TranS Siberian Train

+ a bit of Eastern Europe on the side

Oct/Nov 2018
Part 2
Moscow/Helsinki, Wednesday, 31st October 2018

Trip to the airport was wild. The driver loved weaving in and out of the lanes,
and I noted he hit 141 km/hr the one time I glanced across at the speedo,
but he could’ve been going even faster than that, - I dunno.

Still we got to the right airport, and given there are 3 airports in Moscow,
that’s a big plus.

The airport is interesting, I browsed the various souvenir shops - I think they
are twice the city prices. I change my money to Euros so that I I’m not
tempted. I wait. I fly.

Aeroflot.

They had a bad reputation back in the

eighties, but they were ok. Not flash, - but
ok. I didn’t fear for my life, we did get a
filled roll as a snack, the flight attendants
didn’t look like KGB operatives or special
force commandos. It did feel a bit too
formal and straight-laced, - they need to
loosen up – but you can say that about the
rest of the country really.

I’m sad to leave Russia, - I have really enjoyed it. It is peculiar, but it is
likeable peculiar.

It seems to me that they have a very unique past, but they don’t shy away
from it, it is what it is, however they have fully embraced the new Russia, -
ruled by the market economy. I get the feeling Putin does not have the ‘cult
of personality’ in Russia that the rest of the world thinks he has. Sure, there
are Putin dolls and Putin calendars, but I wonder if they are in jest to be
honest.

Irkutsk, Yekaterinburg and Moscow, - thank you, - I salute you. It has been a
lot of fun, - even though I think you are still not fully aware of what fun is…
you’re still a bit “soviet” me thinks… but thanks!

Helsinki.

So, I’m leaving the cheap accommodation and food of Russia, Mongolia and
China behind and heading for Helsinki. I couldn’t find a reasonable cheap
hotel in Helsinki, so I booked an Airbnb instead. Problem is, through
stuttered communication, he needs to be at work by 1pm, so if I want to drop
off my bag with Lassi, then I need to get from the airport to his place in
double quick time. I have a plan. Train to central station and then 1 stop on
the metro, then follow the map I have a photo of on my phone (remembering
I don’t have a Finnish SIM).

It all goes horribly wrong at step 1. I get to the automated

ticket machine at the railway station and I cannot find my
credit card. I start to panic. I really need my credit card. I
do have some Euros and I have an EFTPOS card, but this
stupid ticket machine only takes credit card and coins. I’m
running out of time. Dang. I decide to catch a taxi. I
know it will cost me a trillion dollars, and if I had more time,
I’d try to figure out a way of getting coins, but I head for
the taxi rank. Forty-one Euros later ($NZ 74), I’m outside
Lassi’s apartment building.

We only have time to say hi and swap keys before

he heads off leaving me to try and figure out what
happened to my credit card. I dump all of my stuff
out on the floor. I hope I hadn’t included it in the
pocket of something I sent back to NZ with Andrew.
Seemingly when all hope was gone, I find it. Oh,
the relief. Excellent.

I head out for a walk. I head into town, find some

lunch in a supermarket and eat it on a bench in the
central train station area (probably look like a
homeless person), wander down to the wharf, look
inside the Uspenski Cathedral and end up at the
National Museum.

The Uspenski Cathedral is a fully operational

Russian Orthodox church completed in 1868. It
seems to lack inside a little of the grandeur of the
churches we saw in Russia, - the icons and
paintings seem toned down a little, but the building
itself is just as impressive as the largest of the ones
we saw in Russia. How they built it without cranes
and modern machinery I will never know.

Outside in the church carpark, I see a pile of snow

that someone has swept into the corner. Lassi
confirms to me later that the first snow came the
day before yesterday, which roughly corresponds to
the time the snow fell in Moscow… nice. But the
snow here has largely gone given temperatures
here are a balmy 8 – 10 degrees. I’m still wearing
all my kit, - 3 layers, neck warmer, woollen hat, and
gloves especially down at the wharf area where the
wind is ripping through. To be honest, this seems
very comparable to a Wellington mid-winter day without the rain. (though
the rain is threatening).

The National Museum is awesome. I wander around the complex for a couple
of hours. There is a lot to see, and it’s great doing this on my own time. The
displays are all in 3 languages, I presume Finnish, Swedish (?) and English, so
I am able to fully engage with the exhibits.
It is dark by the time I leave the
Museum and I walk back to the
apartment, past the Parliament
buildings, and via a supermarket to
buy food for dinner and tomorrow.
With my tourist map of Helsinki, and a
good 3-4 hours of walking all over
Helsinki, I think I have got my
bearings.
I do however make a fatal mistake
when I get back to the apartment. I
unlock the door and go up to the 7th
floor, just as I did that first time, but I
note the name on the door is different.
Thankfully I took a photo of the name
on the door before I left the first time.
I quickly check… yes, definitely
different. Was it the 6th floor? NO, 5th
floor, NO, etc…
I head back out to the street outside
and realise I was in building “8A”,
whereas I should’ve been in “8B”.
Strange how the key worked… oh well.
Oops.
Lassi is dressing his 4-year-old son as
a pirate for some kind of Halloween
party tomorrow night. Apparently,
kids don’t go to school here until they
are 7.
I have dinner in my room (which I bought from the supermarket) and spend
a couple of hours catching up my diary.
Over 21,000 steps.
I’m feeling quite tired, - I did gain another hour with the time zone change
from Moscow. In bed by 9pm.
Finland
• Finland's population is 5.5 million
and 88.7% of the population is
Finnish and speaks Finnish.
• It is the most sparsely populated
country in the European Union.
There are exactly 187,888 lakes
(larger than 500 m²) and 179,584
islands within the territory of
Finland. Both are world records.
• Finland has only been an
independent country since 1918.
Before that it belonged to Russia or
Sweden.
• Finnish athletes have won more
Summer Olympic medals per capita
than any other nation. As of 2012,
Finland had won in total 302
Summer Olympic medals (including
101 gold medals) for a population of
only 5.4 million. That is an average
of 55.9 medals (18.7 gold medals)
per million people.
Helsinki, Thursday, 1st November 2018

I start the day with a spot of washing. It’s

been a while. Recycling underwear and socks
in cooler climates doesn’t seem such a bad
thing as you aren’t sweating as much… just a
theory anyway.

