Blog

13.03.2018

My last day in Moscow!

Last night I had started to pack and get organized. This morning I was up early and finished this grand task. Somehow I have accumulated a lot of souvenirs. And of course, all that warm clothes. The weather was wet and cold in Moscow, but with temperatures around 0°C I did not need to put on as many layers. Therefore, the suitcase was much too heavy and too full …. Good thing I was not flying home!

After breakfast I checked out and deposited my luggage at the hotel’s luggage room. Then I walked a last time to the Red Square. On this Tuesday Lenin’s Mausoleum was open to the public again (Mondays, Fridays and Sundays it is closed) and I lined up for it. Entrance was free, but there was a security check like at the airport.

Taking photos seemed to be allowed outside along the Kremlin wall, but was strictly prohibited inside the mausoleum.

Burials in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis in Moscow began in November 1917. It is centered on both sides of Lenin’s Mausoleum. Funerals on Red Square were usually conducted as state ceremonies and reserved as the last honor for notable politicians, military leaders, cosmonauts, and scientists and ended in 1985. The Kremlin Wall Necropolis was designated a protected landmark in 1974.

Lenin died in 1924 and his preserved body has been on public display there since shortly after his death, even though he wanted to be buried beside his mother in St. Petersburg.  He still lies in state at the foot of the Kremlin wall, receiving visitors. The mausoleum is an attractive pyramid in layers of red, grey and black granite that harmonizes  remarkably well with the Kremlin buildings behind it.

In the mausoleum stern Guards stood on every corner watching with eagle eyes that no mobile phone or camera was in hand and respectful silence was observed. Nobody was allowed to even halt to take a closer look at the great man.  Everybody was shuffled along quietly – In and out in no time. I think, it took all of 30 seconds to walk though the actual mausoleum. The funerary chamber was very dark, but the body was lit up.

Despite the attention of a team of scientists – and leaving aside rumors that he was long ago replaced by a wax model – Lenin is not the freshest-looking of corpses. Gone are the days when eager citizens queued round block to catch a quick glimpse of the great leader.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, there has been some discussion about removing the Kremlin Wall Necropolis and burying Lenin’s body. President Boris Yeltsin intended to close the tomb and bury Lenin next to his mother in St. Petersburg. Vladimir Putin, opposed this however, pointing out that a reburial of Lenin would imply that generations of citizens had observed false values during 70 years of Soviet rule.

Joseph Stalin’s embalmed body shared a spot next to Lenin’s, from the time of his death in 1953 until 1961. He then was removed as part of the de-Stalinization and Khrushchev’s Thaw, and buried in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis outside the walls of the Kremlin. His grave was now just behind the mausoleum and – apparently because the anniversary of his death was March 5 – it was covered in red carnations.

I took another walk around the Red Square and then went to the Grand Café Zhivago to make a reservation for this afternoon. They are really posh there with noses high up in the air. But their dress code just says no sportswear or sport shoes, so they could not turn me away. I would have a late lunch / early dinner there this afternoon.

I  then found a metro station and went to the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics. The museum dedicated to space exploration and is located within the base of the Monument to the Conquerors of Space. This cool monument was erected in 1964 to celebrate achievements of the Soviet people in space exploration. It is formed as a starting rocket that rises on its exhaust plume. The monument is 107 m tall and is made of titanium.

The entrance fee for the museum was RUB 250 and I had to pay another RUB 230 for my little camera. I was not quick enough thinking, because it looked as if I had just taken photos with my mobile phone (like everybody else) I would have probably saved the photo fee. But well. Dropped the jacket in the cloakroom and in I went. Today there were many school classes and children here. It is a very cool museum. I was here once before in 2012. I am usually not a museum person, but this one is special.

The Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics contains a wide variety of Soviet and Russian space-related exhibits and models which explore the history of flight, astronomy, space exploration, space technology and space in the arts. According to the Russian tourist board, the museum’s collection holds approximately 85,000 different items and receives approximately 300,000 visitors yearly.

There are many interesting displays. For example a USSR flag displayed with Moon fragments which was presented as a gift to Soviet citizens by President Richard Nixon in June 1970. Or the space capsule used by Yuri Gagarin. There is an original sized sojus space station, which visitors can enter and experience.

I did 2 circles through the entire museum with all exhibits and took so many photos.

By metro I went back to the center, but it was too early to go to Café Zhivago, so I decided to have a fancy cocktail at the Ritz Carlton O2 Lounge before.

