Author: grahamjago

The 22 hour train journey from Yekaterinburg to Novosibirsk passed without incident. Fionnuala read quite a lot, and I slept much of the afternoon and night away. When we woke up on Tuesday morning, the passing scenery was covered in snow; something we’re pleased to see in Siberia. Once the train had pulled into the station, we checked into our hotel and, after showering, ate lunch in the cafe next door.

Tuesday afternoon’s first activity was to supplement our wardrobe with scarves, so we headed to the SEC Gallery shopping centre, where I also supplemented my lunch with a McDonald’s. on the way there, we had a walk around the city, passing the Chapel of St Nicholas and Lenin Square.

Today, we visited the State Art Museum. Unlike in cities filled with tourists, it was possible to take in the paintings and sculptures, without thousands of selfie-enthusiasts interfering. The highlight was definitely the Himalaya mountainscapes by Nikolai Rerikh. After leaving the museum, we walked to Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, but sadly it was closed.

We’re spending this evening waiting for the 23:39 train to Irkutsk.

G.

We got off the train. We found the Metro station. We knew the station we needed to go to. BUT, there were no ticket machines, and the woman at the kiosk showed us tokens we needed, but wouldn’t sell them to us. Instead she pointed us to another lady at a barrier, we walked to her and she pointed us back to the kiosk lady. We left the station. This breakdown in communication wasn’t the ideal start to our time in a Nizhny Novgorod, but such things are bound to happen occasionally. Having found token machines in another area of the station, we made our way to the Ibis (luxury for the night!), and were able to check in early.

After visits to two branches of Lavanderia, which turned out only to do dry cleaning, it was third time lucky when we arrived at what we believe is the only launderette in Nizhny Novgorod. Clothes washed, we headed back to the hotel and planned something more interesting for the next day, Thursday.

The next morning started with a quick run in park next to the hotel. We found some gymnastics bars there and as we stopped to do some pull ups (well, I had a gentle stretch), some middle aged Russian men showed off their actual gymnastic skills which was impressive!! Breakfast at the hotel was interesting, the options for the hot section were hotdogs, spam, steamed cauliflower and baked cottage cheese. Russia, you failed us on that one. I stuck to the fruit and pastries!

Fuelled from breakfast we headed to the cable cars which are used by locals to travel from one side of the large expanse of the Volga to the other. Having followed google maps dodgy looking route, we ended up down a back alley with a food kiosk, some locals and a closed gate near a cable car set up. Nothing seemed to be happening, but everyone was waiting in anticipation of something…so we hung around. Turns out they close the cable car from 10:45-13:00, but everyone starts queueing up at 12:20. Bizarre, but well worth the wait, as we got a spectacular view of the confluence of the Volga and the Oka rivers.

On our walk to check out the Kremlin, we found Victory Park, which had a collection of tanks and planes. We then had a very proud moment at lunch time. We went in a cafe that only had a Cyrillic alphabet menu, with a waitress that only spoke Russian and managed to order two soups (solyanka meat soup) and two coffees, with a little help from Google Translate! High on our victory, we walked along the walls of the Kremlin, taking in the sights of the city. Having had such a busy day, we found sustenance at Travellers Coffee, in the form of cake, and then headed off to board the 21:25 to Kazan.

F&G  

We were up early on Tuesday to catch the 07:15 train from Moscow to Vladimir. Once in Vladimir, three hours later, we jumped on an ancient bus and made our way to the town of Suzdal, 36km away. Around 12,000 people live in Suzdal, so it felt a lot more relaxed than the busy streets of Saint Petersburg and Moscow.

Upon arrival, we headed for the Kremlin, passing several street stalls and shops along the way. The Kremlin is comprised of several houses, some churches and the Nativity of the Virgin Cathedral. The blue domes of the Cathedral are impressive, but its interior is most notable. The walls are adorned with gold decrotions and many paintings, while the ceiling includes intricately detailed golden chandeliers and views of the domes.

Later, we walked across the river to the Museum of Wooden Architecture and Peasant Life, which includes a number of wooden houses, two windmills and two churches. The buildings have been transported from other locations, and I’m pleased someone collected them, as they were a pleasure to see. Next, it was time for lunch. We ate in a Russian restaurant full of other tourists. The food was excellent, and we had our first experience of Russian honey beer, served lovingly in a one litre brown plastic bottle!

Once back in Vladimir, we made our way to our hostel. After a rest, we went out for some evening sightseeing. Vladimir has a number of standout buildings. We first saw the Golden Gate, in the centre of the city, and then the Kremlin. There’s a viewpoint listed in the Lonely Planet guide we have, but the described spectacular views of the Oka Valley were largely non-existent due to the dark night sky and the fog. Our view of the brilliant Assumption Cathedral, however, was unobstructed.

Due to the appalling bed, and my face being eaten by mosquitoes during the night, we were at the station well ahead of schedule for Wednesday’s 06:53 train to Nizhny Novgorod.

G.

On Saturday evening we were excited about our first train journey in Russia. Having collected our bags from the luggage room, we waited for platform information about the 22:29 from Saint Petersburg to Moscow. Once onboard, we shared our cabin with a very pleasant Russian man and woman. After sleeping reasonably well, we emerged from the train at 05:57 feeling almost human. Result!

Setting foot in Red Square (red meaning beautiful in old Russian) before it became filled with thousands of selfie-crazed tour parties was an excellent idea. St. Basil’s Cathedral came in to view first, followed by the Kremlin, Lenin’s Mausoleum, the Russian State Museum and Gum shopping gallery. Seeing these buildings in person, having seen them many times on TV news and travel programmes, felt quite special.