There is a washing room that is open to all

people from all 3 apartment blocks via the
basement. There is a drying room as well
which is essentially an enormous heater that
sucks out the moisture from everything in it.
Lassi has booked me in from 8am. Cool. I
hang my washing out in the room and have
left the building by 9 ish.

The plan for the day is to go to Suomenlinna

Island, a 15-minute ride by ferry. The island is
a UNESCO World Heritage site built by the
Swedes in the mid-18th century as a defensive
bastion, enormous canons kept watch over the
waters that provide would-be invaders access
to Helsinki. It is the top-rated ‘thing to do’ in
Helsinki.

The ferry is easy to find, and I wait with an

army of tourists, many of whom are Asian.
The ferry seems to run every half hour, it costs
5 Euro return, but no one checks for tickets on
either leg. Given it is one of the most
inhospitable months in the Helsinki calendar
and the ferry is full, - I wonder how it copes in
the height of the tourist season or in the
weekends? It is clearly THE thing to do.

From what I can tell there are 2 reasons for

coming to this island.
Firstly, there are heaps of
picnic spots and it is very
picturesque. In the height
of summer, this would be
an awesome place to go as
a family and hang out.
Secondly, and most
interesting to me, is the
history of this place. I soon
end up in a Finnish Military
museum, the kind of place Helen would be
bored of within seconds. I spend at least 2
hours in there. I find Finland’s history very
interesting, particularly with respect to its
rather large neighbour, - Russia. There
was a very bloody civil war in the early 20th
century between the whites and the reds
and it sounded like there were atrocities on
both sides. The whites won, and the island
was used as a prisoner of war camp.
Meanwhile Russia seemed to have
intentions during both world wars of
annihilating the Finns, and both times the
Finns put up a jolly good old fight. In WW
II, the Finns actually had a lot of support
from Germany, which technically puts them
on the Nazi side. However, in their
defence, - what are they supposed to do,
when the big Russian bear wants to wipe
you out? Anyway, - I can really
recommend the Military museum on
Suomenlinna Island if you are ever in the
neighbourhood.

I head around the fortress, which is really

quite spectacular. Many of the old cannons
still stand to attention guarding the shores
of Finland, and the tunnels and
ammunitions storehouses are still in good
shape. There is constant renovation going
on here I think, and that is good to see.
Apparently, the blocks of rock used in the
construction of the walls and tunnels were
hewn from the island, which is essentially
one big rock. The shape of the fortress is
like a multi-pointed star. And an
artillery man or infantry man could
scurry from one point to another
easily without exposure to enemy
fire.

The fortress did see some action in

the 18th century war between
Sweden and Russia, before
eventually being ceded to Russia in
1808, then again in the Crimean
War between Russia and England
and France when it got severely
damaged, and then
was a significant base
of operations during
the 2 World Wars.

These days, there is a

nice little community
thriving on the Island,
and the constant flow
of tourists, picnickers
and holiday-makers
probably are both a
blessing and a curse
to the island’s
inhabitants.

There is a fairly
significant church on
the island as well.
Built by the Russians
as a Russian Orthodox
Church it was
converted to be a
Lutheran church once
Finland declared
independence in 1917. The onion-domes were
removed, and the icons and paintings were
removed or painted over, leaving a very scandi
look and feel.

I made sure I “touched” the Baltic Sea. Just to

ensure I had bragging rights.
On the whole, I found the Island incredibly
interesting. Bravo Finland, bravo.

Arriving back on the mainland, I did some

more wandering, looking for phot-ops, and
discovered new places that I hadn’t seen in
my wanderings yesterday.

One of those places was Vanha Kauppahalli,

a traditional Finnish market dating back to
1888. There are lots of interesting (but
expensive) items on the menu down the 2
rows of stalls. I eventually settle on a
Reindeer baguette (7 Euro) and take home a
bag of Reindeer chips (for 7.50 Euro). I
would’ve definitely taken home a can of
Reindeer meat or even Bear meat, but the
cost was exorbitant.

I drop by the supermarket again, and figure

I’ll buy some chocolates and things for the
folk back home, given this is the furthest
point I will get to on this trip.

Back at home-base by 6pm. My washing is

dry as a dry bone, and I update my diary. I
pack as well, - another country tomorrow.
over 21,000 steps today.
Helsinki/Tallinn, Friday, 2nd November 2018 Estonia

Early start. Catching a 9 am ferry to Tallinn,

Estonia, so I say my goodbyes to Lassi and head
out into the misty Helsinki morning carrying my
pack for the 4 km walk to the wharf. I get there
with plenty of time to spare, but I’m starting to feel
twinges in my back. Dang, - getting old.
Population: 1.3 million
The ferry is a modern NZ is 6 times bigger than
marvel. I think I’m on Estonia.
the 7th floor of a ship Currency: Euro
that is enormous… like The 2015 PISA test places
a floating skyscraper. Estonian secondary school
students 3rd in the world,
behind Singapore and Japan.
In 2005 Estonia became the
I sit in a pub and
first state to hold elections
catch up on latest
over the Internet
events, - this
ferry has free Wi-
Fi. There seems
to be a pub quiz start up about half way
through, - I’m not entirely sure though, the
MC to me sounds like the Swedish chef from
the Muppets.

We arrive at the Tallinn dock about 2 hours

later and there are no customs or immigration at
this border, - just a few free ‘welcome to Tallinn’
maps. Nice.

It’s a bit murky on this side of the Baltic Ocean

as well. I decide that I will find my own way to
my hotel and decline the offer of a taxi. I am
armed with a photo of a google map page and my new
free tourist map, but unfortunately, I cannot reconcile
the 2, so I am uncertain in my direction. After a while I
am forced to ask someone for help, and the woman says
rather unconvincingly “I think it’s that way” pointing up a
road.

I trudge on.

Shortly thereafter I note the road that I am actually on,

is the road that the hotel is on, - which was quite a
surprise. I don’t know how I did it… but I’m here. The Center Hotel.
The reception guy is not overly happy. I am early for
check in, but I can leave my bag there for a few hours
before coming back to check in properly.

I head back out into the dreary misty day. I’m slightly
nervous about my back. It’s giving me some grief.
Perhaps I shouldn’t have walked so much with my
pack. Dang.

