axle changes, although Rob and Martine who have brand new passports and came in for fairly close scrutiny.
The car rode really well, almost as good as the best of much newer rolling stock. All the fittings are solid and everything looked of good quality if a little dated, testament to the craftsmanship of days gone by.
Arrived In Kyiv with a little drama. Our phone didn't update the time zone change after the Poland/Ukraine border crossing, so according to us in our compartment we had 1 hour and 7 minutes to wash, dress, pack away and get ready to de-train, in reality we had 7 minutes but didn't know until a few minutes later...
Rob and Martine's phone did update, they were in the corridor ready to de-train 2 minutes after we woke up, oh dear.
Train staff told us we had to get off immediately as the train was pulling out even though it terminated in Kyiv, so poor Rosie got a little flustered as we were in underwear but we managed ok and the train hadn't moved 4 hours later which we could see when crossing the track bridge later in the day.
Our car just arrived at Kyiv Pass, Ukraine
First job was using our ticket voucher to collect our tickets for the Kyiv - Moskva sleeper later that same day. They were to be found in Hall 4 at Window 12 for ticket collection for internet sales. Already knew from Seat 61 that the window was open 24 hours with closed for rest breaks times posted on the window. We were in good time with no break just gone or due but the office behind window 12 looked a little dark. After waiting around for a few minutes with no one in sight we went to window 11 (strictly for Service personnel only!) where there were two people sitting there, but no attention was paid until a hello was said and the ticket voucher was produced. At which point no argument that it was the wrong window, 4 tickets were printed in under 60 seconds, with a smiling thank you off we went to find left-luggage. Again we knew in which part of the original station it was located thanks to Seat 61 (in the old station to the left side of the escalators up to the station connecting bridge and down several flights of stairs so you have to be fit). Tokens bought for 2 lockers and packed but wouldn't all go in, 3rd token and now ready to lock them but we needed help from a friendly attendant who had guessed we were about to have trouble locking up. All accomplished then back across the bridge (about 600-700m long) and out through the new station to a Ukrainian eatery opposite, very good food selection, astounding prices and tasty.
A note about Kyiv. It feels a little edgy in particular in and around Kyiv Pass stations, there are a lot of tough looking service men and police with serious expressions but we didn't feel intimidated. They appeared lightly armed compared to what we see in parts of London and at airports. It did not feel threatening it's important to say and often saw young men and service men helping the elderly with luggage.
It's late here in Moscow so more later, but just to paint the picture I'm sitting here writing looking through a panoramic window on the 11th floor of a good hotel watching low rise Moscow go about it's night business. Moskva Kievskaya station is below us so we can watch all the train movements in and out too if we stand up.
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caravanman
Engineer
Excellent !
Ed.
Ed.
Seaboard92
Engineer
Amazing trip report. I can't wait to hear more. I had a similar dilemma to yours in Bruxelles only I was starting my trip there. Except our ICE ended up in the end completely cancelled.
Have to mention that there are quite a few photos but can't get them uploaded here. They may have to wait until we return to London in 4 weeks or so as between Rob and Ruth (both very capable phone and computer enthusiasts) and myself (not as knowledgable but pretty dogged) we've run out of ideas.
Day 3 continued
Have to go back a little for Barciur, back to Day 2 evening. 4 of us were on Lublin alert to make 110% sure that I didn't miss it, but it is a pretty sizeable town/city and a well signed railway station. Poised ready to jump off the train as it stopped, camera ready to go. Barciur, kept my side of the bargain and have a photo or two of your home town station. If you want to see them in a hurry then send an email, but if not they will get posted here at some point.
For Barciur, his home town station
The parts we saw of Kyiv looked pleasant and interesting, but it is heavily influenced at the moment with martyr sites for those killed in the Maidan Square uprising in early 2014, protests and demonstrations of one form or another and a security presence. There are many fine buildings, cathedral and churches and people look busy and quite well off.
The large double station area is full of life inside and outside the station, reminiscent of large stations in mainland Europe in the early and mid 60's. Wanted to photo the interior of the 'old' station but didn't think it the best idea with so many military around.
We took the Metro from outside of Kyiv Pass through to Arsenalna ( Арсенальна ) Metro station, here thanks to Long Train Runnin' for pointing out that there lies the deepest Metro station in the world. Deep it certainly is, the escalators appear speeded up as they travel over an enormous distance up and down, it would take forever to cover the journey to the surface at regular speed.
Photo 1 - the deepest Metro station platform in the world
Photo 2 - from the top of the first escalator looking down, it start is very much a dot in the distance. Escalator No.2 to the surface from this point was about as long
Enjoyed walking Kyiv but it is slightly hilly so not for everyone. People appear cautious but friendly and give help willingly if asked. Late afternoon and back to the station area to eat again, same place as breakfast with the same good results. We all took a liking to Kyiv, Rosie and I would like to return here sometime soon for a longer stay.
Sign in partial English at Kyiv Metro station
Makeshift memorials to the people killed in Maidan Square are everywhere
Hasn't stopped young people demonstrating, a small demonstration forming
In the subway under Maidan square, a busker playing a cross between the Balalaika and a harp? He had a fine tenor voice too and was signing Hallelujah, moved me to tears after spending a little time in the square above.
Recovered our bags from the Left Luggage and soon on our way to the now indicated platform. Waiting there was what looked like an updated version of the Warsawa to Kyiv train, the Moskva Night Sleeper.
Loaded us and all our stuff into a 4 bed compartment and started to settle for our first journey into Russia. The compartment although larger than the previous 2 berth had less room with 4 adults and bags, but we all knew each other which made life easier.
We think the 4 berth compartment we have booked on the Trans Sib (Trans Siberian Express) is the same size, so that should be interesting as we will live in it for 7 days next week. Can also see on the RZD website that the spare bed in our booked 4 berth compartment (we have booked 3 of them) is now taken by a person unknown, great excitement to find out who we are sharing with.
We leave on time for Moskva, in the morning as we are eating breakfast we should be in Moscow's outskirts.
Continued later
Day 3 continued
Have to go back a little for Barciur, back to Day 2 evening. 4 of us were on Lublin alert to make 110% sure that I didn't miss it, but it is a pretty sizeable town/city and a well signed railway station. Poised ready to jump off the train as it stopped, camera ready to go. Barciur, kept my side of the bargain and have a photo or two of your home town station. If you want to see them in a hurry then send an email, but if not they will get posted here at some point.
