2006-05-30

Go east young man!

After a couple of days by Lake Baikal which although nice were rather let down by the weather, I'm now in Irkutsk, which is the nearest city to the lake the railhead for the Trans-Siberian. It's a brief stop here then tomorrow morning just before 8am I'll be off again this time on the longest journey of all to Khabarovsk. For some reason I'd written down the wrong arrival time and had until this morning though I was arriving at 8am 2 days after departure, but it turns out it's 8.20pm, but what's 12 hours in the grand scheme of things, eh?

The last train journey was quite enjoyable as I shared the compartment with a couple of University professors, one of whom spoke good English, so for the first time in what seems like forever I was actually able to have a conversation with someone! I've not missed the chat all that much though. It's allowed me to relax and thing about where I'm going to next, what I'm doing (and perhaps also why the hell I'm doing it, lol!) The next train though is the mighty train number 2, so regardless of the company in the compartment it should be as well presented as any train that Russia can offer. I've not visited the restaurant cars in the trains I've taken so far but given the length of this journey I think I'll see what it has to offer this time, as otherwise I will be supremely sick of Russian supernoodles by the time I get to the far end!

I took some decent photos of Lake Baikal I reckon for what little time the weather was cooperative, however this PC I'm on in the internet cafe doesn't want to let me upload anything, so it'll have to wait until next time for that. I didn't do a great deal by the lake after the first day; the weather was cool and inclement, so I just visited one or two local places and otherwise caught up on some sleep and bummed around the hotel. It was fine though as I'm really feeling I need to catch up with some rest at the moment!

That's all for now. I'm going to head out shortly to explore that Irkutsk has to offer. There was an exhibition of Faberge eggs on but it finished two days ago. Curses! Hopefully I'll have more luck as my journey continues.

2006-05-28

Baikal

Well I'm away from the cities from once and by the largest body of freshwater in the world Lake Baikal. Typically when I arrived it was raining so the view was next to nothing and the lake did have its chance to show itself at its best. The weather's been improving throughout the day though and a little while ago the sun was beginning to break through the murk.

The hotel, which is a typical Intourist hotel, the longstanding official hotel of the area for tourists and foreign tourists in particular, is very much a 1970s work of concrete as are all of its kin but it's in a fab location overlooking the lake, and my room which isn't exactly dead modern (and the bathroom certainly in) nevertheless offers a balcony with a lake view, so certainly no complaints there!

I arrived here early. The train got into Irkutsk, which is the nearest city, at about 7am, and I was at the hotel by 8am. The travel agency had even arranged for an English speaker to meet me on my carriage as it arrived into Irkutsk and showed my to the taxi. He was then dropped on and the taxi made its way to Listvyanka, the village where I'm staying by the Lake. It was a bit pointless, I mean arranging taxi-driver with a sign would have sufficed, but it was a nice touch! Also in a change from the dodgy Ladas I've been ferried to and from the hotels in (many of them being 'unofficial' taxis - normal people wanting to earn a few extra roubles) this time I was taken to the hotel in a much more plush 'Volga'. These seem to be the generally more plush range of Russian made cars, although nowadays Lada do make more modern models and of course Western cars (with a number showing Japanese characters on the windows indicating imports I reckon) are all over the place.

I wandered into Listvyanka, which from here is a bit of a route march, but it's ok. Whereas the hotel is something of a bastion of Western-ness; there was masses of aging Germans in the lobby when I arrived; on leaving the hotel I suddenly realise "crap, I'm still in Russia". Although in Listvyanka they've made a slight effort, in the 'information office' there's a table with a person sat behind it and an enlarged version of the map I bought at the hotel, otherwise it's completely barren and bare of any other information and it's about as welcoming as a gulag. I popped in, but feeling unhelped by the surrounds I quickly left, as did some other foreign tourists who followed me. Listvyanka isn't much to look at. It's clearly being built up to cater for a growing number of tourists but the town centre is still very much a Russian preserve featuring cafes that feature a staggering lack of selection (I ended up having an instant coffee for 20p and a Twix as I was unable to fathom what other foods they had, if anything, aside from some unappetising salads). There was also a market selling tacky souvenirs and fish being smoked right in front of you, meaning there was smoke everywhere and you emerged from it coughing, spluttering and smelling like a smoke house! I reckon I got some decent photos from it though, although given that the hotel only has a dial-up internet connection costing 6 roubles (over 10p) a minute, I'm not about to be uploading any photos for the present!

I think for the rest of my time here (I'm here all of tomorrow and Tuesday morning) I'll do little than wander by the waterfront (there's a path of sorts and a proper pavement in places) and otherwise laze about in the hotel making frequent visits to the blini cafe and restaurant. Yes relaxation is on the cards while I can get it, as I've a long train journey and a couple more cities to see in Russian before the ferry to Japan, and then I reckon it'll be the sprawling Japanese metropolises for a while I reckon.

2006-05-26

Modern Tomsk


Modern Tomsk
Originally uploaded by eurobahn.
Not all wooden buildings!

Tomsk


Wooden houses in Tomsk
Originally uploaded by eurobahn.
The main attraction in Tomsk are the traditional wooden houses which have long since been bulldozed and replaced by Soviet concrete contraptions in larger cities. Although large and attractive it's actually the poorer sections of the population who live in them, with brick built properties being much more sought after by those with sufficient cash.

Sunny Siberia

Today's my 3rd and final day in Tomsk. It's quite a long time for a fairly small place but fortunately it's a pleasant enough small city to ramble about in. The hotel is odd in that it's actually two hotels in the one building, so when you enter there's a reception desk on each side of the foyer! Although the hotel does have wi-fi I couldn't get it to work so no phone calls from this stop unfortunately, but otherwise it's been fine, although as part of breakfast you're given a yoghurt but no spoon to eat it with! No doubt yet another example of a Russian system where it's expected that everyone knows how the system works. As it turned out I had to use the spoon from my coffee cup. Maybe that's what everyone does but I didn't want to stare at others eating away at their breakfast to see how they do it as they'd likely think me a crackpot.