In 2007 a new hotel appeared at the intersection of Tverskaya Street and Mochovaya Street, the spot of the former “Intourist Hotel”, which once personified chic and good life, with its currency bars, black-marketeers and streetwalkers and was demolished in 2002. Now there is the luxury Ritz Carlton and unlike its predecessor, the new hotel was constructed in historic style and it doesn’t overshadow the view on Red Square. It’s believed to be the most expensive hotel of the city… I was not going to stay there, but I wanted to hold it like Irving Berlin in his famous song  –  I was going to be “Puttin’ On the Ritz” and live opulently this afternoon.

Perched on the hotel’s 12th floor is the O2 Lounge and offers a modern setting to admire the city’s past. A glass elevator took me through the atrium of the hotel to the bar.

I dropped of the jacket at the cloakroom and was seated on a nice table by the window. In summer there is an outside terrace overlooking the Red Square, but this was closed in winter. My table was overlooking the empty terrace and the Red Square.

I ordered the Red Square Cocktail and for lunch a Seafood Coconut Soup. The cocktail was with fresh raspberries and was outstandingly delicious. And do not get me started on the Seafood Coconut Soup! It was by far the best Tom Kha soup I ever had outside of Thailand!

The waitress was very friendly even though I probably was not dressed like their regular customer….  Not that I much care what they think of me. As long as I can pay the bill in the end, they should be happy. Here they were nice and she kept bringing me a new snack of assorted nuts every time I had finished the small bowl. I did take another cocktail. This time I chose the Moscow Mule. It was very heavy on the ginger, but good as well and it was served in a copper cup.

I was also allowed on the outside terrace – they gave me a blanket to put on – to take photos. It was very windy and cold up there, but the views were fantastic. The Red Square and Kremlin were just below.

In the distance I could see the “Moscow City” again with the Hotel Ukraina in the foreground. The Moscow City – amongst others – includes 6 skyscrapers with heights of 300 m or more. Not only is Europe tallest completed skyscraper, the Federation Tower, located there, but also the second-tallest, third-tallest, fifth-tallest and sixth-tallest buildings in Europe.

I spend some 1.5 hrs up there enjoying my cocktails and the great views. Then I went and had a look at the huge Okhotny Ryad underground shopping mall. It is located in the heart of Moscow’s historical center and has over 160 stores on its 3 floors underground. Well, it looked just like any other shopping mall ….

Just between the shopping mall and the Ritz Carlton was the Hotel National, which is another five-star hotel and first opened in 1903. The Hotel national is located directly across from the Kremlin. During Soviet times it had suffered from years of neglect and was closed for reconstruction in 1989, reopened 1995 it was privatized in 2011. The Grand-Café Dr. Zhivago was recently opened in the hotel and carries the name of the legendary novel by Boris Pasternak.

After I had convinced the person at reception that indeed I had a reservation – she eyed me from head to toes, obviously did not approve but could not do anything, because the dress code just stated “no sports clothes”.  Reluctantly I was pointed to the cloakroom and then was seated at the first table by the entrance in the corner, whilst others both in glamorous and in sneaker-and-jeans attire, were marched directly through and to the nicer tables.  In the corner the view to the Kremlin and red Square was essentially not there, mainly because a huge palm plant and the curtain blocked it. When I moved the leaves of the palm tree and the curtains a little bit I was shot grim glances from the waiters’  station across. I was not even allowed to at least look at the rest of the restaurant.

The interior was a mix of modern art, old soviet style and kitsch in mostly white and reds.  The waitresses wore old school apron dresses.

The menu arrived quickly enough. It was still the extensive lunch menu and had all the traditional Russian dishes plus some specials. I decided on a crab meat salad with oranges and caviar. The drinks menu was not as impressive, it did have a good wine list, but no cocktails. So I ended up going for one litre fresh Cranberry Mors and 100g Beluga Vodka.

I had to wait a long time until someone condescended to take my order. They did walk past a few times and even saw me making signs, but obviously were too occupied with ingratiating themselves to more rich looking people.  Finally a waitress came and did not even have a smile for me, no hello, nothing. She even took the nice and kitschy red glasses away from my table. I asked, if I could use one for my drink or at least take a photo of them. No, only decoration! And packed away they were.