For Barciur, his home town station
The parts we saw of Kyiv looked pleasant and interesting, but it is heavily influenced at the moment with martyr sites for those killed in the Maidan Square uprising in early 2014, protests and demonstrations of one form or another and a security presence. There are many fine buildings, cathedral and churches and people look busy and quite well off.
The large double station area is full of life inside and outside the station, reminiscent of large stations in mainland Europe in the early and mid 60's. Wanted to photo the interior of the 'old' station but didn't think it the best idea with so many military around.
We took the Metro from outside of Kyiv Pass through to Arsenalna ( Арсенальна ) Metro station, here thanks to Long Train Runnin' for pointing out that there lies the deepest Metro station in the world. Deep it certainly is, the escalators appear speeded up as they travel over an enormous distance up and down, it would take forever to cover the journey to the surface at regular speed.
Photo 1 - the deepest Metro station platform in the world
Photo 2 - from the top of the first escalator looking down, it start is very much a dot in the distance. Escalator No.2 to the surface from this point was about as long
Enjoyed walking Kyiv but it is slightly hilly so not for everyone. People appear cautious but friendly and give help willingly if asked. Late afternoon and back to the station area to eat again, same place as breakfast with the same good results. We all took a liking to Kyiv, Rosie and I would like to return here sometime soon for a longer stay.
Sign in partial English at Kyiv Metro station
Makeshift memorials to the people killed in Maidan Square are everywhere
Hasn't stopped young people demonstrating, a small demonstration forming
In the subway under Maidan square, a busker playing a cross between the Balalaika and a harp? He had a fine tenor voice too and was signing Hallelujah, moved me to tears after spending a little time in the square above.
Recovered our bags from the Left Luggage and soon on our way to the now indicated platform. Waiting there was what looked like an updated version of the Warsawa to Kyiv train, the Moskva Night Sleeper.
Loaded us and all our stuff into a 4 bed compartment and started to settle for our first journey into Russia. The compartment although larger than the previous 2 berth had less room with 4 adults and bags, but we all knew each other which made life easier.
We think the 4 berth compartment we have booked on the Trans Sib (Trans Siberian Express) is the same size, so that should be interesting as we will live in it for 7 days next week. Can also see on the RZD website that the spare bed in our booked 4 berth compartment (we have booked 3 of them) is now taken by a person unknown, great excitement to find out who we are sharing with.
We leave on time for Moskva, in the morning as we are eating breakfast we should be in Moscow's outskirts.
Continued later
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Day 3 continued - evening
A short while after setting off tea (Chai) was brought to our compartment, the first of the 2 teas we ordered when booking the tickets. The hot water on this again Ukrainian train is heated by Samovars (boilers), at one end of the car heating by gas, the other end heating by wood or coal. Arrived at the Ukraine exit customs around 22:00, large military and border personnel force boarded and were soon at our compartment. We had 2 discoveries that evening, one that a very few Europeans / Americans use this route to Moskva, two that there were 2 tied closed plastic sacks in the corner of the compartment upper bag storage above the corridor. They didn't belong to any of us and Rob and Martine were having kittens that it may be smuggled goods. Felt through the sack plastic, the contents were shoes? some with very high heels! Asked a neighbour in the next compartment who made this journey about every 2 weeks and he said don't worry. Shortly after asked our car attendant what we should do with them and she said don't worry. Rosie and I are pretty relaxed people but Rob and Martine are now breaking out into a sweat as we hear the border forces come aboard., it gets worse for Martine...
Customs man comes into the compartment, glances up at the sacks above our heads, gives a cursory glance at us and the compartment and goes. Then the military come in for passports. Martine's is given special attention as is Rob's passport later. The passport control officer popped out to confer (did this a few times) and I try to reassure our friends by telling them they do this just to make you feel nervous, they certainly succeeded. After about an hour and 20 minutes he stamps their passports and waves a cheery goodbye, they both look years older. Have to say it was the longest passport check I've ever witnessed.
The sacks are now really bothering them as we have Russian border controls to come and whatever is in these bags could be contraband, could be in for for an interesting night.
Continued later
A short while after setting off tea (Chai) was brought to our compartment, the first of the 2 teas we ordered when booking the tickets. The hot water on this again Ukrainian train is heated by Samovars (boilers), at one end of the car heating by gas, the other end heating by wood or coal. Arrived at the Ukraine exit customs around 22:00, large military and border personnel force boarded and were soon at our compartment. We had 2 discoveries that evening, one that a very few Europeans / Americans use this route to Moskva, two that there were 2 tied closed plastic sacks in the corner of the compartment upper bag storage above the corridor. They didn't belong to any of us and Rob and Martine were having kittens that it may be smuggled goods. Felt through the sack plastic, the contents were shoes? some with very high heels! Asked a neighbour in the next compartment who made this journey about every 2 weeks and he said don't worry. Shortly after asked our car attendant what we should do with them and she said don't worry. Rosie and I are pretty relaxed people but Rob and Martine are now breaking out into a sweat as we hear the border forces come aboard., it gets worse for Martine...
Customs man comes into the compartment, glances up at the sacks above our heads, gives a cursory glance at us and the compartment and goes. Then the military come in for passports. Martine's is given special attention as is Rob's passport later. The passport control officer popped out to confer (did this a few times) and I try to reassure our friends by telling them they do this just to make you feel nervous, they certainly succeeded. After about an hour and 20 minutes he stamps their passports and waves a cheery goodbye, they both look years older. Have to say it was the longest passport check I've ever witnessed.
The sacks are now really bothering them as we have Russian border controls to come and whatever is in these bags could be contraband, could be in for for an interesting night.
Continued later
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Sounds like these border agents are returning to the Cold War days when crossing a border was a very nerve racking expierence,especially for Americans!
It appears that our ICE officials are be adopting these methods of intimidation of "foriegners" entering the US under the new regime!
Looking forward to future episodes of the long,long trip to seldom visited places!
It appears that our ICE officials are be adopting these methods of intimidation of "foriegners" entering the US under the new regime!
Looking forward to future episodes of the long,long trip to seldom visited places!
Don't worry about the uploads, everyone's having problems with them right now. I am also looking forward to the next installment, and the photos when technology allows.
caravanman
Engineer
When we flew into Rangoon airport in Burma, many years ago, our Lonely Planet guide book recommended taking duty free packs of cigarettes and a particular brand of scotch. The customs man was the first to ask if we wanted to sell them, and led us over to a huge room full of these same products. Maybe there is a customs person with a shoe fetish waiting somewhere ahead for their fix
I would insist that they went out of the compartment, let the "don't worry" train crew member not worry!
