Russian Museum

Here are my selected pictures of the Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg. I chose this museum over the Hermitage when I learned that the Hermitage has virtually no Russian art.

Saint Petersburg

Here are my selected pictures of Saint Petersburg. It is truly the Venice / Amsterdam of the north (except it has more canals than either).

Trans Siberian Railway Day 1

I am writing this after my first night on the Trans Siberian Railway. I hope I’ll be able to post it in Yekaterinburg tonight. This first leg of the railway is my training exercise – one night aboard followed by a night in a hotel (rather than the hostels I could only afford in St. Petersburg and Moscow). Tomorrow night I begin a three-night leg towards Irkutsk.

Quick first impressions of the train journey so far:

• Staff service better than expected
• Toilet nicer than expected
• Breakfast much more delicious than expected
• Vodka (last night of course) cheaper than expected
• Dining car much less a social centre than expected

St. Petersburg to Moscow. First class. 201 Kph.

[I wrote this on the St. Petersburg to Moscow train two days ago, but could not access my blog until today.]

I am currently travelling from St. Petersburg to Moscow on what will be the most luxurious part of my travels. Even after spending four nights in a (very clean and comfortable) hostel dormitory – with more cost-saving shared dormitory nights to come – I decided to travel first class on the new high speed St. Petersburg to Moscow train. None of the nine nights I’ll be spending on the Trans Siberian Railway will be this comfortable.





The train reached 201 Kph but averaged less than 1050 Kph. Service was exemplary. I can only afford this level of quality for this short ride - but I am sure I will enjoy the Trans Siberian anyway.