mercredi, décembre 29, 2010

Monday, December 6th, 2010, 3:00pm, a little farther from the station of Nizhniy Novgorod

Dear Blog,

I'm still in the train right now enjoying a cup of tea with my friend Diana. We're having a good time talking to each other. She teached me how to write and pronouce words in Russian:


  • Hello! = Привет!
  • May I have a coffee please ? = Могу ли я выпить чашечку кофе, пожалуйста ?
  • Can you help me please = Можете ли вы помочь мне, пожалуйста ?
  • Thank you! = Спасибо !
  • Goodbye! =До свидания !   
She told me that some of the people over there talked English and French so I would probably not have big problems talking. She told about her life living in this country and some facts like the population size: 141,927,297 but evidently because of the low birth rate (12.4/1000 of pop.) and the high mortality rate (14.2/1000 of pop.) the population decreases of 0.5% each year. She also told me that Russia has many economic products such as:

  • Natural ressources : Petroleum, natural gas, timber, furs, etc...
  • Agricultural ressources:Grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, meat, dairy products.
  • Industry: automobiles, trucks, trains, agricultural equipment, machine and equipment products, medical and scientific instruments, etc... 
This is quite interesting. I like her a lot, she seems  very concerned about her country and knows fascinating and newsworthy facts on Russia. 

I need to start packing the clothes I unpacked so tomorrow il be ready to start. Diana sais she'll help me pack and then we're going to the Transiberian's restaurant.


Sometimes I look out the window to see beautiful forests, rivers, hills, and firs. I draw pictures with the mist on the window and observe the snow flakes falling as quickly as the train passes. it is a beautiful sight.


lundi, décembre 27, 2010

Moscow



Dear Blog,


I came to Moscow all the way from Des Moines (Iowa) by first class plane from American Airlines. I can't remember how many hours I stayed on that plane but it was more than 10 hours. I arrived on December 2nd so I have had time to visit. All I could see in the streets were people dressed in fur coats.




There I visited the House on Embakment by Boris Iofan at night  which is an apartment house in downtown Moscow and  is magnificent at night with all the lights. 


I also visited the Cathedral of Christ the Savior which is a church in Moscow standing on the edge of the Moskva River. The interior of the cathedral is fascinating with painted walls and a gold cross in the back of the room.


There is also St. Basil's Cathedral which is a Russian Orthodox cathedral based on the Red Square in Moscow. I think it's my favorite building in Moscow.



The Spasskaya Tower is also a monument I visited. The main tower with a through-passage which has a view on Red Square. It stands just in front of  St. Basil's Cathedral. The tower is 71 meters high. Last August the icon of Savior Smolensky was restored and in 1935 the Soviets substituted the two-headed eagle with a red star.


While I was in Moscow I ate a blini, pirozhkis, borshch, pelmeni and smetana and other delicious food.


During these four days I slept in the Cosmos hotel in Moscow for $97 a night (2947 Roubles). I like Moscow; it's a very intriguing and big city. Yesterday I found out that Moscow is the largest city in Russia! 

The packing

Dear Blog,


So for my trip I took one big hiking bag and one small back pack. In the big bag I put everything I didn't need to carry around all the time like clothes and in the backpack  I took everything I needed and that was essential like credit cards or my identity card. I'll keep the backpack with me permanently so I'll never lose it.


In the hiking  bag  I  packed:


  • Warm clothes (especially in fur or in polyester)
  • Medicine (Advil caps, travelling pills)
  • Bathing essentials such as toothpaste, toothbrush, soap etc...
  • Fur hat
  • Fur coat
  • Skiing gloves
  • Th knitted  scarf my mom made for me 
  • Warm , comfortable and  waterproof   walking boots 
  • Warm daim slippers 
  • Biscuits, Wrigley's  gum, Reeses and other packed food 
  • Books
  • Small photo album
  • MP3 with charger
  • And of course my computer
  • A blanket 

And in my backpack I put:

  • A Swiss Army Knife 
  • A camera
  • A small Americain/Russian dictionnary
  • Money ( $1000= 30,000 Roubles)
  • Identity card and passport 
  • Credit card
  • Safety kit 
  • Suncream 
  • Lipstick  for dry lips
  • A flashlight
  • A watch and a compass [ I'll stay in Moscow's time zone ( +3h) through all the journey ]

dimanche, décembre 26, 2010

Monday, December 6th, 2010, 8:00 am, Moscow

Dear Blog,

Hi y'all !! My name is Lila Cat and I'm starting my blog for a voyage across Russia ( Россия ) so... welcome!! Got my ticket (first class, Yaay!) so right now I'm boarding on the Transiberian railway to go to Vladivostok... 
Trans Siberian Railway Route

I'm very sleepy and very cold! -7°C it's cloudy, snowing and freezing... Brrr! I hate cold places... This was just supposed to be a bet with a friend... If one of us would win the other onewith give him $1500. I guess I'm gonna win and I think it's going to be a good experience. I have decided to visit two stops between Moscow and Vladivostok which are Yekaterinburg and Irkutsk. It was hard to choose between all the cities I can visit. I'll  stay three days in each city so I'll have the time to visit them. 

Entering the compartment: two beds, one big table, one small bathroom with toilets and shower, one small fridge, two  radiators (yay!!), two keys and of course three  electrical outlets... just like an apartment except very small. Placing my stuff! It's gonna take more than an hour. 

I'm supposed to be with another person in the cabin, she was here before me.She seems very nice, her name is Diana (Дина) and she is Russian, she comes from St Petersburg. She speaks English very well and Russian. She'll stay in the train until she  gets to Omsk because she has to go see her family over there and stay with them until the end of January for Christmas, but I'll be gone before her because I have to stop at Yekaterinburg.