That said, being a foreign tourist in Russia probably does that automatically. Playing the dumb tourist does have its advantages though. For instance on the Russian trains there are two toilets in the carriage. One of them is next to the Provodniks' room and has a sign on it, so maybe it's for their use, but as is typical it's just a lot of writing with no helpful visual aid to otherwise deduce what's meant so if the other toilet is busy I go and use it. No-one's scoulded me so far, so I'll keep trying my luck!

Not speaking the language does certainly have its drawbacks too, but with the younger generation at least they do make an effort to help. For instance in my first day in Tomsk I visited a cafe that's all decored out as a 1960s diner. Fortunately there were screens showing pictures of some of the food on offer, and I spotted a pizza, so I asked for that "chicken?" offered the girl behind the counter "yes! yes, chicken pizza!" I respond enthusiastically, glad that even this was offered. Then I thought I'd go for a blini (Russian pancake) as well. "Cottage cheese?" I asked. I got a blank reponse but was offered "jam?". "Yes! Jam! Good god, a jam blini! Yes! Perfect!" Choice doesn't exactly win out, but you come across so little English in Russia that whenever you come across any you instantly take up whatever concoction of food their English skills can muster.

This evening I'm back on the train for a rather long journey to Irkutsk (something in the order of 33 hours this time). I've stocked up on food and I've just to get one or two more bits then I'm set. It's Russian super-noodles all the way once again along with various Russian biscuits and snacks (none of which I have the vaguest idea of the contents) which I've picked up from street-side kiosks. Once in Irkutsk I'm being transferred straight to Listvyanka which is by the Lake itself. I've no idea if there'll be any internet there, so it might be a few days before I get online again. The time difference also notches up to Moscow time + 5, or UK time + 8; that's the same as in China and East Asia! I'm not even done either, as Vladivostok is even further ahead. Even if I do find wi-fi it'll make finding a convenient time for phoning a bit tricky to say the least, but we'll see how it pans out.

Until the next cafe it's farewell from a particularly sunny and pleasant Siberia!

2006-05-24

Train to Tomsk

Well 26 or so hours later (the 28 hours I mentioned in my last blog was a gross exaggeration after I forgot to take the time difference into account) I arrive in Tomsk. I'm starting to get used to the way that Russian trains work now. Being on train 38 was as expected less good than the first train (number 2) but better than the second train (who's number was in the hundreds). Sadly no patriotic music to welcome the arrival of the train this time, but I suspect this is because the train continues on from Tomsk-1 to Tomsk-2. I have no idea what's in Tomsk-2 or indeed where it is, although according to my Lonely Planet there's a Tomsk-7 which is a secret nuclear research city around here somewhere, so I get the feeling that when it comes to Tomsks we're not short on the ground. It seems to be the way that Communist countries do things too. There are several instances of things being numbered. I know there's at least a Perm-1 and Perm-2 stations. There are enough dodgy perms around as it is if you ask me, but why they don't do what the rest of the world does and actually give them quaint names is beyond me. For one thing I seem to recall that it's been scientifically proven that people remember names more easily than numbers. So Manchester Piccadilly and Victoria rather than Manchester 1 or 2. I certainly had to keep checking to remind myself that it was Tomsk-1 that I needed to alight at.

The journey this time was more pleasant than the last. I was with Russians in the compartment again but they were quiet and kept to themselves while outside the sun was shining, the birds (if they could have been heard) would have been singing, or chittering as the bird life most in evidence were Magpies, and although the countryside hadn't really become any more interesting than it had been previously the bright sunlight helped sell the vista and the fact that it was getting warm in the carriage made it perfectly pleasant to hang out by one of the open windows in the carriage corridor. I did some shopping in Ekaterinburg to stock up for the journey and did what I saw other backpackers do in Moscow which was to buy meals that just required hot water (as due to the on-board Samovar this is something that isn't in short supply) so it was instant noodles Russian style all the way along with biscuits and Cadburys chocolates no less! I haven't decided if they quite taste the same as they do at home. I know it's the Peter Kaye stereotype of them being identical to the ones at home but I'm not sure if these are. Oddly the Whole Nut bar I got indicated if anything that it should be mint flavoured too but I couldn't detect any evidence of that.

So the day on board was idly spent, and it seemed to drift by easily as I listed to the music on my PDA (it's rather odd having a British soundtrack to a very Russian landscape) and before I know it bedtime had come again and the next morning came with arrival in Tomsk - well almost, in that fellow Russian passengers seem to like to get up far too early for the stop and then sit around twiddling their thumbs for an hour, but hey.

I arrived in Tomsk in the rain, and went straight to the hotel, which fortunately was nice and modern with BBC World again and even French and German TV should I feel in the mood. I got a few more hours of kippage in the most welcome comfortable hotel bed and then trudged through the rain. I went to a tourist company down the main road which my Lonely Planet mentions for doing tours. I ended up chatting to a guy there who speaks English and he ended up showing me around the sights of Tomsk for free! Alas I didn't have my camera with me as it was tipping down when I set out, but the weather improved and the sun is shining brightly now, so I'm hoping to get some photos in during the next couple of days I have here. Tomsk is a small place, my guide mentioned that there's really only three main roads running through it, but there are lots of attractive wooden buildings and some nice parks and I have the feeling it will suit me fine. No mad dash around the sights, rather a casual saunter until Friday's train to Irkutsk - which alas has a number high in the hundreds so I expect it to be some ancient decrepit thing!

