Just now I found an Internetcafe, where I can download my images to my harddisc and post them. I took me 1 h from the place where I stay to the center of the city. The bus was crowded with people, it was hot and stressful. I don't know, when I will go next time to the center. Hm, o.k. I have to buy a ticket soon, so I will come again.
The town changed a lot, since I was here last year. A lot of new shops and huge new buildings. The town covered with posters about the Olympic Games in 2014. And I found really one busstop, where the name was written in English ;-)
At the railway station the toilette and the information desk is labeled in English to, but the information does never speak English. Just normal.
So, see you sometimes...
Friday, August 31, 2007
Day 10
ROSTOV (2:23) ... TIMOSHEVSKAJA ... KRASNODAR ... TUAPSE (12:00) ... LASAREVSKAJA ... SOCHI (14:50)
In the night we passed the borer between the cold north and the hot south of Russia. After the two nights my brain is slightliy damaged ;-) and despite is was not boring to go by train such a long time, I am glad that this trip is finished soon.
Before the train stops in a station the toillets are closed, becaus the excrements are just poured on the tracks. They call this "Sanitarnaja Zona". Because after Tuapse the track goes anlong the coast of the black sea quite close to the beach, all this way is such a zone, and we have to take care that we don't drink to much the next hours. This last 3 hours are the hardest anyway, the trains drives quite slowly and the sun is fireing down on us. No wind goes up, we can see the sea, 20 m away from us, but cannot leave the train, wich is besides to late...
Karina took me from the train and her friend Denis helped us to bring my baggage to Karina's Datscha. At the evenig we went to the sea, the water is SUPER!!
In the night we passed the borer between the cold north and the hot south of Russia. After the two nights my brain is slightliy damaged ;-) and despite is was not boring to go by train such a long time, I am glad that this trip is finished soon.
Before the train stops in a station the toillets are closed, becaus the excrements are just poured on the tracks. They call this "Sanitarnaja Zona". Because after Tuapse the track goes anlong the coast of the black sea quite close to the beach, all this way is such a zone, and we have to take care that we don't drink to much the next hours. This last 3 hours are the hardest anyway, the trains drives quite slowly and the sun is fireing down on us. No wind goes up, we can see the sea, 20 m away from us, but cannot leave the train, wich is besides to late...
Karina took me from the train and her friend Denis helped us to bring my baggage to Karina's Datscha. At the evenig we went to the sea, the water is SUPER!!
Day 9
RASAN (05:40) ... VORONESH ... ROSSOSH ... SHIRAVKA ... LICHAJA (23:02)
During the night we covered a distance of 500 km air-line. The air-line between Cerepovec to Sochi is about 2000 km.
Just woman work as conductors, wich is more like an attendant. By a nightly cigarette with a conductor I found out, that always three conductors are working for two wagons. They are at work for 8 hours and then can rest for 4 hours. After the 2-day trip to sochi they do the same way back to cerepovec and the have a free time of 3 days. It seems to me a hard work. They have to check the people, clean the wagon...
Day 8
CEREPOVEC (14:23) - Sheknha - Cebcara - Kipelovo - VOLOGDA - Grasovec - Ckalinu .... - JAROSLAVL ... ALEXANDROV (00:55) ...
Our way lasts around 48 h, and we have a lot of short stops along our route. All together this are 67 towns, and I try to go outside if the trains stops more than 5 minutes and the conductor allows us to leave the train.
The trains in Russia are very simple and equipped, but somehow ingenious in their elementariness (But don't ask a Russian citizyen about this, they say it is all just shit...)
In every wagon, which has place for 54 People is a Samovar, which procudes hot water for free. It looks like a real antiquity, but it works very fine. The Samovar is used to make black tea, which the people in Russia drink a lot, like coffee in Germany.
To the right and left side of a little table are beches, wich will our beds for the next days. Above us are also two sleeping places and in the "3rd floor" and under the sitting place is a lot of space for the baggage. Everybody gets fresh washed bedclothes, wich are really neccesary, because the mattresses are quite raunchy.
