Home again, home again...

"No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow."

So I'm back in Glasgow, the rucksack is back in the cupboard, the washing is in the machine and I've got a pile of mail a foot high. Since several parts of our journey were guided by "Top Ten" guides, I thought I'd finish with my own top ten moments of the journey.

1 - Seeing the train for the first time at Vladivostok and thinking - I'm really about to do the Trans Siberian Express!!

2 - Piroshki. We only discovered these fabulous pastries on the third day - what a waste...

3 - Snow in Siberia. So exciting to look out of the window to see a world of white, the mountains around Lake Baikal being particularly impressive.

4 - Walking on water. In fact jumping up and down on the frozen surface of Lake Baikal. Though I also look forward to going back in the summer some time and sailing on the lake.

5 - Orthodox service. I only spent a few minutes in the church in Perm, but listening to the choir sing was sublime.

6 - New Tretyakov Museum in Moscow. Fascinating to see the history of the last hundred years in Russia reflected in their art.

7 - Red Square by night.

8 - St Petersburg. Beautiful and characterful. Honestly, I think I might have to go there every year for my birthday...

9 - Swedish sauna and massage. Just the way to start the last leg of the journey home.

10 - Blagging our way into Tivoli and onto the roller coaster. Getting in was way more fun than the ride!

So that's it. Thanks for joining me on my wacky journey, and I'll keep you posted on my next plan. Hmmm, I wonder how I'd get home from Vladivostok going the other way round the globe...

Amsterdam's been Tangoed!

Well we've slept our last night on a train. I say slept - given the shoogeliness of my bunk and the drunk Danish blokes next door, sleep was in short supply. The morning brought us to Amsterdam, which is celebrating Queen's Day today. This seems to involve the whole country closing down, everyone dressing up in orange and wandering round town for a big hoolie. Finding ourselves in a great big party was fun. Unfortunately, they'd closed down left luggage along with everything else, so we had to make do with donning orange and taking a boat trip (the one tourist attraction we could reasonably do with a muckle great rucksack). Now on the ferry to Newcastle, I think I'm in the finishing straight...

Wonderful Wonderful Copenhagen

I've enjoyed the 24 hours we spent here. Last night we blagged our way into the funfair and on to the roller coaster (should have cost about 20 quid) which turned out to be entirely underwhelming... Today we have walked about all day, looking at churches and old buildings. We also visited an underground art installation of glass work, which was refreshingly different from anything else we're seen so far. The Danes appear a little more laid back than the Swedes, but are still rather cool... Still, in my Pippi Longstocking pigtails I think I look rather cute if I do say so myself!

What, no Ikea?

Just passed through Sweden and have failed to see that familiar blue and yellow icon. But I did have a sauna and a massage... I expected our ferry from Finland to be a glorified version of a Calmac, but it turned out to be more like a cruise liner, so we made the most of the facilities. We arrived in Stockholm in time for a two hour wander - enough time to convince me I should come back. Now it's off to wonderful wonderful Copenhagen, on a super fast train. Which is currently travelling about 5 mph due to signal problems. Sound familiar...?

Flying the flag

The Finns do like their national flag - I counted 10 in the main square alone, and there's at least one on every block we've past. Our train into Helsinki was an hour late (first late train we're had) so we've just got time for a quick trip round the city on a tram, before jumping on our ferry. This will bring our total different type of transport this holiday to eight - plane, train, taxi, metro, bus, trolleybus, tram and ferry. Are there any we've missed?

Farewell to Russia

Our last view of Russia. Or it may have been our first view of Finland - there were a couple of points that might have been the border, it was hard to tell. Still, they let us out, and the Finns have let us in, so it's all go for our whistlestop tour of Scandinavia - woo hoo!

You know you're mad when...

... you leave the house in thermals and a woolly hat and you end up paddling in the Neva. It is no longer frozen, but it is still pretty cold! I'm now sitting listening to the bells of St Peter and Paul's cathedral. The sky is clear blue, the early evening sun is shining - the perfect way to end my stay in St Petersburg.

Look what I found!

It gets everywhere... We found a great fast food place which sells a range of trad russian dishes including beef stroganoff, and a wide range of drinks including Scotland's other national drink. Also tried Russian wine last night, which wasn't as bad as you might expect. The t-shirt was a birthday pressie, proclaiming the People's Republic of Partick. Also got a Colonel Gadaffi 40th anniversary watch. I guess this tells me what my friends think of me...