The main tourist ‘thing-to-do’ in Tallinn is to walk

around the ‘Old Town’. This is a really cool historic
part of the town which reminds me of Bruges and
some of the other old medieval towns of Western
Europe. Many of the plaques and tourist signs refer to
dates from the 14th century, and they have maintained
the character of the place well. There are a lot of
souvenir shops selling a lot of cheap bits and pieces,
but I avoid the temptation to fill my bag even further.

I have lunch in a burger chain called Hesburger, a burger

chain I noticed in Helsinki. It seems to me to be a regional
imitation of McDonalds. I later checked Mr Google, “it is the
largest hamburger restaurant chain in Finland, Estonia, Latvia
and Lithuania, with a larger presence in these markets than
U.S.-based rival McDonald's”. I think their counter staff need
a pep talk about smiling and being happy and treating their
customers like humans.

After quite some wandering, I decide to head back to the

hotel to check in, my back is causing some pain.

I get my room, - nice 2-star room – and sleep for a couple of

hours and laze in my room for another few hours.

I head out for dinner at night, my back seems much better for
the rest.

I eventually end up at the Peppersack and try the Elk Ribs.

Very tasty. This building dates back to the 1500’s and
belonged to one of the original merchants dealing in spices.
Through the marvels of modern technology, I keep my family
informed of my culinary adventures.

I wander back to my hotel and

flick through the Estonian
television channels. Watching
the Simpsons over-dubbed in
Estonian just isn’t the same. I
settle on some kind of English-speaking
news service, but they seem to be
replaying the same items over and over
again, so I soon tire of that.

Around midnight I switch it off and go

back to sleep.

Over 22,000 steps.

Tallinn, Saturday, 3rd November 2018

Late start (for me). Down for my free breakfast by

9am… nothing too inspiring at this hotel.

I’m really keen to go on a free walking tour

through the old town at 11:30, but in-between time, I want to also check
where the bus station is, for my ride tonight down to Lithuania via Latvia. So,
after checking with the hotel guy, I head off – just to double-check – ultra-
conservative me.

It’s a 20-minute work there and a 20-

minute walk back, and my back is a bit stiff,
but she’ll be right.

At the bus station, I note there are lockers

for bags (2 Euros), so I decide to check out
from the hotel, and put my bag in the locker for the day so I don’t have to
return to the hotel late in the day to then haul my bag down to the bus
station in the middle of the night. Makes sense?

…but it does mean essentially 2 return trips from the hotel to the bus station
and I put myself under pressure to achieve the 11:30am start of the walking
tour.

I get there about 2 minutes late but happy my gear is

safe, and I don’t need to return to the hotel, and it’ll be
much easier tonight.

The young guy leading the tour is dressed in medieval

costume, - faux fur and funny shoes with “noses”, that he
later explains denote how rich a person is. If the person
has paid a lot of tax, then the “nose” (i.e. the upturned
bit at the toe of the shoe), can be made very long.
Apparently, it got to the point where people were tying up
the “nose” of their shoe to their belt buckles.

He was full of stories and legends.

E.g. – The name of the town the merchants lived in was “Reval”, derived from
the German words for ‘falling deer’, explaining a deer choose to jump off a
cliff rather than get shot by the arrow of the King.

E.g. – the story of the first Christmas tree, introduced by the Tallinn Guild of
the Black heads (I tried not to snigger). I later read that this is disputed by
the people of Riga who also claim to have introduced the first Christmas tree.
E.g. – The story of the tallest building in
the world, - St Olaf’s church in the
1500’s, although they don’t know exactly
how tall it was. Apparently, it was hit by
lightning 17 times and burned down
twice. It was subsequently rebuilt a little
smaller the third time, to hopefully not
get hit by lightning again.

He was a thoroughly absorbing and

entertaining guy, - good on him. A gave
him about 2 Euros.
 He also pointed out that the paint on one of the
clock faces had last 400 years, far longer than
modern paint lasts…. Interesting. There’ll be
severe weather around here too.

For lunch I went to the supermarket, - a filled brioche (egg, sausage and
tomato), a raspberry tart and a banana cost 2 Euros ($NZ 3.40)

I decided to head to Kadriorg, which was built

in 1718 by Peter the Great for his wife
Catherine. Kadriog means Catherine’s valley
in Russian.

It was a 2km walk from the old town and it

was drizzling on and off.

By the time I got

there, I needed to
answer the call of
nature, and
enquired at the info
centre. I was
directed to deposit
50 cents in a
receptacle and then walk through some doors. I
only had a 2 Euro coin. Dang.

The gardens were great (for a drizzly autumn day).

The Kadriog museum was closed for renovations.

Not so great.
I wandered around in the drizzle for a while (it was
actually not so bad, it came, and it went), and
ended up down at the shore. I took a Michael Palin
shoot of me touching the Baltic. I posted it on
Facebook, my kids will cringe.

I also found what

looked like a large
convention centre which was the hive of activity. I investigated, and found it
was a meeting of the “Cat Fanciers Association”, - each to their own.

I head back into the old town to find somewhere out of the drizzle and where
I could sit down. I’d pretty much been on my feet the whole day. A
shopping mall would be nice which I could blend in and relax.
I tried a couple of options, but they don’t
really do anonymous food courts
particularly well in these parts.

I settled for some seating outside a couple

of shoe shops where I found a power
point to recharge my phone. Given I’ll be
on a bus all night long, I figured it would
be good to have a charged phone.

It occurred to me that I’d only spent about

6 Euros all day to this point, so I decided I
could splash out on dinner. I was eager
to have another Tallinn dinner given last
night was really awesome.

I head back into the old town, this time

taking a circuitous route I hadn’t taken
before but ending up in the Old Square. I
choose a place that didn’t look too
expensive, but it ends up costing me more
than the previous night. I have a fruit
juice/crushed ice thing, a local soup
presented inside a bread roll and another
local dish which seemed to be a lot of
leftovers, sausage, gherkin, capsicum
etc... covered in a cheese delivered in a
piping hot clay pot. Nice, but not Elk Rib
level nice.

It’s now 7pm-ish and bus leaves at

10:30. I start heading to the bus station
anyway. It’s a long, dull wait.

Over 31,000 steps.

