Into North Korea – Part 2

Into North Korea – Part 2

The next day is triumphal, the morning enormous as the sky. We visit the Revolutionary Regional Museum, fronted by ectype Siberian tigers, which still roam these mountains, and are traditional symbols of a unified Korea. Inside, the displays celebrate the North Korean victories over Japan and America, including a video of such shown on Toshiba … Continued

Suzdal, Golden city in the Golden Ring

Brilliant autumn weather in Moscow. Far too brilliant not to leave, I decide. Oh yes, it is true, the leaves on the Moscow trees are very colourful as well. But the concrete and the asphalt are simply too overwhelming to be able to really appreciate all these colours. And so I gather some stuff and … Continued

Beautiful Window Shutters on Siberian Village Home

Trans-Siberian Express – Part 6

Off to a Siberian Village on the Shores of Lake Baikal Kay and I enjoyed Irkutsk and its pleasant atmosphere of a university city. But after a couple of days, we were off to Bolshoe Goludnoe, a Siberian village on the shores of Lake Baikal, not far from Irkutsk. Once again, we had pre-arranged this … Continued

Modern Russia: Touring with Style

Russia is a country that offers as much diversity and cultural richness as any nation on Earth. Getting around has never been easier or more convenient, and the sights in a nation that spans over ten time zones cannot possibly be described in in a few paragraphs.  When the old Soviet Union divested itself of … Continued

Traditional Siberian Apartment Building

Trans-Siberian Express – Part 5

Differences and Similarities in Siberian Homestays with Elena and Irina If you’ve been reading the series of post I’ve contributed to WeSaidGoTravel.com, then you’ve read about the Siberian hosts that I had at my Siberian homestays – Elena in Ekaterinburg and Irina in Irkutsk. If you haven’t read my previous posts, you might want to … Continued

Irkutsk in Cyrillic

Trans-Siberian Express – Part 4

Irkutsk What is it about college towns all over the world that makes them so unusual? I find that college towns often seem to have an air of refinement that isn’t present in other cities and towns. Maybe it’s just the lack of industry. Anyhow, Irkutsk in Eastern Siberia definitely had that feeling. And it … Continued

Trans-Siberian Express – Part 3

Ekaterinburg – Irkutsk In Part 2 of my posts about the Trans-Siberian Express train, Kay and I crossed the Ural Mountains to Ekaterinburg, thereby entering Siberia, a huge region  of 5.1 million square miles or 13.1 million square kilometers that covers most of North Asia, as well as all of the central and eastern parts … Continued

Yaroslavsky Train Station

Trans-Siberian Express Train – Part 2

ON THE TRAIN The border of Asia and Europe – that would be our first stop on the Trans-Siberian Express train. How long would it take to leave Europe behind and enter Asia at the border formed by the Ural Mountains? Remember, at the end of Part 1, Kay and I were arriving at the … Continued

St. Basil's, Moscow

Trans-Siberian Train – Part 1

Getting Started The Trans-Siberian Express – a train ride that I had wanted to take for so long,  but it was so far off the beaten path that I had put it on the back burner.  Don’t misunderstand – I love off-the-beaten-path destinations, but Siberia seemed too remote, even for me. I don’t know why … Continued

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