I expect I'll get online again in Tomsk tomorrow or Friday, but until then farewell from a Springlike Siberia!

2006-05-22

Typical street in downtown Ekaterinburg

Exciting or historical it may not be, but it's a very typical main street in a Russian city centre. Western, Russian, new, old all rolled into one.

Kazan Kremlin


Kazan Kremlin
Originally uploaded by eurobahn.
The highlight of Kazan is the UNESCO World Heritage listed Kremlin, seen here in the light of the setting sun

Contrasts on the road east

So I left Moscow and headed to Kazan, which was a night's journey away and my first stop on the trans-siberian. The train was #2 and I recall reading that the trains with the lowest numbers tend to be the best. This did in prove turn out to be true. Although #2 is also the number of the train going all the way to Vladivostok, the #2 I was on was called the "Tatarstan", so called because Kazan is the capital of Tartarstan, although unlike other 'stans' this one is still well and truly part of the Russian Commonwealth. The curtains throughout the train all marked the 1000th anniversary of Kazan, which was celebrated in 2005 and it wouldn't surprise me if the train was of a similarly recent vintage given that the inside of each carriage featured digital displays noting the time, temperature (of something or other, possible of the carriage interior although I couldn't quite work out what) and the availability of the toilets which in addition to the Russian had a handy green or red dot that even daft tourists can understand. There were also packs of food given to us shortly after departure. Life was grand!

It turned out I was sharing my compartment with 3 Russian businessmen who I think were from Kazan, although as none of them spoke a word of English conversation was a bit thin on the ground, although they did seem to have some heated debates between themselves during the evening, possibly about politics and such things as far as I could gather.

The journey was just overnight and the next morning at 7.22 we arrived punctually into Kazan to some rousing patriotic music, which seems to accompany the arrival of all 'named' long-distance trains at their destinations as far as I can tell! From there I got a taxi straight to the hotel (as the trans-siberian was booked for me through an agency it's all hotels). I spent the next couple of days exploring the reasonably compact city centre. Despite its population of little over a million the streets are largely quiet, although there's still a few congested streets here and there. What impressed me most of the layout was the pedestrianised main shopping street. Quite a luxary! The main reason for coming to Kazan though is to see the Kremlin. Kremlin incidentally refers to an old type of fort, and both the Kremlin in Moscow and here have developed from these humble beginnings into what they are today. The Kazan Kremlin was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites in 2000. Combined with the 1000th anniversary of the city you can tell that some money has been spent on it. There's a new mosque within the Kremlin to replace that demolished by Ivan the terrible, and generally speaking the place looking nicely finished off, especially by Russian standards, as did some of the main roads. The Kremlin also serves as seat to the Tatarstan President and much of the region's administration seems to be based there.

I was able to visit a gallery of the region's art in the Kremlin which provided some background culturally and ethnically as to the Tartars are, although I didn't find out if they invented Tartare sauce or tartar (the stuff you get on your teeth if you don't brush them.) I also visited the interior of the Mosque in the Kremlin and saw but didn't visit a museum near the Kremlin entrance. Otherwise though I got the impression that the city didn't offer a great deal, although it was pretty pleasant to wander around given how quiet it seemed to be, which was most welcome after the crowds of Moscow. The hotel was pretty good; built in 1997 and refurbed in 2006 everything looked nice and new, and there was BBC World on the TV to help me keep in touch a bit and it was located just across a bridge from the Kremlin and the city which provided good exercise while I was there!

The train from Kazan departed around 8pm in the evening, due in Ekaterinburg from where I'm typing this now at 3pm the following day, so it was a longer journey. This time it was train 378, a much higher number and indeed a much older train. The facilities weren't much different; everything was in largely the same place, but everything was a lot older, more basic (certainly no digital displays) and it seemed to be a case of bring your own loo-roll in the toilets (and no, there are definitely no retention tanks on Russian trains, but a trap door to the track below!) I think on all the trains the samovar is heated by a coal fire which the prodvonitsa dutifully stokes (you see other trains and can see which have the most diligent carriage attendants by the amount of smoke being expelled by the carriage's mini-chimney. There was a near constant smell of coal smoke in the compartment (due to the door not being able to be opened from the inside, meaning it always had to be left slightly open) but at least this aided to quell the other train smells which waft around!

This time I shared the compartment with 2 Russians and a Ukrainian. Only one Russian spoke any English, and bless him he did try and with the help of my hopelessly inadequate phrase book we managed to make each other understood here and there. I told them I was going to Vladivostok then Japan. I didn't really want to go into any further detail, as you never know how people respond, especially as the Victor, the guy I was struggling to converse with was complaining at never having any time or money to take holidays. There was a younger guy, Alex, and a Ukrainian, also called Victor, but whom I wasn't too keen on, as he'd start chattering away to me. I think in hindsight he might have wanted me to switch compartments with his son who I later discovered he seemed to be travelling with, however being still new to the Russian rail experience I stuck to my guns, which wasn't hard as he didn't really make much of an effort to be understood and I stayed where I was.

In Ekaterinburg the hotel was fortunately just opposite the station, and while this made it a walk from the city centre it was ideal for my arrival the departure, the latter especially as I'm off tonight at 4.47 in the morning!!! This was the one train that the agency couldn't get a good time for, so it should be interested landing in a compartment in the middle of the night to see what I find. As far as I can tell I should again be in a bottom bunk, so assume no-one's decided to take it for themselves I'll dump my bags in the container underneath the bunk and it'll be straight to sleep for me.