Vilnius, Sunday, 4th November 2018 Latvia:

The Lux Express bus is a nice one for long

distance travel. It comes installed with a tv
screen and shows movies, although I have no
headphones, so sleep it is.
Around 2:45am in the morning we arrive in
Riga (Latvia). To claim the country in my
country count I believe I must stand on
Latvian soil. I jump off the bus, the Spanish
girl in the seat next to me must think I’m
strange. I take a selfie, a photo of my feet on
Latvian soil (well, pavement anyway) and a
screenshot of Google maps showing I’m in
Latvia. Back on the bus and back to sleep.
Population: 2 million
Latvian and Lithuanian are the only
two surviving Baltic languages.
More than half of Latvia is covered
by forests, while 10% of the county
is bog.
A Latvian tailor, Jākobs Jufess,
invented blue jeans in 1870 with
backing from Levi Strauss.

We arrive into Vilnius around 6am. The bus has Wi-Fi, and the trip to the
hotel looks fairly straightforward, but I know as soon as I step off the bus and
head off, I will get lost… I don’t want a repeat of what happened in Tallinn,
besides, I am tired and will make mistakes, I know… taxi it is.

The taxi driver charges 5 Euros which is fine with me.

Not sure if that is a lot or not, but I don’t care, I’m just
happy to get to the hotel.

Now I know this is a long shot, - check in is at 2pm,

and it is 6:30 in the morning, - however I ask anyway,
- I am desperate for a bed/some quality sleep, - “any
chance of checking in early?”. The very helpful
receptionist apologises that I am unable, not
because its 6:30 am, but because the hotel is fully
booked up. I am able to leave my bag in the
luggage room, which is half my headache attended
to.

Well… what to do in Vilnius at 6:30am on a Sunday

morning, when all you want to do is sleep?
 Lithuania I head in search of a café
to vege for a while. I find
a McDs. I use their
internet to familiarise
myself with Vilnius, the
must see, and the tourist
map I picked up at the
hotel. It’s quite an
Population: 2.8 million interesting place. It’s not
• By the end of the huge by European
fourteenth century, standards with a
Lithuania was the largest population of just under
country in Europe. 600,000.
• 190,000 or 91% of the It dates back to the
Lithuanian Jews were 1300’s when the Grand
killed, one of the highest Duke Gediminas was
total mortality rates of the hunting in the forest near
holocaust. where the Vilnia
• On February 4, 1991, River flows into the Neris
Iceland became the first River. In a dream he saw
country to recognize a huge howling Iron
Lithuanian independence. Wolf standing on top a
hill. Upon awakening, the
Duke asked a pagan
priest what it meant. And the priest told him: "the Iron
Wolf represents a castle and a city which will be
established by you on this site. This city will be the capital
of the Lithuanian lands and the dwelling of their rulers,
and the glory of their deeds shall echo throughout the
world." Therefore, Gediminas, obeying the “will of the
gods”, built the city, and gave it the name Vilnius – from
the stream of the Vilnia River. This guy sounded quite the
guy, successfully establishing a vast kingdom and
diplomatically balancing the desires of his pagan subjects
and the Catholic pope who was snapping at the kingdom
at the time.

Anyway, there is only so much time you can spend in a

McDs before it becomes a bit uncomfortable, and that time
had come so I head out. I know the general direction I
want to go, to start ticking some stuff off on my tourist list
of things to do.

I find the Vilnius Roman Catholic Cathedral that sits in the

main Square of the City. It’s a very impressive building
that dates back to the 1300s, although on reading up on
Wikipedia it has been rebuilt/remodelled and renovated so
many times, I’m not sure how much of it
would be original. I’m actually in time for
a service. Not knowing a single word of
Lithuanian, I do my best to show as much
reverence as I can muster, but I exit after
15-20 minutes. Great acoustics during
the singing bit.
There is a statute of
Gediminas in the
Square, which I find
an interesting
dichotomy, Catholic
and pagan side by
side. The statue
shows him
seemingly grappling
in the dark with his
horse following
behind. A tour
guide later is unable to give me a reason
for this curious pose but suggests it might
be because he was a good diplomat (?).

Behind the church is the Gediminas

Castle, or at least what remains of a
castle complex that has been (and is
being) renovated. It’s up quite an
impressive hill. The hill is small but steep
on every side. It must have been a
formidable fortress in its day. The views
across the city are extraordinary.

The castle is now the home to a museum.

I pay my 5 Euro and enter. It’s not
terribly in-depth and aimed at the casual
museum attenders rather than the rabid
museum-lovers, but I’m happy.

On the top floor is a presentation

dedicated to the Baltic Way. Back in
August 1989, the people of Estonia, Latvia
and Lithuania formed a human change
that stretched from this very castle to
Tallinn, a distance of 675 kilometres involving an estimated 2 million people.
It was a peaceful people’s protest against the Soviet overlords, and really
paved the way towards independence being declared in 1991.

I am reminded of how awesome we have it in NZ.

There is another monument on a hill the other
side of the Vilnia river that catches my eye.
The hill of the 3 crosses. According to
legend, seven Franciscan friars were
beheaded on top of this hill. Again, it is a good
climb, but the views are worth it. It is also
surrounded by a great park with its’ de-robed
trees, the autumn colours and intertwining
pathways making for an invigorating walk
along the river.

There are another couple of boxes to tick out

this side of the city, - St Anne’s’ Church, which
is a 15th Century gothic style church that
apparently Napoleon said he wanted to take
back to Pairs on the palm of his hand, (a story
later debunked by a tour guide) and the Uzupis
Angel, a statue of an angel atop a column in
quite a bohemian part of town.

I buy some lunch from a nearby supermarket.

I’m finding food in these parts is exceptionally
cheap if you buy in the supermarket, which
have great food options. Clearly a lot of
tourists are doing the same thing.

At this point it is past midday and I decide to

head back to the hotel to see if they have any
available rooms yet.

Sure enough yes, - so I crash for a few hours.

Around 5pm I really struggle to get up. If I

don’t, I won’t sleep tonight.

I have a shower, and head out for dinner. It’s

6pm on a Sunday night, and I’m not sure if I’m
early for dinner or whether Sunday night is naturally a little quiet? I struggle
to find anywhere that will provide a genuine Lithuanian dinner. I end up in an
Italian pizza/pasta place but am pleased to note the “Meat” section in the
menu. I indulge accordingly.

