Sunday 10th October 2010

Woke up to a dreich morning having gone through another time change.Scenery was much the same as yesterday until late morning when it became far more varied with hills and valleys.

We spent a chunk of the day musing about our provodnitsa (female carriage attendant). Ours is really dour and we immediately christened her Mrs Grumpy. It's a real pity because she's actually quite bonny when she smiles.

Having said that she was the epitomy of joy compared to some we saw on an adjacent train. She spends little time attending to the physical state of our carriage and more time cavorting with the male attendant in the next carriage. She does however do a good line in cheap vodka!.

We had another time zone change at 5pm so are all feeling dazed and confused.com.

Another day. Another time zone

Saturday 9th October 2010

Although this is dated Saturday you will probably have gathered from my strange use of tenses that I'm actually writing the blogs the following morning.

We woke to another beautiful day. We had crossed into Siberia some time during the night. The scenery is now more open and very flat but still with plenty of trees. The land is very boggy in places. All the settlements seem to be alongside the railway line. I would imagine that if you started to walk at right angles from the track you could go for hundreds of miles before you encountered any sign of habitation. As it is, the train goes for miles and miles of emptiness.

The vilages we pass look very poor and isolated although there are plenty of satellite dishes. Many of the houses are little more than the shacks we might see on the Barvas moor.They are constructed of wood with corrigated metal roofs. There are a few 2 storey ones of concrete block on the ground floor and timber on the first floor.

During the day we had 3 stops when we could get out and foray. It seems that the bigger stations have kiosks and the smaller ones have platform vendors.We assume that the selling of spirits on the platform is illegal. Donnie asked for vodka and she said "no" and looked around then produced a half litre bottle and immediately wrapped it in a bag to hide it! We investigated the other vendors then returned to ask for another one. She indicated for us to wait and she ducked under a train on the next track and disappeared. She returned with another bottle equally discreetly wrapped!

We had decided to have lunch and dinner in the restaurant car (despite our drunken waiter the previous night) so were not in the market for food.

Last night we had agreed to move to local time. Were we to stick on Moscow time which the train runs on it would mean that we arrived at Ulaanbataar at 1.30 in the morning and had a full day ahead of us with no sleep. It really is most confusing. John is wearing 2 watches - 1 on Moscow time and 1 on local time. Donnie is wearing 2 watches - 1 on Moscow time and 1 on U.K. time. Cath is wearing 1 watch on Moscow time and I am wearing 1 on local time. When anyone asks what time it is there is chaos! The only real question is "Is it either drinking time or eating time?"

We thought the time might go slowly and we might be bored. Not a bit of it, the day passed very quickly.

Lunch was another omellete and dinner was borscht followed by salad. We had all enjoyed the borscht so much last night but when it arrived it was watery and not nice so we sent it back. Our waiter (sober) was most apologetic and said it would be 15 mins. When it arrived it was every bit as delicious as the previous night. The salad was lovely too. The tiny kitchen and one cook can only prepare one thing at a time so, despite the poor patronage, mealtimes are lengthy. We wonder if people are keeping all different times so are not there when we go.

John's cold is still with him but I now have a sore throat which I think heralds the onset of a cold. I haven't had a cold for well over a year so....

It clouded over in the afternoon and started to rain in the early evening. How different the landscape looks in the dreich bleakness.
We knew we would pass through another time zone in the night. It is so lovely to go to bed and be warm and comfy, lulled by the rocking movement of the train and hearing the mournful sound of the engine's siren. Another day awaits.

On the train

Friday 8th October 2010

My nocturnal adventure last night - I was still awake at 2.15am so got up to go to the loo. The toilet is through a door at the end of the compartment which also takes you to a door leading through to the next coach. Just as I opened the door a guy came in. He had obviously been smoking between the cars and I just hadn't seen him. To say I got a fright would be somewhat of an understatement! I think he got almost as big a fright as I did.

