The train was fun, though not quite the grand adventure it's made out to be. Mostly it was the easiest part of my trip thus far. Just hanging out in one place for 4 days and talking to people in German (nobody speaks english in Russia, but they usually understand some German.) Every few hours, you get to step out onto the platform for 15 minutes and buy more Piroshkis or sausages. Got two books read!

written by  Jason Kester on May 28, 2004 from Moscow, Russia
from the travel blog: Southeast Asia, the Trans Siberian and Scandenavia
tagged TransSiberian
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We got on and spent an hour remarking how much better the train was than the Mongolia one had been... The "Baikal" is a gem amongst Trans-Siberian/Mongolian/Manchurian trains. Clean, spacious and comfortable are 3 good words to describe it... We got on and Natasha was getting her stuff ready with her daughter. The daughter disembarked before the train left and we ended up with 3 people out of 4 in the carriage but by the time we had woken up the next day a 4th member had been added... He didn't speak for 24 hours...

His name was Aleksei and lived somewhere near Moscow, that's all he said when Adam tried to engage him in a conversation.

We settled into a routine, we read, slept, ate, drank, visited the dining car, I watched a movie on the laptop (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, VERY GOOD!!!), and then all of a sudden 77 hours later we arrived...

We bumped into a couple of lads that we had met at the station in UlaanBataar, an English and a Hawaiian (Blonde haired and blue eyed, I didn't even ask him about Hawaii football as he didn't look genuine enough) lad... On the final night we had a few beers and a couple of shots of Vodka in true Russian style... They tasted like crap, but it was a great time...

We got off the train, Adam spent 25 minutes looking for the subway station, and it turned out that it was right next to where I was waiting for him... Oops!

We got to the apartment... Beautiful place, our landlady is a Russian lady that used to live in Sydney! Grouse chick, she really took care of us...

Went out to a bar (as it was Thursday night) called BB Kings, we sat next to where Faith No More had signed the wall, and all Canadians will be happy to know that BRIAN ADAMS ate at the same table as ME!

written by  Big_T on September 4, 2008 from Moscow, Russia
from the travel blog: Big_T's Travel Blog
tagged TransSiberian, Moscow and BrianAdams
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Jumping in Perm'

Aboard the transsiberian, life is simple for 4 days: eat, sleep, read, talk, take the apero, eat, sleep etc... That's a wonderful time where you end up relaxed as you've never been before.

But when you'll get offered the chance to stop in a station for more than 5 minutes, you come to really appreciate to get off of the train and walk around the platforms.

Perm is mostly an industrial city. But it is also the entry door to famous Oural mountains.

written by  Sly on September 14, 2010 from Perm', Russia
from the travel blog: Jumping Around
tagged TransSiberian, Train and Jumping
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Jumping in Balezino

After one night aboard train Rossyia (linking Moscow to Vladivostok), we stopped some time in Balezino. Enough time to stretch our legs and buy some food for the day to the local sellers on the platform.

written by  Sly on September 14, 2010 from Balezino, Russia
from the travel blog: Jumping Around
tagged TransSiberian and Jumping
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Jumping in Barabinsk

Barabinsk is a small city for which wikipedia says "the most important economic sectors are the production of building material as well as metal and agricultural industries".

Ok, might not be the hottest touristic spot of Russia.

written by  Sly on September 15, 2010 from Barabinsk, Russia
from the travel blog: Jumping Around
tagged TransSiberian and Jumping
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Jumping in Novosibirsk

A little lesson of Cyrillic.
- H = N
- B = V
- C = S
- И = I
- б = B
- P = R
So... HOBOCИбИCK = Novosibirsk !

Novosibirsk, largest city of Siberia (and third largest of Russia), is actually very new as it was created only because of the construction of the TransSiberian railway in the late 19th century. It is now one of the most important industrial centers of Russia.

written by  Sly on September 15, 2010 from Novosibirsk, Russia
from the travel blog: Jumping Around
tagged TransSiberian, Train and Jumping
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Jumping in Ilanskiy

Ever heard of Ilanskiy ? Me neither before stopping there. It is a small town completely lost in Siberia. But there you'll find an old and gorgeous locomotive from the early days of steam-powered TransSiberian railways.

written by  Sly on September 16, 2010 from Ilanskiy, Russia
from the travel blog: Jumping Around
tagged TransSiberian, Train and Jumping
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