After the toilletes is an extra room for smokers, and this is the only critical point for me to annotate, the windows can not be opened in this little room....
Our way lasts around 48 h, and we have a lot of short stops along our route. All together this are 67 towns, and I try to go outside if the trains stops more than 5 minutes and the conductor allows us to leave the train.
The trains in Russia are very simple and equipped, but somehow ingenious in their elementariness (But don't ask a Russian citizyen about this, they say it is all just shit...)
In every wagon, which has place for 54 People is a Samovar, which procudes hot water for free. It looks like a real antiquity, but it works very fine. The Samovar is used to make black tea, which the people in Russia drink a lot, like coffee in Germany.
To the right and left side of a little table are beches, wich will our beds for the next days. Above us are also two sleeping places and in the "3rd floor" and under the sitting place is a lot of space for the baggage. Everybody gets fresh washed bedclothes, wich are really neccesary, because the mattresses are quite raunchy.
After the toilletes is an extra room for smokers, and this is the only critical point for me to annotate, the windows can not be opened in this little room....
Another Diary
Hi folks,
Until yesterday I was in company with Nastja and Danny. We reached Sochi, and now our ways are seperated. Danny coincidental writes a blog too. He is the second time in Russia and quite new to all things around him, wich are for me quite common and normal. He doesn't understand the Russian langugae and so it may be interessting for you what he writes in his diary. So feel free to read:
Until yesterday I was in company with Nastja and Danny. We reached Sochi, and now our ways are seperated. Danny coincidental writes a blog too. He is the second time in Russia and quite new to all things around him, wich are for me quite common and normal. He doesn't understand the Russian langugae and so it may be interessting for you what he writes in his diary. So feel free to read:
http://splinternet.livejournal.com/ "Russisches Tagebuch" by Danny Splinter
Monday, August 27, 2007
Day 5+6+7
I will comment this later..., or make your own comments ;-)
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This is the datscha of Nastjas parents. We rested there from Friday afternoot until Sunday midday. The little house is the banja, the russian kind of sauna. There are four rooms and a veranda. The first room ist for resting and poke the ofen for the sauna. The second room is for changing the cloth, the third for washing after the sauna and the fourth the sauna itself. The procedure goes over some hours. Heat yourself, the wash, rest outside, heat again. A speciality is the steaming of the body with birch brushwood.
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This is the datscha of Nastjas parents. We rested there from Friday afternoot until Sunday midday. The little house is the banja, the russian kind of sauna. There are four rooms and a veranda. The first room ist for resting and poke the ofen for the sauna. The second room is for changing the cloth, the third for washing after the sauna and the fourth the sauna itself. The procedure goes over some hours. Heat yourself, the wash, rest outside, heat again. A speciality is the steaming of the body with birch brushwood.
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Preparations for Nikitas 14th birthday party. We were all time eating very nice food, wich Nikolaj Nikolajevich and Galja were preparating.
There was:
- perch, done over smoke
- a big knuckle of pork, with peppered with garlic
- chanterelles with fried potatoes
- four different cakes made from yeast dough, uppon poppy seed, sour cream, pizza and last but not least huckleberry
... in between drinking tea, eating jam, and selfmade gherkin with salt...
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This is the so called Njevskie Prospekt through the wood. Just the way from the datscha to a huge river, called Mologa.
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Pedal boat in front of the Mologa river. It is around 450 m wide, and flows very quiet in the summer. The water is quite clean. We drove over the river to the other side to take some chanterelles.
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Nikolaj Nikolajevich is a real good musician. He studied music, but works now in Cerepovec, leading the social part of the very huge firm Sever-Stahl (Cever-Ctahl), which is the main employer of this region. 34.000 people are working in this really huge company.
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This is the monastery of Kirillov, wich appriximately 80 km in the north of Cerepovec. Ivan, Nastja's brother was quite tired of driving us along the very bad roads.