Edwin
I would insist that they went out of the compartment, let the "don't worry" train crew member not worry!
Edwin
Barciur
OBS Chief
Thank you for remembering! No need to hurry on pictures, it's okay. Just wanted to see if you remembered
Question for you: how was communication in terms of language? You mention you have been able to communicate with attendants and border guards - do they speak English or other means were employed?
Question for you: how was communication in terms of language? You mention you have been able to communicate with attendants and border guards - do they speak English or other means were employed?
Day 4 - 03:00 Thursday 2 March
Have moved at a regular speed from the Ukraine into Russia during the midnight hours, travelled quite a distance too. There didn't appear to be any change of train equipment at any point. We stop for Customs and passports at 3am, the Russian officials board quickly and we get an another customs officer who looks around our compartment after first glancing up into the corner where the shoes are. At this point he asks Rob and Martine to lift the lower bunk bed so he can look at their luggage, which he examines one piece of then he's gone.
The passport border official is almost smiley compared to the serious face of the Ukrainian officials in army fatigues, but he gives Rob and Martine's passports the same attention as ours and is quickly gone.
Then a man in a Puffer jacket and jeans arrives and asks us each individually what we were asked when we applied for a visa, which job, which school, what degree and what work we do now. Will we try to find work in Russia and where do we travel. Even having a third visitor went smoothly apart from Rob trying to use a Russian language app on his phone to translate his answers into Russian, this was declared "a bad idea" by our questioner in very good English. So it all went smoothly if not swiftly, we even got a smile on his departure.
My phone at last updated the time zone at the moment we crossed into Russia, but probably trying to atone for not updating for the Ukraine it over compensated and added an extra hour, for our 4 days in Moskva I alone was living in the Siberian city of Perm time zone, life is becoming complicated.
We all get 4 hours sleep before preparing for our arrival in Kievskaya station Moskva. After a slow trawl through the extensive suburbs we are there. Amazing to watch men working near to the tracks with no gloves, yes there is snow on the ground and it's pretty cold with a NE (from Siberia) blowing.
The sacks of shoes. As we pull into Moscow Kievskaya station 2 serious looking large men appear at our compartment, they don't look like the attendant's little helpers or trans dressers either. They are accompanied by the car attendant who is there to keep us calm but the carriage is now becoming quite crowded and there is a tension in the air. We are packed up and ready to go but are blocked from moving. The car attendant points to the sacks, nods at us and a man climbs up, pulls down one and then the second sack all in silence and then they are gone, with the shoes...
We'll never know the real story but can always spend a minute or two guessing.
Next up is meeting with Ruth and a 4 day break before the Trans Siberia Express takes us east.
Her smile is as big as ever, we meet Ruth again after 2 years and it's very good to do so, Rob and Martine meet her for the first time. She has already scouted the hotel we all stay in and the correct station exit. All exits except one are now closed due to a high level of security we found all over the city. It was required to put all bags through a scanner and each person is scanned, that was to exit the station too.
Our arrival station Moskva Kievskaya. Photo taken on leaving Moskva 4 days after our arrival, this is the only photo we have of it.
The hotel Moskva Kievskaya Ibis is only 200m away from the exit, all local life is around and outside the station which makes the area feel lived in. First impressions are very good, it improved during our stay.
We are 4 days in Mockba and as this is a travelogue and not a city guide I'll just list highlights -
St Basil's Cathedral, Red Square, Moskva
One of two soldiers attending the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, outside the Kremlin walls
Lubyanka, Moskva. The headquarters of the former KGB - now home to the FSB
Yaroslavsky station Moskva, the unforgettable start point for the Trans Siberian Express
Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics, gigantic monument sited above the museum - Moskva
Have moved at a regular speed from the Ukraine into Russia during the midnight hours, travelled quite a distance too. There didn't appear to be any change of train equipment at any point. We stop for Customs and passports at 3am, the Russian officials board quickly and we get an another customs officer who looks around our compartment after first glancing up into the corner where the shoes are. At this point he asks Rob and Martine to lift the lower bunk bed so he can look at their luggage, which he examines one piece of then he's gone.
The passport border official is almost smiley compared to the serious face of the Ukrainian officials in army fatigues, but he gives Rob and Martine's passports the same attention as ours and is quickly gone.
Then a man in a Puffer jacket and jeans arrives and asks us each individually what we were asked when we applied for a visa, which job, which school, what degree and what work we do now. Will we try to find work in Russia and where do we travel. Even having a third visitor went smoothly apart from Rob trying to use a Russian language app on his phone to translate his answers into Russian, this was declared "a bad idea" by our questioner in very good English. So it all went smoothly if not swiftly, we even got a smile on his departure.
My phone at last updated the time zone at the moment we crossed into Russia, but probably trying to atone for not updating for the Ukraine it over compensated and added an extra hour, for our 4 days in Moskva I alone was living in the Siberian city of Perm time zone, life is becoming complicated.
We all get 4 hours sleep before preparing for our arrival in Kievskaya station Moskva. After a slow trawl through the extensive suburbs we are there. Amazing to watch men working near to the tracks with no gloves, yes there is snow on the ground and it's pretty cold with a NE (from Siberia) blowing.
The sacks of shoes. As we pull into Moscow Kievskaya station 2 serious looking large men appear at our compartment, they don't look like the attendant's little helpers or trans dressers either. They are accompanied by the car attendant who is there to keep us calm but the carriage is now becoming quite crowded and there is a tension in the air. We are packed up and ready to go but are blocked from moving. The car attendant points to the sacks, nods at us and a man climbs up, pulls down one and then the second sack all in silence and then they are gone, with the shoes...
We'll never know the real story but can always spend a minute or two guessing.
Next up is meeting with Ruth and a 4 day break before the Trans Siberia Express takes us east.
Her smile is as big as ever, we meet Ruth again after 2 years and it's very good to do so, Rob and Martine meet her for the first time. She has already scouted the hotel we all stay in and the correct station exit. All exits except one are now closed due to a high level of security we found all over the city. It was required to put all bags through a scanner and each person is scanned, that was to exit the station too.
Our arrival station Moskva Kievskaya. Photo taken on leaving Moskva 4 days after our arrival, this is the only photo we have of it.
