The rural ride to Iida Day 15

We went to Kyoto yesterday which is about 300 miles away. No real differentiation between towns, a few paddy filds and the odd tea plantation but Tokyo in effect stretches all the way to Kyoto!. One mass of urban development all the way. But no graffiti in that all distance, not one wall defaced not one train, not one poster, not one protest.  But it doesn't stop there; not one piece of litter, not one piece of chewing gum, not one drunk, not one voice raised, not one blue flashing light, not one vending machine that doesn't work (and there is a drinks machine on most street corners) not one spilt cup of coffee, not one person begging, not an angry word, not one voice raised in dissent. (And not one train late!) Such is the Japanese culture. So today we are completing our journey by going off the beaten track on our branch line ride to Iida.
0840 Shinkensen from our nearby station of Shinagowa in Tokyo's suburb to Toyiashi, a distance of about 180 miles where we change to a local train. A word about the Shinkansen (or bullet train). These trains started to be introduced from the early 1960s but now cover most of Japan. With new infrastructure (track) to run on they cruise at around 180 mph and are very popular. So popular that Shinagowa sees a departure of one of these 16 coach trains carrying, must be up to, 1 000 people each every 10 minutes or so. The trains are very clean and have comfortable, large seats usually facing the direction of travel. One slightly amusing feature is that before each station they play a little tune which is very similar but not quite "God Save the Queen" the UK national anthem!. Leg room is ample with about 18 "between the bend in my knee and the seat in front. On entering the train you are given a wet towel to wipe your hands and face by a Japanese lady who bows before entering the coach then your ticket is inspected by an inspector, who also bows when entering the coach and when handing your ticket back. A little later you are usually offered  a drink (tea Coffee etc) and a snack. I understand there are 20 staff on each Shinkansen

So we change trains at Toyiashi onto our local train. A spotless 3 car train. All the seats face the 

direction of travel and they are turned around at the terminus so you always face the way you are 

going. The picture is of standard class.

Today being Saturday there were one or two Japanese groups out for a ride in the hills. We set off on 

time and were soon rattling along in fine style. You are able to sit behind the driver and observe the line ahead. The driver, like all Japanese train drivers, is smartly dressed and wears white gloves. Every time we pass a signal he points to the signal as reminder to himself that he has looked at it. At every 

station or timing point he points to the station name board then to his timetable which is pinned up in front of him to check he is keeping to time. He is assisted in this by having a magnetic strip (bit like a magnetic ruler) which he moves down his timetable schedule as the trip progresses. 

When riding on the Shinkansen bulletin train you rarely leave built up areas and are often travelling on concrete viaducts or in cuttings. This little train was different as it was travelling over part of the original Japanese network which seemed to pass right by the gardens of houses with numerous level crossings giving the impression of travelling through the heart of the town. Pretty soon the houses start to give way to fields. Some paddy fields and some tea plantations. The houses of the gardens all have large vegetable plots with potato and onion much in evidence.

We now enter a river valley and start to climb into the mountains. For the first time since coming to Japan we have shaken of the houses and civilisation.

The valley broadens and the train starts to empty as we stop at wayside stations until after two and a half hours we come to Iida. Quite a large town sitting in the sun in a broad valley.

No westerners here but a sign with "welcome" in all languages ​​looks promising. Nice sleepy town but no other western signs.

So we decide to find somewhere to eat. Japanese restaurants are a bit impenetrable from the outside. If you are luck there will be an illustrated menu outside. That seemed to only occur to a limited extent here. So we had to be brave. Of course on entering everyone from the kitchen staff to the waitresses greet you. Wet towel and tea are placed before you as a matter of course. Then comes the menu challenge! I tried to say "what would you recommend" but didn't get far . Then Joanne took the waitress outside and showed her a picture of food in the window but that didn't seem to do the trick (perhaps it was a picture for the restaurant next door!) the waitress disapeared and came back with some noodles and some broth (this was nothing like Wagumammas in the UK!) she then gave us some forks. All much to the amusement of the locals who were in there. Then the chef came over, who seemed to speak a little English . He then showed how they dilute the remains of the meals contents in the Water and drink it. I Have to say it was all very delicious and the Japanese are such delightful, courteous people they were very patient with us.