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Friday, August 24, 2007
Day 3-4
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Train to Cerepovez (500 km in the east of St. Petersburg)
Some very drunken people shared the sleeping place with us. I slept quit well, but Nastja was really nerved by them. No after eating and drinking, we are waiting to go to the Datscha, approx. 80 km away. There we stay 2 days, and the go to Kyrilow, for 1 day. I think I will have no Internetconnection in this time.
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St. Petersburg
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The "Kunstkamera". A really popular museum. I had to wait one hour, standing in the sun to go inside, but the exihition is really worth to vist!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunstkammer
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New Holland (St. Petersburg)
An old and broken trade center, which is now restaurated. It is completly sourrounded by channels.
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Impressions at the Peter and Paul Iland (St. Petersburg)
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter-und-Paul-Festung
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Craw
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The Sea
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Tibet
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Day of the russian flag
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This is called the "Teaspoon" (Tschainaja Loschka), a fastfood reastaurant for russian pancakes (plini). Very good, fresh and cheep.
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Just some qick fotos of the Cuba Hostel, which is in the real center of St. Petersburg. I recommend this Hostel without any limitation!!
Is is lokated 2 minutes from the Nevsky Prospekt, wich is the main road in St. Petersburg center. They occupie the 2nd and the 4th floor, clean it quite good and the most important, coffee is for free ;-)
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Train to Cerepovez (500 km in the east of St. Petersburg)
Some very drunken people shared the sleeping place with us. I slept quit well, but Nastja was really nerved by them. No after eating and drinking, we are waiting to go to the Datscha, approx. 80 km away. There we stay 2 days, and the go to Kyrilow, for 1 day. I think I will have no Internetconnection in this time.
*****************************************************************
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St. Petersburg
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The "Kunstkamera". A really popular museum. I had to wait one hour, standing in the sun to go inside, but the exihition is really worth to vist!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunstkammer
*****************************************************************
*****************************************************************
New Holland (St. Petersburg)
An old and broken trade center, which is now restaurated. It is completly sourrounded by channels.
*****************************************************************
*****************************************************************
Impressions at the Peter and Paul Iland (St. Petersburg)
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter-und-Paul-Festung
*****************************************************************
Craw
*****************************************************************
*****************************************************************
The Sea
*****************************************************************
*****************************************************************
Tibet
*****************************************************************
*****************************************************************
Day of the russian flag
*****************************************************************
*****************************************************************
This is called the "Teaspoon" (Tschainaja Loschka), a fastfood reastaurant for russian pancakes (plini). Very good, fresh and cheep.
*****************************************************************
Just some qick fotos of the Cuba Hostel, which is in the real center of St. Petersburg. I recommend this Hostel without any limitation!!
Is is lokated 2 minutes from the Nevsky Prospekt, wich is the main road in St. Petersburg center. They occupie the 2nd and the 4th floor, clean it quite good and the most important, coffee is for free ;-)
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Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Day 2 1/2
I especially came into a Internetcafe to put some pictures on the blog, but they have no cardreader... so I will put my pictures later to the blog. Just some days in Russia and I feel that I was never away ;-)
The Abkhazian Embassie still didn't answer, and I get a bit worried about I will get this entrance paper or not. It has to be like this, I think, they live to near to Russia.
Nastja yesterday told me a russian joke, about the crazy circumstances in St. Petersburg, like that the buildings look very clean, are bright colloered and repaired, everything nice, but if you enter the yards, or the buildings itself you will see some compleltely differnt picture. But the people living in this fuckedup builidings are very proud about the town:
A man from Moskow came to St. Petersburg and want to visit somebody living in a high-riser building. As he entered the building there is no light. Somehow he found the elevator, but there is also no light and he light match. Wat he saw was a vagabond shitting in the corner of the elevator. The vagabong looked angry to the man and sad: «Here in St. Petersburg, the people do not smoke in the elevators»...
When I came home in the evening from the daily roundtrip throu St. Petersburg, there were so much people inside the hostel, and everybody was talking to somebody. It was really a mess of languages and loudly. I took a beer and was sitting in the middle of the littel kitchen and watching the people running from one place to the other, like a movie.