The hotel Moskva Kievskaya Ibis is only 200m away from the exit, all local life is around and outside the station which makes the area feel lived in. First impressions are very good, it improved during our stay.
We are 4 days in Mockba and as this is a travelogue and not a city guide I'll just list highlights -
- Hotel superb in all aspects
- Moscow Metro system works as well as any we have used, well priced and looks like an art gallery in places, never seen the like of this.
- People look serious but are very friendly if approached, most try hard to help, we really enjoyed being with Moscow people
- They have Red Square which is pretty spectacular and larger than we expected. Everything is brighter and more 3D than any photos show. All the main buildings appear as though they were painted yesterday.
- The Cosmonaut Museum was for me to die for. They presented the USSR and Russian view of the Space Race, how they succeeded and failed with rocket and space travel projects, the human aspect and cost of pioneering space in a mixture of detail and overview. The dog space suits were worth the admission price alone. Possibly the very best aspect of the Cosmo museum is the gigantic rocket taking off sculpture above the museum reaching high up to the sky. All in all a quite inspiring and one of the very best museums we have ever visited.
- Food is good and can be had at any level easily, all well prepared to our tastes.
- An amazing number of elegant, tall, beautifully dressed women with such poise we think there must be something in the water. This view is what the 3 women in our party think by the way.
- A very easy, surprising, friendly and enjoyable city to visit.
St Basil's Cathedral, Red Square, Moskva
One of two soldiers attending the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, outside the Kremlin walls
Lubyanka, Moskva. The headquarters of the former KGB - now home to the FSB
Yaroslavsky station Moskva, the unforgettable start point for the Trans Siberian Express
Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics, gigantic monument sited above the museum - Moskva
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Day 7 - Sunday 5 March evening leaving Moskva ~ Train Day 1
9pm we are ready to leave the lounge of the hotel, 25 minutes on the outer Metro circle line (Brown Line) and we are outside our departure station, the Yaroslavsky Station.
Upstairs to one of two large waiting areas, many people here waiting for Asia bound long distance trains, often with large amounts of baggage. This is not a holiday or sight seeing train at all, a better description would be an enormously long distance commuter train where the commute can take from a few hours to 7 days and nights.
We are now excited as we have all waited for this moment for over 40 years, just waiting to be given the platform number to get to our own Trans Sib Express, the Rossiya 002 to Vladivostok.
At last we are called and we are chattering like children as we make our way downstairs, out the station building, across to the right to platform No.1. It's 11pm, the air is heavy with an icy mist which creates an eerie glow around the platform lamps, the train attendants stand smartly in their very Russian uniforms by their carriage doors. Boarding is only allowed for the 1st class passengers at first so I walk up to the engine(s) to take a few quick photos, on the way there was a car attendant who looks exactly like Stalin in uniform but much larger, an awesome sight.
The engines are electric and made a while ago by Skoda who now are well known as the maker of cars (now under VW ownership). They also made trucks and train locomotives and have a superb museum well worth any rail fan's time and money. There are two engines back to back, and although I'm no train expert they look quite old but powerful, very atmospheric. The whole scene is set and is perfect.
Get back to our car and Rosie is at the door and looking worried, Ruth and all our bags are missing. I laugh and think this is a wind-up, but no our compartment is empty. Rosie stood on the platform to keep an eye on our bags while a more energetic and younger Ruth loaded our things onto the train, but she has disappeared as have our bags!
Standing in our compartment we hear a commotion at the far end of the car and go to investigate, Ruth is defending the wrong compartment against all comers with bags from all over being placed inside so no-one can get in at all, Ruth thinks our 4th room mate is a Russian family of 3 and is standing her ground.
She had made a simple mistake and doesn't realise, but is a determined girl. Everybody laughed at the end and we appear to have made Russian friends?
The Rossiya leaves on time at 23:45, a very slow smooth start through a dark misty Mockba. Will we ever return to this city? Yes if we can as it's one of the few places we would visit twice along with San Francisco and New York, oh yes and Oklahoma City.
Day 8 - Monday 6 March towards Valdivostok ~ Train Day 2
00:01 am - Well, even at this late hour it took a couple of hours for us to settle down, didn't know which of us was most excited. It had snowed heavily but was only apparent after leaving the city.
Trackside views appear to be the same the world over, this is just the Russian version made up of small wooden houses of which a few are painted bright blue, they line the tracks or create villages just like anywhere. Inside the city everything is larger than life, outside it's all smaller than we would expect.
The compartment is as we thought from the Ukrainian sleeper, similar dimensions and layout. There is a tv with 2 channels, cartoons on one side, and an old film on the other. The fittings are all very smart and clean, in fact it's possible to say immaculate. The Ukrainian cars had lockers under the lower beds, the Russian open side spaces. The Russian compartment has a full length mirror on the inside of the door so when the door is closed there is a sense of space, very clever. The beds are firm to our taste, but all bunks are 1 piece mattresses.
It's a comfortable train and best of all we have a friendly Provodnitsa who is a service fanatic. She cleans the whole car twice every day including vacuuming the corridor and each compartment. The bathrooms are also excellent at all times too. Elena is possibly the exception on this train, we'll never know, but house-proud and carrying out her duty appear to be her motivation.
We set off with no 4th passenger in the compartment, an amount more space is created to be able to spread out a little. Asked Elena why the 4th bunk was booked but no-one on board and she shrugged, then said enjoy it.
Good sleep in a smooth riding car.
Next morning off we go to the Samovar at the end of the car, boiling hot water in our newly aquired RZD glass cups with metal RZD holders. We have maybe 2 weeks supply of tea bags with us so it's tea on a regular basis from now on.
We are looking forward to getting off the train at Kirov Pass at 12:07, our first opportunity to stretch our legs in 12 hours. Only a kiosk or two on the platform and no Babushkas. Rosie bumped into a small group of jolly men by the car steps. We all fall into broken conversation and lots of laughing about who knows what, then they invite me only? to their compartment even though I protest that we travel as a group, there is no option. Sit with a large man either side and a pair opposite and wonder what's it's all about. It's simple, I'm invited as the only male and they want to practice English plus explain how much they love Mother Russia.
I'll leave most of this out as they had already a half emptied a bottle(s) of Wodka, but it starts as they pour 5 shot glasses full and I'm encouraged to drink with them. Try to explain I only drink with an evening meal but that is apparently not understood, they also mention that as I'm poured a drink along with themselves I am insulting their hospitality if I don't drink, no options then. Then the second but I really protest at the third. By this time I know they get off only one day before us so I'll be alcoholic before we arrive in Vlad.
