Siberia and Russia

A country 3x the size of Australia, a forest the size of India and a lake the size of Belgium. It’s quite easy to see why Russia is the biggest country in the world. We travelled across the breadth of Siberia all the way to St Petersburg on the Gulf of Finland yet this only amounted to the thinnest of tiny ribbons – there is a whole lot more out there!

We kicked off in Siberia having taken a ridiculous 8 hours to clear customs, underlining the suspicious nature that the Russians are famous for. The change from Mongolia was instant and dramatic. Replacing desert and grasslands with a huge expanse of silver birch forest, this was our introduction to the mighty Taiga forest, the largest uninterrupted forest on the planet. For hour after hour leading into days the scenery never altered from a mesmerising arrangement of these beautiful white trees. When we finally did stop it was at the Siberian capital city of Irutsk, the “Paris of the East.” The city really took off when wealthy aristocrats were exiled there following an uprising against the Tsar. Now, it is a delightful collection of multi-coloured old houses together with fashionable shops, internet cafes and hotels. It is also the traditional stop off for Lake Baikal, a lake that reputedly holds 20% of the world’s unfrozen fresh water. It is also very, very cold as Katherine’s mother discovered when she disrobed to take an afternoon dip, ably assisted by a few mouthfuls of chilli flavoured vodka!
And so back onto the train for three nights. Life on the Trans-Siberian was a lot of fun and very relaxing. Usually we would get up and read, listen to music before having another nap and maybe some gazing out of the window. Then, at about 6 we would crack open a few beers and anywhere from three to ten of us would get stuck into a game of cards, charades or anything else that we could make up. Sometimes we would get a local a little worse for vodka trying to join our card game, or we would wander down to the dining cart to be abused by the scariest looking waiter to be found anywhere in the northern hemisphere.

Suzdal was our next stop, a stunning oldie-worldy town of over thirty churches set in a delightful setting that incorporated flower meadows and a winding river. It is a place that attracts artists and we counted more than twenty in one morning stroll.

Moscow could not have been more of a contrast. From sleepy town to a city of nearly 10 million people and a very modern and expensive city it now is. A real treat for all of us was a trip to Red Square at night. I don’t think we have been to a more beautiful city centre. The four sides are made up of St Basil’s, the Kremlin, the national museum which is a former palace and Gum, a beautifully illuminated building that is home to an assortment of exclusive shops.

Moscow is a city rich on oil and this is reflected in the prices and the readily available luxury goods of all varieties. It seems to be a city hurtling forward at great speed, keen to put as much time and distance between its current state and the depressed times of the Soviet era.

And so to our final stop on our global voyage and, for me, it was a case of saving the best until last. St Petersburg is simply the most beautiful city I have seen. It was created by Peter the Great in the 18th century to be Russia’s “window on the west,” and it gave the country access to trade with the rest of Europe by acting as a port with access to the Gulf of Finland. It also became the country’s capital for some time. As it was an artificially built city, great care was taken to ensure that it was attractive and, being described as the Venice of the North, it certainly is.

A series of canals bisect the city and everywhere, gorgeous mansion homes can be seen in an assortment of reds, yellows, blues and whites. Landmarks include the Winter Palace, the Hermitage museum (housing the largest collection in the world) and the Church of Spilled Blood, a fantastic structure of onions, colour and swirls. And then there is the literary history. St Petersburg was the home to Dostoyevsky and Pushkin, the father of Russian poetry. Both have museums that are fascinating. Pam and Katherine had tickets to the ballet at the famous Marininsky Theatre for a performance of Don Quxiote which was thoroughly enjoyed.

A night cruise along the waterways provided the perfect send-off. A popular event, locals flock to the waterside to watch the opening of the bridges and it is also attracts many tourists with as many as sixty boats cruisng down the main canal to watch the spectacular at 1am with fireworks and fountains adding colour and illumination to the night sky revealing many locals, beer in hand, watching the opening of the mighty bridges.

An atmosphere you would expect of New Year that occurs every week!