Trans-Siberian railway, Pt.1
DAY 1
Leaving Moskow from Yaroslavsky Vokzal. Вагон 5, место 30, in platskartny, is going to be my home for the following 4 days and nights. It's monday 4th September. Expecting to reach Irkutsk friday 8th, 11.AM local time. This is +5 hours to Moscow.
In my 'booth', I live with Irina, Natasha and her son Artem. Irina didn't speak so much so far, but I already had some interesting conversation with the other 2; Imagine: their English is as poor as my Russian. But we get along just fine! They're traveling even further than me, near to Chita, where this final destination is. They're keen to know about me, what I do, do I have kids, and stuff like this. It's good to have the Lonely Planet with me as I can show them where I'm from and where I've been so far in Russia.
8PM we stopped at a small village, to buy stuff from babushkas. There were like 20 of them selling all kind of things. Mostly apples, but also flowers, sausages, TOYS, pirogs, BALLOONS, etc. I bought from a lovely babushka something that was like a finnish lettu, willed with munavoi. DELICIOUS. Also I tried something like pancake with applepyre inside, baked from new apples, tasted like applepie that my mother bakes back home.
DAY 2
Got up a malenky bit too late to buy breakfast from the babushkas. Train started to move on again as I woke up. I feel alright now with the stomach so I decided to get water from samovar and prepare instant coffee. Around 2PM or 3PM, we stopped somewhere again, thinking maybe Perm. Got youghurt, juice and bread from a babushka.
Reading Lonely Planet facts: Railway from Moskow to Vladivostok is 9289 km long, and it goes through 8 timezones!
8PM local time: We are currently rolling over the Ural mountains. Soon we're reaching Ekaterinburg. Since some 2 hours, we have smelled the smoke of burning forest. Also seen some burning trees myself from the window... But hey! Soon I'm in ASIA! WOW!
DAY 3
Dobre Utra! The journey is now somewhat in a half-way. I bought eggs, sandwich with delicious sausage and instant potatopyre from the lady who occasionally goes by with the wheels from the ресторан -вагон. Later in the evening bought a риба (fish) and a beer from a nice babushka somewhere we stopped quickly. Fish was very very salty, but I liked. Very smoky also. Flushed it down with that beer.
The train starts to look like a refugee camp. Clothes and towels hanging all around, piles of food and drinks on every table. I share my food with Artem and Nataha since yesterday. The Russians really live in the train like they would live at home.
The mixture of smells is starting to be interesting. Scents of tea, coffee, sausages, eggs, sweat, diesel, vodka, smashed potatoes, mahorkka, etc.
DAY 4
Was a COLD night. It was cold already at midnight when it was possible to jump out of train again. We stopped in Novosibirsk. I bet it was already below zero that time. Welcome to Siberia!
The night was cold to sleep, but I asked an extra blanket from the provodnitsa, so I got warm and slept well.
Today I've been browsing Lonely Planet again, reading relevant information about Irkutsk and Lake Baikal.
The landscapes haven't been very interesting so far: the same forest landscape that we have in Finland. But I heard that is going to be different only after Irkutsk. Will see about that!
In the evening, we stopped again, bought from babushka 2 bananas, a Baltika 3 -beer and something that tastes like... a rolled pancake with chokolate sauce inside. Too sweet to me, half of the bar I didn't finish.
Tomorrow morning in Irkutsk.
***I wrote notes to myself during the journey and almost just paste it here. Sorry if the text feels difficult to read or something... but here it is...***
posted by ihållande resfeber at 9/08/2006 06:25:00 AM
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