Chilling in St Petersburg...

... in more ways than one - it's baltic today (I'd reckon below zero with the wind chill) but it's clear and beautiful.

The city is built at a fairly low level - after the Hermitage was completed at three storeys, it was decreed that this was the perfect height for a building, and nothing in the city could be built higher. The streets are wide, and many of the buildings appear to be the original c19th fronts, which is pretty impressive given the battering it received during the war.

The feel is, as many have no doubt said before me, very european - it reminds me most of Amsterdam, with its network of canals and islands. My favourite part is the Church of the Spilled Blood, so named because it was built on the spot where Alexander II, the reforming Tsar of the c19th, was assassinated - one of those great "what would have happened if..." moments in history. I think the turquiose and green domes are even more striking than the domes of St Basil's in Moscow, though perhaps St Basil's suffers from having rather impressive neighbours!

Oh My Goodness!

I'm in the Mikhailovsky Theatre in St Petersburg, about to watch Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty. I'm so excited I think I'm going to burst!

If it's saturday, it must be St Petersburg...

I guess this is not a bad way to spend my fortieth birthday. It started in style on the sleeper train from Moscow with Russian champagne and caviar, courtesy of my lovely friends, and we're now taking in the Hermitage, before the ballet tonight. I think i'm turning into a proper grown up at last!

Only 36 hours in Moscow

...is not nearly enough. Especially when it has rained half of today (well, makes me feel at home). It truly is an amazing city. The skyline is a curious mixture of skyscrapers, ranging from c1930s style (New York-esque) to concrete blocks, interspersed with golden onion domes at regular intervals.
We have only had time to do the basic tourist stuff - the Kremlin, St Basil's, the Metro (which is almost as impressive as Glasgow's).



The last member of our party has joined us (though his luggage is elsewhere. Seems to be a theme for this trip...) He is on special Government business, though he says he can't tell us any details, or else he'd have to kill us. Code name Mikhailovskiy. Don't tell the KGB.

Me and Vladimir

Just been to a sculpture park which contains a selection of statues of soviet leaders, known as the graveyard of fallen sculptures. Tried to see Lenin at his mausoleum this morning, but he wasn't receiving visitors - think he was getting ready for May Day...

Moskva

Well we've arrived in the big city at last, and what a contrast to our rural travels through Siberia - I think Moscow may have more high rises than all of Scotland!

Our companions joining us from the UK have made it through the dust cloud... only just - I think flight restrictions were only just lifted in time for them to lift off last night, just waiting for them to join us before we go and explore the glories of Moscow. And after a week on the train, I think the first stop will be the Banya for a decent wash...!

Eh?

This sign is above the toilet on our train - but what does it mean? Don't wash your shoes in the toilet? Don't walk on the wall? Any ideas welcome...

Eh?

This sign is above the toilet on our train - but what does it mean? Don't wash your shoes in the toilet? Don't walk on the wall? Any ideas welcome...

No playing about on the line!

Every couple of hours, the train stops for 20 minutes or so at a station, giving passengers time to get off, stretch your legs and buy food (at a fraction of the cost of the restaurant car) and other tourist tat. The sign appears to warn against falling on the line. Which is ironic as the locals seem to use the track as a walkway, sometimes ducking under a train that's in their way...

I like driving in my car

Driving in Russia is interesting to say the least... With precious few road markings cars jostle for position at junctions. Seat belts are few and far between, and cars appear to be a random mix of left and right hand drive. And of course every tenth car is a Lada!

I've a feeling we're not in Siberia any more.

Crossed the border into European Russia last night. Think we may be over half way home now...

What do you mean that's too much stuff?

Ok i know you should pack light when you have to lug your stuff about daily, but it turned out having too much was a blessing, since chris was without her bags for the first 5 days - plenty between us to share! Now I just need to avoid the shops in Moscow, so i can still carry it all home...

Pancakes and caviar

Or blini i krasnaya ichra, as they say here. Not bad, but i prefer the cabbage pasties.

What I've learnt about Russia so far...

Am sitting in the restaurant of the hotel in Omsk, a city we chose to visit because it sounds like it's almost named after a womble. In the background on the telly is Indiana Jones dubbed into russian... Thought I'd mention a few things I've learnt about Russia so far.

1 - Russians don't smile very often. They are a very serious looking people (or maybe it's just the cold). Still, on a british train there would be lots of nodding and smiling and "good morning"-ing. Here it's a grunt if you're lucky. Still, that makes it all the better when we do something randomly touristy, and a smile flashes across someone's face.

