Trans Siberian Railway Tours – World’s Longest Train Ride – 5772 Miles

We took this long awaited winter tour in 2014. Trans-Siberian Railway runs across Russia, connecting east and west. The train runs from Moscow, alongside the shore of the world’s largest freshwater lake Baikal to Vladivostok. It crosses eight time zones and takes eight days to reach from one end to the other. First class compartments have lockable cubicles for two, a restaurant car, boiling water and a 24 hour attendant.

We visited Saint Petersburg – Yekaterinburg – Novosibirsk – Irkutsk – Vladivostok and flew back to Moscow. Our tour lasted 18 days.

Hermitage museum in Saint Petersburg is the most impressive largest art museum in the world by gallery space. It was founded in 1764 by Empress Catherine the Great. Peterhof Palace is a collection of palaces and gardens located near Saint Petersburg. It was built by Peter the Great. We also visited Catherine palace in Pushkin. All these sights are a feast for the eyes.

Yekaterinburg was our second stop. Sevastyanova House, Church of All Saints, the site where Russian Tsar Nicholas II and family executed and the border between Asia and Europe.

Novosibirsk was our next stop. Visited Ascension Cathedral
Interactive Museum of Trans Siberian Railways and joined a family for a
Gastronomic tour. Visited Opera and Ballet theatre.

Irkutsk is a large city in Eastern Siberia and the administrative center of Irkutsk region. Lake Baikal is the World’s largest, oldest, deepest fresh water Lake. It holds 22% of all fresh water available on Earth. It is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. It gets frozen during winter and motor vehicles drive on the surface. Hovercrafts are also used. We took the Circum-Baikal Railway tour, Visited Museum of Wooden Architecture and the Cathedral of the Epiphany.

Vladivostok is a major Pacific port city in Russia and is the unofficial capital of the Russian Far East. Both a starting point and a finish line, the Vladivostok Train Station is where the Trans Siberian Train arrives from or departures to Moscow.
Vladivostok has developed as a naval fortress and the Pacific Navy HQ. Visited Naval Memorial – S-56 Submarine. In World War II, it is considered the most efficient one in the Soviet Navy in the use of torpedoes.
The Zolotoy (Golden) Bridge connects the city’s downtown with the Churkin district.

Attended a Folklore show and we flew back to Moscow, Visited Novodevichy convent, Arbat, a pedestrian street about one kilometer long in the historical centre of Moscow, Kremlin. Red square and Cathedrals. Moscow underground metro opened in 1935 with one 11-kilometre line and at present has 287 stations with a route length is 435.7 km (270.7 mi). Each station is unique and are tastefully decorated with various local themes and reference to history.

If I am given a chance to visit Russia again, I hope to spend most of my time in St. Petersburg and Moscow.