Feet, Kielbasa, and Sweat

I entered Russia on 19 August and began my trip eastward on 25 August. From Moscow I stopped in Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude, and Belogorsk. Finally,

Schedule of Stops

after eighteen days moving across mountains, rivers, taiga, and forest, I arrived in Vladivostok. Here’s (nearly) the end of my tale. 

When I left Ulan-Ude on 8 September, my next stop would be almost two days later in the tiny city of Belogorsk, a stones-throw away from the Chinese border. There was no real reason why I chose to stop here other than that I didn’t want to be on the train for seventy-two hours straight. I think the most difficult leg of the Transsiberian for most passengers is the home stretch from Ulan-Ude to Vladivostok. Between these two points there are not many interesting stops, save for Khabarovsk which is the second largest city in the Russian Far East after Vladivostok. I believe

Lenin Welcomes All at Belogorsk

most riders choose to do the whole final leg uninterrupted and just get to the finish line. I was glad I took a day in Belogorsk, as I was starting to get jumpy by my second day on the train. While there was not much to see (besides a Lenin Statue or two), I was able to get my legs on solid ground and sleep on a non-moving bed. It was also a beautiful day, so I took the time to walk and take in life on a border city in the middle of nowhere. But, alas, all things must end and by the next morning Belogorsk was just another train station fast disappearing in the rearview mirror.

Not Far from the Chinese Border...A Summary of My Trip

I was excited about my final train ride as I was riding on the 1/2 train, the Rossiya. Other than the Golden Eagle, this is the best train on the Transsiberian railroad. As a point of fact, all trains are not created equal along the route. There is no single “Transsiberian” train as passengers can take any

A Lonely Factory

number of trains to reach their final destination. It happens that theRossiya is supposed to be the best train; cleaner, newer, with the best service. I thought I would be riding my last twenty-four hours on a golden chariot, into Russia on the Pacific. I was half-right. My train was, indeed, newer and cleaner than the rest I had ridden on since I departed from Moscow. The beds were more comfortable, the food car had better meals, and there were places to plug in people’s myriad of devices. But the luxury ended there. As I entered the train at 0730, I noticed the smell. By the time the train had reached Belogorsk, it had been on the road at least six days; that meant that many of the passengers had been on the train for six days. Although there are bathrooms (fairly clean), there are no showers. Many passengers will clean themselves up every morning with a sponge bath; many passengers will not. I happened to be in the “will not” car that morning. The accumulated smell of men, women, and children in an enclosed train car was quite overwhelming. Try as I might NOT to do so, I began to identify the smells as I walked towards my coupe. I think the ones that stood out most of all were feet and sweat (or, just sweaty feet). I could, of course, smell a bit of toilet thrown in for good measure. But I think

A Beer and a Snack

the odor that made my stomach turn just a bit was the addition of kielbasa. Someone in that car had been eating a very pungent pepperoni-type sausage. This in itself is a smell I do love. On any other occasion, I would go in search of this aroma. But, when mixed in with sweat, feet, and toilet, it was far from appetizing. These were the smells that predominated the last day of my travels. I would get used to it, then step out to go to the dining car, only to be hit full on upon my return. One big reason for the smells is the lack of ventilation. Much like Ukrainians, Russians are deeply afraid of breezes. They believe air, especially cooler air, will immediately give you a cold or make your joints stiff. Therefore, even when there are windows available to open or a ventilation system primed for use, Russians will opt to sit in a closed space. This modern train had these ‘open’ options but no one, even the conductor in the car, wanted to use them. For a non-Russian, this logic is maddening. As the heat began to rise both inside and outside the car, I finally had enough and cracked the window in my coupe. Fortunately, my roommates did not argue and I was able to breathe for the remainder of the trip.

A Patriotic Statue in the Night

Khabarovsk Train Station

                                        

The last twenty-four hours of my journey across Russia slipped by without incident. The train continued to skirt the Chinese border which was why we traveled at night. Looking out the window was useless as there were very few lights and not much to see. Earlier in the day, the train had passed through small mountains and along some beautiful rivers. Now that we were off the taiga, the landscape was a bit more populated with “stuff”. I saw peaceful little villages far off the beaten track. The sun was warm but, despite the heat, the trees were well in the midst of changing colors. It definitely had a “New England in autumn” feel. I as imagining how beautiful (and how cold) it would be during the winter. I spent much of the time in the dining car, reading a book and developing pictures. The day eventually faded as we passed the last significant cities before Vladivostok: the capital of the Jewish Autonomous Republic, Birobidzhan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birobidzhan. Thanks, Stalin!) and Khabarovsk. During the night a stiff rain drummed against the roof of the train, providing for a suitable sleep. But how could I sleep when I would soon be in Vladivostok? And, sure enough, the provodnitsya came to wake us up at

0530 to prepare for arrival. After rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I stripped the bed and had a cup of coffee. Then, we pulled into the station. There, to greet me, was an old locomotive from days gone by and a monument showing that I had come 9,288 km (5771.3 miles). It seems to have gone by in a flash, yet I had seen so much. And there was more to come, so stay tuned.  

Loco for this Locomotive

End of the Line!