I’m back to my room by 8pm and update my diary.

Over 15,000 steps.

Vilnius/Minsk, Monday, 5th November 2018

A relaxed start. I have to be at the airport around

3:30pm (ish), so hotel breakfast, pack up, leave
luggage at the hotel and join up with a free walking
tour by 10:30 am.

There are only 6 of us, - not a big tour, - 2 Aussies, 3

Russians and me. The young girl’s English is good,
but she isn’t as naturally dynamic as the young guy
who did the free walking tour in Tallinn. She takes
us through the old town, and I can’t help but make
comparisons to Tallinn’s old town. This is not
‘medieval’ like Tallinn, but feels from a later period,
where architecture was a little less… (struggling for
the word) …. interesting.

She explains the Lithuanian language is one of the

oldest languages in the world, sharing words with
both Sanskrit and Latin,

She takes us through the independent republic (not

really) of Uzupis, which is some kind of utopia for
artists. Actually, one of the rules that they have in
this “Republic” is that you must smile. Now I find
this quite contrasting to the rest of the Baltic States,
these people are not naturally smiley and/or polite,
and/or good at customer service. There are
exceptions of course, but don’t expect a positive
acknowledgement or any kind of return of
pleasantries. There is a coldness to these people, is
it from the Soviet era? …or the Nazi era? …or the
many other eras during which they have been
dominated? I dunno.

Speaking of Nazis, - the old town was walled up as a

Jewish Ghetto in World War II. Vilnius used to be
known as the Jerusalem of the North, such was the
large size of the Jewish population, but 95% of them
were slaughtered by the Germans.

The synagogue that was on the site was not allowed

to be taller than any of the churches in the area, so
they built 2 basement floors. It was destroyed in
WW II, and the Soviets did not want a synagogue
rebuilt, so I understand the Jewish community have
only in recent times floated the idea of trying to
 rebuild a synagogue on the site of what is now a
disused/abandoned kindergarten.

The other place of interest was a church, originally

built by the Catholics, converted to a Russian
Orthodox Church on the insistence of a visiting czar,
converted to a Reformist church during the German
years, converted to a museum to
atheism by the Soviets than finally
returned to the Catholics only very
recently.

The tour was 2 ½ hours long. The

tour guide mentioned that another tour
would start in a half hour, and I thought I
might be able to do half of it before
heading for the airport, so I gobbled
down a pizza, and turned up at the
meeting place for the next tour.

However, this one

involved jumping on a
bus and going to a
completely different
part of the city, and I
knew I would get lost
on my way back if I
bailed halfway
through, so I politely
withdrew from the
tour. (She had a
much bigger group
this time, so she’ll be
right).

Instead I checked out

the Belltower next to
the Cathedral.

This was a building that had be re-built, re-

modelled and renovated many times over the
centuries, but was still well worth a visit. The
tour guide had explained that the bottom
floor was Romanesque, then gothic then blah,
blah, - I can’t remember, but the effect was
quite a mishmash of styling, though all painted white,
so it’s kind of worked.
After checking out the Belltower, I decided that I’d had enough… Vilnius, I’m
sure you are worth more than the day and a bit I had to explore you, but I
need to head to my next destination Minsk, - so I headed back to the hotel,
picked up my luggage, caught the taxi, checked into my flight, went through
customs and waited.

The flight was 35 minutes long. I would’ve taken a bus, but by going through
the airport I can qualify for a Visa exemption. This Visa exemption only
applies if you travel in and out of Minsk airport although not if you come
direct from Moscow, because that is considered a domestic flight. It was
actually the whole reason I went to Helsinki and the Baltic states after
Moscow. My original planned itinerary involved Moscow to Minsk to Odessa
through Moldova to Romania, but Visa issues in Belarus and the Ukraine
caused me to carefully reorganise my itinerary.

Belavia, - Belarus’ national

airline. Went ok. No
problem.

Airport, customs,
immigration, - No problem, although the immigration official’s uniforms are
very army-ish. Nothing says ‘welcome to my country’ like a stern array of
army-looking people.
 Belarus
There were a bunch of taxi drivers hawking for
business, one quoted “50”, - I think he meant Euros.
The airport is over 40 kms out of the city. I know
there is a bus, so I head for the bus queue where I
find a Swedish guy who also must have run the
gauntlet of taxi drivers to get to this point. There was
Population: 9.5 million
no bus, and the ticket machine did not seem to have
83.7% Belarussian/8.3%
an English option (or Swedish). Another driver
Russian yet 72% speak
(Uber?) approached us and said 10 Euros each and
Russian and only 12%
he’d drop us at the Central Train Station. Fair
speak Belarussian.
enough… deal done. Ironically Swedish guys’ hotel is
Belarus was more effected
very near my hotel (Planeta) so Uber guy drops us off
by radiation fallout than
at our hotels. Great.
Ukraine after Chernobyl
nuclear meltdown.
First impressions are Minsk – it’s a modern European
New Zealand is bigger than
capital just like any other. Minsk was a bit of an
Belarus
unknown to me. Every other city I had been in to this
point (including Ulaanbaatar) had their own Lonely
Planet guide in the Lonely Planet app. Minsk did not, and there is only so
much you can glean from Wikipedia.

I book in to the hotel, then head out to find some dinner.

I end up in a super-flash shopping mall, with

a food court on the top floor. Rather than
running with any of the food court options
though, I decide to go to one of the nearby
restaurants. It’s Italian. I order soup,
focaccia bread and a pasta dish. There’ll be
no Belarussian cuisine for me tonight.
Minsk, Tuesday, 6th November 2018

There is a free walking tour at 11 am which I head

into town for. I’m a little early so I end up in the
McDs for breakfast. Kind of disappointed I can’t find
alternate options, but hey, - it has Wi-Fi.

The Walking tour is run by a young Jewish Belarussian

girl who has a degree and job in Economics, but her
employer lets her still do these walking tours. The
Jewish population only makes up 1% of the
Belarussian population now days, a far cray from the
almost 50% that existed pre-WW II. It is quite a
sobering story how the Jewish population was
massacred, only 13 Jews existed in the entire city
after the war. I really wanted to ask about her family
story but wondered if that would be too insensitive of
me.