We the returned to the station and had a delightful ice cream from the vending machine while we sat in the sun. It had been a truly excellent "Rural ride to Iida."!

And that now finishes my blogs of this trip. It is Sunday morning and we are going up into Tokyo.  Tomorrow Joanne is off home and I am meeting Hitachi with Karen from East Coast for part two of this adventure. I have struggled a bit with the blog in places as for some reason capital letters keep appearing and word order changing so when I get home will go through it, add some more 

photos and maybe flesh out some of the descriptions. Anyway, thanks for reading our "Rural ride to 

Iida "

The railroad track is miles away

And the day is loud with voices speaking

There isn't a train goes by all day

But I hear it's whistle shrieking

My heart is warm with friends I'll make

And better friends I will not be knowing

But there isn't a train I wouldn't take

No matter where it's going

Edna St. Vincent Millay

Tokyo Day 13

We made Tokyo ok. Passports were thoroughly examined before they let us out of Russia and before they let us in to Japan. Our route to get to Japan caused a few suspicions amongst Japanese immigration but they let us in. Phew what a culture change! Our first challenge was getting to our
hotel about 40 miles from the airport. The Bureau de Change was closed at Narita airport (!)and there don't seem to be any cash machines that worked with our cards in the stations or main thoroughfares. Fortunately we had Japanese rail passes we bought in the UK and a couple of good maps (Stanford's:Explore, Discover, Inspire) so by trundling our cases through the streets of night time Tokyo managed to find the hotel. Must admit we were a bit dehydrated by the time we got there (being unable to buy any water in this rather humid city) we did take full advantage of the mini bar! Our adventure had not finished for the day yet; one more surprise. The combined bidet/toilet with instructions in Japanese only!

Managed to get cash this morning from the local post office adjacent to hotel so all well. What lovely people the Japanese are! Courteous, willing to help and quite forgiving of our lack of knowledge of Japanese customs and language. (English is not as widely spoken as I imagined but the Japanese we have met make
every effort to communicate in whatever way they can)
The railway stations are huge and we are about 15 mins walk from Shinagawa station which is about twice the size of New St Birmingham but only about a quarter the size of Tokyo Central. We can see the Shinkansen high speed trains from our room.(see pic)

Trains need reservations in Japan so we went to Shinagawa station station to book our "Rural Ride to Iida" And despite the technology at the helpful reservation clerks finger tips and the fact I had written out the reservations I required neither the computer system or she, personally, had ever heard of the place. She had to resort to an old map directory of stations in a book about the size of an old telephone directory. A map of the railways of Japan is a bit like looking at a picture of a plate of spaghetti so we both looked over the maps. I showed her roughly were it was and she interpreted the place names from the Japanese characters. Eventually we found it and got our reservations. The transaction must have taken 30 minutes and reservations are free so no money exchanged hands. But such is the Japanese sense of service this didn't seem to worry anyone a bit.