The food took its time to arrive. Smack on the table with it. No bread came with the salad. Not even a question if I might need anything else or maybe some bread. The salad was nice and tasty, but not outstandingly good.

I took my time eating it, drinking Vodka & Mors and wrote some postcards in the meantime. I had no inspiration to linger here longer than necessary, so soon enough asked for the bill… I waited and it did not arrive …. I ask again …. yes yes, no time, it is coming! …. Still nothing …I asked a third time … Yes yes, it is coming! ….. Finally, somebody brought it.  Quickly I got my jacket and left, not the nicest memory I want to take home from Moscow, actually a waste of time and money. I should have indulged more at the O² Lounge in The Ritz!

It was time to get back to the hotel. I took a detour to drop the postcards at the post office and take a last look at the Kremlin Walls and the Chathedrale of Christ the Saviour  in the distance.

In the hotel I got my luggage out of storage and then waited in the lobby. I had some repacking to do in preparation of the last 27 h train ride home. In the hotel lobby and the café they have 2 cats that seem to live here. One of them found one of my bags very interesting. I think, because it still smells a little fishy from that leaking fish sauce of another passenger on the flight from Bejing to Harbin – jeezz, that seemed to have been ages ago!

For 18:30 I had ordered a transfer to Belorusskaya Station. My last train ride of this grand adventure would start at 20:00 on train # 23. It was a through train from Moscow to Paris.  I arrived at the station too early, the taxi ride only took 30 min.

I had to ask again to find the right platform, the station seemed a bit confusing. But then it was easy. I just had to go through the main building and there was the display with the departures. The train was there already, but of course still closed. So I went to the kiosk one platform over and bought some juice to take on the train. I still had some vodka left in my provisions. And some of my last Russian roubles I invested into fridge magnets and matryoshka key chains.

The train opened at 19:30. A fancy train! This was the most modern train I had encountered so far on this trip. Apparently the coaches were made by Siemens in Austria in 2014. This time I had coach 253 and berth 75, an upper bunk again. The cabin was big, the bed wide. The day-mode is very comfortable with huge seats. They did flip the bunks down soon, though. There is even a sink under the table.

The table was set up with the traditional tea glasses already. For the luggage there was no shelf over the door, only under the bed. But I was early and all my stuff fit underneath easily.

In my cabin was an elderly lady travelling to Paris and a young woman travelling to Spain via Paris. The coach had only 8 cabins with 4 berths each and there were 2 spotless clean toilets one of which even had a hot shower berth in it!

After setting up my bunk and the Provotniza had checked the tickets, I went to the restaurant coach. It was the next coach over and the connection was nicely sealed and not as open, cold and snowy like on the other trains. It was the Russian restaurant coach which would stay with the train until we reached Poland.  I took my vodka & orange hiding in my Welcome to Tibet bottle and had the last Soljanka on this trip.

This night – my last night on a train on this grand adventure – for the first time I actually changed into my real pyjamas. I know, I know ….  but on the old trains changing was usually not so easy. The cabin was small and full with people and the bathroom was tiny and not as spotless. So changing was always a challenge. But on this fancy train with almost a real bed, it was easy.

14.03.2018

I did not sleep too well that night, probably, because I was waiting for the border control.

My Russian visa was ending on March 13, because originally I had planned to stop over in Minsk/Belarus for one night. I had read that apart from the transit visa there is also the possibility for a short stay visa if you had a confirmed hotel reservation and a letter from the hotel. I had paid for that up front, but then the embassy did not grant me the short stay visa, but only the transit visa and explicitly mentioned getting off the train and staying a night – even though the visa is valid for 2 days – is not an option. Oh well. My Russian visa was done already, and since I wanted to go on the through train to Berlin, I had to stay one more night and day in Moscow – that being from 12^th to the 13^th. Now the train was leaving Russia after midnight, reaching the last Russian town of Smolensk at 00:30. I was ready to beg and argue, because in Russia you never know. But nothing happened … Nobody came for a border check. I finally fell asleep.

We jumped one time zone in the night, because Russia had no daylight saving time, but Belarus had. Around 05:30 am there was a stop in Minsk and I slept right through it. A man came to the 4^th bunk in our cabin. And he was snoring terribly. At about 08:00 am we reached Brest, the Belarusian border town to Poland. There finally the border control arrived.