They explain who the are, there are 5 of them on the train, 4 in this carriage. They are in the military, based at an air base in Smolensk, all around 35 years old and are officers. 4 Majors and a Colonel they are all air based weapons experts. One had represented Russia in the last Winter Olympics, they all had family that came from outside of the country of Russia but loved their Russian Union. I guess much like Americans love their country and their home state in different ways.
This felt like a dejarvu moment from years ago, but that's another story.
They were a very happy group of men, easy in each others company and with me. Their English was 10x better than my Russian, I have 3 words. After 3 Wodkas I'll laugh at anything, after 10 Wodkas they did too.
Made my excuses after around 90 minutes, they were ready for an afternoon nap and my head was spinning but not from Wodka. It's always the same feeling that where ever you go in the world we are all different and at the same time all the same.
Most people on this train are keeping themselves to themselves, even the military are after our introducing session. It doesn't feel unfriendly just very reserved which feels like the Russian way. Rosie and I agreed that we miss the Amtrak viewing and dinning cars a lot for their informal friendliness.
The remainder of the afternoon and evening were uneventful, hills are appearing as we are approaching the Ural mountains and Yekaterinburg where the Russian royal family were murdered.
It's a mixture of small single story houses, some smaller factories but no apparent farming, but it is still full winter here and it would be hard to work on the land?
Arrive at our evening stop of Perm at 19:51, the name is the attraction and we all get off to take a look and walk. Back to the compartment and we have found our 4th member who has positioned himself on the top bunk. Greet him with a hello, he just nods and returns to his phone screen. Remains in his bunk until early next morning when he disappears as quickly as he appeared, but on leaving he did say da svidaniya to Ruth as she was up and about at 6am.
Wanted to continue writing this report and thought maybe the restaurant car would be ok to sit in for a couple of hours without disturbing Rosie and Ruth who wanted to sleep, but it was being locked up at 10pm so no luck there. The night stop came and went, occasional lit areas along the track. All room doors are closed in the evening (most are closed in the day too) for the privacy reason so a quiet evening.
9pm we are ready to leave the lounge of the hotel, 25 minutes on the outer Metro circle line (Brown Line) and we are outside our departure station, the Yaroslavsky Station.
Upstairs to one of two large waiting areas, many people here waiting for Asia bound long distance trains, often with large amounts of baggage. This is not a holiday or sight seeing train at all, a better description would be an enormously long distance commuter train where the commute can take from a few hours to 7 days and nights.
We are now excited as we have all waited for this moment for over 40 years, just waiting to be given the platform number to get to our own Trans Sib Express, the Rossiya 002 to Vladivostok.
At last we are called and we are chattering like children as we make our way downstairs, out the station building, across to the right to platform No.1. It's 11pm, the air is heavy with an icy mist which creates an eerie glow around the platform lamps, the train attendants stand smartly in their very Russian uniforms by their carriage doors. Boarding is only allowed for the 1st class passengers at first so I walk up to the engine(s) to take a few quick photos, on the way there was a car attendant who looks exactly like Stalin in uniform but much larger, an awesome sight.
The engines are electric and made a while ago by Skoda who now are well known as the maker of cars (now under VW ownership). They also made trucks and train locomotives and have a superb museum well worth any rail fan's time and money. There are two engines back to back, and although I'm no train expert they look quite old but powerful, very atmospheric. The whole scene is set and is perfect.
Get back to our car and Rosie is at the door and looking worried, Ruth and all our bags are missing. I laugh and think this is a wind-up, but no our compartment is empty. Rosie stood on the platform to keep an eye on our bags while a more energetic and younger Ruth loaded our things onto the train, but she has disappeared as have our bags!
Standing in our compartment we hear a commotion at the far end of the car and go to investigate, Ruth is defending the wrong compartment against all comers with bags from all over being placed inside so no-one can get in at all, Ruth thinks our 4th room mate is a Russian family of 3 and is standing her ground.
She had made a simple mistake and doesn't realise, but is a determined girl. Everybody laughed at the end and we appear to have made Russian friends?
The Rossiya leaves on time at 23:45, a very slow smooth start through a dark misty Mockba. Will we ever return to this city? Yes if we can as it's one of the few places we would visit twice along with San Francisco and New York, oh yes and Oklahoma City.
Day 8 - Monday 6 March towards Valdivostok ~ Train Day 2
00:01 am - Well, even at this late hour it took a couple of hours for us to settle down, didn't know which of us was most excited. It had snowed heavily but was only apparent after leaving the city.
Trackside views appear to be the same the world over, this is just the Russian version made up of small wooden houses of which a few are painted bright blue, they line the tracks or create villages just like anywhere. Inside the city everything is larger than life, outside it's all smaller than we would expect.
The compartment is as we thought from the Ukrainian sleeper, similar dimensions and layout. There is a tv with 2 channels, cartoons on one side, and an old film on the other. The fittings are all very smart and clean, in fact it's possible to say immaculate. The Ukrainian cars had lockers under the lower beds, the Russian open side spaces. The Russian compartment has a full length mirror on the inside of the door so when the door is closed there is a sense of space, very clever. The beds are firm to our taste, but all bunks are 1 piece mattresses.
It's a comfortable train and best of all we have a friendly Provodnitsa who is a service fanatic. She cleans the whole car twice every day including vacuuming the corridor and each compartment. The bathrooms are also excellent at all times too. Elena is possibly the exception on this train, we'll never know, but house-proud and carrying out her duty appear to be her motivation.
We set off with no 4th passenger in the compartment, an amount more space is created to be able to spread out a little. Asked Elena why the 4th bunk was booked but no-one on board and she shrugged, then said enjoy it.
Good sleep in a smooth riding car.
Next morning off we go to the Samovar at the end of the car, boiling hot water in our newly aquired RZD glass cups with metal RZD holders. We have maybe 2 weeks supply of tea bags with us so it's tea on a regular basis from now on.
We are looking forward to getting off the train at Kirov Pass at 12:07, our first opportunity to stretch our legs in 12 hours. Only a kiosk or two on the platform and no Babushkas. Rosie bumped into a small group of jolly men by the car steps. We all fall into broken conversation and lots of laughing about who knows what, then they invite me only? to their compartment even though I protest that we travel as a group, there is no option. Sit with a large man either side and a pair opposite and wonder what's it's all about. It's simple, I'm invited as the only male and they want to practice English plus explain how much they love Mother Russia.
