Frau Merkel, Siberia Awaits You Whether You Win the Next Election or Not!
And today comes an opportune offer from the Russian Railways. They are ready to fulfill an old dream of the German Chancellor which she recently made public— to travel on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Really, where else would Frau Merkel feel more safe than on the Russian railway?
9 000 km one way and 9 000 back — quite a vacation. We are joined by Evgeny Tishkovets. — Evgeny, good evening! -Hello! Does the offer include unforgettable experiences? Aleksey, sure it'll be unforgettable for a European. This destination is getting ever more popular, and it's not surprising.
Where else could you travel by train for more than 9 000 km? It's more than the distance from the equator to the North pole. Crossing the conventional border between Europe and Asia. Train attendants speak German, English and other foreign languages. But the long trip also offers a chance to practice Russian and learn some Russian songs.
German traveling agencies even offer some tips about traveling on Transsib, like arriving early to the train station to get to the right car in time. Europe simply doesn't have such long trains. Previously, there was even info on unspoken etiquette for traveling in mixed compartments. Quote, "Right after the train starts moving, the men put on comfortable sweatpants and then give a chance for the women to change by leaving the compartment".
This info is now outdated, since Transsib adopted male and female compartments. Here are some other advice. According to the Germans, a traveler should carry a roll of toilet paper, some board games (there's even an instruction on how to play Russian card game Durak), and a bottle opener. You should also ensure that your vodka bottles are properly sealed. Some tourists are surprisingly pedantic without any extra advice. Of course, there are Germans who go to Siberia and pack canned food with them, even though you can get it anywhere. Some stereotypes still remain, like "What if we get stuck somewhere in Siberia?"
So they take their favorite sausages. Of course, nothing will stop those tourists who want to experience 20 Russian regions in one trip, while crossing 7 time zones. But there's indeed no harm in thorough preparation. It's important to remember that Transsib extends through several climate zones, so sometimes it's smart to pack clothes for several different seasons.
Cold weather and snowfalls come to Siberia much earlier than to the Central Russia and the Pacific coast. So if you leave Moscow in the fall, you can easily travel into winter, and then go back to fall again. In any case, Transsib makes it possible to travel to winter even in the middle of summer, because that's the name of one of the stations in Irkutsk region.
More than 30 000 people live in Zima (Russian: "winter"). However, people say that the name has nothing to do with actual winter. One of the theories says that it comes from the word zimovye — a temporary shelter for hunters on their way to the taiga. And later, in Transbaikalia, passengers will see through the windows the northernmost desert in the world, the Chara Sands.
It's not very big but the sand dunes are very real, up to 200m in length and 80m in height. This proximity of the desert, taiga, mountains and rivers cannot be found anywhere else. And finally, even though officially Transsib's final station is Vladivostok, the Nakhodka line has even more remote stations, Vostochny Port and the Astafyev Cape, which means that Transsib actually goes all the way to the Pacific ocean. Evgeny Tishkovets on Angela Merkel's chances to fulfill her dream.