First they collected all the passports. Then a female Belarus customs officer came to ask questions about where everybody came from and went to and what did you buy and how much money you have. I just spoke German first, then she said: Do you speak English? – Yes! – I come from Vladivostok and I go home, I have no money left and only one small 0.5 l Vodka as souvenir! –  She looked and me and said: OK! And off she went.

Now the train was pushed into a huge hangar like shed with some train tracks, where the gauge change would take place. There is a new Talgo train on the Moscow – Berlin service that can have the gauge changed automatically. The wheels will be adjusted from 1 520 to 1 435 mm gauge as the train sets move slowly through the changer, eliminating the time-consuming need to jack up coaches and swap bogies. The Talgo trains allocate 30 min for gauge changing and border formalities, compared to 2 h at present. Unfortunately, that service runs also only twice a week and did not fit into my schedule.

Here in Brest the gauge is changed from the broad 1,520 mm used in Russia and Belarus to the standard 1,435 mm used in more or less the rest of Europe.  The simplest way to carry out the bogie exchange, when they do not have the automatic changer, is to lift the coaches off the bogies and replace them back on new bogies. This requires the coaches in a train to be uncoupled. There were at least 2 tracks next to each other and more or less all coaches were changed simultaneously.

We were not allowed to get out and watch, but the view from the windows was not bad, but the windows were not the cleanest. In this wet, more rainy than snowy weather, that was no wonder. There were huge bracket kind of things that lifted the coaches off. Then the bogies were pushed out and the new bogies pushed under. The best view was from the window at the end of the coach where the connecting door is. That window was spotless clean and I could watch the coach ahead being changed. It was very interesting to watch. Finally the coaches were lowered again onto the bogies. It probably took all in all close to 2 hrs, before the train was assembled again and we rolled back to the station.

Eventually our passports were returned as well. I did not get a Russian exit stamp. Oh well. But the Belarus stamp was there. The officers also checked everything again and even under the bunks, if nobody is hiding. When the checking was done we were allowed on the platform to stretch our legs and get some fresh air for a few minutes.

The scheduled stop in Brest was 3 hrs and on time the train departed and crossed the border to Poland and jumped another time zone. Now I am back in my home time zone!

The Polish border town was Terespol and here came another border check. This time they took it very seriously, after all is was the Schengen outer border. Here they did not collect the passports. They had portable passport reading machines and used magnifying glasses to make sure all passports were the real thing. It was quick anyway. Then the Polish customs officers asked the same questions as the Belarus ones before. No, I have nothing to declare, I have no money left, I am going home! The stop in Terespol was short with approx. 30 min.

I wanted to have breakfast in the restaurant coach. The Russian restaurant coach had been disconnected in Brest and there was supposed to join a Polish restaurant coach. However, they told me, it would only come in Warszawa around lunch time. Oh well…. So I had my last Jell-O from Tibet, may last orange from Irkutsk and started early on the Vodka & Juice.

I took a nap as well and then stood by the window in the corridor watching the world fly by. The man in our cabin was snoring so loudly that I had to get out for a while. One of the other cabins was empty and I sat there for a while as well.

At 12:25 there was a 40 min stop in Warszawa. Here it was raining and +8°C. I used the time to take a walk to the station and found a McDonalds. I usually never eat McDonalds, but I was hungry and just needed something different for a change. I ordered a Big Mac Menu and luckily had my credit card handy because I had totally forgotten that while I was back in EU, I was not yet back in Euro country. I took my food to go and made a picnic on the platform while the train was once again rearranged. I ate too fast again and then that Big Mac sat heavy in my stomach … and I needed more vodka!

On the platform opposite there was another train to Berlin leaving, which would arrive 2 hrs earlier. But I specifically had chosen the through train, because I did not want to switch trains along the way. And after all, being on a train that goes from Moscow all the way to Paris is much cooler than just being on a regular train. I had to finish this grand adventure in style on the Moscow – Berlin – Paris service!

Long time since I already left the snowy regions.  Clearly I was back in Europe. The wide open spaces from Russia were gone. Here was a lot of industry. The train stopped in smaller stations a few times, but never more than for a couple minutes.

I went to inspect the restaurant coach. It was more modern than the Russian one, the menu was different and in Euro. But I was not hungry anymore and having Polish beer did not seem appealing either.