Vladivostock Day 12

We made it! And the Russian Pacific fleet is in to greet us! (Sorry 40+ years of the Cold War has made me nervous of taking pictures. Vladivostok was a closed city to 1990 no foreigners allowed) what a lively city this is. Much larger to. Found the hotel and treated ourselves to room service (steak!) only disconcerting thing is the abseil kit in case of fire. We are 8 stories up! And there is only one!
So the rails do stretch from our local station, Yatton, to the Sea of Japan-we have done it! And what was it like; better than we thought! Joanne had visions of having to barge through corridors full of Russian squadies to get to the toilet and I thought the train may be a bit dirty. Nothing could have been further from the truth train was spotless with only people with reservations aboard. Only disappointment was the Restaurant car which was poor and presided over by a big Russian lady whose only word seemed to be "nyet"  But we managed ok in our compartment and managed to rustle something up for breakfast, lunch and tea each day. Even some supper and a bottle beer. It bought out the " hunter gatherer" in us. We were able to please ourselves when we went to bed and usually had a nap for an hour during the day. It wasn't boring. We had books and a magazine plus puzzle books and there was always something going on. The time difference as we went along had a big impact which I didn't foresee. Only yesterday morning did we start counting off the hours but the Taiga started to change from the endless birch to mixed trees then we saw the sea and boredom was banished as we ran in for the last couple of hours along an estuary off the Sea of Japan:we had crossed the biggest continent!
Vladivostok is huge. I sort of imagined it to be a sort of end of the line naval port but it seems very prosperous. It's also busy and cosmopolitan. Very different to Moscow. East meets West. A bit like Hong Kong to Beijing. 7 hours time difference to Moscow and 6 hour plane ride away so they do their own thing.
Taxi to airport which is about 12 miles out of town. A rail link has just opened which we were unaware of or we may of used that-never mind the taxi drive was interesting through Vladivostock. So we are now at the airport and the blog may go quiet for a couple of days. The taxi driver thought we were German (with my fair hair I always have this problem) When he realised we were English he said "ah your English. We like English" Made my day.

Tuesday 13th day 11

The last day on The Rossiya. Up at 0130 train time (0830 outside) just as we pulled into the city of Khabarovsk. Looks a very prosperous place.

Taiga is beginning to recede and be replaced by more conventional forest. All along the line there is a black area between the Taiga and the track where presumably controlled burns take place to keep it away from the railway.

We pass a what I think is a cattle train going west. It seems that the Trans Siberian

 still handles cattle, post and parcels as well as hump shunting wagons, types of activity long since done away with in the UK. I have not seen any international wagons in Russia. In fact some of the wagons from the Soviet era look, well, very basic and  would not come up to latest international standards I think.
We are only a couple of miles from the Chinese border here and parallel it all the way to
Vladivostock (or so says my map from Stanford's (Explore, Discover, Inspire)) in fact this section of
track was built later than the rest of the Trans Siberian. Originally the line cut a corner through Manchuria to get to Vladivostock but after the Japanese War with Russia in 1904 which went badly for Russia (in part due to the inadequacies of the Trans Siberian. A troup train of reinforcements from  Moscow got as far as Lake Baikel where a ship was being used to get across the lake, as the line around the lake was not finished, only to find the ship frozen in. Undaunted the soldiers laid a track across the ice. Unfortunately the loco was too heavy and went through the ice. The next train they dismantled the loco and took it across in pieces. That worked) an "all Russia" route was built that didn't need to cross into Manchuria but was quite a bit longer.

Cemetery by the side of the tracks

I note when a lone passenger gets off the train, a son on leave from the army, a daughter from uni, a mother from a shopping trip, not just one person turns out to greet them at the station but the whole family-usually with a bunch of tulips.
Travelling on this train has similarities to our other hobby of travelling the Waterways with similar questions and concerns; you see parts of the land you can not get to by road; you are in your own little bubble; where is the next meal is coming from ; you travel all day and do not necessarily get anywhere; are the locals going to be friendly?

Our food provisions are now nearly exhausted. We have left, a couple of saches of coffee, some dehydrated potato (Russian) a Russian loaf (Which I can now just about cut with my trusty penknife from Weston super Mare) two ministrone pasta things from Waitrose Portishead, no cheese but plenty of tea (oh and some
sugar lumps). Not only are provisions nearly exhausted but so is my book Imperium, about the final days of the Soviet Union.