My Swedish friend is also in attendance as is an

American I recognise from my flight from Vilnius last
night.

Some of the highlights of the tour:

We walked past the apartment block that Lee Harvey
Oswald lived in prior to assassinating President
Kennedy.
We walked passed the house where the first official
meeting was held of worker representatives that
discussed the overthrow of the Russian monarchy and
the embryo of the communist rule.
Again, this city is full of churches, even though the city
was in Communist hands for 70 years. Why did they
remain, when the Jewish synagogue and Moslem
mosque were destroyed in those years? – it was
explained that the churches could easily be converted
into useful buildings for the communists, -
storehouses, or usurped for industrial purposes.
Our tour guide explains the architecture, although
almost all of her comments are proceeded with the
comment “. it’s been reconstructed”. It sounds like
almost the whole city was levelled during the war and
was re-built in the style of the original buildings that
once stood. The guide said that Belarussian kids are
taught in schools that the destruction was largely
caused by the Nazis, however she says modern
academic thought is, it was largely Stalin, who wanted
to rebuild the city according to his vision of Minsk
being the gateway to his Russian empire.
The guide points out that many of the Stalin
era buildings have incorporated the large
columns of ancient Roman architecture.
It seems to me that the vast majority of
Belarussian buildings are very ugly, modern
and Soviet, the only exception possibly being
the faux 17th century buildings.
Belarus has remained good friends with
Russia, though the tour guide says
historically Belarus used to be very good
friends with Poland and Lithuania. As such it
has stayed out of the EU, and maintains its
own currency, the Belorussian Rouble. She
says the average salary for Belarussians is
$400 per month, surely not…
perhaps she meant $4,000?
Either way, I sense it is a bit
behind the Baltic states.
English is not very widespread
here.
There was also a tranquil
monument to the
Belarusian soldiers that had
died in the Afghan
campaign in the 1980’s. It
was on a little island in the
river and featured statues
of the bereaving women
left behind. A touching
tribute I thought.

After the tour, I retrace my steps to the house

where the Communist schemes were first
birthed, it is now the home of a museum. The
guy in the reception is one of the grumpiest
dudes in the history of grumps. Not impressed.
I was motioned to join a tour that was
underway, but given it was in Belarussian, it was
pointless to me. Thankfully some of the plaques
were in English.

I also checked out the Independence Square

with the eternal flame, a dedication to the
soldiers who lost their lives in WW II.

I walked back through Gorky Park (another

one), in the search of lunch, trying to find a Belarusian lunch option, - really
not a lot around. I found one that the guide had
recommended, some kind of pancake place, -
where I ordered a pepperoni one, - not overly
impressed.

I wandered back to the hotel and had a sleep for a

couple of hours.

Around 6pm I wake up… oops slept a bit too much.

I head out for dinner, - again looking for local food
options, - KFC, Burger King, Dominos, Pappa Jacks,
lots and lots of Western food brands, all very well
attended, bit nothing local that I could see.

I head back to the food court in the mall that I

found last night and have some Russian dumpling
things (nice) and a chicken roll
(nice), but it’s a far cry from
being authentic Belarussian
food.

I head back to my hotel, update

my diary and go to bed around
11pm.

Almost 28,000 steps.

Ooops, almost forgot… There was also a dove statue in memory of those
impacted by the Chernobyl disaster. It really does seem Belarus has been the
brunt of a lot of misfortune and sadness.
Minsk/Istanbul, Wednesday, 7th November 2018

I don’t sleep very well, - probably slept too long yesterday

afternoon.

I update my diary (still) from

6am – 7am but then drift back to
sleep until 9:30ish.

I’ve got a few last things to tick

off today, and I’m low on cash,
so looks like I’ll need to make
another ATM withdrawal. Not
my preference.

I head off in the light drizzle to

the Museum of the Great Patriotic War.

It’s closed. Pity, it rates highly on Trip advisor and the tour guide yesterday
recommended it too.

Great start.

Next on the list was “the Pit”,

a tribute to the 5,000 Jews
that were murdered in one
day in 1942. It is actually
quite close to my hotel and in
the middle of a large
residential area. It literally is
a pit, a small depression in
the ground with a monument
on one side of the pit and a
stairway down into the pit on
the other. The striking thing
about the stairway is that
there is a line of sculptured
people, obviously naked,
obviously scared, and
obviously despondent,
heading to their doom.

It is sobering to recall the evil atrocities carried out by the Nazis.

Next on my list was the Museum of miniatures. This is number 1 on trip

advisor and also recommended by the tour guide, although I will confess not
really something I originally intended to go see, but hey…
It was not very well signposted in English,
but I found it.

It was pretty good.

Very small-scale models of buildings around

the country, forts, churches, palaces etc.

Lunchtime. I am really, really keen to seek

out one of these restaurants that claim to
have traditional Belarussian food, because I
have really struggled to find one. I try to follow a tourist map as well as I
can. I make a few false moves but do eventually find one that has advertised
on the tourist map as being “traditional”.

It’s a quirky little place.

It is showing a movie which is set in medieval times, which matches half the
décor of the place, and the other half is old record players and quirky little
knick-knacks from (recent) bygone eras.

I order a meat filled potato pattie that is served with half a tonne of sour
cream. It’s ok, but I wouldn’t rave about it.

This will sound bad, but I think I’m done with Eastern Europe.

The weather has been cold and grey and a bit miserable. But it actually
reflects the atmosphere I’ve felt here (ever since leaving Moscow, - and yes
Helsinki I mean you too.). I’m actually quite thankful I’m heading out to a
completely different country tonight. Bring it on.

I head back to the hotel, grab a taxi back to the airport and spend quite some
time waiting at the airport (and yep, - you guessed it, updating my diary).

I’m flying Ukraine

International Airlines (UIA)
to Kiev where I transfer to
another flight to Istanbul.

These flights are

reasonable. I decline to
buy food, the first is only 1
hour and the second a little
more than 1 1/2hours.

Ukraine is my 50th country

by the way, even though
I’m only transiting, I will count it, - I am walking on Ukrainian soil.

