The last morning in Moscow is a glorious one. The sun is out and the clear blue skies contrast so well with the many golden domes that adorn the skyline of Moscow. What a great way to finish my stay in this city and prepare for the upcoming train adventure.
Surprising Moscow
I initially thought I would prefer Saint Petersburg over Moscow as I imagined the capital as a business-dominated city so huge that it is stretched out over many kilometres. After spending several days in this city I have to come back from this. Moscow grew on me and I am pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere, the neatness and the vast amount of lights at night. Yes sure, it is way more stretched out than Saint Petersburg and the buildings outside the immediate centre are not always as pretty due to the sober style of Chroetsjov, but the city has a pleasant vibe to it. It definitely deserves a place in the list of main European cities to visit.
I am coming to this conclusion whilst packing my bags again for the next adventure by train. Leaving the wealth of Moscow behind me and entering rural Russia. First stop: Russia’s fourth biggest city: Yekaterinburg.
The start of the Trans-Siberian Express
By way of background, it might be good to explain the concept of the Trans-Mongolian Express a bit more. The Trans-Mongolian Express is in fact train line 004 (from Moscow to Beijing) and 003 (from Beijing to Moscow). Similarly, the Trans-Siberian Express is train line 002 (from Moscow to Vladivostok) and 001 (from Vladivostok to Moscow). These trains depart once every week, so if you want to get off the train to visit one of the cities alongside the track, you either get out for the stopover time (which is sometimes up to 70 minutes) and walk around the platform or get off the train and board again when next week’s train is due. There is an alternative solution though, which will allow you to make some stops along the way but still comprise your travel schedule.
Many people who undertake this route in summer are bound by a holiday period of 3 weeks and generally go from Moscow straight to the Baikal lake, over to Mongolia and then exit in Beijing. As I want to see more of the country and make several stop overs along the way, I am taking local trains. These connections allow me to undertake various legs, without having to wait a week until I can leave to the next city.
For the leg to Yekaterinburg I chose the 060УА which departs at 16:38 and arrives the next day at 20:19. The first leg from Saint Petersburg to Moscow was an overnight train and a relatively short ride of only 8 hours. Because this leg to Yekaterinburg is much longer than the first leg, it gives a better sense of how I imagined the train travels would be like. Where the train from Saint Petersburg to Moscow felt more like taking the train from Germany to Amsterdam, this leg allows me to get in the true Trans-Siberian travel flow.
Never judge a book by its cover
When leaving Moscow, I share the four-berth cabin with a no-nonse Russian man named Aleksiy. My first impressions align with everything I imagined a fellow Russian traveller would look like; Aleksiy is a hefty 2-meter-tall (and wide) man and fully dressed in a camouflage army outfit. Immediately upon his arrival our shared kupé is filled with the scent of heavy tobacco and alcohol. With only a few words of Russian on my side and a few words of English on his side communication is difficult so I settled for a very quiet train ride.
As I am taking pictures and videos of the view outside his suspicion rises and it does not take long for him to question whether I am a journalist. Visibly relieved by my explanation that it is just to document the journey for friends and family back home he falls asleep. Which, turns out, is only the first nap of many more to come.
When dinner arrives, our interaction in the small the kupé suddenly becomes more up close and personal. By the way with ‘dinner’ I refer to the one meal which is included in the ticket. Do not get too excited though… it is pretty similar to a heated box of plain plane food accompanied with a very dry pre-packed bread and a pack of Russian salami. You can get over to the restaurant wagon to get a more extensive meal, but bear in mind that it will be Russian cuisine. I brought some dried noodles and Cup-a-Soup and bought some fresh raspberries in Moscow, which together made a decent meal.
Back to Aleksiy… Whilst sitting at either end of the small table it does not take long before we get a conversation running. Thanks to Google Translate and a lot of hand signage I learn that he is an electrical engineer travelling for work and that he previously was a corporal in the army for 30+ years. He shows me pictures saluting somewhere in Siberia where it is -50 degrees Celsius. What a life! With those temperatures I would also resort to vodka to keep me warm.
