Let's start at the very beginning. We left Kazakhstan on September 2nd after spending way too much time at the BB gun shooting range in the Astana train station (and getting escorted to the cavity search room by a pair of suspicious policemen - the sight of three bearded foreigners shooting guns at the train station may have bothered them a bit, but their search revealed nothing illegal) off we went to Omsk! We eventually arrived at the border and got exit stamps from Kazakh guards who had never seen tourist visas to Kazakhstan, which really emphasized the novelty of being a westerner in Central Asia. A few minutes later, the Russians arrived with a less-than-threatening cocker spaniel who seemed more concerned about finding food crumbs than sniffing out drugs, and after a very thorough passport check we were admitted into the Russian Federation (without even having to go through the gulag)!
However, it didn't take very long for us to commit our first faux-pas. The first order of business upon arrival was to purchase tickets to Moscow via the Trans-Siberian. We went to the first available counter and in very, very broken Russian, managed to get some seats on the train. Unfortunately, the counter was reserved for invalids, a fact that was made obvious when a man in crutches started yelling at us and gesticulating to the large "invalid" sign posted above the window. Whoops. Editors note: it could be argued that our плоха (poor) language skills count as a handicap, but good luck trying to communicate that to anyone.
The rest of our time in Omsk was spent wandering around the city which had an oddly pleasant industrial feel to it. Decadently decorated cathedrals mixed in with distant smokestacks and rectangular concrete buildings made up the architecture of the city. We missed out on an Avangarde KHL game but made up for the fact by enjoying some cheap shwarmas, cheap beer, and live music at the local dive.
With Omsk ticked off the checklist, it was time to board the famous Trans-Siberian. It seems pretty obvious now that a journey across the biggest country in the world might seem interminable, but at the time we were caught up in the romanticism of speeding through the Siberian landscape à la Anastasia. This euphoric feeling evaporated after about 5 of the scheduled 40 hours. Turns out there's a limit to how many instant noodles meals and reading you can do before needing to exit the rolling box of B.O. Despite the hardships, it was one hell of an experience and not one of us regrets it.
So where does one end up after such a journey? Nowhere but Moscow, capital of the Former, Soviet, and Current Russia. We dove right into the heart of Russian history and heritage with a visit to the famous Kremlin and Red Square. The Kremlin is a fortressed complex, the stronghold of the Imperial Russian Czars complete with 3 separate Russian Orthodox cathedrals (one used for crowning ceremonies, one used as a necropolis, and one dubbed the "home church"), each topped with beautiful golden domes and littered with frescoes and paintings of many holy dudes.
Also featured is the bell tower of Ivan the Terrible, first official Czar of Russia, who spent his time conquering neighbours, financing a multitude of spectacular building projects, and oppressing the masses. He also may or may not have murdered his first born son in a fit of royal rage. What a swell guy. We were also hoping to catch a glimpse of Vladdi-P working away in the current parliamentary buildings also on the Kremlin grounds, but had to settle on the multitude of t-shirts decorated with his face rather than the real deal.
Next came Red Square ft. The onion-domes of St. Basil's cathedral. After seeing so many pictures of these spots as they appeared in the time of the USSR, complete with tanks, missiles, and military men parading around, it felt a little surreal to be standing in the middle of what was the heart of Soviet Russia. Certain relics of the time are still evident, such as the blazing red stars atop the guard towers of the Kremlin and the hammer and sickle logo still sculpted on old governement buildings. As for St. Basil's, it exceeded expectations; the colourful domes look as though they belong on an ornate birthday cake, the brickwork is laid out in intricate patterns and the inside is decadently decorated with gilded iconostases, paintings and mosaic murals - barely an inch of wall space remains untouched.
The rest of our time in Moscow was spent walking the city streets and seeing the Bolshoy Theatre, a monument to Karl Marx, the dreaded Lubiyanka (in soviet times, it was said that the Lubiyanka, the KGBs official headquarters, was the tallest building in Moscow as you could see Siberia from its basement... Schawing), the museum of the Great Patriotic War (also known as WWII) and a couple ЦСКА hockey games.
The next order of business was St. Petersburg which used to be known as Leningrad. In fact, some of the older man hole covers still bear the name. St Petersburg is known as the Venice of Russia due to its proximity to the Baltic Sea and the many canals that snake through the city.
We saw some of its historic sites like the Peter and Paul fortress, (this fortress houses the cannon that was used on October 25th, 1917 to signal the Bolsheviks to attack the Winter Palace and begin the Revolution) the church of Jesus Christ of the Spilled Blood (modelled after St. Basil's and built on the exact spot where Czar Alexandr II was assassinated by the Decemberist Revolutionaries in the late 1800s), as well as the Winter Palace which now houses the Hermitage Museum. Which is humongous. And filled with more culture than any one person can handle.
One of our last activities in St. Petes was to recover from Alex's birthday celebrations at the Russian Banya.
This is a traditional bath house where patrons (all men. All naked. No exceptions) alternate between a 100*C sauna and ice cold bucket showers. You may also choose to purchase a leafy branch which you soak in warm water and bring with you into the sauna in order to whip yourself all over to improve circulation (it's also totally cool to ask your naked buddies to give you a couple whacks in those hard to reach places). All in all, one of the strangest experiences of the entire trip.
We all loved Russia. It's culture and history are fascinating and its people friendly and generous. We were often accosted on the street by locals wanting to help us find our way, or in bars and restaurants by young people wanting to talk to us about our travels and our impressions of Russia. I think it's safe to say that 2 weeks were not enough, but we must bid adieu and make our way to Oktoberfest!
Until next time,
Паша (P.Fij)
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