Russia
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Kazan – Transsiberian stop #2
Founded: 1005 Pop: 1.1 million Gleaming Kazan train station. We were most impressed with Kazan from the moment the train pulled into the station. Clean, modern, even slick. Beautiful city, colorful, interesting people (and many of them). Budget friendly too – we paid only 100 rubles for bag storage at the train station, whereas in
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Nizhniy Novgorod – Transsiberian stop #1
Founded: 1221 by Grand Duke Yuri II Pop: 1.2 million Other names: Gorky Monument to NN founder Yuri Vsevoldovich and his teacher Simon We took high speed train – Sapsan – from Moscow, which got us there in just 4 hours. Fun fact: St Petersburg is the same distance from Moscow as Nizhniy Novgorod, but
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13 September 2013 – Naushki, Russia
Stuck at the border crossing at Naushki, Russia for 5 hours. Talked to the customs officer, made a new friend, Chema from Spain, and helped out a nice Japanese gentlemen – Shinya Watanabe(shinyawatanabe.net)
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12 September 2013 – Ulan Ude, Russia
Our last day in Russia – spent in Ulan Ude. We saw the city, visited Russia’s center of Buddhism, and of course caught up with internet work and blogging before taking off for Mongolian steppes!
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10 September 2013 – Olkhon, Lake Baikal, Russia
Day two on the island of Olkhon, where we enjoyed an incredibly scenic hike around Southern part of the island.
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9 September 2013 – Olkhon, Lake Baikal, Russia
Day one on the island of Olkhon, where we went to explore the northern part of the island and learn some of the many legends of the Buryat people.
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7 September 2013 – En route
We make a pit stop on a train station somewhere in Siberia, between Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk, Russia.
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Moscow: Novodevichy Monastery
We spent half a day at Novodevichy Monastery, and thoroughly enjoyed it – few people /tourists and enclosed walls make it feel like a peaceful sanctuary far away from Moscow’s hustle and bustle. But you still get the most awesome, amazing churches that are definitely worth seeing. Great weather helps too. The monastery was built