We exchange some food, I receive a tea bag to flavour the hot water from the samovar and some chocolate, and I give him some ‘Stroopwafels’ I brought with me from Amsterdam. I also brought some wooden key chain clogs to give away during my trip. Although I was in doubt whether this sturdy Russian man was going to be excited over such colourful key chain I decide to go ahead and give him one. I could have never guessed this was the best present I could give him. Ok, maybe except for some Dutch jenever (gin). He examines it closely for at least 10 minutes (which is a long time if you are sitting in front of each other without saying a word) after which he actually smiles and compliments the handcraftship. It once again proofs not to be discouraged by the tough appearance of the people you meet in Russia.
My now best friend Aleksiy explains that new people will join our cabin overnight and advises to go to bed early. At 3 AM, a Russian woman joins the top berth, and at 9 AM the provodnitsa wakes us for a new day in the train.
TYPICAL TEA MUGS WHICH YOU CAN OBTAIN FROM THE PROVODNITSA 
KEY CHAINS I BROUGHT WITH ME TO HAND OUT DURING THIS TRIP, DOESN’T GET MORE DUTCH
Melting, even though it is winter
Inside the train you hardly realise that it is cold outside, they bring the temperature up to a solid 25+ degrees Celsius and the windows are closed. The art is to not make yourself too busy with anything as the space and the temperature in the cabin simply do not allow it. If you are really in need for some fresh air, you can walk outside at one of the stop overs. They generally last around 2 minutes during which many passengers go out for a smoke, so the freshness of the air during such respiratory break is questionable. Especially as most people on the train seem to smoke straight up tar.
Vodka
Despite the stories I heard and read about this train ride, it is not one big Vodka-party on the train. In fact, drinking Vodka outside the restaurant cabin is forbidden. That does not mean that no-one drinks vodka though. It is just a matter of hiding it for the provodnitsa or to ensure she is involved with the plot. My new best friend Aleksiy opted for the first one when he conjured a ‘water bottle’ from his plastic bag. Not surprising considering the strong scent of alcohol that must have disinfected the whole cabin. He kindly offered me a sip. Guess you never eat or drink alone on the Trans-Siberian.
Endless taiga
When departing Moscow we were treated to a lovely sunset on the cities’ outskirts. It actually took a while to get through them and I never really noticed when Moscow truly ended and where surrounding villages began. The next morning we surely left Moscow as the first thing I see is the endless snow and trees of the Russian taiga. I immediately want to photograph/film this to send back home for an impression of my journey. I soon realise that there is absolutely no need to do this swiftly. Six hours later, the view is exactly the same and I can only image that the view will still be the same on the next three train legs. It is however everything I imagined beforehand… An endless supply of snow and pine and birch trees, interspersed with an occasional village with mostly wooden houses and a burning chimney.
How different it must be to grow up here compared to our fast-paced lives filled with everything we could only think of. I feel very privileged to even have the opportunity to quit my job and undertake this journey by myself out of choice.
It is also impressive to realise what people must have endured when they were sent to Siberia in the notorious gulags. There is absolutely no way that you can make it out of here without any assistance. The sheer size of the nature in this country is overwhelming… I read a story about a family of six that was found in the taiga in the late ‘70s. They had been surviving in the extreme conditions for decades and were even not aware of WWII or the cold war. The children in that family never met any other human in their lives before. Hard to imagine, but this story soon sounds way more feasible when we are gliding hours on end through these forests.
Kazan, someday…
Although I am heading straight to Yekaterinburg, people recommended that I would go to Kazan as well. Kazan is a ‘smaller’ city (according to Russian definitions) with a lot of ancient churches and a nice atmosphere. Aleksiy also explains that you can visit the finger from Lenin, which was cut off and stored in a glass box after his death. I do not think that this is a major selling point for most tourists, so let’s just focus on the architecture in Kazan…
Unfortunately I do not have the time to make an additional stopover because of my scheduled visa exit date to Mongolia, but will definitely keep it in mind in case I am ever ‘around’ in the future. For now I am looking forward to Yekaterinburg with all its history.
