We crossed the Ural mountains in the middle of the night. The Ural mountain marks the end of continental Europe and the start of the Asian continent. I am now in Asia. This is the first time I've crossed continents while on land.
The view out the train window is unchanging. I have seen mile after mile of unending wilderness. The forest are birch and pine. The vast wilderness is broken by fairly frequent signs of life. The signs range from shacks that appear barely habitable to quite large cities. Novosibirsk, the capital of Siberia, appears to be a quite large and modern city. We were at the train station long enough for me to purchase an ice cream cone for desert. I have a plentiful supply of Coca Cola to keep me going (the only thing better would be if it were cold).
I am busy taking as many photographs as possible from our station stops and from the moving train. There are certain obstacles to taking the perfect snap shot from the train, and I mean that literally. Every time I take a picture I am virtually guaranteed to capture either a passing pole, a passing train, my lens cap, a window reflection, or I was just too slow in reacting.
Today’s trains stops include:
Yekaterinburg (Sverdlovsk): 1005 miles (1778 km); 1d 2h 20min. (we slept through the stop) - Russia’s third largest city and the capital of the Urals. Sverdlovsk oblast is one of the most developed and advanced regions in Russia. It is very rich in minerals and raw materials and is a heavily industrialized area. It is located far from ethnic conflict areas and is politically stable.
Tyumen: 1307 miles (2104 km); 1d 6h 30min. - Tyumen was the first Russian town in Siberia and has always been famous for rich trade fairs and skilled craftsman. The city was considered the richest Russian town in the pre-Soviet era. Today it’s an oil and gas capital.
Omsk: 1663 miles (2676 km); 1d 13h 50min. - Originally built as a fortification for Russia’s southern border by Peter the Great's guardsman Ivan Buchholz; when in spring of 1716 he and his detachment made a landing on the shore of the Irtysh, at the place where this powerful Siberian river joins the quiet Om. Thus, was founded the town of Omsk, which in our day has become the largest industrial and cultural center in Siberia.
Barabinsk: - I could not find this in our guide book. This was our longest stop, just over 30 minutes.
Novosibirsk: 2052 miles (3303 km); 1d 21h 30min. - The Siberia region’s largest city was founded in 1893. Novosibirsk is the third main cultural and scientific center in Russia (after Moscow and St. Petersburg) and also is home to the famous University of Novosibirsk. The city is developing quite rapidly, and is considered to be the capital of Siberia. The area around Novosibirsk and the Altai Mountains hold some incredible nature for the outdoors men.
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| Local village at a station stop. |
I am busy taking as many photographs as possible from our station stops and from the moving train. There are certain obstacles to taking the perfect snap shot from the train, and I mean that literally. Every time I take a picture I am virtually guaranteed to capture either a passing pole, a passing train, my lens cap, a window reflection, or I was just too slow in reacting.
Today’s trains stops include:
Yekaterinburg (Sverdlovsk): 1005 miles (1778 km); 1d 2h 20min. (we slept through the stop) - Russia’s third largest city and the capital of the Urals. Sverdlovsk oblast is one of the most developed and advanced regions in Russia. It is very rich in minerals and raw materials and is a heavily industrialized area. It is located far from ethnic conflict areas and is politically stable.
Tyumen: 1307 miles (2104 km); 1d 6h 30min. - Tyumen was the first Russian town in Siberia and has always been famous for rich trade fairs and skilled craftsman. The city was considered the richest Russian town in the pre-Soviet era. Today it’s an oil and gas capital.
Omsk: 1663 miles (2676 km); 1d 13h 50min. - Originally built as a fortification for Russia’s southern border by Peter the Great's guardsman Ivan Buchholz; when in spring of 1716 he and his detachment made a landing on the shore of the Irtysh, at the place where this powerful Siberian river joins the quiet Om. Thus, was founded the town of Omsk, which in our day has become the largest industrial and cultural center in Siberia.
Barabinsk: - I could not find this in our guide book. This was our longest stop, just over 30 minutes.
Novosibirsk: 2052 miles (3303 km); 1d 21h 30min. - The Siberia region’s largest city was founded in 1893. Novosibirsk is the third main cultural and scientific center in Russia (after Moscow and St. Petersburg) and also is home to the famous University of Novosibirsk. The city is developing quite rapidly, and is considered to be the capital of Siberia. The area around Novosibirsk and the Altai Mountains hold some incredible nature for the outdoors men.
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| Novosibirsk train station at night. |
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