The key issue is the missing English language at the street. All signs are in Russian language and the people at the street wont understand them... I met a girl «Mjou» from Korea, she was in Anapa for two week, which is not far away from Sochi. It was very hot there, and I think it still is. So that the sea is a warm salty soup and I can't await refreshing from it.
Hello to everybody outside, tomorrow in the evening we will go to Cerepovez.
Hey Michl, I lost your cap today in the bus, it is very sad :-( I felt quite comfortable with it...
Hello to Alex!! And hello to Kurt!!
The Abkhazian Embassie still didn't answer, and I get a bit worried about I will get this entrance paper or not. It has to be like this, I think, they live to near to Russia.
Nastja yesterday told me a russian joke, about the crazy circumstances in St. Petersburg, like that the buildings look very clean, are bright colloered and repaired, everything nice, but if you enter the yards, or the buildings itself you will see some compleltely differnt picture. But the people living in this fuckedup builidings are very proud about the town:
A man from Moskow came to St. Petersburg and want to visit somebody living in a high-riser building. As he entered the building there is no light. Somehow he found the elevator, but there is also no light and he light match. Wat he saw was a vagabond shitting in the corner of the elevator. The vagabong looked angry to the man and sad: «Here in St. Petersburg, the people do not smoke in the elevators»...
When I came home in the evening from the daily roundtrip throu St. Petersburg, there were so much people inside the hostel, and everybody was talking to somebody. It was really a mess of languages and loudly. I took a beer and was sitting in the middle of the littel kitchen and watching the people running from one place to the other, like a movie.
The key issue is the missing English language at the street. All signs are in Russian language and the people at the street wont understand them... I met a girl «Mjou» from Korea, she was in Anapa for two week, which is not far away from Sochi. It was very hot there, and I think it still is. So that the sea is a warm salty soup and I can't await refreshing from it.
Hello to everybody outside, tomorrow in the evening we will go to Cerepovez.
Hey Michl, I lost your cap today in the bus, it is very sad :-( I felt quite comfortable with it...
Hello to Alex!! And hello to Kurt!!
Day 2
I'm surrounded from Canadians, Englishman, Americans, Koreans and sometimes I meet a Russia. Its a preety cool communitie here and the breakfest is quite informative.Yesterday evening we were at the Dune. It is a bar in the center of Petersburg in a very huge yard. It is done like the beach bars in Berlin, and I hered that a german woman opened this bar. It is strange to be surrounded from the glittering, clean culture stuff of Petersburg and sit in this yard, because the buildings are quite damaged at the backsides.
Nastjas sitster Katja missed to pass the bridges in the night, they are opended arround 1 o'clock in the night, when she already got pretty drunken. They had to walk all the night to Petersburg to wait that they will close again at 6 a.m.
Newa Bridge
We accompanied them till 3 a.m. but then we were so tired from the hole travel, no chance to be up so long. Hey Katja, hey Dasha, all o.k.???
Before we got a meel at the Zoom-Cafe, nice place, somehow cheep and good stuff. The bill is presented in a book. Can anybody give a exact translation of the title?
Nastjas sitster Katja missed to pass the bridges in the night, they are opended arround 1 o'clock in the night, when she already got pretty drunken. They had to walk all the night to Petersburg to wait that they will close again at 6 a.m.
Newa Bridge
We accompanied them till 3 a.m. but then we were so tired from the hole travel, no chance to be up so long. Hey Katja, hey Dasha, all o.k.???
Before we got a meel at the Zoom-Cafe, nice place, somehow cheep and good stuff. The bill is presented in a book. Can anybody give a exact translation of the title?Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Day 1
Just a very quick entry, because sombody is waiting near by me to take the computer over. We came to St. Petersburg. What else. The hostel is cool and I will post soon a picture of it. Nastja did her good action for this day, by guiding an older couple from south africa from the airport to the Njevkie-Prospekt where we and they also stay. If someone is not using a taxi, what would cost about 30 Euro, the way is quite complicated particularly if you have a lot of baggage.