First Ekaterinburg though. I arrived yesterday in the rain. There was no problem locating the hotel, but it contrast to the Safar Hotel in Kazan the Sverdlovsk was a real relic of the Soviet era. (Incidentally if I'd found internet there my post was going to be called 'Safar so good' but alas it was not to be.) First off the reception staff understood next to no English whereas in Kazan they did quite well. I had a produce the 'voucher' from the travel agency for them to understand that I had a room booked and paid for. On the floor there's a lady who actually oversees the floor. This was standard in Soviet hotels but again wasn't featured in Kazan which was more modern and presumably reckoned on people being able to find their own room from the foyer and being able to call or go to the main reception should they need anything. Hardly unreasonable! In any case I got to my room which was definitely in some need of renovation. I had read in my Lonely Planet that there are both renovated and unrenovated ones, so it wasn't a great surprise. The room is tatty but certainly better than some room photos I'd seen of the hotel online! There's a TV but no English channels although I did catch the repeat of the Eurovision on Russian TV last night for my sins! (What a shocking display, and thank god that Finland's Lord of the Rings meets Kiss won the day!) There's also a great big fridge in the room, albeit empty, and I'm not entirely sure why. The Safar could at least muster a mini-bar and it wasn't ever too badly priced.

I first went to look around Ekaterinburg yesterday and in the rain, wind and cold it did not endear itself to me in any way shape or form. Today the sun is out so it's looking better but it's still not particularly high in the excitement or interest stakes. I suppose at the end of the day it's a stop-off as a junction on the trans-sib and because it was near here that the Tsars saw their end at the hands of the Bolcheviks. This unfortunately doesn't guarantee a hip and happening town. It's ok though, and I wandered around what there seems to be to see, and at least there's a decent internet cafe for me to use to catch up with everything.

I'm sorry it's not been the most interesting post to date, but really it hasn't been that interesting. There's a lot of journeying being done, with even more to do. The cities along the way make for much welcome stop-offs but few are 'must-sees' in most people's books. Still, it helps give a little more insight into Russia, its workings and how it changes as you cross its width. The Tatars have something of a Turkic influence I think, whereas in Ekaterinburg it's back to largely the paler looks of further West. Yet Ekaterinburg is just past the marker that denotes where Europe ends and Asia begins. That's right, for the first time I am in Asia! It doesn't really feel like it at the moment but I have a feeling this will change as I advance Eastwards.

Next stop Tomsk at 8.25am on 24th May. Almost 28 hours on the train this time, I'd better get stocked up on provisions this evening!

2006-05-18

Lenin and beyond

Yesterday after many days of trying I finally got to see Lenin! Forget the rumours, there was no queue, and aside from having to hand on in mobile (as it had a camera built in) it was plain sailing, as I deliberately went without a bag, although as it turns out I could have left it. I'm also getting on with this pretending to be Russian lark and being charged the Russian rate for leaving my mobile rather than the tourist rate which was 3 times as much. It was a small amount but there's the principle to uphold, I mean after all this isn't entry to a museum, it's just very temporary bag storage!

So Lenin; it was a brief encounter, a strange experience really, not fantastic but well, I've done it! I thought he looked a bit plasticy but then after 80 years being pumped full of chemicals that's probably to be expected. There's also a really bright white light on him in an otherwise very dark room so it's tricky to gauge exactly what colour he looks. After you leave you can't simply return to the bag store and go, oh no, that's far too easy and straight-forward for the Russians! Instead you have to walk along the back of Red Square, which is interesting enough as it has the graves of various famous Soviets, including Stalin, Brezhnev and Gagarin, and once you've seen that you have to walk across the Red Square and all the way back around out of the exit then back into the entrance to Lenin flashing your bag ticket for quick entry, then back to the bag room and squeeze past all the people waiting to get in to see Lenin. It's crazy Russian-ness at its illogical best!

Later today I shall *finally* be leaving the polluted streets of Moscow and heading off the trans-siberian, stopped first at Kazan, a mere 12-hours and one night's kip away. I've no idea what to expect there, although I've been told by other travellers that it's pretty quiet there and aside from the UNESCO World Heritage listed Kremlin which is why everyone visits there's not a great deal to do, which to be honest is fine with me! I've made some butties for the trip, although there are much longer legs of the journey to come which I'll need to stock up for nearer the time.

Today then will be spend with killing some time. I've being doing well so far; I've written a few postcards and am going to try to post one or two souvenirs back home, although the people who work in the post offices here seem so universally rude and unhelpful I really have no idea whether I'll manage it or not. Expect Russian souvenirs from Japan perhaps!!!

I'm not sure when I'll next have internet access, so for the moment I shall bid you adieu until next I reach civilisation!

2006-05-16

Understanding Russians

During today's trip to Monino it made me come into contact with several normal Russians as I had to ask directions on a number of occasions. Each time if they could help me they would and it left me with a favourable impression of Russians overall.

As I think I've mentioned before as well, I've found that the waiters and waitresses in cafes and restaurants, while often speaking very little English, will really try hard to understand you and be understood. It makes it particularly perplexing then as to why those working in the frontline of the tourism industry seem so resolute in being as unhelpful and rude as possible to their customers, certainly the foreign ones at least.

I wonder if it's a continuation from the Soviet era - as those working in Museums are normally at the older end of the age spectrum - whereby everyone had a job but you didn't have to really try hard, or put undue effort into your work. This would explain a lot it has to be said.

It would be nice to think the new generation of Russians will herald a new era of excellent customer service when visiting Russia, although I'm not at all convinced the solution will be so simple. For one thing even with the younger generation I've found English language skills practically non-existent in the majority of cases and I tend to believe that a lot of the tourism industry is institutionalised; state-run monoliths that haven't really changed in decades and are probably unlikely to anytime soon.

For now tourists to Russia will have to continue to contend with museums that are interested solely in taking your money and in navigating foreign cities devoid of any signs that might help them on their way to finding what they're looking for. Instead like me today they'll be better off trying their hand at asking some locals and gritting their teeth when coming into contact with those fascist Russian ticket sellers!

