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Riding the Transiberian Express is definitively an experience. While European trains are known for their comfort and beauty, Russian trains are usually the choice of transport for people who are too poor to fly. In fact, the train is even cheaper than long-distance buses, especially if you take...
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transiberian
trains
siberia
express
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AliJo
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Globetrotter
May 7, 2008
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The walk from the Hermitage to our metro station is beautiful and scenic and peaceful, through Dvortsovaya Place and past the Alexander Column and through the double arch when it is lit up at night under the light of full moon . . . at least when it’s not raining. This night, it was pouring. We...
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transsiberian
stpetersburg
nighttimeinstpetersburg
translation
speakingenglish
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AliJo
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Globetrotter
May 7, 2008
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On our fourth and final day in St. Petersburg, we simply returned to our favourite haunts, walking round the old city centre and just enjoying the views. I found I could spend hours watching the deep, dark waters of the Bolshaya flow by. We visited several cafes as well as the Vodka Museum on...
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transsiberian
stpetersburg
lakebaikal
kamchatka
blacksea
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AliJo
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Globetrotter
May 7, 2008
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The train arrived in St. Petersburg at 10am and we proceeded to follow the very nebulous directions to our hostel, which consisted of one sentence: “From metro station take bus 123 or 271.” We never found a bus 271, and the 123 bus went in two different directions. Which direction should...
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transsiberian
stpetersburg
hostel
publictransportation
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AliJo
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Globetrotter
May 7, 2008
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Our second class train from Moscow to St. Petersburg seemed luxurious compared to the earlier third class stages of our journey. While we thoroughly enjoyed the third class stages of our journey, we also appreciated the longer beds and quieter quarters in the second class sleeper. We shared our...
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transsiberian
moscow
stpetersburg
secondclass
overnighttrain
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AliJo
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Globetrotter
May 7, 2008
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The area around ulitsa Bolshaya Ordynka and ulitsa Poyatnitskaya, across the river from Red Square, provides interesting examples of old Muscovite architecture. This area of the city largely escaped the horrendous effects of Soviet-block buildings and thus provides a taste of what Moscow might...
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transsiberian
moscow
architecture
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AliJo
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Globetrotter
May 7, 2008
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We decided to stay in a private apartment while in Moscow so that we could enjoy having some private space as well as the benefits of self-catering accommodation. We found a flat for a very reasonable price through a website, and arranged everything online, sight-unseen. This turned out to be...
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transsiberian
moscow
apartment
selfcatering
roaches
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AliJo
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Globetrotter
May 7, 2008
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If this seems like too much trouble and you wonder, as I did, whether it’s worthwhile registering at all, it is important to be aware of a favourite scam of the Moscow police, which is to “inspect” the documents of foreign tourists and find some sort of problem which, inevitably, requires...
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transsiberian
registration
visa
moscow
police
dangers
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AliJo
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Globetrotter
May 7, 2008
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As far as registering one’s passport in Moscow, the PVU is definitely not the place to go. We had decided to rent a private apartment while in Moscow, which meant that we couldn’t register our visas in the customary way at our hotel, so we were told to go to the main PVU office for visa...
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transsiberian
registration
visa
moscow
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AliJo
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Globetrotter
May 7, 2008
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The leg of our journey from Novosibirsk to Moscow was not nearly as much fun as the earlier parts; there is definitely a difference in our fellow-passengers and in our provodnitsa, who spent a good deal of time grumbling because our passports were not written in Russian which, considering the...
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transsiberian
moscow
provodnitsa
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AliJo
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Globetrotter
May 7, 2008
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful
We next stopped in Novosibirsk, which is a large city of over 1 million people and considered the capital of Siberia. We thought Novosibirsk sounded promising because of its size, but it turned out to be quite an ordinary large city. There are several sights worth seeing, however, the first of...
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transsiberian
novosibirsk
chapelofstnicholas
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AliJo
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Globetrotter
May 7, 2008
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful
In the morning one of our travelling companions, Marina, introduced us to tea with jam in it, which is much better than tea with sugar. When I spilled a bit from my cup, she wouldn’t allow me to wipe it up. She explained that it is a Russian custom to leave a spill, as every drop means money,...
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transsiberian
siberia
passengers
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AliJo
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Globetrotter
May 7, 2008
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