Also I have a small box of Chocolates, Thorntons, which I want to give to the Provinistas. Joanne thinks "why, they are just doing their job" I agree their focus is the train and keeping that together rather than the customer but it feels like we have just spent a week in their house even though we have hardly exchanged a word. For all we know they may have been trying to fight of marauding rampaging hordes trying to break into our compartment all night-we just do not know the answer to these things. Besides it's one less thing to carry. We will see.

The communion Wine has done its job and The Rossiya rolls in bang on time in heavy rain showers rolling in off the Pacific. We have dodged freight trains in the Urals from going "up" to "down" line back to "up" and repeat , we have had broken air  pipe , we have had rain and hail, but The Rossiya is running on time, nothing must stop it. Linking east and the west of the country with 6,000 miles of national pride. We leave it here and move on. The ferry to Japan leaves from by the station but, sadly, that's not for us this time. The ferry goes once a week on Wednesday takes 48 hours and is a days train ride from Tokyo so that would seriously cut down Joanne's time in Tokyo to one day so we have to compromise and take a plane tomorrow. Still this is not just the Trans Siberian this is about,  it is also about a " Rural ride to Iida"

Sun goes down in Vladivostock on Sea of Japan. 8000 miles from Yatton!

Monday 12th May Day 10

We are now on a sparsely populated area with possibly 60 or 70 miles between settlements. The forest is dense and it's easy to believe you may see a bear here!

Every  6 or 7 miles there is a small cabin with a rough cut timber table outside. At first I thought it was a Russian version of Centre Parcs but can now see they are bases for the track maintenance gangs. These gangs of about 8 people seem to be organised like a military expedition each with their heavy duty army style truck. I have to say most of the track seems well maintained with all equipment painted up and marked, in stark contrast to the state of some of the towns. (Fly tipping is awful in Russia)  Still it would be a economic disaster I suspect if a derailment caused the line to be closed even for a day.

Turned dull with drizzle. After crossing the Zeya river we were in a wheat growing area. Apparently Ukranians came here some while back and cultivated the area. We went through a little station called Ukrana presumably after the Ukranians presence.
Then The Rossiya pulled up at Belorgorski for an half hour stop. Hive of activity on this wet Monday evening. Loco change and top up the water tanks. The platform sellers were selling eggs and buns but they didn't look too appetising. So I got off to buy some cheese from a store on the next platform. I said in my best Russian "may I have some cheese please" ( eckerchoo sir perjalster)but the woman obviously couldn't speak Russian as she gave me a box of sugar cubes and a quarter of a pound of Russian tea. Never mind they will come in.

 

The Rossiya has speeded up again this afternoon and at Belorgorski we overtook a slower moving long distance train and on into the Armur region of Siberia.

Last night tonight. Time is still confusing both of us but only about 20 hours (only about 20 hours! Before this week that would have seemed a massive time!)before we get off now. It's been a hell of a train ride.

Using the Samovar to get an evening drink

Sunday 11th Day 9

So we didn't see  Lake Baikel properly but we did see ice floes on it reflecting the moonlight near Slyudyanka plus a steam loco in steam in Slyudyanka depot. This side of Baikel you don't get the roar from the wheels of continuous welded rail but the older soporific "clickety clack" to go to sleep to.
The clocks are proving a bit of a challenge as we travel east to meet the dawn. At 0230 train time the sun was up. Outside the train it was now 5 hours ahead of this. We are trying to shorten our days  so we are on outside time by the time we get to Vladivostock.
We bought a bottle of Red wine before we left Moscow so we could have a glass each night before bed. Last night we opened the bottle and had a glass (glasses improvised out of the bottom of water bottles by my trusty Weston Super Mare penknife)but found it, while nice, quite strong and sweet. Today I have managed to translate the label on the bottle and find it is communion wine made by Orthodox monks. So maybe a tot each night will bless the rest of our trip.
The Rossiya has had to slow a little today as most of its journey has been winding around the sinuous curves of the Shilka valley. Quite picturesque with bright sunshine it's made for a pleasant Sunday afternoon. Quite a lot of cattle farming. Fishing in the river-which I guess out here is more about survival than sport.