Concordski!


Concordski!
Originally uploaded by eurobahn.
I went to the Russian Aviation Museum out of town in Monino today. Whereas I'd read they need to know in advance that you're coming and take passport details actually you just need to turn up; the Russians here as in so many of their museums have twigged that they should at least foreign tourists in while it requires little effort on their part yet they can extort vast quantities of cash when they turn. And indeed that's what they did! For Russians entry is 50 roubles (1 quid) for muggins Johnny Foreigner here it's 350 roubles plus 200 roubles for taking photos (which is half the reason for going to be honest).

And thus 10 quid lighter of pocket there I was browsing the offerings. One of the main reasons I made the trip was to see "Concordski" - Tupolev 144 which was based on stolen designs of our own beloved Concorde. Not as nice looking as ours I think you'll agree. I think they had a few of them in service for a while, but they were withdrawn long before ours.

More photos from my day-trip at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/eurobahn where you can view all of the photos I've uploaded to date.

2006-05-15

Moscow Skyline from Sparrow Hills

Near Moscow State University are Sparrow Hills, one of the few places in the city where you can gain a panorama over the city

Out and about


Moscow State University
Originally uploaded by eurobahn.
I went to Moscow State University today to take in one of the "Seven Sisters" - the seven iconic buildings ordered by Stalin in a distinctively Gothic style.

2006-05-14

The tallest structure in Moscow marking space flight

No less Soviet, this giant structure is near the Cosmonaut Museum, not to be confused with Star City, the cosmonaut training facility which I might visit as well possibly

The Soviet section of Statue Park

Something of a composition of the Soviet section of the Statue park. Stalin, Lenin and a bloody great Soviet emblem - perfect!

2006-05-13

As much of the Kremlin as can be fitted into a photo

The wall surrounding the Kremlin is over 2kms long, so I was pushed to fit just one side of it in a shot, however with a bit of trial and error here it is! Note in the background the massive Rossiya (Russia) hotel which as far as I can tell will shortly become the ex-Rossiya hotel. These megaliths of Soviet era accommodation seem to be falling out of favour, as the Moscow Hotel is now a great building site in front of the Kremlin. It'll be interesting to see what eventually replaces them. Knowing Russia if it is hotels they'll certainly be no cheaper than their predecessors - Moscow Hilton perhaps?

Russian Cottage Industries

While the elite of the Babuskas can find themselves gainfully employed overseeing a room in one of the Russian state's many museums, the rank and file of Babushkas can be found toting any number of wares and services on the streets of Russian cities.

Here in Moscow for instance there aren't any public toilets (you might have thought that the Soviets might have established toilets for the working masses, but no) and as a result it's common to see a row of portaloos in the street with a Babushka in the end one charging a small fee for the use of them.

I was discussing with some other travellers as to how we thought this worked. Does for example the Babushka have to make the capital investment for the portaloos and rent the land, or is there a company who owns the outfit who employs the Babushka? The answer we do not yet know, but seeing Babushkas selling everything from a random selection of books to a more organised magazine rack to last night overseeing a machine that took your weight and height and probably told you in the typically forthright Russian manner whether you are a fat bastard or not.

It'll be interesting to see whether the ubiquity of the Babushkas will extend beyond the major cities or not, but one thing's for sure they're absolutely inseparable from the daily running of life in St Petersburg and Moscow.

2006-05-11

Me in Red Square


Me in Red Square
Originally uploaded by eurobahn.
Yes, in case you were doubting the authenticity of my trip, here am I in Red Square - woo-hoo!

More of Moscow

The Russian way of doings things continues to baffle. Whereas yesterday the Kremlin was closed except for guided-tours and Red Square closed in part due to the dismanting of Victory Day stands today the Kremlin was entirely closed (Thursday is its rest day apparently) as was the Red Square for no obvious reason. For tourists it's something of a hit and miss affair as I've heard that the Kremlin was also closed for a few days prior to Victory Day. Pretty exasperating if you've come all the way to Moscow with the Kremlin at the top of your 'to-do' list and come away empty handed. Just as well then that I've got a good deal of time on my hands meaning that even if the Russian authorities decide to do things in their typically random fashion I should at least at some point have the chance to see the major sights. However its another way that Russia doesn't do much to endear itself to the tourists who visit.

Today I spent my final day with my British colleagues who this evening are heading off back to Helsinki before returning to Blighty. For the second day in a row we breakfasted in 'Coffee House' which each day presents some amusement. Yesterday it was the ordering of hot chocolate, which is done in amounts of single, double or triple, not unlike espresso, or indeed vodka. On requesting a single the waitress replied with "a single" in a manner that expressed pure surprise and the implication of folly on the part of the customer. "Ok, ok" said Tristan (one of my fellow Moscow explorers) "I'll have a double". This lead to him being served a hefty mug full of what can really only be described as liquid chocolate, and heavy going as a result. It'll take a while to get used to the expressive ways of the Russians! Today our entertainment came from the menu. Once again we indulged in "Toast with Cheese" which rather too limitedly in its description should really be called Ham & Cheese Toastie or Croque Monsieur for more continental types, however for those experienced in the ways of the menu it's a tasty start to the day. Bizarrely, the local chain of this coffee house doesn't offer a breakfast option, so while in town you can get coffee, juice and croisant (albeit a rather petite croissant) for 150 Rubles (3 quid) today a juice by itself was selling for the princely sum of 155 rubles!