I'll leave most of this out as they had already a half emptied a bottle(s) of Wodka, but it starts as they pour 5 shot glasses full and I'm encouraged to drink with them. Try to explain I only drink with an evening meal but that is apparently not understood, they also mention that as I'm poured a drink along with themselves I am insulting their hospitality if I don't drink, no options then. Then the second but I really protest at the third. By this time I know they get off only one day before us so I'll be alcoholic before we arrive in Vlad.
They explain who the are, there are 5 of them on the train, 4 in this carriage. They are in the military, based at an air base in Smolensk, all around 35 years old and are officers. 4 Majors and a Colonel they are all air based weapons experts. One had represented Russia in the last Winter Olympics, they all had family that came from outside of the country of Russia but loved their Russian Union. I guess much like Americans love their country and their home state in different ways.
This felt like a dejarvu moment from years ago, but that's another story.
They were a very happy group of men, easy in each others company and with me. Their English was 10x better than my Russian, I have 3 words. After 3 Wodkas I'll laugh at anything, after 10 Wodkas they did too.
Made my excuses after around 90 minutes, they were ready for an afternoon nap and my head was spinning but not from Wodka. It's always the same feeling that where ever you go in the world we are all different and at the same time all the same.
Most people on this train are keeping themselves to themselves, even the military are after our introducing session. It doesn't feel unfriendly just very reserved which feels like the Russian way. Rosie and I agreed that we miss the Amtrak viewing and dinning cars a lot for their informal friendliness.
The remainder of the afternoon and evening were uneventful, hills are appearing as we are approaching the Ural mountains and Yekaterinburg where the Russian royal family were murdered.
It's a mixture of small single story houses, some smaller factories but no apparent farming, but it is still full winter here and it would be hard to work on the land?
Arrive at our evening stop of Perm at 19:51, the name is the attraction and we all get off to take a look and walk. Back to the compartment and we have found our 4th member who has positioned himself on the top bunk. Greet him with a hello, he just nods and returns to his phone screen. Remains in his bunk until early next morning when he disappears as quickly as he appeared, but on leaving he did say da svidaniya to Ruth as she was up and about at 6am.
Wanted to continue writing this report and thought maybe the restaurant car would be ok to sit in for a couple of hours without disturbing Rosie and Ruth who wanted to sleep, but it was being locked up at 10pm so no luck there. The night stop came and went, occasional lit areas along the track. All room doors are closed in the evening (most are closed in the day too) for the privacy reason so a quiet evening.
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Made it across the Big Nowhere and Lived to tell about it!
Now it's on to Asia!
Now it's on to Asia!
Love your narrative style! Thanks so much for the details, looking forward to more.
caravanman
Engineer
Excellent read, such fun... I can imagine looking over your shoulder as you are describing the events of the journey.
Was all of the "Trans Siberian" train comprised of sleeper compartments, or were there any basic coach seats too? Just wondering as you mention that it is like a commuter train... Not everyone is going the whole way.
Good Luck!
Ed.
Was all of the "Trans Siberian" train comprised of sleeper compartments, or were there any basic coach seats too? Just wondering as you mention that it is like a commuter train... Not everyone is going the whole way.
Good Luck!
Ed.
Seaboard, how did that story end re the cancelled train? we got away lightly compared to you then
Soon tell you Bob, we're arriving next week
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Started to go back over the previous text to add relevant photos. Internet in the main since leaving the UK has been poor overall so the text and photos are a little awry. Bit by bit I'll get all photos uploaded to appropriate sections. There are also a couple of answers to questions from a personal point of view.
Ed, it did become obvious that the shoes were placed in a passengers compartment for a reason, but always being a mischievous person who took the odd chance made a guess that all parties were in collaboration with the sacks contents and it would be fun to see what happened. The end of the shoes story is now inserted into Day 4, nothing too dramatic but appropriate.
The Trans Sib from Moskva to Vladivostok runs in two forms, the Rossiya trains No's 001 & 002 depending on direction, and the real commuter train that covers the same 9288 km route but adds about 30 - 40 more stops to the 50 - 60 of the Rossiya (sorry don't have the No. of the 'stopper' train to hand but can find it for you this week if you wish.) the stopper train takes about another 1 1/2 days longer than the Rossiyas, and run every other day to the Rossiyas so there is an every day departure.
The Rossiyas have 1st, 2nd and 3rd classes, the 3rd class is an open carriage with 4 bunks facing each other and 2 in the corridor, bit like Indian trains? 2nd class (Kupe) is about half the price of 1st class, 3rd class is about half of 2nd class. The best way of buying tickets for price is through RZD, Russian Railways. Pick a day to purchase that isn't a public holiday though as their CC acceptances appear to be switched off on those days. You can't until recently anyway though get an E-ticket for the Trans Sib through RZD, we used Trans Siberian Express company who were the best priced after RZD and excellent service and will supply an E-ticket. If you buy from RZD you will get a voucher or code to collect your ticket on arrival in Moskva.
The stopper train has only 3rd class and maybe coach? but 3rd class is remarkably cheap if bought in advance. We never saw coach offered on any overnight train including those from Warszawa to Kyiv and Kyiv to Moscow, but didn't go out of my way to find them either.
Again if you have any other questions just ask and I'll look stuff up for you, it's all with us while we travel.
As you probably know the Trans Sib is only one of 3 routes, the other two the Trans Mongolian and the Trans Manchurian both of which end in Beijing are a mixture of commuter and tourism. There are I believe better eating and sleeping facilities on both these later routes. I can only really comment on the Trans Sib though.
Opinion. 3rd class is interesting and very social, the facilities work but there are a lot of people using 2 only toilets. Maybe security is a small problem but all LD trains carry resident police.
2nd class was a good option, very reasonable in our opinion, met other car passengers and had 3 different Russian men in the empty 4th bed in our compartment. The Rossiya we took was close to full most of the time, it is winter and although we met a couple of young men making a 3000km train trip to collect a car to be driven back to their home town they seemed like the exception, most thought that using the train was a no brainer. They admitted it may be dangerous as there is snow and ice all along their route but they were confident maybe due to age?
If you were to make the journey straight through it has to be said it's an epic and will test you, if that's your idea then you may find the few creature comforts of 2nd class a good idea.
