Moscow January 8th 2012

I arrived at Domodedovo Airport around midnight.
I did not feel the usual "bump" of the plane wheels meeting the landing strip..
It wasn't the pilot's merit: everything was covered with a thick and soft layer of snow.

I easily found a taxi driver, haggled over the price and followed him to his car.
I was home in an hour.
Watch the video: it's called "way home in a snowstorm - a Moscovite welcome".
Featuring: a crazy taxi driver, a six-lane road (3 each way), a snowstorm and some proper Russian pop music :)

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On San Petersburg - intro

I just did what happened to do.

I had no real plan (-again!) for San Petersburg. I mean, I sort of had an idea.. my friends gave me a map of the city and some general information.

The map and all the information written on it, was in Russian. Thank goodness drawings have a universal interpretation.

Xhenja is the reason I took it so easy. She is a friend of mine from San Petersburg, back there for a weekend. For two days she’s been my free, all round, fully knowledgeable English speaking guide.

In addition to that, I had sunshine on me most of the time (quite unusual for this time of the year).

29.10.2011 On trains and people

It wasn’t as bad as I expected. A friend of mine used words like “cattle truck conditions” when travelling on a second class night train in Russia.

We were surely quite packed up, but it could have been worse. (I like to see the glass half full, not half empty).

There was room for the passengers’ luggage, there was a cafeteria (= two middle-aged, plump women, with tired legs and weary makeup serving tea and snacks. Their grey uniforms spoke of the fatigue of all the sleepless working shifts). There was a toilet.

Each passenger had a set of blankets, sheets, duvet and pillow to ensure a – hopefully good, night of sleep.

I do not quite like sleeping on bunk beds. Luckily I slept on the lower one. It took time for people to fall asleep, someone kept smoking all night long (there was a sort of smoking area. Although the door was closed, the smoke leaked in). The man sleeping above me, used rock music as lullaby.

But, as I said, it could have been worse.

29.10.11 Komsolmoskaya train (&metro) station 1.04 am

And here I am.. standing in a crowded hall, sorrounded by other travellers like me.

In this set made of luggage, people, shops and cafes, we are the bored and sleppy component.

In this confined space everyone is in waiting. We will all leave sooner or later.

My train to San Petersburg should arrive in half an hour or so. I am quite exicted.. I need a break from Moscow. The hectic life that is lived here is not quite for me.

There is a massive screen facing the main entrance. It broadcasts-in loop, the future of Russian railways according to the present government (Medvedev + Putin). It looks promising.. but it also looks very much like propaganda to me.

Later on, on the train, when it had just departed:

“Leaving always fills me up with a sense of peace and calm. The feeling of satisfaction is suddenly overwhelming. What surprises me is that I always manage to forget what it feels like…”

Sunrise, November 2011

View from home.
Modern times??

Yaroslav at night

On our first and only night there, we walked all along the Strelka. A very pleasant and relaxing stroll, with the Volga on the left, flowing silently and discreetely.

At the end of it, a show of colours, music and water surprised us.
Here a short video of what I heard and saw.
             
                                     

Getting&arriving there

No planning means no advanced booking for train tickets.
Buying tickets half an hour before the stimated departure time means paying at least twice the average price.
We wanted to leave Moscow so price did not matter to us.
The rest of the morning was spent in shared sleeping cars chatting and sleeping. I took out a friend's guide and  read something on Jaroslavl.. I thought it could have been useful having some infomation on the palce we were going to visit.

So Jaroslavl is the result of a killing of a bear by Prince Jaroslav. It seems like he was such a strong and bald young man that he faced this wild animal only with a axe and killed it with just one hit. What a fearless hero! To make sure such perfomance was not going to fall into oblivion, he built a fortress. And they all lived happily ever after.

After four hours, some hiccuped rest and munched food, we got off the train, bought the ticket back  and tried to find the hostel/hotel.
There is one thing to be aware of when travelling around Russia: make sure you perfectly know how to get to wherever you want to go. Asking passers-by is no use. Not cos they aren't willing to help but cos they will give you opposite information.
And you are left there with a big question mark: should I go straight?or turn left?or should I turn right?should I ask someone else?should I cross the street?
What is for sure is that it builds up your diplomatic skills.
Somehow - andafter a considerable walk up and down Jaroslavl, we got to the hotel which was clean, comfortable and welcoming. And very close to the old part of the town.