After that excitement I did eventually get to sleep.I should say that my wakefulness was not in any way due to lack of comfort. The train jolts a lot but it is mostly a lovely rocking sensation.The washing facilities are more than a tad basic but we came equipped with plenty of wipes. We studiously avoid mentioning toilets to Donnie so presumably he's coping!

We went along to the restaurant car for breakfast and were greeted by a lovely Russian who went through the whole menu telling us what was what.As we had only gone for breakfast we jumped at the mention of omelette so ordered 4 plus o.j. and coffees and a green tea for me.The omelettes arrived still bubbling and absolutely perfect. Great breakfast at only £5.50 each.


We spent the morning watching the world go by. Lots of trees with fabulous autumn colours and a clear blue sky.

We played the Yes/No game that M and Q gave us. It's a version of the old Take Your Pick game show where the contestants are asked a whole load of questions but are not allowed to say Yes or No. If they do then a bell rang and they were out. To start with we were all very good then it became a bit riotous and we kept ringing the bell. Good fun. Thanks M.

At lunchtime we stopped for 15 mins at a station. There were lots of vendors. Cath kept an anxious watch from the train while the guys went to see what they could buy for lunch and I took the camcorder to record the proceedings. We came back with 2 portions of chicken and potatoes, one fish and potatoes, 3 "pies" which tasted a bit like heavy donuts with something inside.

Not unpleasant. John bought a large smoked fish. Big mistake!!! Very smelly and equally boney. He was immediately banished from the compartment and binned it as inedible. We had plenty to share so it was not a problem.

John was feeling dopey from his cold and Cath was sleepy 'cos she's Cath so they slept in the pm while Donnie and I played Patience. It's amazing how Xmas cracker novelties come in useful. They were probably made in China anyway.

We had our apero in the compartment then headed along to the restaurant car for dinner. Our lovely waiter was decidedly drunk and most amusing. We were not sure what of the food we ordered we would end up getting. After several trips to check what we had asked for it arrived. 4 borscht to start. It was delicious. We had borscht twice in Krakow and each time was different. This was different again.

John had fish salad next and thoroughly enjoyed it. We played safe with chicken, veg and fried potatoes. They forgot to cook the potatoes first but it was still good. We ended the day with a smidgeon of vodka. What a lovely day it had been.

In the course of the night we will cross the Urals from Europe in to Asia. Siberia here we come.

Uh Oh!

Thursday 7 October 2010

Uh Oh! John woke with a stonker of a cold. He had had a sore throat most of the previous day. Not to worry - medicine monitor was prepared with a stack of paracetemol. We had planned a late breakfast after another brilliant shower. Breakfast was kind of a rerun on dinner. There was a huge choice of cereals, cold buffet, salads, meat dishes etc etc. I never thought the day would come when I would have liver stroganoff and mashed potato for breakfast. Lovely.

It took me ages to post the previous blogs after breakfast. I could connect to wifi in the lobby but it was obviously a Russian connection so everything on my screen came up in cyrillic (John is here to spell it!). I know I have many talents but the combination of my technophobia and Russian illiteracy defeated me for a while! The long and short of it is that we didn't leave the hotel until 11.45 by the time we had deposited luggage etc.

We had a walk round the park that bordered what was the Olympic village. It was really beautiful and interesting to think that it was all built 20 years ago.

We got the metro back into the centre so that we could check out the railway station ready for our departure in the evening. We had arrived at a different station. We had to be sure we planned the easiest route with the minimum of steps to negotiate with steamer trunks. We also wanted to find a supermarket nearby where we could buy supplies for the train.

John then took us to the Arbat district which is a bit of a Moscow Rive Gauche.