2nd class is used a fair bit by the military, we met Army, Navy and Airforce personnel close-up, there are further military adventures to report later. They created a sense of balance and well being by being on board. 3rd class was used by Russians on a tight budget and travelling only 1 or 2 days, plus on this train a lot of Korean workers going home too.
The last carriage was a mystery that we were not allowed to access, as was the front one. Have to say though that at one stop I'd walked down the platform to photo something behind the train and out popped a very 'fit' young lady from the last car who proceeded to use a Hula Hoop on the platform for 15 minutes, she got quite an audience from the assembled Koreans and one or two others.
Barciur, our attempts at Russian were pathetic, we said 'yes' and 'thank you' a lot. Rosie started to get a grip of the Alphabet but you have to start actively learning a bit of Russian a fair while before leaving, and this was almost a last minute journey for us.
We and Russians often became very frustrated but neither party gave up on a subject very often. Lots of grimaces, smiles and back slapping appeared to work, and if it didn't there was plenty of goodwill. Not sure about for you but there were only 4 foreigners on our train - no that's a mistake as there a Korean couple who are travelling as tourists as far as we could tell which makes 6 - so we were a bit of a curiosity to the others and they tried their cotton socks off to help us. I was travelling with 2 ladies who smile a lot, it's a big help. As mentioned our Provodnitsa was exceptional, although very limited English she smoothed the odd thing out for us which gave us confidence. Last to your question of how did we manage with all the different contact we had in Russia. We made detailed plans to start and always created a Plan B, or if no plan B we were prepared to modify anything already planned. We tried not to take too much too seriously as there was always a way, and we did survive what I have to repeat is an epic journey and lived to tell the tale, but not without a close call as you'll hear later.
PS: After thinking about this overnight there were another couple of factors on getting by with the language. They are choose who you ask to help and translator apps on your phone. So on the Trans Sib we had train staff but most didn't or couldn't help, there are exceptions. Young people (a girl of 10 with her mother was our best English speaker) wanted to help as they have become very westernised indeed and have an interest in English/American language. Military in particular officers have more English than they admit. Professionals if they are obvious.
The phone translators work quite well providing you have a signal. So in towns and cities abbreviated questions/answers are easy with a phone. On the Trans Siberian Express phone coverage was only 10% at best and not necessarily available at the moment you need to translate something.
Ed, it did become obvious that the shoes were placed in a passengers compartment for a reason, but always being a mischievous person who took the odd chance made a guess that all parties were in collaboration with the sacks contents and it would be fun to see what happened. The end of the shoes story is now inserted into Day 4, nothing too dramatic but appropriate.
The Trans Sib from Moskva to Vladivostok runs in two forms, the Rossiya trains No's 001 & 002 depending on direction, and the real commuter train that covers the same 9288 km route but adds about 30 - 40 more stops to the 50 - 60 of the Rossiya (sorry don't have the No. of the 'stopper' train to hand but can find it for you this week if you wish.) the stopper train takes about another 1 1/2 days longer than the Rossiyas, and run every other day to the Rossiyas so there is an every day departure.
The Rossiyas have 1st, 2nd and 3rd classes, the 3rd class is an open carriage with 4 bunks facing each other and 2 in the corridor, bit like Indian trains? 2nd class (Kupe) is about half the price of 1st class, 3rd class is about half of 2nd class. The best way of buying tickets for price is through RZD, Russian Railways. Pick a day to purchase that isn't a public holiday though as their CC acceptances appear to be switched off on those days. You can't until recently anyway though get an E-ticket for the Trans Sib through RZD, we used Trans Siberian Express company who were the best priced after RZD and excellent service and will supply an E-ticket. If you buy from RZD you will get a voucher or code to collect your ticket on arrival in Moskva.
The stopper train has only 3rd class and maybe coach? but 3rd class is remarkably cheap if bought in advance. We never saw coach offered on any overnight train including those from Warszawa to Kyiv and Kyiv to Moscow, but didn't go out of my way to find them either.
Again if you have any other questions just ask and I'll look stuff up for you, it's all with us while we travel.
As you probably know the Trans Sib is only one of 3 routes, the other two the Trans Mongolian and the Trans Manchurian both of which end in Beijing are a mixture of commuter and tourism. There are I believe better eating and sleeping facilities on both these later routes. I can only really comment on the Trans Sib though.
Opinion. 3rd class is interesting and very social, the facilities work but there are a lot of people using 2 only toilets. Maybe security is a small problem but all LD trains carry resident police.
2nd class was a good option, very reasonable in our opinion, met other car passengers and had 3 different Russian men in the empty 4th bed in our compartment. The Rossiya we took was close to full most of the time, it is winter and although we met a couple of young men making a 3000km train trip to collect a car to be driven back to their home town they seemed like the exception, most thought that using the train was a no brainer. They admitted it may be dangerous as there is snow and ice all along their route but they were confident maybe due to age?
If you were to make the journey straight through it has to be said it's an epic and will test you, if that's your idea then you may find the few creature comforts of 2nd class a good idea.
2nd class is used a fair bit by the military, we met Army, Navy and Airforce personnel close-up, there are further military adventures to report later. They created a sense of balance and well being by being on board. 3rd class was used by Russians on a tight budget and travelling only 1 or 2 days, plus on this train a lot of Korean workers going home too.
The last carriage was a mystery that we were not allowed to access, as was the front one. Have to say though that at one stop I'd walked down the platform to photo something behind the train and out popped a very 'fit' young lady from the last car who proceeded to use a Hula Hoop on the platform for 15 minutes, she got quite an audience from the assembled Koreans and one or two others.
Barciur, our attempts at Russian were pathetic, we said 'yes' and 'thank you' a lot. Rosie started to get a grip of the Alphabet but you have to start actively learning a bit of Russian a fair while before leaving, and this was almost a last minute journey for us.
We and Russians often became very frustrated but neither party gave up on a subject very often. Lots of grimaces, smiles and back slapping appeared to work, and if it didn't there was plenty of goodwill. Not sure about for you but there were only 4 foreigners on our train - no that's a mistake as there a Korean couple who are travelling as tourists as far as we could tell which makes 6 - so we were a bit of a curiosity to the others and they tried their cotton socks off to help us. I was travelling with 2 ladies who smile a lot, it's a big help. As mentioned our Provodnitsa was exceptional, although very limited English she smoothed the odd thing out for us which gave us confidence. Last to your question of how did we manage with all the different contact we had in Russia. We made detailed plans to start and always created a Plan B, or if no plan B we were prepared to modify anything already planned. We tried not to take too much too seriously as there was always a way, and we did survive what I have to repeat is an epic journey and lived to tell the tale, but not without a close call as you'll hear later.
