August 14th, 2011
2away on Olkhon Island
2 Comments, 2AWAY, LANDSCAPES, PEOPLE, RUSSIA, TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILWAY, by Masha.Having talked to quite many travellers along the Trans-Siberian route, we can say that Olkhon Island has become an absolute must-see. Majority of the people we met either already visited or were going to visit or were sad they didn’t have enough time to stop there for a few days. We were lucky to have enough time and decided to head to the island to check it out as well
In the last week we have been travelling quite intensively – hopping off the train to a new city in the morning, doing sightseeing during the day and hopping on the next train in the evening (sometimes in the middle of the night ) to get to the next destination the following day in the morning. With such a tight schedule it became quite difficult to update the blog regularly. This afternoon we arrived to Olkhon Island at Lake Baikal where we are going to spend the next four days enjoying the nature and brining you up to date with our adventures Since Kazan we stopped in Yekaterinburg, Tobolsk, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Tomsk and Irkutsk. You can check our picture galleries to get an idea about some of those places, but Lake Baikal deserves a much more detailed story
July 30th, 2011
Following the traces of the Russian Tsar family
2 Comments, CITIES, RUSSIA, TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILWAY, by Masha.There are many interesting and beautiful cities in Russia, but two of them made a special impact on us, mostly due to hisorical events taking place there. Yekaterinburg and Tobolsk are carved into Russian history as both of them were home to the last Russian Tsar’s family: Tobolsk – for 8 months and Yekaterinburg – for the last 78 days of their life.
July 29th, 2011
2away in Kazan
No Comments, 2AWAY, CITIES, PHOTOGRAPHY, RUSSIA, TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILWAY, by Masha.July 27th, 2011
Kazan – we are really going east
No Comments, CITIES, RUSSIA, TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILWAY, by Masha.Kazan is the capital of Tatarstan Republic – highly autonomous part of the Russian Federation. Shortly after arriving we felt that we are really moving east: people started looking different (more than half of the population is of Tatar origin), mosques were neighbouring orthodox churches, Russian food became rarer – its place was taken by oriental specialties. We had one full day to enjoy this city and we had a great time!
July 23rd, 2011
Russia’s “third capital” – Nizhniy Novgorod
2 Comments, CITIES, RUSSIA, TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILWAY, by Masha.We really enjoyed our day in Nizhniy Novgorod. The weather was great – about 30 degress in the sun! It’s not so cold in Russia as some may think The Kremlin has a great position overlooking the Oka river flowing into Volga. The old city streets are charming and full of atmosphere. Make your own opinion after looking through the gallery
July 23rd, 2011
Short stop-over in Vladimir
No Comments, CITIES, RUSSIA, TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILWAY, by Masha.Vladimir was on our way to and from Suzdal. This nowadays industrial city used to be one of the medieval capitals of Russia. It is worth spending a couple of hours to visit the main attractions which are World Heritage Sites.
July 21st, 2011
2away in Suzdal
No Comments, 2AWAY, CITIES, PHOTOGRAPHY, RUSSIA, TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILWAY, by Masha.July 21st, 2011
Celebrating the Cucumber in Suzdal
2 Comments, CITIES, RUSSIA, TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILWAY, by Masha.We were lucky to be visiting Suzdal exactly on the Cucumber Day. This funny celebration takes plaes every summer on July 16 – this year was 11th time On our 2nd and last day we, of course, spent a couple of hours in the middle of salted cucumbers If you are planning a visit to Suzdal it makes sense to check the schedule of local festivals – it will make the trip more fun