Up early enough to get a shower before the rush – bag sorted, last minute shopping done in a local shop (apples, tissues, water) followed by last trip on the coach to the station here in Moscow to get the Trans-Siberian train to Irkutsk. We dumped our bags close together and stood watch in shiftsContinue reading “The Magical Mystery train…..”
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Moscow – what a fantastic place!
This is just a short post as it’s quite late. Tomorrow we’re off to the railway station to catch the Trans-Siberian train to Irkutsk. We get off there for about 3-4 days, either walk across the frozen Lake Baikal to an island where we have a homestay with local families in a sort of communityContinue reading “Moscow – what a fantastic place!”
The road to Novgorod Land
After a very lazy morning, we set off to Novgorod, breaking there for one night as the journey to Moscow is long. So about 3-4 hours on the road today and about 8 tomorrow. The roadside wooden houses are in a much worse state here in Russia than in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The reasonContinue reading “The road to Novgorod Land”
Russia – St Petersburg
April 8th – we left Tallinn behind in icy rain. On the left hand side of the road, the ice on the Baltic Sea was right up to the shore, like frozen froth. The bay at Tallinn is iced over, with ice-breakers working to ensure that the ferry to Helsinki, and other ships, can keepContinue reading “Russia – St Petersburg”
Tallinn in Estonia
…… last stop before Russia The journey from Riga to Tallinn: A fairly dismal day for travelling, as the whole region seems to be covered in cloud. The sepia effect is even stronger now, as the land emerging from the snow is varying shades of brown, grey and ochre. Everything seems murky and soggy, butContinue reading “Tallinn in Estonia”
Riga – Paris of the North
Monday 4th April On the road to Riga… well, I slept very little as we had a raucous crowd in the hostel in Vilnius who partied until 03:45 in the kitchen, right next door to our room. Seven of us were in 2 rooms with an interconnecting door and paper thin walls adjoining the kitchen.Continue reading “Riga – Paris of the North”
Vilnius in Lithuania
After a good night’s sleep we are now on the road north to Vilnius. The bus has gone quiet… reading? sleeping? or doing what I’m doing? I’ve had a good chat with several of my companions and look forward to getting to know all of them. The road is good in parts and diabolical inContinue reading “Vilnius in Lithuania”
Warsaw
Here at last, with 24 hours to go before I meet my fellow Ozbus travellers. The flight took just 2 hours and we got to Warsaw in sunshine. Then a taxi ride into the city – it cost 35 Zloty (about £8) and was well worth it. My first impression was that the outskirts ofContinue reading “Warsaw”
Travelling by air
….. as opposed to travelling overland as I will be soon. It’s Wednesday morning (30th March), not yet 7 am and I’m in Singapore airport waiting for the plane to London. The flight here from Melbourne went quickly – one film, a snack, breakfast and a little snooze. Actually, I was violently woken when theContinue reading “Travelling by air”
Leaving Australia
I can’t believe the time has passed so quickly and that in 36 hours I’ll be somewhere in the sky over the red centre of Australia, on my way back to London. (As I write, it’s nearly 5pm on Monday 28th March). I’ve just been looking again at the photos I took at the McClellandContinue reading “Leaving Australia”
Patamateria 