Following breakfast we made our way to Red Square only to find it closed, so we headed to an impressive church we'd seen from a distance, got a reasonably close look at a terribly kitschy monument for Peter the First, and then to the market recommended for Soviet memorabilia. To be honest the market wasn't great, and if anything I preferred the more genuine nature of the market I stumbled across while in Tallinn last year, which was wholly a place for locals and had a far better range of items from the Soviet period such as tasteful Stalin clocks for your mantlepiece and original Lenin wristwatches (even a Hitler one I seem to recall), not just the badges, dolls and wot-not designed for tourists. Never-the-less I stocked up on some pin-badges (about the largest gifts I can manage to tote around) and off I went happy.

Dinner was great, an all you can eat buffet affair for 390 rubles (under 8 quid) which should hopefully keep us all going well into tomorrow. Although this evening we went our separate ways, tomorrow for me the Moscow adventure continues. Perhaps finally I'll get to properly look around the Kremlin!

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Originally uploaded by eurobahn.
I need to check which building this is, but it's one of several that tower over parts of the city. Originally they were to ring the city centre and a vast building built in the centre, but the central building was never built. Nevertheless these outlying buildings form some of the most striking landmarks of Moscow. Gloriously gothic!

Tsars Cannon


Tsars Cannon
Originally uploaded by eurobahn.
In the rain but nevertheless worth seeing, the Tsars Cannon, one of the world's largest and never fired, seen while on a tour around the Kremlin. I wouldn't normally do tours but yesterday it was the only option. Tomorrow I'll give it the DIY wandering about treatment!

No introduction needed


Red Square
Originally uploaded by eurobahn.
A grey day but with nice contrasts. It was so strange to finally be stood in Red Square!

Moscow calling

After something of a let down in trying to see the Victory Day parade I finally made it into Red Square in the evening, where masses of Russians were congregating to celebrate the day with a big screen in the square showing patriotic films and music. It felt quite surreal to be there. It's one of those places that you've seen so often on TV that you think you'll know it like the back of your hand but it's always a different matter when you actually see it first hand. It's a spectacular place, and St Basils is the unsurpassable centre-piece of it all.

Yesterday I got to see it all in a greater detail. Along with a couple of other Brits who I'd met in the hostel in St Petersburg and who are also staying in the same hostel here in Moscow we visited the inside of St Basils, which isn't at all how you'd expect as it's actually divided into a number of rooms and corridors most adorned with 16th century paintings. Lenin wasn't on show as the seating from Victory Day was being dismantled and most of Red Square was closed, but hopefully today will be the day when we get to see him. There's also a market in the suburbs which we'll also try to hit today which is supposed to be the best place to pick up Soviet memorabilia.

It's all go! Although I did get rained on at last yesterday the weather has generally been pretty decent and the dark skies often making for a striking constrast to the colours of the Kremlin and Red Square. Lots of walked, but no blisters to be seen so far - the Brashers are doing well!

2006-05-09

Victory Day in Moscow


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Originally uploaded by eurobahn.
Spent the day in central Moscow to see what could been seen of the parades and everything. Didn't see anything of the Red Square but after the parade took place there were crowds of demonstrators/protestors or something along those line, a number of them with Communist flags, which face it is what you'd come to expect to see in Russia, if not really these days, but it was a welcome sight.

I ended up hearing some rare English voices while waiting at the Kremlin and it turns out they were working for Astra Zeneca. So they introduced me to the Moscow Metro and we went to a park on the outskirts of town where ordinary Moscovites were celebrating the day. All in all in turned out pretty good.

There seems to be loads to see here, which is just as well as I'm here until the 18th, so more posts soon!

Photo: St Pete 3


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Originally uploaded by eurobahn.
Reminding us of the glorious cold war, here's a great big missile at the Artillery Museum in St Petersburg point at the Peter and Paul Fortress.

Photo: St Pete 2


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Originally uploaded by eurobahn.
You might think this is Moscow but you'd be wrong! This is the Church on Spilt Blood, a name which I haven't got time to explain at the moment, but it looks nice, doesn't it?

The Last of St Pete


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Originally uploaded by eurobahn.
Here are a few last photos from St Petersburg. I've reached Moscow now, so shortly I should be able to show Red Square, the Kremlin and the like.

This photo (getting arty by this point) is of the railing in the square by the Hermitage, with St Isaacs cathedral in the background

2006-05-07

Photo: Busy Helsinki


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Originally uploaded by eurobahn.
The main (Lutheran) cathedral in Helsinki on 1st May.

Swedish Royals


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Originally uploaded by eurobahn.
This time last week I was watching this: the Swedish royal family on the balcony of the palace celebrating the 60th birthday of the King. I've got some great close up shots too which I'll post at a later date.

Looking ominous over Gothenburg


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Originally uploaded by eurobahn.
This was the single part of the journey so far where the weather wasn't looking too good. Although it was raining as I arrived in Gothenburg it wasn't too heavy and I wasn't out in it long. By the time I reached Stockholm it was fine again.

Photos!


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Originally uploaded by eurobahn.
I managed to upload a few photos yesterday evening using my PDA, although it proved very slow and I wasn't sure if it worked or not. At least next time I will know was actually doing something and not sat there like a lump, but as with all good Microsoft products you never can tell! I think a quicker way will be to find a PC where I can directly connect my camera to it or to have photos burned onto CD and then take the photos from that. Anyway, at least the technology works!