I arrive in Istanbul, clear immigration and

Ukraine
customs and emerge into the public part of
the airport, where I ask someone behind a
desk, ‘how much will a taxi be to get me to
my hotel?’… I’m never sure when I arrive at
a new airport and I don’t like getting ripped
off.

The guy starts signing me up for a transfer

Population: 42 million
(plus return) but mentions that it will cost
Ukraine is over twice the
me 1,280 Turkish Lire. I’m thinking ‘hang
size of NZ
about’ that’s a lot of money, and when I
Currency: Ukrainian hryvnia
(UAH) checked my currency app on my phone, I
almost had a heart-attack. He was trying to
Ukraine has the second
charge me $NZ 330. I politely declined, and
largest military in Europe
the quoted price dropped to 1,180, and
(after Russia)
then, ‘how much would you pay’….

I was off. I knew there was a metro and that was my favoured way to start
with, but given that it is approaching midnight, I would’ve preferred a taxi to
take me start there.

While waiting for the train, a guy tries to befriend me, and offers to show me
how to catch a bus to Taksim (where my hotel is) from x station, but I know I
can go straight to the end on this line and then catch another line that will
take me to Taksim, so I give him the cold-shoulder. He said that the Taksim
line will not be running after midnight, I ignore him.

He’s right. The line is closed so I am forced to catch a taxi to the hotel. The
train cost 20 Lire. The taxi cost 70 Lire (possibly inflated). I shall take it as a
victory, that I bet the system, the guy at the airport trying to rip me off. But
I felt bad for giving the guy who tried to help me the cold shoulder.

I have been upgraded at the hotel, ‘Taksim Doorway Suites’, for the price of a
good trip advisor review.
Istanbul, Thursday, 8th November 2018 Turkey:

I’ve arrived at the hotel at 12:30 am and after

dropping off my gear in my room, I’m keen to
eat. I didn’t eat anything on Wednesday
except the Belarussian potato thing, and to be
honest, I had been looking forward to a
Turkish kebab in Turkey.
I head out at 12:30 am nervous about what
exactly will be open at this hour of the
morning.
I needn’t be. It seems like half of Istanbul is
out and about in Taksim Square. Taksim
Square has a memorial to independence back
in the 1920’s, but it is the centre of a thriving
retail and restaurant area. There are literally
thousands of people wandering around. I have
my kebab, and I just wander and wander and
wander. It’s 2 am in the morning!
Population: 81 million
Currency: Turkish Lira
Istanbul‘s Grand Bazaar, or Kapalı
Çarşı, dates to 1455 and was
established shortly after the
Ottoman conquest of
Constantinople. Over the centuries
it has grown into a warren of 61
streets lined by more than 3,000
shops and currently occupies a
nearly incomprehensible 333,000
square feet.

I have my first “Turkish delight” where the

dessert menu is huge… so many options I
have no idea how to choose. I actually
can’t help but think of Anette, she’d love
this place.

I eventually crawl into bed 2:30 ish and go

to sleep, though not immediately, because
I’m pumped!

I’m awoke around 6am by the call to prayer. It’s

very loud… it sounds like the speaker is right outside
my window.

I laze until 9ish when I’m out the door

The first thing on my list is to jump on the Bed Red Bus (Hop on/hop off bus).

It’s quite an investment, but I only have a very short time in Istanbul
(effectively 2 days) and it is such a vast city, - to make sure I see it all, I think
this is the best way.

We head off. Traffic is bad, - but I have patience, - and it’s interesting to just
watch the city unfold before me.

The first interesting spot for me was the “Grand Bazaar”.

This is a bazaar, that is just enormous. It goes
forever. And the good thing is, the stalls and shops
are not all homogenous selling the same stuff.
There is a lot of variety and totally interesting.
Having said that, there are a lot of shops selling
Turkish delights, and I eventually buy some at a stall
where they pack it in a box and vacuum seal it for
me.

I also buy $NZ 2.80 Levi/Nike/Gucci t-shorts as

presents and work socks.

I withdraw some more money from an ATM,

although I think somewhere during the day I must
have lost some money (I doubt I was pickpocketed,
my jeans pocket is quite tight). I suspect one of the
many times I pulled out my phone some money may
have fallen out at the same time? Dang, - I hate
that.

I wander for hours through the Bazaar. There are

lots of alleyways and offshoots. There are clearly
some parts where the clothing sellers have
conglomerated, there’s the toy area, the hardware
are etc…

As the morning turns into the afternoon, I sense the

numbers of people trudging through there increases,
and I decide its time to move on.

I head towards the bridge area where I grab a

grilled ear of corn and something sold in a cup
that I had no idea what it was, other than a
lot of people were buying them and there
were a lot of sellers, so it must be popular?

Turns out it was a collection of vegetables in a

red vinegar solution. It was… interesting.

At this point I’m keen to find a toilet. It’s not

obvious where I can find one, so I ask and get
directed up this alley and then left.

I find it, - but it is in a mosque… and there are local people coming in and out
of the mosque, obviously after a prayer session and I don’t want to be
disrespectful… where do I go?
I politely ask one of the men in the mosque, and
he points me in a direction. I pay 1 Lire (30
cents) and use an Asian toilet (hole in the
ground).

I jump on the bus through to the Hagia Sophia.

This is an enormous church that dates back to
the 500’s AD, which, when the Byzantium Empire
fell to the Moslems, become a mosque, and then
most recently became a museum. The 900 years
of church history are represented by some
mosaics and the general styling of the building,
and the 400 years of being a mosque have
resulted in significant calligraphy painted on key
surfaces and there are 8 very large discs that
apparently have the names of God written on
then in Arabic.

They are renovating the inside and have installed

scaffolding 19 storeys high.

I jump on the bus again and this time stay on it

as it heads over the Bosphoros Bridge from
Europe to Asia and then back again. I’m on the
top deck, and I’m getting cold. This was the first
time in 3 weeks I went outside in just a t-shirt,
and I’m starting to pay for it. Being on the top
deck of the Big Red Bus going over the
Bosphoros Bridge doesn’t help, - it’s like being in
a wind tunnel.

I decide to hang on to the next stop which is

Taskim Square to go and get my jacket and drop
off my bag of purchases.

I immediately head back out, but this time just

choose to wander the streets around Taskim
Square again. I have a couple of “minor”
meals… just to try different things.