Not many passenger trains coming the other way. Think we have passed about four today most of which were local services. Out here local stations don't always have a name just a distance from Moscow like "6457 platform" (the distance being in kilometres). Freight trains are a different matter with one every 15 minutes or so. Some carry Hitachi excavators which is interesting as hope to visit Hitachi when (if) we get to Japan.
The lines to China have now branched away from us. As has the BAM railway started in the 30's to make an alternative to the Trans Siberian line, north, further away from the Chinese border and only finished a handful of years ago with untold ecological damage.
We have a locomotive change every 400 or so miles (the coaches, of course, remain the same) and we always seem to get a clean modern loco. There are, though, lots of Soviet era locos around, many still with Red Stars on the front, for the freight trains.

Not many left in our coach now. A Russian couple, a Russian woman and someone who may well be
keeping an eye on everyone! The train remains immaculate inside and out due the hard work of the Provinistas. Compartment was hoovered at 1130 train time precisely.

So it's been "clickety clack" all afternoon along the delightful Shilka valley, less wooded than previous part of journey and now about 50 miles from the Chinese border. Stopped for a delightful half hour at a wayside station, whether it was eight in the evening or four in the afternoon I don't know as the clocks have me confused, half the village and most of the train were on the platform stocking up provisions, stretching legs and enjoying the last of today's sun. Even the Russians are smiling. Then it's all aboard for night 5 on The Rossiya express.

Saturday 10th Day 8

Disappointment when  realised that we will not see Lake Baikel, largest fresh water lake in the world, as it will be dark! Only 1825 train time but 2230 local time so it will definitely be dark. Never mind.

Ice Cream on the platform

I have been  reluctant to take too many photos of train in Russia as even though there are no longer photo restrictions past history makes you wary. But at Zima we were stretching our legs on the platform when one of the giant Russian freight trains came powering through behind a triple electric I couldn't resist taking a photo. In Eric Newby's book "The  Big Red Train Ride" about a trip on this train in the early 70s he tried to wave at the drivers but never go a response. Today was different, the driver sounded his horn gave a friendly wave and I waved back. Made my day. Things are definitely improving in Russia!

Russian freight at Zima

The other challenge in Russia is the Cyrilic alphabet. The name on the side of the coach above our head is "Rossiya" in Cyrilic.

Passed lots of isolated communities. Wooden log cabins with greenhouse and outside privy. Mostly well kept with their own water well and some even a bus stop! Life must be hard here but children still wave at The Rossiya  as it speeds through as children wave at trains the world over. In some villages they had athe luxury of a stand pipe with tap. I was surprised that it seemed to be the men who were collecting the water-I don't know why just imagined that would be the woman's job in this macho state.

Many factories are derelict no longer supported by government. Goodness knows what the ex employees now do for money. Timber production seems still prosperous even though the sawmills are a blot on the landscape. Some coal mines seem to struggle on. But The Rossiya presses on, passing these by, as nothing must stop it.
Timber is in plentiful supply here with mountains of cut timber in each village. Farmers on horseback rounding up cattle,
a Dachshund in another village, a herd of goats in another village, a woman struggling to carry a carpet home on the local train.
Well I can see the moon reflecting off lake Baikel but too dark to see it in all it's glory.
Before the railway opened in 1898 it could take 3 years to travel from Vladivostock to Moscow for most people using a mixture of river passage, tantalus (sleigh) and walking along the Siberian post road. There  is a story of a woman who left Vladivostock with no children and arrived in Moscow with a toddler and a babe in arms.
Sonia got off at Irkusk as planned and we are now the only English on the train. A French couple are in the next compartment everyone else is Russian.