This first photo is of an oil rig as the ferry I took at the beginning of my journey crossed the North Sea

2006-05-06

Observations

I continue to be surprised but just how seldom I hear foreign voices in St Petersburg. Fair enough the Russians don't exactly welcome tourists with open arms; it's still more a case of "you come if you want, but don't expect us to do anything for you". This probably explains why so many visitors here choose coach tours, and a reason that aside from clusters around the main attractions it's rare to hear foreign tongues being spoken. Even still in the likes of the Hermitage there's not really so many foreign tourists. Russians still seem to constitute the vast majority of the visitors. It's quite a contrast from the likes of London where you less likely to hear English spoken than a multitude of other languages around you. It's rather changed my attitude towards fellow foreigners too. While in Western Europe coming across a fellow Brit would be an event of so little interest you'd not even bother acknowledging them, here if you hear anything that's not Russia it's suddenly quite special, and it's certainly spurred me on to speaking to fellow backpackers in the hostel. Speaking of which, even the hostel isn't exactly overflowing. In the dorm I've been in for the past few nights there's typically been only four out of the ten bunks occupied. Given that the summer weather is here I'm surprises there's not more.

It's often said that the trends of the UK are a few years behind those in the UK. I think the same can be extended to Russia too, only with an added magnitude. I've noticed quite a lot of inliner skaters here, which while being popular in - when? - sometime in the 90s I guess at home, they largely been disappeared from our streets now. Mobile phones while pretty popular when I was here last year and now the accessory to be seen with, and shops selling mobiles are absolutely all over the place and I'm guessing they have yet to reach the saturation point we've come to in the UK, where everyone who wants a mobile and has got one so it's more a matter of upgrading than attracting new customers. Don't think for a moment that Russia is behind the times with it's mobiles either; on Nevskiy Prospect, the main shopping street and the place where all the beautiful people like to be seen, there's no shortage of the lastest mico-thin Motorolas or MP3 playing Sony-Ericssons.

However while technology is moving on apace the same cannot be said of Russian haircuts. I actually made the deliberate of decision of going to the barbers just before I set off, so I should manage without a trim until I reach Japan. Now you may not regard Japan as having many haircuts we'd aspire to, but believe me it's a different world to what's on offer here, especially with men's hair. While it's true that some Russian women still carry a proxide blonde mass hair in volumes last seen in the UK during the Thatcher years, men's haircuts here are just completely without any inspiration, and that's by my standards which are pretty low! I don't know whether there's a shortage of decent barbers or whether tastes just having progressed from the Soviet days of functional but dull. No, for me I'd much rather ending up with a Beatles cut in Japan than what seems to be the standard gents hair cut here!

St Petersburg despite it's glorious Imperial facade is smelly. This is due largely to the traffic of which there seems to be a constant barrage of on some roads, and should you try to cross at a crossing without traffic lights and you come to realise just how busy some of the roads can be. The thing is, while I've walked down some clogged up London streets there wasn't the same smell and feeling of pollution in the air. Here a number of people in the hostel have commented on being bunged up, and I wonder if it's got something to do with the number of Soviet era Ladas that continue to ply the streets. Heck, for all I know maybe that cleaner fuel the likes of BP goes on about in its adverts really does make a difference. However I also suspect that Russia doesn't follow the same rigourous requirements for MOTs and emissions testings that we're used to. If they did then perhaps much of the country's traffic would find itself grounded, and especially the less well off Russians who continue to run their ancient Lada Rivas. If memory serves there was something in Germany about the banning of the Trabbis on the grounds of its horrendous emissions, although I think it might have also been the case that some special dispensation was made in what was East Germany due to the number of people still running them. Consider this a national exemption then! That said, it makes me wonder what I've yet to encounter in the likes of China, where they've got all those factories in addition to the spiralling levels of car ownership. Maybe the key is to try the "wash me" test. That is, to try to write wash me in the muck that's accumulated on a vehicle. I reckon you could manage it with some success here, but I hate to image what's yet to come!

2006-05-04

Russian Museums

Any visit to Russia will surely make you familiar with the 'distinctive' style of Russian customer service. Encountering it always makes for a memorable experience. I found myself in the Russian Museum this afternoon, starting off in the catacombs of the basement that housed the ticket office, cloakrooms, cafe and a multitude of other elements that constitute the museum administration. I tried following the signs, I really did, but having rounded no end of corners on seemingly endless corridors I felt I was no nearer to my goal of finding the ticket office and actually getting to see something! Fortunately an example of the Russian institution that is a 'lady sat in a chair' was at hand, who unusually for such seated ladies spoke English and who offered rudimentary instructions to the ticket office in the delightful direct and rather abrupt manner this is de rigeur in Russia. Pleasantries are not utilitarian enough to be considered useful in this land!

In any case having further reduced the thickness of the shoe leather I at last found the ticket office. I asked for one ticket, indicating the number of tickets required with a finger (no not the middle one) to avoid any potential confusion, as the women sat selling tickets are typically as fluent as any others of their type, namely they speak nothing but Russian. I'd already noted the price of an adult ticket to smooth the process, but the lady heavily hammered out the price on a calculator and thrust it in my direction so I could read the amount. I handied the money over and was quickly thrown a ticket without so much as a "how's your father", but then that's how it is.

Having accomplished the targets I'd set involving the ticket office I now had to head towards the museum's exhibition, which fortunately was also sign-posted, albeit in the same less than straightforward manner as the ticket office. Off I went but just when it appeared I was heading in the right direction I was stopped short - barked at in Russian for having my daypack on my back while heading in the direction of the museum. What was I thinking! So off I trudged to the cloakroom.

I stopped at the first cloakroom I came to, and was once again shouted at in Russian. In giving the helpless "I'm a lost Englishman who has no idea what you're saying" look which I've come to perfect over the past few days she blurted out "next" and pointed to her left. Indeed next door there was another cloakroom, staffed by a not dissimilar lady to the first. In fact there seemed to be a small community of cloakrooms down any number of corridors, each with one if not more cloakroom attendant, and this seems indicative of the whole way Russian museums are run.

