Vladimir to Tomsk in 52 hours (Across Russia, Part 5)

Our time in Suzdal was short, but the next leg of our trip across Russia was the big one: 52 hours on a train from Vladimir to Tomsk. One straight shot on the number 38 and a true test of whether I can handle trains or not.

A bit of background might be necessary here: I am SeattleFlyerGuy. The only other experience I had walking into this was on Amtrak from Seattle to Minneapolis, which was a journey that did not sit well with me. I had motion sickness from the edge of Montana all the way across the midwest. It was so bad that I cancelled my return ticket and bought a one-way flight home when it came time to come back. It was not positive to say the least.

The waiting area of the Vladimir Train Station

The 38 pulls in early in the morning

So what would be in store for this trip? What was the train going to be like? What's the bathroom like (a common question for would be travelers)? All that and pictures from all along the 1,500 miles of the trip is after the break.

We'll start off with the six most important pictures: What the train is actually like. This was the nicest train we were on during the entire trip and on par with the Red Arrow from St. Petersburg to Moscow.

Looking left....

Looking right towards the samovar

The bathroom. It's not the nicest in the world, but it will do the job.

And the people you're likely to meet.

All the boiling water you could ever need is available here at the samovar. No electricity here: There's real fire boiling the water.

And here's the diagram of the samovar. It seems overly complex for something designed just to boil water!

The train is actually nice and on this train there was power available in the hallway (standard European plug and 220V). There really isn't anything to fear with these trains, although ones with higher numbers are not of the same quality. Each compartment has four beds and with the top bunk down you can sit comfortably without hunching over. This is similar to what we'll see on the Rossiya (the number 2), although this one was actually better than the most famous transsiberian train.

Much to my surprise, the ride was comfortable throughout the entire journey and much better than my trip with Amtrak. What are we doing wrong that the Russians can keep such a consistent smooth ride across all of Russia, but we can't? Under the trip, there's not much to do but sleep, talk, and look out the window. Stops are posted (along with how long the train will stop at each station, which varies between 2 minutes and 45 minutes) and on the way towards China the platforms are full of people selling food and snacks. A friend of mine who did the trip in the opposite direction told me that from China the platforms fill with people looking to buy things from the train. Food on the train is limited to what you can cook with boiling water or whatever you can buy from the tracks at the stops. There are dining cars, but we never had a reason to venture beyond our car.

As you travel over Russia, there's not too much to do except watch the landscape slowly roll by. The most dramatic events on the train are the river crossings, but many of these are at night or easy to miss. Otherwise, you'll have a lot of time to read a book, sleep, or talk with your fellow travelers. You can learn quite a bit if you decide to talk along the way and that to me is really what made this memorable.

Small houses are the norm for the the lower income families in Russia, and all of the yards without exception have vegetables or other food crops growing in them. Just as a hundred years ago, potatoes are an important crop for the individual family.

Relics of an industrial era are often seen at the side of the railway. Some are still active while others have been left to collapse in on themselves with time.

Another common sight are trains full of resources being hauled one direction or another. The transsiberian railroad is a working railroad.

A road crossing along the way. Every so often you'll see a person standing with a stick. If the stick is yellow, it means that they received a call and the rail line is safe. If the stick is red, the train stops.

Sellers at the station and passengers enjoying a quick break. 

In addition to processed foods, there are also fresh foods being sold. These are wild strawberries which are not commonly cultivated in the US, but common in Russia. A perfectly ripe one of these is like biting into the essence of strawberry.

Arrival in Tomsk, which is the final stop for the 38. There were a lot of happy reunions as soon as the train stopped. We're now deep in Siberia! Next week, we'll take a look around Tomsk and see what this university city has to offer.

Food Fridays: Lay's Potato Chips (Russian Style)

I have to admit that food in Russia did not really wow me, so trying to keep in the theme for Russia for the course of the transsiberian arc that I'm currently writing is a little difficult. However, just because I found most of the food to be rather.... meh... doesn't mean that there wasn't an interesting thing to two around. Take for instance, Lay's potato chips...

Yes. Those are crab chips. If this was an Asian brand, it wouldn't surprise me in the least, but this is about as far from what I can imagine Lay's offering in the US as possible. They weren't that bad, really. But there's more!

Yes. Those are shishkebab ("shashlik") flavored potato chips. It's a popular street food, especially as you go into Siberia and a decent cheap eat. However, as chips? They are awful! The taste lingers long, long after you've finished the bag. The first hour or so it's just fine, but when you wake up with that flavor still in your mouth? Regret.