2 - There is a strong glaswegian theme to food - so far we've had lots of meat, precious little fruit and alcohol for sale on every other street corner. Our particular favourite discovery has been pirashok - a kind of savoury doughnut/pastry affair, with fillings varying from potato to cabbage to egg and rice... like a greggs pastie only much much better.

3 - There are more birch trees in Siberia than there are in the rest of the world put together. Believe me, we've seen most of them, over the last three thousand miles. Apparently you get warty and fluffy birch in Siberia, though with the lack of leaves we can't tell the difference.

Siberia is a truly amazing place. You would think that after the first thousand miles or so it would be boring looking out of the window, but the landscape gradually evolves from the bleak barrenness of Far Eastern Russia, with little wooden huts scattered around, looking like they've seen too many winters, through ever changing forests (interspersed by treeless spaces that could be Scotland). Lake Baikal and it's surrounding mountains are an impressive interlude, then back to snow and forests, though the houses gradually move to brick built, and to high rises and grey blocks of flats (another thing Russia has in common with Glasgow).

Time to freshen up before dinner - lets see if we can find any more glaswegian-esque delicacies!

Sunset

I had assumed that the train would go a pretty straight route east to west, but it snakes around so much through the inhospitable terrain the actual distance travelled is about half as long again as the flight east.

Back on the train...

...through another thousand miles of snow covered forest. The radio is playing a mix of europop and eighties 'classics', and the wee boy in the next carriage is playing with the dog. More vodka, anyone?

Irkutsk

A city of 600,000 without a single McDonalds - my kinda city!

Cheese!

It's glorious sunshine here, though minus 8 in the wind... Glad i brought my thermals!

life on the train

Well that's us spent our first spell on the train, and now we're back on beds that don't move, and toilets that flush. Here's some info about life on the train...

Accommodation

The compartment is about 6 foot by 5 (so about the size of my bed at home). The bottom two bunks lift up for luggage storage, the top two fold away for a bit extra head room during the day. Sharing such a small space with three others is a bit like doing a dance where we all know slightly different steps, and having to learn a new version we can all do - fortunately we seem to be getting there, with only the occasional stepping on each others toes.

Food

There is a samovar with constant hot water at the end of the carriage - it's quite exciting filling your mug as the train lurches from side to side... We brought plenty of food on with us (and a bottle of Jamiesons for good measure) but as hot food is limited to cup-a-soups and smash, we have explored the restaurant car. The menu offers such delights as "hot shack with bird" and "language sandwich" - I suspect google translate may have had something to do with this. We've foud the best strategy is to point to what someone else is having.

Toilet

The toilet facilities are basic, though kept reasonably clean (the cpnductors have to use them also so it is in their interests to maintain them). Of course, they have no proper flush and just drop out onto the tracks. You can see the icicles hanging from the bottom of the hole! This also means we can't use them when in the station - if you time it badly then you have to sit for half an hour while the train is unloaded and loaded again, with your legs crossed...

People

This is not tourist season, and we are doing the journey the opposite way from most transib travellers, so most of our travel companions are locals. They are not a smiley lot - on a british sleeper there would be lots of nodding and pleasantries, not so on a russian train - people simply glance with slight bemusement at these four women who speak a strange language and take photos of everything! There have been a lot of police and military travellers, including two chinese soldiers. We have therefore been behaving very well...

Attire

This ranges from glamorous (the lady in the blue satin kimono and spike heeled boots) to very little (the boys playing cards in their football shorts). The temperature on the train is generally (too) warm, so the vest tops I brought to layer up have proved useful to layer down!



We are now in Listvyanka, a picturesque village by the side of Lake Baikal - still entirely frozen. It is very cold (glad for those extra layers now) but clear and bright, so the perfect antidote to the stuffy warmth of the train. Right, that's enough time sitting at a computer, I'm off to explore!

Room with a view

Looking out of the window of our hotel at lake baikal - nice to be off a train for a while!

Early morning sun in siberia

It's confusing going through all these time zones but the sun wakes me up regardless...

Breakfast

Mushrooms in sour cream. It's quite a challenge ordering food food without a common language but the results have been good so far...

Only 8134km to go

... And that's only to moscow!

And off we go!

This is my bed for the next three night, which is the longest I'll sleep in any bed while I'm on holiday!

looks like we made it...