We wandered around and as I needed a place to put my eye drops in and John was due another load of paracetamol we had to go for a beer! This was where we made our first mistake. We went into what seemed like a bar with a sunporch enclosed in glass. Cath and I asked for a toilet and were escorted downstairs to what appeared like an Ann Summers bordello without the bawds! I did try to video it but it was too dark. The red lights in the toilets were so dim that Cath didn't realise there was actually a seat on the toilet. We laughed. By that time the tone of the day was set. John got a bit confused and said something about Bob Wailey and the Marlers. That was Cath off - I'm surprised we weren't asked to leave! On reflection we know why we weren't and also why we were the only people there - downstairs was a sleezy club and the beers were over £5 each as opposed to about £2!

We enjoyed our wander before returning to Ismailovsky where the hotel was.

We had an enjoyable supper before collecting our bags and heading to the station. We all agreed we would like to go back to Moscow. We would stay at the same hotel but allow time to enjoy the pool, sauna etc. The fact that the weather was so wonderful may have been an influencing factor. We were so lucky.

We were at the station a couple of hours before the train was due to leave so Cath and I set off for supplies. Money monitor told us the kitty had 2000 roubles which is about £40 so we knew we had plenty cash. I won't divulge exactly what we bought but most of you reading this will know us well enough to guess correctly! As we collected things I worked out that it would be just under 1000 roubles. It was 960 so no worries - or so we thought. As money monitor's next of kin Cath had the kitty and counted out the money. Oops! We didn't have enough. Red faces. Panic. What would we put back or would one stay while the other went for re-enforcements? While we were agonising the check out girl called her supervisor who gave her a swipe card and miraculously the amount due equalled what we had. Sorted!

Surprisingly there was no domestic. Money monitor realised where he had gone wrong and kept his job.

When the train arrived we were sooooooo excited. It was just like the Orient Express. The carriges really art deco with the mirrors on either side so that you can see to infinity. Just perfect. We were like kids in a sweety shop. So it was toasting goodbye to Moscow with vodka. Total happiness.

Moscow

6 October 2010

Woke up to a beautiful beautiful day. The ground was white with frost, the sky was clear blue and travelling through the birch forest was just stunning. Cereal bars again and drinking yoghurt for breakfast. We pulled into Moscow station about 10.00 local time. Moscow is 3 hours ahead of uk time.

Once again John did a sterling job of getting us to the hotel using the Moscow metro - steamer trunks not withstanding. The hotel was an excellent choice and a far higher standard than we had expected. We were lucky that they had one room ready for us so we all had showers before setting off. That was only after one day without a shower so goodness knows what we will feel like after 5 days! The shower was fantastic - masses of hot water and really strong jets. Yes!

While John and I were showering Donnie and Cath had found a beer tent. That didn't take them long! When we were ready we returned there for another beer and some lunch.

John had printed out a copy of the metro plan before we left so finding our way around was not too difficult. Having said that all the signs were in syrrilic (John is not here to tell me how to spell that!) so it was a case of matching the pictures!

We managed to find Red Square, even if we did go round 3 sides of a rectangle to get there. No steamer trunks so it didn't matter. St Basil's cathedral took our breath away. It was just beautiful. Lots of domes painted gold, red. blue and other colours. It was stunning.

We didn't feel the need to go in. Perhaps that would have spoilt the memory of it from the outside.

What struck us all was how clean everywhere was. We even saw a couple of people sweeping up and collecting the leaves from the grassy areas. Even the public toilets were clean. We just wandered around and watched "stuff happening" outside the Kremlin. One guy goose stepped up to the sentry and spent what seemed to be ages adjusting the sentry's attire. Mmm!

We stopped at a supermarket that was actually more of a deli and tried to buy some flavoured vodka. The guide book had written about black cherry and other flavours and highly recommended that we try them. The shop assistant had a good laugh anyway. All the bottles were behind the counter so we had to "ask" for them There were baskets of fruit nearby so all our charades expertise came to the fore and we eventually purchased something. Ok. No more on that subject!

We decided to have the buffet in the hotel. Huge selection , a lot of which was recognisable! We then of course had to finish off the vodka. I should explain that it was only a half litre bottle!