O.k. I have to stop now...
Day 1/2
Nastja begans to pack her stuff. It is 00:30 and our flight starts at 10:30... I cannot go to bed because her things occupie my sleeping place. Things go down to a normal russia level ;-)
Monday, August 20, 2007
Day 0
YES! I did it. I finished my work, I wrote the abstract for a conference, which was an ugly work waiting till the very last day before my holidays. Now I just will clean up my table and leave work at work. See you soon :-)Sunday, August 19, 2007
Day -1
As I woke up today in the morning, a litte feeling of fear came up inside of me, not bad, just a bit like travel feever. No, I got a big TRAVEL FEEVER now :-) .TOMORROW evening begins the first part of my trip. If Michl will not forget about his promise, he will give me a lift to the railway station in Amberg, and I will go by train to Nueremberg where Heike H. meets me, just to say goodby. It's very nice to meet good friends, even it is for a very short drive to the airport. Then fly to Berlin, where Nastja, will take me from Berlin-Tegel. So far so got, not really difficult to MEET MY PLANS in the first day. But... how I thought, the abkhazian embassie did not answer until now, so I don't know, wether I will get the entrance paper or not...
Friday, August 10, 2007
Unlasting...
Today, I got my Visa for Russia. Every year the same game. It doesn't matter, whether I was applying for the visa 2 Month ago, I will come exactly a short time before the travel is starting.
Because I want to visit Abkhazia too, I need a Entry Permission for Abkhazia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says something around 5 working days for it, and I can apply for it via email! The Russian embassies will never work so modern.
My trip is planned like this:
In the evening of the 20. August I will fly from Nuremberg to Berlin. Nastja will hopefully take me from the Airport :-)
Next day, we fly together with Daniel, her partner, to Piter (St. Petersburg). Nastja rented rooms in a hostel for us, for 2 days. We will stay in the center, and rent us bikes to cycle around. Funny, I think it is the most dangerous part of my travel, ride a bike in St. Petersburg - Center...
After this we will go by train to Tscherepowez at the huge Rybinsk Reservoir. We will not visit the steel works there, I hope... but have a birthday party with Nastja's brother. Her family lives in Tscherepowez.
Next Stop is in Adler, Sochi. I don't know wheter I should stay some days in Sochi, or immediately try to go over the border to Abkhazia at the river Psou. Cemre, a woman living in Suchumi will host me some days and make a tour to lake Ritsa.
Latest back to Sochi is the 5. September, where I will meet bestfriendkarina :-)
Mountain Tchatch (don't know how it is written...) is our ambition.
Besides I want to rest some days, swim in the Black Sea and meet some friends. I know the days will be different from my plan. So, lets see how far the travel goes.
Because I want to visit Abkhazia too, I need a Entry Permission for Abkhazia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says something around 5 working days for it, and I can apply for it via email! The Russian embassies will never work so modern.
My trip is planned like this:
In the evening of the 20. August I will fly from Nuremberg to Berlin. Nastja will hopefully take me from the Airport :-)
Next day, we fly together with Daniel, her partner, to Piter (St. Petersburg). Nastja rented rooms in a hostel for us, for 2 days. We will stay in the center, and rent us bikes to cycle around. Funny, I think it is the most dangerous part of my travel, ride a bike in St. Petersburg - Center...
After this we will go by train to Tscherepowez at the huge Rybinsk Reservoir. We will not visit the steel works there, I hope... but have a birthday party with Nastja's brother. Her family lives in Tscherepowez.
Next Stop is in Adler, Sochi. I don't know wheter I should stay some days in Sochi, or immediately try to go over the border to Abkhazia at the river Psou. Cemre, a woman living in Suchumi will host me some days and make a tour to lake Ritsa.
Latest back to Sochi is the 5. September, where I will meet bestfriendkarina :-)
Mountain Tchatch (don't know how it is written...) is our ambition.
Besides I want to rest some days, swim in the Black Sea and meet some friends. I know the days will be different from my plan. So, lets see how far the travel goes.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
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