Later, we joined a walking tour of the city, learning much about Moscow’s history. We walked through Kitay-gorod, passing many churches and historic buildings. We then walked back to St. Basil’s and heard stories about it being constructed under the rule of Ivan IV the Terrible. The tour ended in the Alexander Garden, which includes the touching eternal flame burning by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

On Monday we spent some time checking out Moscow’s highly decorative Metro stations, and went inside St. Basil’s Cathedral in order to see the unusual shapes of the rooms and the many paintings on the walls. Our time in Moscow ended with a walk through the park near our hostel (Sad kultury i otdykha im. N.E. Baumana), with its colourful lights, statues and cafes.

G.

On Thursday morning we boarded a train to Saint Petersburg, ending our mini tour of Scandinavia in Helsinki. The train journey passed quickly, and, as expected, included several passport and visa checks. Almost immediately upon arrival into Saint Petersburg, it dawned on us just what it meant to be in a land where the alphabet is unrecognisable from the one with which we’re accustomed. Navigating our way to a hostel via a Metro doesn’t usually warrant a celebration. But this was different!

After several long days, we were both in need of a rest, and even more in need of a washing machine. After eating, and browsing the shops in Galleria, we were relieved to confirm that Russia is far less expensive than Copenhagen, Stockholm and Helsinki. And because we’re well brought up individuals, we washed our clothes (just so you know, Kathleen, Mam, Gran).

On Friday we were back in tourist mode. We joined a free walking tour of the city, where our guide, Irene, described some of Russia and Saint Petersburg’s history. Stops included the beautiful Winter Palace and Hermitage, Alexander’s Column, St. Isaac’s Cathedral and the lavish Church of the Saviour on Blood. The tour finished with our second walk of the day along the unbelievably long main street, Nevskiy Prospekt. We spent the afternoon at The Hermitage, which is one of the oldest and largest museums in the world, founded by Catherine the Great. It is spread over six huge buildings and it’s said that if you were to look at each item in The Hermitage for one minute, it would take you eight years to see everything! Firstly, we explored the grandeur of the Winter Palace’s elaborate décor, classical antiques and fine art from all around Europe. We later spent a couple of hours exploring the Gifts from the East and West and Art Nouveau exhibitions in the General Staff Building.

Saturday morning started with our first run in Russia. We ran from Nevskiy Prospekt Metro station, completed a lap of the Peter and Paul Fortress, which sits on an island in the Neva River, and then got the Metro back to the hostel. Having left our bags at the train station, ready for Saturday night’s journey to Moscow, we made our way to the Kunstkamera museum to check out its ‘curiosities’. The first museum in Russia, it was established by Peter the Great, who was fascinated by anatomical and human rarities. He displayed the collection publicly in an attempt to debunk the superstitious fear of monsters. Highlights included ‘two headed beast with brain hernia’ and a stuffed four legged chicken!

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We took the underground from our hotel to the ferry terminal, and, once onboard, made our way to cabin number 2016. Despite being one of the cheapest on the ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki, the cabin was functional and the bathroom better than I anticipated.

As the port disappeared into the distance and the Silja Symphony negotiated its way between the islands of the Stockholm archipelago, we watched the sun set from the upper deck. After a tour of the shops on The Promenade, it was time for the Grande Buffet. The food tasted good, with dessert being the highlight.

We both slept well, despite the engine noise and the four courses we had eaten at dinner. Once dressed, we headed outside and caught our first glimpse of Helsinki’s skyline, emerging from the rising fog.

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As we had boarded the train to Stockholm once most of the lights were out, we quickly got into our bunks and tried to get some sleep. Sharing my bed with my rucksack wasn’t ideal, but getting to the luggage rack in the dark appeared treacherous. When the train pulled into Stockholm at 05:31, I was wide awake. Not knowing whether the train was due to depart soon, I woke Fionnuala, and despite the sleeping passengers around us, we got off.

Lessons learnt from overnight train journey:
1. always know where your headtorch is

2. Keep your washbag at the top of your rucksack

3. Put your earplugs and eye mask in your washbag

4. Find out where the train terminates

5. People on trains like wandering in the night wearing just their underwearpp

Thankfully, Stockholm Central is a really nice station, and Starbucks opened not too long after we arrived. I love caffeine!

G

Yesterday (Thursday), we travelled from Cologne to Hamburg. On the train, we shared stories with a German man who lives in Canada, but was home to attend a conference. Arriving into Hamburg mid-afternoon, we didn’t have time to waste.

After dropping our bags at the Airbnb, we took the U-Bahn to Haubtbanhof and began a self-guided walking tour of the city. We walked to the impressive Rathaus, before heading to the river, passing the enormous Elbphilharmonie on our way to the regenerated industrial area of HafenCity.

Having quenched our thirst with a Fritz-Spritz in the setting sun, we followed the river to the Alter Elbtunnel. A quick walk underground complete, we headed for the Fischmarkt and browsed through the windows of the massive former fish auction hall. We ate dinner nearby, then, tired from overconsumption of pizza, took the U-Bahn home.

This morning, we were up early to beat the queues for pastries at Kamps, which was fortunate, as our train to Copenhagen departed at 07:24.

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On Sunday, We stayed the night with Diarmaid and Aine in London. We set off early on Monday morning, and, after my customary search at security, we boarded the 08:04 Eurostar for Brussels.

Having left our bags at the apartment, day one involved walking to the Grand Place, eating massive burgers at Cafe Novo, and walking past the Palais Royale to the Palais de Justice. The viewing point there gave great views of the north of the city.

Today started with our first #travelintrainers experience, as our morning run took us to Laeken, the residence of the Royal Family, Atomium and the red light district. Fuelled by waffles, we headed for Brussels City Museum to find out a little more about the lovely country of Belgium.

Tomorrow, Cologne. G