Around 9pm I’m back in my hotel.

Over 28.000 steps.

Istanbul, Friday, 9th November 2018

This is my last full day on this trip. It’s been an epic, and I haven’t “stopped”
in the last 4 weeks. Twenty-four hours of travel starting tonight will fix that…
but first one last day.

I head out the door by 10am. I’ve left my luggage in the reception area, and
a note for the reception guy. He was fast asleep on the couch in the
reception area and I didn’t want to wake him.

My plan is to catch the Big Red Bus to the connecting point for the
free Bosphoros cruise. I get there easy enough, only to find that
the cruise is only on Saturdays and Sundays… great. I paid for 2
days, - Thursday and Friday!

I pay for a cruise from an alternative company, it

was only 30 Lire ($NZ10), so no big deal.

Access to the boat was via a short van ride and

a stroll through a carpark, but the vessel was
your standard upstairs for the adventurous
people that like the wind in their hair and
downstairs for the cup of tea brigade. It could
probably cater for hundreds of passengers, it
was huge. There were only 50 of us on this
voyage.

There were multiple other vessels plying the

seas, some the same size, many smaller, but
each suffered from a lack of patronage. Perhaps
it was the off-season, or perhaps it was the rain
that started up halfway through… maybe most
sensible tourists read the weather forecast in the
morning… not me!

I braved it as much as I could on the upper

deck, but I had to admit I retreated back to the
lower deck for a period.

The view was good, but for me it was more

about the experience. It’s a legendary stretch of
water spanned by a couple of legendary bridges
and electricity cables… that was also worthy of a
mention… I wonder what the world record is for
the distance between 2 connected telephone
pylons…. Because the 2 that connected Europe and Asia were pretty
impressive.
We didn’t quite get to the Black Sea, we turned around before then, but we
would’ve been close (me thinks).

Returning to the pier, I felt a spot of lunch was required given it was knocking
on 2pm and I had skipped breakfast, and I had noted some restaurants
underneath the bridge by the pier, so, that’s where my nose pulled me.

A delicious lunch fit for a king. Thank you very much.

I decided to head back into the maze of the Grand Bazaar to by some more t-
shirts. The ones I’d bought yesterday as “Large” were skin tight on me when
I tried them in the hotel. They can be for Harry or Chris. I decided to try and
buy some more, and some more presents for people back home, and I
thought if I could buy from the same vendor that sold them to me for 10 Lire
($NZ2.80), I’d be very happy. I wondered up and down and round and
round, and just did not find that guy or even the general area again. It is a
mystery to me… the place is a labyrinth that just moves, and new alleyways
appear, and old ones disappear.
However. In the course of my quest for
rediscovering something old, I discovered something
quite new. The “Grand Bazaar” that I had criss-
crossed yesterday for hours was NOT the Grand
Bazaar, - it was the Egyptian Spice Market. THE
Grand Bazaar was a clearly marked building with
dates clearly labelled on the entranceways detailing
when this gate was opened. I was staggered.
There are just stalls and markets and sellers for
MILES and there are people strolling and buying and
jostling for MILES. These 2 markets are essentially
one and the same, and after spending another 1- 2
hours wandering through THE Grand Bazaar and
probably the same walking through the Egyptian
market AGAIN, I was plum tuckered out.

I bought stuff, lots of stuff. My empty backpack

was full by the time I was done.

I decided to head back to Tasim Square, - given it

was approaching 5pm – so I jumped on the Big Red
bus thinking it would take me all the way around to
Taskim Square. It didn’t. It stopped for the day at
the Square by the Hagia Sophia. That left me
further away from where I wanted to be than I was
at the Bazaar! Still, no huge problem, I had plenty
of time.

In fact, considering I was in the area, one of the

tourist boxes I hadn’t ticked yesterday in this area
(apart from the mosque, and I just didn’t want to
go in there), was the Egyptian obelisk, that had
been gifted to the Byzantium empire back in the
days of antiquity.

This thing was old! Perhaps

the oldest structure I’ve seen
to date?
There are a couple of other old structures
that used to be on the inside of a track in the
old hippodrome (the old Roman-style race
track). It really is quite amazing to be in a
place of such history.

However, - I’m keen to start the trek back to

Tasim Square and I am told there is no
metro in this area, but that the tram
connects with the metro. I am surprised to
see that my metro card works on the trams.
I thought I’d only paid for 1 trip that night
when I came from the airport, but it looks
like I have quite a bit of credit!

I have no idea where the tram is going, but I

am pleased to see that the Galata Tower is
listed as a stop on the map above the doors,
and I walked there from my hotel last night,
so I decide to get off there. Perhaps even
see if I can climb the tower, given last night
there was quite a queue.

Tonight, the queue was even longer, and I

just can’t be bothered.

I wander up through the hordes of people

that are walking the millions of shops and
markets that are spread on the 2-3 kms
between the tower and Taskim Square and
work up an appetite for dinner.

Being my last meal in

Turkey, I decide to go out
with a bang. I see one
which has seating
(halleluiah, my feet are
killing me) and a quality
meal offering. I order lots
of stuff, - delish.

I also order a “turnip juice”,

- no idea what it is, and
what it will taste like. I get
delivered a fermented hot
black carrot juice”. It was
foul.
I am done, but I still have time to kill.
I sit in the Square for a while and which
the people walk past and reflect on an
epic trip. It started over 4 and a half
weeks ago when I left the house, and
here I am in Istanbul. I reflect on the
highs and lows, Beijing, Ulaanbaatar,
Russia, Eastern Europe and Istanbul, I see
them as 5 different stages of my trip. I
loved the experience of being in each of
those countries and I see it as a privilege
to visit them all. Some, it is fair to say I
liked more than others, but a privilege
nevertheless.

I return to my hotel and repack my bag to incorporate all my new purchases

into my main pack.

My journey home starts with a walk from the hotel up to the metro station, 1
connection, and a long wait at the Ataturk airport. Two connections in
Singapore and Melbourne, then a car-ride home (if Helen remembers),
otherwise train… hmmmm… train

What a trip.

Wow.

I’m thankful I live in NZ.

Costs:

Flights 2,322
Train, ferry, bus 1,612
Cash expenses (incl Accommodation, Food) 3,131
Visas 383
Other 467
7,916