Russian Museums have got to be some of the largest employers of otherwise retired grandmothers known as Babushkas. Babushkas hold a certain status in Russian society that gives them the right, power and privaledge to shout at anyone who does anything out of turn. Thus they're ideal for staffing museums with, just don't expect anything beyond a level bare-bones level of service which I'm sure is wholly reminiscent of the Soviet era. The thing is, if anything the Russian museum was vastly overstaffed my Babuskas. Each room in the museum has one sat in a corner, who will eye-ball you as you walk around the room, no doubt thinking you're intent on vandalising or thieving one or more of the paintings on show (stowing it no doubt in a bag you're forbidden to take in with you). Even more crazily there are little shops selling the same museum books and postcards in every section of the museum. I can't imagine they do any trade, given that most people I would have thought would do their museum shopping when they're done browsing the art and ready to head out, slipping comfortably at this point from high-cultured afficionados back to eager tourist shoppers. And so there's this small town of Babushkas gainfully employed in keeping the museum running smoothly and efficiently. The fact that 95% of them do sod all aside from sitting around or procrasting with each other is by the by. As I often remind myself "This is Russia": things work in the way they do, and there's no point trying to question and reason their methods.

In any case the rest of the museum visit was largely uneventful. It was particularly interesting as museums go, featuring in particular some absolutely enormous paintings and work from the Soviet period. I'd almost escaped without further incident when on arriving at the exit and looking for the cloakroom I was informed that my bag was in an entirely different building! I could walk through all of the exhibitions again (the museum visit had taken about 2-3 hours) or I could leave the museum, walk down the street then go back in the main entrance and down the stairs to negotiate my way back to the ellusive cloakroom. So that's what I did, only it was 5.30pm and the museum was closing. The security guard let me in on waving my cloakroom tag at him, but my entry was hindered by a tide of Babuskas leaving the museum and heading home. I did eventually retrive my bag (just in the nick of time as the lights were being switched out)and almost ran out of the museum (without running of course in case I was scoulded by yet another Babuska for my unneccessary haste) and felt quite glad to escape their clutches. So concluded another encounter with the Russian system. "This is Russia" and I certainly know it!

St Petersburg

Yesterday I departed Helsinki on the morning train bound for St Petersburg. This is where things start to get a bit more adventurous as Russia really doesn't make a great effort to gear itself up for the needs of foreign tourists. Although the train journey was around 6 hours it seemed to pass quickly enough, and there was the excitement of the border crossing in the middle. Would the Russians let me in? As it was there were just the usual border formalities. Passport checked, visa stamped and on we went. The landscape around the border is pretty empty with lots of trees, the odd lake and marsh, but not much else so it was difficult to tell if there were any immediate differences between the two countries. It's when the train passes through the suburbs of St Petersburg that it really sinks in that you're in Russia. Vast areas of high-rise housing, all uniformly ugly with rows of identical grey garages to house the population's Ladas that seemed to stretch on for miles. Yet while the outskirts of the city are a Soviet concocted mess, the city centre was the same historic gem I remembered.

Having spent a couple of weeks in St Petersburg last year I've seen the majority of the main sights, so I'm not under any pressure to cram in and see everything that's on offer. I've heard that the Hermitage is free on the first Thursday of the month so I'll pop there shortly, which is itself a mere 5 minute walk from the youth hostel I'm staying in, and otherwise I'm planning to take it easy, wander around and generally enjoy myself.

Speaking of which, I've a bit of a sore head this morning having been out with an Aussie and another Brit from my dorm in the hostel. After realising that the eating place listed in Lonely Planet no longer existed we went for another place and we really came up trumps; delicious food, live music and cheap beer. Thus, having consumed several Baltika number 7 I'm feeling a touch worse for wear this morning, but I'm sure as soon as I get some fresh air and Russian sunshine I'll be really take on the day!

2006-05-02

Helsinki Day 2

A quick post from the cafeteria of a Helsinki museum which happily has a wifi signal.

The sun is still shining, and if yesterday is anything to go be might well still be doing so gone 9pm! Got one of those city passes that give you free entry to museums and use of the public transport and am doing my best to get my value for money's worth!

I've so far managed a bus tour of the city centre, trip to a fortress on an island and am going round the museums now. It's not terribly exciting, but then I'm off to Russia the morrow so it hardly matters and I should be appreciating the good English speaking customer service while it lasts.

Early train to St Petersburg tomorrow, hopefully there'll be some internet about there. I saw many of the sights when I was there last year, so I'll enjoy taking some time to chill. The shoes have taken a fair pounding already and it's only day 6!

2006-05-01

Day 5: Finland

After fun in Stockholm I'm a ferry journey further and find myself in Helsinki. It turns out that I've really fallen on my feet with the dates I've been in various places. Yesterday in Stockholm it turned out to be the King's 60th birthday so I made my way to the palace and saw the Royal family at the balcony. It's not quite the pomp and circumstance we'd associate with Trooping the Colour in London but it was nevertheless interesting to see how another country's monarchy celebrates thing.

Better still today in Helsinki it's May Day, and there's loads of things going on around the city. I wore out some shoe leather this morning having a wander around. It seems on first impressions to be a fairly compact city, although some sights are spread out on nearby islands. It seems very laid back, but that's maybe due to the holiday. It adds an extra level of foreign-ness to the trip in that although I can read signs, unlike in Sweden I can't understand a word people say here! Fortunate then that everyone speaks English here - I'll miss that in Russia!

Oh, and lest I forget to mention last night's ferry journey from Stockholm. It turns out that the ferry company had given it an 'urban' theme. There were lots of suspect looking people at the ferry terminal but it transpired these were the crew, DJing and what-have-you. Clearly the ferry company wanted me to suffer! Although I managed to avoid the 'urban' music on offer, there was a noticeable bass beat to be heard in the cabin from the deck above. Not to be defeated I took out my ear plugs for the first time this trip and got a good night's kip!