... unfortunately Chris's suitcase didn't. It is currently in Amsterdam we believe, and Chris hopes to make contact with it again in a few days when we get to Irkutsk. Still, she has all her camera equipment, and Fiona has packed enough clothes for all of us, so we'll manage till then!

The journey here took about 24 hours, from leaving the hotel at Heathrow to arriving at our hotel in Vladivostok. I have to say for all the things people say about Aeroflot, my experience of flying with them was certainly no worse than the majority of long haul flyers I've travelled with. Though I'm not sure I want to know the precise contents of the non-specific fish mousse thing we had for lunch...

Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow is lovely, all glass and space and polished surfaces. The airport at Vladivostok, by contrast, makes Glasgow look cosmopolitan. The footpad toilets took me back to holidays in France as a teenager (and my mother assuring us it was really much healthier to 'go' that way - we chose to queue for hours for the real toilet) and it's the only airport where I've ever seen a fresh fish counter.

Driving through the Primorsky region to Vladivostok itself was an eye-opener. The whole area looks run down and neglected, potholes littering the road. Even in the city (which is described in the guide book as "one of Russia's more attractive cities") most of the buildings look like they are still standing through sheer stubborness. It has an air of faded glory, except that the glory passed it by.

We were all pretty wiped when we arrived, what with not sleeping on the overnight flight, and various shenanigans tracking down lost luggage etc, so we hung around the hotel for the rest of the day. On arrival, the lounge is rather swish, but the bedrooms do not disappoint if you are looking for an authentic soviet experience - everything is decorated in brown floral patterns that don't match, from circa 1970 (in honor of my birth year, obviously). The toilet suite is pale turquoise, the toilet seat comes off, as does the door handle. Still it is all clean (or at least as clean as it's ever going to get) and comfortable. The only irritation being the club downstiars, that went on very noisily till 1.30am. AAaarghh!!!

We dined in the hotel restaurant, which was as good a chinese meal as I've had - the aubergine in oyster sauce was particularly fine. And the waitress seemed genuinely impressed when I ordered red wine in russian. Which was particularly kind of her as her english was significantly better than my russian! Then a brief post prandial perambulation in the twilight, and straight to bed. Ok, a wee whiskey, then straight to bed. It was medicinal, obviously.

It is a cold but bright day today, with the sea frozen up into the bay, and after a good night sleep (after the disco ended...) and a three course breakfast, I'm ready to find out what further delights VLadivostok has to offer.

And so it begins...

Setting out from glasgow airport on my epic journey. Quick check - passport, visa, red lipstick - i'm good to go!

how old?

my colleagues at work very graciously didn't rub in the age thing when they gave me my birthday cake today...

Travel treasure box

Spent friday evening in edinburgh with some of my sibs, and they gave me a little gift... it is a box full of useful things for my travels. These include:

travel wallet for my tickets
binoculars (i had been saying just the other day how good it would be to have a wee pair of bins for watching Siberia go by!)
gel hand warmers
baby wipes. so my companions can cope with several days on a train with me without a shower...
calculator for currency transactions
miniature of whisky, just in case I can't find anything to drink in Russia
paracetamol, just in case I can find something to drink in Russia
mini bottles of toiletries
chocolate snacks, for when I get bored of cabbage
notebook and pen, in case I think of anything worth writing down.

There were also a couple of books. One is a collection of writings by Lenin on the international working class. The other is a russian phrase book from c1960. It contains useful phrases such as:

"Can I have an advertisement inserted in a Moscow popular paper?"
"After tea we shall stroll down the street and make a few purchases."
"What fertilizers are used at the collective farm?"

Guess which one of these I may use?

If you have treasures of your own, you may be interested in this writing competition.

Am I normal?

So does the average person sort their clothes three weeks before their holiday, hanging them all up to check they match?

Why the Trans Siberian?

I blame my mother. Well, don't we all? In this case, however, it really is her fault. In a conversation a couple of years ago, she suggested I go for a trip on the Trans Siberian railway to celebrate my (somewhat distant) fortieth birthday.

The idea stuck.

I managed to persuade three friends to join me on the journey, and three more to fly out to St Petersburg for my actual birthday. I set up a savings account with the credit union - a quick look at the travel options made it eminently clear that this would cost more than the average holiday. And I started planning.

Nearly two years on, and it's all bought and paid for - the visa, the tickets, the hotels - and I fly off to Vladivostok in a little over three weeks. All I have left to do is pack. Now, how many pairs of shoes can I fit in my rucksack...