Suzdal (Across Russia, Part 4)

Our next stop after Moscow was a sleepy little town called Suzdal. Suzdal is located a few hours outside of Moscow and once was an important center for trade, administration, and the church. Today, what buildings are left over from that stand in a state of bucolic disrepair or humble use. Life is as simple as the river that wanders through the town.

It's also full of linden trees, which in early summer gives the entire town a subtle fragrance and which my mother discovered that she loved in this town (she would have been happy to stay here for the rest of the trip!). And then there are the chickens.

After the break, we'll take a look around the town with a dozen photos and talk about how to actually get here by bus or train (plus where to actually catch the bus).

This is Suzdal and this is actually most of Suzdal. It's a place more for quiet reflection than sightseeing and in contrast to Moscow it's a very peaceful retreat. While it was perhaps a little too slow for my tastes, my mother seemed completely prepared to rip up the rest of the tickets and stay here until our visas forced us to leave. It was just the right size for her and full of the type of things she likes. She is a bit eccentric and enjoys taking pictures of things that most people would look over or be puzzled why it is worth a photo. On this trip, manhole covers and trash cans were on the "must shoot" list, but in a place like this it quickly became pictures of the Wood-lace architecture. It's extremely common throughout all of Russia and here in Suzdal there is a good collection of this style of architecture. Over the course of the trip, we'll see much much more of this, but this was the first place that either of us saw this.

Wild strawberries are common in Russia and even sold on the side of the street!

How to get to Suzdal:
The basic trick to getting to Suzdal is figuring out how to get to Vladimir (below). You can use RZD.ru to find a train that will get you there (between 800-1000r), but another alternative is to go by bus. It's less than half the price, but it doesn't add too much time to the trip. Another excellent guide to getting there can be found on Godzilla Hostel's website, which also happens to be an excellent place to stay while visiting.

To get the bus, head to Kursky Station and head to where the green marker is here. This is where the bus departs from this station (you can even see one of the buses in the satellite imagery). It departs when full and costs 300r per person.

Once you arrive at Vladimir, you will be between the train station and the bus station (in the picture above, the bus station would be the opposite direction). Head up to the bus station and inside to buy a ticket. Tickets are not sold on the bus, and seats are assigned(!). This will get you to the Suzdal bus station, which is still outside of town. You'll be asked to pay again to ride into town. In total, it's about 52.5r from Vladimir to Suzdal city center.

Next week we start on the true transsiberian leg of the trip when we leave Suzdal to catch the train in Vladimir which will take us some 1,500+ miles over 52 hours to Tomsk in Siberia.

Moscow (Across Russia, Part 3)

Our trip to Moscow was overnight on train #1, The Red Arrow, which departs St. Petersburg with the The Hymn to the Great City playing throughout the tracks. The car is comfortable and among the best we were on for the entire trip, but also the shortest journey. It leaves St. Petersburg minutes before midnight and arrives at 8:00 the next morning.

Moscow was the center of the Soviet empire, which at one time seemed like an unstoppable juggernaut. The legacy of the soviet system and communism still is very much present in the city, which is truly a monumental city. You do not need to look far to see a relic of the former system. Whether it's a building like the one above or the omnipresent motif of wheat and the red star (along with the hammer and sickle), these are still very commonly seen in the city.

Even if the symbols remain, Moscow today is awash in money and power. It's highly ironic that directly across the street from Lenin's mausoleum is GUM, where the Russian rich come to spend unbelievable amounts of money. We are talking clothes for children for thousands of dollars, De Beers, Cartier, Breguet, and a grocery store with every luxury capitalism can produce from every corner of the world. The amount of money circulating in just GUM alone is on a level I've never witnessed before.

Of course, not all of Moscow is like that. After the break, we'll visit the amazing Monument to the Conquerors of Space, which was truly one of the highlights of our to Moscow (and far from the beaten path). If you visit Moscow, this is definitely something to put on the list of things to see!

Phenomenal! The Monument to the Conquerors of Space is located by the VDNKH metro stop and is simply a masterpiece. It stands 100 meters tall with a graceful swoop that captures an upward rush of motion and the experience of a rocket arching overhead. From any angle the titanium covered monument is beautiful, thoughtful executed, and evocative of the story it tries to convey. The base is adorned with wall sculptures which includes depictions of workers at every step of the Soviet space program, from engineer to cosmonaut. And Lenin, of course....

The better of the two sides also contains a rather touching inclusion: Laika. Laika was a stray picked up off the streets of Moscow and the dog who became the first living being to enter space. Seeing here included here was a welcome addition among the heroes of the Russian space program.

Next week, we head to Suzdal for a day before catching a 52 hour train ride to Tomsk!