You need strong nerves to go on a train journey around Eurasia. Not everyone can spend almost a week in an enclosed space on wheels.However, those brave souls who do make the journey are rewarded by seeing 80 cities, the Volga River, Ural Mountains, Baraba steppe with its ominous clouds, Yenisei River, Barguzinsky Mountains, the woods of Siberia, Khekhtsir Range and Lake Baikal. Your journey will leave you with vivid memories, while the constant motion of the train will stay with you for days after.
Moscow
In contrast to St Petersburg, Moscow is a city of wide avenues and massive Soviet buildings – from the Lenin Russian State Library which has 275 km of shelves, to Stalin skyscrapers representing Stalin’s Empire style.
All tourists, however, go to see the Kremlin and Red Square first. Having originally been a market and an execution yard (the place of bread and circuses), Red Square is now the first port of call for foreign and local tourists alike. Even today, it is the centre of Moscow life, allowing you to plunge into the history of the city quickly and easily.
Here you can visit the Mausoleum, the Russian Historical Museum (which formerly housed the Lomonosov State University), and multicoloured Saint Basil’s Cathedral, whose architect is said to have had his eyes poked out so that he could not recreate it! TsUM (Central Universal Department Store) is also located here where prices start with three-digit figures.
When you go to the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, don’t forget that this is a Cathedral, so please dress accordingly. You will not be allowed in with bare stomachs and backs. However, if you forget, you can visit Tverskaya Street which is famous for its fashionistas, boutiques and night life.
St Petersburg
Many of Petersburgers do not consider themselves Russians, but rather as Europeans. They go to Finland every weekend, they give their cafes and hotels Finnish names and distinguish 100 shades of grey in clothes. Yet by building the Peter and Paul Fortress, Peter the Great aimed to protect the city from the Swedes.
As well as the Hermitage with its baroque and rococo styles, and Voltaire’s library which was bought out by the educated Catherine, the Kunstcamera museum is a must for visitors to St Petersburg. After looking at two-headed dogs and embryos preserved in alcohol, visit the monument of Peter the Great which is surrounded by a fence of champagne bottles. No matter how many times the place is cleared, newlyweds still hang their “trophies” on the fence.
Palace Square is at its best at night, whereas the interiors of Saint Isaac’s and Kazan Cathedrals look better in daylight when rays of light play on the mosaics and paintings. However, the best mosaic collection is in the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood.
For a true feeling of the city, make sure you go and see a ballet in Mariinsky Theatre, watch the bridges raise, take a stroll along Nevsky Prospect, and don’t forget to go into backstreets, as in Venice. There is a reason why the city is called the “Venice of the North”.
Volga cruise
The music plays almost constantly on the top decks.Events and discos are held here.At night, the motorboat travels quickly, whereas during the day, it stops in cities along the way.In Volgograd you can visit Mamayev Kurgan and see the giant statue of the Motherland. In Astrakhan you can buy fish and watermelons if you go during the season. And in the warmer months, you can swim in the Volga.
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