Back in my cabin I sat on my bed, looked out the window and wrote my journal. That man was still snoring as if he was sawing off an entire forest. I made a deal with the provodnik – for my last Russian Roubles plus some Euro I bought another of the tea glasses. But I did not want the one they sold as souvenir which had the CCCP retro sign on it, because I had already one like that. I wanted the original RZD tea glass with the logo. He looked everywhere, but could not find a new one. But I take also a used one! No problem! – You want old one? But it is used! – Yes, no problem! I even pay for it! – Oh chorosho! I pack for you!

Since last night when we left Russia my Russian mobile internet was not working anymore. But finally I was back in EU zone and my German mobile could go online again. I had to organize the last stage of my trip – how to get home from Berlin tonight. So far the train was perfectly on time. I would have to get off in Berlin-Lichtenberg. There was a last local train to catch and changing in Berlin-Lichtenberg was easier, because the station is somewhat smaller. Going to Berlin Main Station would involve changing from the lower station to the upper station within 30 min. Even if the train was on time, that was pushing it with all my luggage. Berlin-Lichtenberg was better, here it would be only from one platform to the next.

Turned out I have friends in all corners of the world – even in Berlin! My friend Vee Bee offered to pick me up at the station and drive me home. That would involve a 180 km drive back and forth again for her in the middle of the night. Therefore I declined first and told her she could help me carry my luggage instead. In the end we found a great solution, however. Vee Bee would pick me up and drive me part off the way and then my brother would meet us at an Autobahn gas station and drive me home. My 18 year old brother had just gotten his driver’s licence and his first car, so he was keen enough to drive, even though it would be almost the middle of the night.

All afternoon the train was on time and we reached the Polish-German border with only a few minutes delay. There was no border check since in is an inner EU border. But in Frankfurt/Oder, the first German stop, Police and Customs came to do spot checks. Mostly they just walked through and looked important. Was the cabin door closed they did not open it. Was a cabin door open they looked in while passing and only stopped if there was somebody who looked not European.

After leaving Frankfurt/Oder I started packing up my stuff for a last time on this grand journey. The next stop would be Berlin –Lichtenberg and the last 45 min stretched very long. Of course, being back in Germany the train was going to be delayed….typical! It stopped somewhere just before reaching Berlin-Lichtenberg station and sat there for like 20 min or so in the middle of nowhere.

With 25 min delay I reached my final destination and got off the train in Berlin-Lichtenberg at 20:35. My friend Vee Bee had said she would recognize me with my funny yellow jacket and my whooly hat. I waved good bye to the women in my cabin and to the provodnizas as well. Then I heard already – Hallooooooo! Kaaathyyyy! – and saw Vee Bee running along the platform.

She had brought Willkommen zu Hause chocolates and also a piccolo champagne to celebrate my arrival! That was a brilliant welcome! I was happy! But also a little sad the grand adventure was over now…

I finished the champagne quickly alone, because Vee Bee had to drive.  We walked out the station and met the provodnizas from my train who had used the 20 min stop here to go shopping – Do swidaniya! – Vee Be said: You know everybody here? – Yeah, well, if you spent 27 hrs on a train you a lot of people. Even if you did not chat with them much, you know them and everybody is friendly.

Vee Bee had parked in pole position in front of the station and because none of us had ever been at this station before it took 2 GPS devices, 2 U-turns and some intuition to finally find the correct way out of the city. The drive south was filled with chats and laughter. There were so many stories to tell!  At about 22:30 we met my brother at the Autobahn gas station. Lucky there was no police patrol passing by when we swapped all my luggage from the trunk of one car to the trunk of another car. They would have probably though us doing something illegal like smuggling or such.

Half an hour later my brother dropped me off at home and I was welcomed there happily as well. I did not much else that evening but go more or less straight to my own bed.

15.04.2018

This day was spent unpacking and reflecting. Unbelievable how many souvenirs I had fit into my suitcase!

I had started my grand adventure by flying from Germany to Kathmandu, spent there a week and then flew from Kathmandu to Lhasa – unplanned via Chengdu. Here I started my train adventure and travelled 3757 km from Lhasa to Beijing over the highest railway in the world passing 5068 m altitude at the highest point. From Beijing to Harbin and onto Vladivostok I had to fly as well. There began my real train adventure and I took 9 different trains and covered 12479 km along the Baikal-Amur-Magistrale and the Trans-Siberian Railway through Russia and to Berlin in one month.

And for all of you who did not believe my funny jacket is really yellow! I spent some time scrubbing all the transcontinental residue off it. Here it is!

Ready for a new adventure!