PS: After thinking about this overnight there were another couple of factors on getting by with the language. They are choose who you ask to help and translator apps on your phone. So on the Trans Sib we had train staff but most didn't or couldn't help, there are exceptions. Young people (a girl of 10 with her mother was our best English speaker) wanted to help as they have become very westernised indeed and have an interest in English/American language. Military in particular officers have more English than they admit. Professionals if they are obvious.
The phone translators work quite well providing you have a signal. So in towns and cities abbreviated questions/answers are easy with a phone. On the Trans Siberian Express phone coverage was only 10% at best and not necessarily available at the moment you need to translate something.
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Day 9 - Tuesday 7 March into Siberia ~ Train Day 3
The hills are behind us, we've entered the Siberian Steppe. There is a lot of snow here and not too much road transport. The stands of Silver Birch trees in the snow are just beautiful, and even though they are repeated mile after mile they are no less stunning.
It's a simple day, sitting, getting off at every stop to walk a little, talking reading and writing, but mainly looking out at an endless landscape completely under snow. It's been a bright and sunny day today, looks beautiful in a stark way.
They refill the car water tanks every day even though there are no showers, one man services about 3 cars per stop. There are far more staff employed here than than in similar jobs in Europe, do they work on the basis that it's better to employ more people at lower wages and have more feel usefull?
A Russian Railways (RZD) tea glass and metal holder
An engine?
A military train
Typical view as it gets hilly
Babushkas going about their business
On the way to the restaurant car this evening Rosie bumps into an American lady travelling alone from choice. She travels the world mainly by train where she can as it's so much fun. At home she travels Amtrak a lot too, she lives to travel.
That makes for 6 foreigners on the whole train, 4 of us are travelling all the way to Vlad. 1 Taiwan - 1 American - 2 Korean - 2 English, the rest are Russian or Korean workers. The train is almost completely full, there are 11 or 12 accomodation cars.
Moskva time shown on the station clock, real time who knows anymore...
The restaurant car is of the modern type, looks very much like an Amtrak café car with fancy curtains, there are 3 staff in sight but only one serving the few customers. There is a chef somewhere too, maybe people eat earlier here?
Pricing is very good but the portions are small. Have to write that the food is nicely presented and we all say very tasty, but could do a little more to fill us.
We have stopped at Barabinsk while we are eating in the restaurant car and find a teenage boy has taken the 4th bunk when we return to our compartment. He looks slightly intimidated by the 3 older people who's space he has entered, but we all give him a smile and ask if he can speak English, he indicates a small amount but doesn't speak. After charging his phone he makes his bed and is away in his upper bunk. We all say that at that age we wouldn't have had much to say to 3 older room mates.
As mentioned before we are travelling through 7 time zones, but the train runs on Moscow Time (MT). The train timetable is all in MT, but to our surprise the internal life of the train is run at whatever time zone we are in, phew. It does get complicated as we have now crossed 4 time zones in 44 hours and have to keep up with the changes, but our timetable is running with no connection to day or night, very strange feeling.
The hills are behind us, we've entered the Siberian Steppe. There is a lot of snow here and not too much road transport. The stands of Silver Birch trees in the snow are just beautiful, and even though they are repeated mile after mile they are no less stunning.
It's a simple day, sitting, getting off at every stop to walk a little, talking reading and writing, but mainly looking out at an endless landscape completely under snow. It's been a bright and sunny day today, looks beautiful in a stark way.
They refill the car water tanks every day even though there are no showers, one man services about 3 cars per stop. There are far more staff employed here than than in similar jobs in Europe, do they work on the basis that it's better to employ more people at lower wages and have more feel usefull?
A Russian Railways (RZD) tea glass and metal holder
An engine?
A military train
Typical view as it gets hilly
Babushkas going about their business
On the way to the restaurant car this evening Rosie bumps into an American lady travelling alone from choice. She travels the world mainly by train where she can as it's so much fun. At home she travels Amtrak a lot too, she lives to travel.
That makes for 6 foreigners on the whole train, 4 of us are travelling all the way to Vlad. 1 Taiwan - 1 American - 2 Korean - 2 English, the rest are Russian or Korean workers. The train is almost completely full, there are 11 or 12 accomodation cars.
Moskva time shown on the station clock, real time who knows anymore...
The restaurant car is of the modern type, looks very much like an Amtrak café car with fancy curtains, there are 3 staff in sight but only one serving the few customers. There is a chef somewhere too, maybe people eat earlier here?
Pricing is very good but the portions are small. Have to write that the food is nicely presented and we all say very tasty, but could do a little more to fill us.
We have stopped at Barabinsk while we are eating in the restaurant car and find a teenage boy has taken the 4th bunk when we return to our compartment. He looks slightly intimidated by the 3 older people who's space he has entered, but we all give him a smile and ask if he can speak English, he indicates a small amount but doesn't speak. After charging his phone he makes his bed and is away in his upper bunk. We all say that at that age we wouldn't have had much to say to 3 older room mates.
As mentioned before we are travelling through 7 time zones, but the train runs on Moscow Time (MT). The train timetable is all in MT, but to our surprise the internal life of the train is run at whatever time zone we are in, phew. It does get complicated as we have now crossed 4 time zones in 44 hours and have to keep up with the changes, but our timetable is running with no connection to day or night, very strange feeling.
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It's a funny thing about the Big Nowhere, it is somewhere as people are dotted all along the rail line, either close to it or in the distance.
You travel sometimes a day or a day and a half with mostly nothing to distinguish the view from the window at that moment to a couple of hours before, then wham!, a major (frozen) river and a city the size of Dallas or bigger appears and goes on for miles and miles.
Did learn from Russians that beyond the rail corridor it gets pretty remote, and they do have real wildernesses similar to the remoter parts of Alaska and northern Canada.
Rosie's take on it was the scenery changed on a daily basis, one day it was all more or less the same and the next morning it was different but stayed that way all day until the next day.
Make no mistake there are a Zillion Silver Birch trees lining the track for about 8500km, but in the snow they do look very beautiful even without leaves, and without leaves it allows you to see far greater distances too. But there are also areas that are extremely beautiful too which are mostly after Ulan-Ude heading east through to Vladivostok.