  

Friday 9th May on the Rossiya (Day 7)

Woke up 0330 as we came into Omsk A woman (Ludmila) who spoke a little English with a small daughter (Zoya) alighted here. They had been sharing a cabin with Sonia our travelling companion from Melbourne/Manchester. They were going to see the daughters grandfather who was 90. Strange time of the day to turn up on your grandfathers doorstep but as Joanne says today is 9th May a big day for all Russians to commemorate the end of the Second World War. The grandfather had probably fought so this would be a really big day. In fact all through the day we saw evidence of parades going on with people in uniform collecting in groups. But it's good to see children in Russia-one of the few countries in the world with seriously declining population.

So we have a routine going now; get up, coffee, wash, breakfast (croissants this morning sold by the Provinista), maybe second coffee from the Samovar, look out of the window, lunch (boiled egg, cheese sandwich, potato cakes today, bought off the platform at Novosibirsk) , doze, tea (Russian style, no milk) dinner (today cheese sandwich, pot noodle (Russian) Apple (peeled with my trusty penknife bought in Weston) bottle of beer and bag of crisps from the dining car  (tonight mushroom flavour), bed . And of course the provinista hoovers the compartment at 1130 each day prompt.

Clean toilet compartment complete with air freshner!

Time is playing tricks on us and it wasn't until Sonia said "I am sure it's getting darker" that it clicked-as we go east we get closer to sunrise so sunset gets earlier as well. It was dark at 1830tonight. So we have resolved to try and go to bed half an hour earlier each evening so we are not completely thrown when we get to Vladivostock. The train remains on Moscow time throughout.
We pass a freight train every 15 minutes or so heading west. A great deal of coal is mined in western Siberia for use in smelting works in the Urals. These trains are huge consisting of 70 plus bogie wagons which must contain about 100 tons of coal each. Hauled by triple electric locos. In fact The Rossiya is all electric but an anachronism at the larger stations is a guy comes round for the ashes from the Samovars in each coach which are still coal fired. Also at the larger stations a carriage and wagon  examiner (or wheel tapper) comes along tapping the wheels and ensuring everything on The Rossiya is in order. We haven't done that in the UK since the early 80s but it's strangely reassuring to see this practice continued on these long distance trains.

Wheel Tappers watch The Rossiya roll into Yekatrinburg

It seems very hard out here in the wilds. No wonder birth rate is declining.However, the huts out here seem "more together" than those nearer the towns. Presumably they have to be as there is less room for error. Some of the little towns on the route have grown up around the railway and very clearly the locals are proud of the railway with the local shunting engines well cleaned, standby breakdown cranes polished and railway offices and engine sheds appearing in a better state of repair than the  surrounding area in many cases.
This morning we passed through a swampy area a bit similar to the fens. Able to see, must be 10 miles in any direction but pretty featureless. Apparently the area has claimed several lives due to people becoming disorientated. This afternoon it was a bit more hilly.
At this moment The Rossiya is plunging east into the darkness having just left Bogoto bang on time after over 2000 miles of running (for nothing must stop The Rossiya) There is some laughter from the compartment next door where they are watching a comedy film (compartments have tv but as it's all Russian haven't bothered with it) So it's night number three. Phew; we are not halfway yet!

First full day on The Rossiya ( Day 6)

Woke up about 0600. The provinista has the samovar going so it's coffee to get ourselves going. We decided to try the restaurant car for breakfast. Not terribly successful, I suppose it's just our western taste is different. The porridge had a big slab of butter melted into it with made it pretty awful and the fried egg and bacon, while recognisable and edible was covered in fried onion which made the breakfast just taste of, well, onion. All of the staff in the restaurant are a bit severe, while polite, but I did get a smile from the waitress when I asked for milk for my coffee with my best phrase book Russian (eckerchoo mila cum perjalster) and even got a little joke back.
We discover the towels hidden under the seat backs. We didnt need to buy those expensive ones at St. Pancras!