A lovely end to a lovely day. Let's see what tomorrow brings. I'll write blogs on the train but won't be able to post them until we get to Ulaambaatar. Big smiles from us all. (Time is of the essence so I'm not reading this over to correct spelling, typos etc)

Tuesday 5th October 2010

Our first full day on the train. None of us slept particularly well as we needed time to get used to the movement of the train. It was more than a little jerky and there were occasions when you thought you were going to get catapulted out of the bunk. I think Donnie spent most of the night hanging on to the safety rail!

The buffet car provided lovely fresh orange juice for breakfast.

 We got hot water from the samovar at the end of the carriage so could have an unlimited supply of hot water for tea, coffee, oxo or whatever. It wasn't until lunchtime that we discovered they had removed the buffet car! Luckily we had lots of cereal bars and a little of our picnic left - including one bottle of wine. We thought they would probably add a buffet car at the Bellaruse border but they didn't.

The border was interesting and a bit scary. As we drew in to the station there was a long row of very officious looking police and border guards. They took away our passports and we had the usual entry forms to fill in. Donnie and Cath had not taken copies of their passports and visas so Cath had photographed them. Just as well as we were required to provide passport and visa details without reference to our passports.

The train was then shunted into a siding while they changed the guages. Really interesting.

While all that was happening a local lady boarded the train selling vodka, beer etc. John and I declined the vodka but bought a couple of bottles of beer. Donnie and Cath heard the "Nein" but didn't realise we had bought beer. Donnie - wee leggies a blurrrrr - yes! By that time she was down to her last bottle of beer so Donnie bought something else which turned out to be drinking yoghurt! Life is interesting.

 So we had no food but we did have 3 bottles of beer between us and of course our last bottle of wine! Life was all right.

We had expected to be woken in the night as we crossed into Russia but were not. We all slept better.

Amsterdam

Monday 4th October 2010

Our transfer from the ferry terminal into the centre of Amsterdam took about 45 mins. Lots of people appeared to go from Newcastle for the day. Assuming everything ran on time you would get in to the centre about 10.45 and the last bus back was due to leave at 4pm prompt. Worth thinking about.

We had a really good day. We spent a not inconsiderable time trying how to work the left luggage lockers! When we left home we had appointed John to be time monitor, Donnie to be money monitor, Cath - medicine monitor and me blog monitor. Having finally deposited our luggage Cath had the additional responsibility of technology monitor. Within minutes one of us was nearly mowed down by a tram and another 2 by cyclists. As a consequence Donnie became health and safety monitor!

We took a canal cruise in lovely warm sunshine, had a beer outside at a cafe, walked around the red light district then had the most fantastic steaks in an Argentinian restaurant. They were not as good as we had in Argentina but fabulous all the same.

By the time we were safely installed on the train John was now officially travel monitor and I am also camcorder monitor. Division of labour is de rigeur with us!

Whilst in Amsterdam we had spent a while looking for a supermarket to buy provisions for the train. Cath and I showed our female side and asked someone. We were directed to a biggish one not far from where we were. Having made our important heavy glass purchases and a fine selection of salady things and carried them around we realised there was a branch of the same shop actually in the station. C'est la vie.

We got on the correct train no bother and left Amsterdam enjoying a beautiful sunset. So exciting.

There were not many in our coach - a single man who was English, a lovely Russian girl who worked in Amsterdam (she was immediately christened 32 'cos that was her compartment number!) and us.

We spent the rest of the evening making sure we would not have extra glass bottles to carry around and enjoying our picnic in good spirits.

It takes me half an hour to do all my eye drops before bed so the world was asleep by the time I had done all of that and been to the loo. The problem was that I couldn't remember our compartment number and there was silence everywhere! I tried one door which fortunately was empty, gave a gentle knock on the next one, nothing happened so luckily a call of "John!" let me in - to a different compartment!

End of a wonderful start to our trip.