Russia has an interesting mix of miserable/disgruntled adults and somewhat friendly non-English speaking youth.  Actually nobody speaks English for that matter.  Thus getting around with your poor Russian-to-English guide is basically useless as it seems being a foreigner in Russia already prevents you to socialize with the locals.  A friendly gesture or smile will do you no good nor will being patient waiting in line to purchase a train ticket while others cut in front of you with no regard to your presence.  You learn quickly that in order to make it here, you have to fight hard and stand up for yourself.  Perhaps Russia’s history has made the people hard, who knows?

The city of Moscow is impressive with its colorful iconic Red Square standing out among grey Soviet-era buildings.  It is evident that the city is expanding with modern buildings rising up everywhere.  And you don’t need to look up high to see its growth…just look underground.  The metro stations are museums in themselves.  Some stations showcase art work while others have fantastic light and color displays.  It must be refreshing to the 9 million people who use the metro every day.  Overall the city is alive and doing well.  It was a great start to my Trans-Siberian trip, a trip that would carry me all the way across Russia.

The train is nothing to rave about, just a means to getting to the other side.  Throughout the 4-day journey, we were granted with several short stops in old Siberian towns.  As we traveled east the people somehow lightened up and were more approachable.  Maybe it was the breath of fresh air.  The houses were more vibrant and the landscape went from congested buildings to wide open hills and trees filled with autumn colored leaves.  I could already feel the change in the atmosphere as we left Moscow.  Life was much simpler and relaxed and I began to take it all in one day at a time.

Our final stop left us in Irkutsk, the last town before entering Mongolia.  This was a great town to walk through and explore by foot.  There are many brightly painted churches and old wooden buildings that make the town worth a visit.  Along the Baikal Lake, the sleepy town of Listvyanka rewarded us with wooden houses framed with colorful fences and scenic views over the lake.  The peacefulness here allowed for some down time to prepare for a much anticipated cross country week-long trip through Mongolia.