So it was a slice of the luncheon meat role cut with my penknife bought in Weston Super Mare for lunch and a drink made from the Samovar.
At each little signal box along the way (every 10 miles or so) the signal man or woman stands to attention and holds out a batten or little flag as The Rossiya goes past to indicate all is well on the section of track they are responsible for. There must be hundreds if not thousands of these along the length of the Trans Siberian. I must try and get a photo. Another interesting way of operating is the level crossing barriers. In the UK there is a continuing problem with motorists jumping the barriers, in Russia, as well as the barrier, some vicious looking blocks lift out of the road which would take a motor vehicles wheels off should anyone try to cross the railway once the barrier is down.

This morning we started the climb into the Ural Mountains (more like hills really) at the summit of which we pass from Europe into Asia. A large obelisk marks the spot and we looked out for it but only managed to snap the base of it! Well travelled Sonia said "this is the most foreign place I have ever visited"

After this point we come to the town of Yetkaterinburg famous for two things 1)the last Tsar and his family were murdered there in 1918 And 2) the U2 affair of 1960 (an American spy plane was shot down nearby. The Americans thought the pilot, Gary Powers, had died and tried to claim he was not spying but had gone off course due to malfunctioning oxygen equipment. The Russia's played along with this at first but after a week Kruschov, then leader, announced that the pilot was not dead and had confessed to the spy mission and they had even managed to develop the film! ) there are museums to both these events in Yetkaterinburg.
As The Rossiya wound down the Asia side of the Urals we suddenly came to a grinding halt so suddenly it made everything slide off the table. Lots of anxious heads looking out. Our engineer got down on the track. A brake hose had blown between carriages, possibly hit by a branch or ballast on the track. The engineer had a new pipe down on the track and fitted and we were a way again within 10 minutes. Nothing must stop The Rossiya.
As well as missing the Obelisk at the start of Asia we also missed photographing the obelisk at the official start of Siberia which is at kilometre marker 2102 from Moscow.
The Russians do like their cucumber! Cucumber flavour crisps, cucumber and eggs in the restaurant car, cucumber nuggets for the children, we even had a cucumber seller come down the train at 0600 this morning!

So as darkness falls and we head out into the Taiga (wooded wilderness) we suddenly notice fire alongside the track. In a few moments it's like we are in a 1980s car commercial with flames shooting up at the side of the track. The Rossiya does not slow down. The flames disappear. We don't know if this was a deliberate burning or a Forrest fire. Now all we can see from our darkened compartment is stars against the blackness of the endless taiga.

Moscow to the first day on the Trans Siberian (Day 5)

The guy behind reception literally beamed at me when I said I liked his hotel and I would say so on Trip Advisor! It's a big parade in Red Square on Friday to mark the end of the Second World War. Many couples, including some people staying in the hotel, were walking around with bunches of tulips. Rememberance day is clearly something taken very seriously here. In fact we were told that preparations would disrupt our journey and we should set off for the station early which we eventually did by taxi.
The taxi ride was interesting with the taxi driver taking his hands off the wheel to cross himself every time he saw an ambulance! Anyway we got to Moscow Yarolelski station ok but a severe freak blizzard suddenly opened up. We struggled out of the taxi with the drivers money nearly blowing from my hand. Goodness knows what it must be like in winter!
 All luggage is scanned for security in Moscow at most railway stations but  it's all a bit strange as you can walk straight from the street onto a train, it's only scanned if you go into the ticket office. Nevertheless we needed shelter so went through the scanning rigmarole.

Another strange bit is that the long distance platforms are in the open whereas the suburban platforms are under cover. So we waited for it to stop snowing then ventured out to the long distance part of the station.
Russian Railways run thousands of trains over a very extensive network and each has a number. But their most special train is the one we are making for, not called The Trans Siberian actually but The Rossiya (or The Russia in English) train number 1 westbound and train number 2 eastbound. They both run every second day. A source of national pride- Nothing must stop it-that's official.
A lady came up and said "do you speak English"  We looked at each other; yes we did.  "Thank God for that" This lady, whose name was Sonia, became our companion for the next few days.

 She was travelling on her own to Irktusk, a station on the Trans Siberian,
for a tour of lake Baikel and came from Melbourne Australia but had been
visiting her sister in Manchester. She was the only other non Russian we were to see for a few days. and we visited each others compartment from
time to time for a natter.  The train rolled in about 40 minutes before departure. Our coach was in the red, white and blue colours of the Russian flag. The provinistas (attendants) showed us to our compartment. I have to say the train is absolutely spotless inside and out and is cleaned by the Provinistas each day including vacuuming all the carpets. There are two of these people to each coach and one sleeps whilst the other is on duty. They are all women including those we have seen on other trains. Only negative is that the toilet gives a large squeal down the coach every time it's flushed!Sonia had paid to have her meals bought from the restaurant car to her compartment. These turned up at bizarre times sometimes dinner (and I mean dinner, soup for starter ) were served at 0800 in the morning! We had no idea why meals were served at such odd times but while I had wondered at the start of the trip if we should have prepaid for meals it soon became apparent we were better fending for ourselves. Poor Sonia!
We left bang on time at 1350(ten to two). Easing out of the Moscow suburbs we missed the statue to the murdered Tsar which has the inscription that basically says "sorry"!

The samovar was lit and tea was soon on the go. I was pleased to see the train has it's own engineer
on board and actually staff almost outnumbered passengers. No English spoken though. A timetable is posted in each corridor showing how long and when each station stop will be.

Very pleasant passing through heavy woodland out into the country.As night fell we were beginning to rack up the miles behind us. We crossed over the River Volga. The Volga and many other rivers we crossed were very wide. The Volga at this point must be nearly a mile from bank to bank. From 1900 in the evening until 0500 the next day we only paused for 5 minute around 0100.  A good first day on The Rossiya.

Crossing the Volga river on the evening of the first day

Moscow (Day 4)

Within sight of the hammer above the sickle at Smolesk station, breakfast was supplied by the Attendant and It seemed to consist of a  big marsh mallow and a wafer Vanila Biscuit (See pic)

A visit to the samovar provided a coffee courtesy Portishead Waitrose.(I had bought two boxes of coffee with milk sachets to mix with hot water -they proved to be a good investment as the trip progressed.)
 Precisely on time at 1145 we arrived at Moscow Belarus terminal station. And a bit of culture shock it was too! This was nothing like a big station terminus in a UK city. There were no shops on the concourse and security guards were everywhere.  We had not been able to get any Roubles (Russian money) outside Russia so plan was to get underground tickets by credit card and travel to the hotel and to change any further money there. However, the underground ticket machines had no provision for credit cards so we had no Russian money and needed another plan. There was a sign up outside a building Which said "money exchange" so I ventured inside with some US dollars. Immediately I was challenged by a security guard and asked what I wanted.  I held up the US dollars and was then waved through. I followed another woman through corridors, rooms and doors until I found myself outside again in a courtyard. Not wanting to become lost or locked out I retraced my steps back towards the entrance. On passing through one of the high ceilinged  rooms I had noted a metal box A large metal box 3m x 3m about 3m x which looked like a giant free standing cash machine. I inspected this A bit closer and saw a small silver button about 2/3 of the way up one side. I pressed it and immediately a panel swung open revealing a woman sitting behind a cash desk! I Held up the dollars and she gave me Roubles and I left the sliding shut door behind me! I was beginning to wonder what we had got ourselves into coming here to Moscow. It seemed an austere angry looking city with security guards on each street corner and very little to help the foreigner just ariving.

Undeterred and with some Russian money we  made for the underground got our tickets and made the hotel no problem. The hotel was great and staff very helpful and the receptionist spoke English. Feeling a bit better about the place we had a walk out this evening amongst the sights of Moscow but Red Square was cordoned off as a parade is due. The old Gum store, which I always used to remember being mentioned in Soviet days, is now transformed into a impressive shopping arcade.