I’m writing this post on board of the Mariella of the Viking Line, cruising the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea with Stockholm as the destination.
Since my last travel update, i have endured a four days three nights continuous train journey, roamed the street of Moscow, completely drenched in St. Petersburg and flew over to Helsinki visiting the continent i’ve always dreamt of visiting. I’m living my dream and it’s great to be alive.
Irkutsk – Moscow
I left you all in Lake Baikal.
The morning after my last update, an usual scene appeared at the lake – the ice was melting. It was getting warmer. I decided to take a quick stroll and soon were joined by other guests around the area.
Following breakfast, we were transferred to Irkutsk where we spent the afternoon wandering around the local market and the city centre.
At around 4pm, train no 9 took us to Moscow. This was the longest continuous train travel in the transiberian adventure – we spent a total of 4 days and 3 nights. Thank goodness for Choh Dai Di (Big Two) card game, otherwise, we would be bored to death.
When people say its a Vodka train – they are not kidding. I’ve skulled at least 14 shots in a space of 2 hours by fellow travellers. You couldn’t really refuse especially when they insisted – its impolite. They ‘dragged’ you to their cabins and when you seek refuge in your own, they will come over and bring the Vodka and some food to ’share’ with you. Very generous!
Mischa and Alex were the two main culprits.
This is Mischa in front of our cabin
This is Alex and I, playing hide and seek at the back of the train after Vodka shots
How do we kill the time apart from Choh Dai Di?
Choosing what meal to have is an important routine. As you can see, we have loads of selections:
Watching movies. I re-watched the Red Cliff (yes I and II) and The Transiberian movies
Day-dreaming
Play around with kids on the train
And of course, to at least have one meal in the dining car
After 3 nights, i was glad to finally get off the train. Funny enough, Tuyet and I got picked up separately as we got different hotels booked.
I took a quick shower and embarked on a metro roundabout trip – i have only a couple of days in Moscow and wouldnt want to miss the infamous metro stations and a night shot across the Christ the Saviour Cathedral.
It was a beautiful night.
The following day i went on a city tour:
A wedlock – when Russians get married, they hand their wedlock in this tree!
A view of the Kremlin
Moscow cities are littered with arts! I was particularly moved by the sculptural composition by Mikhail Chemkakin – Children are the victims of adults’ vices. There were 15 sculptures in total representing various Evils such as Child labour, Alcoholism, and Ignorance. The most prominent one is the at the centre – Indifference. It was a powerful message.
I stumbled across a photo exhibition in the middle of a park and look what i saw:
Sydney!
Here are the pictures from the most luxurious grocery stores:
The Kremlin:
The Red Square:
St Basil’s Cathedral:
GUM – the ‘best’ mall:
This area (consisted of a bare 10 shops) is in the world’s top 3 most expensive commercial rent.
The KGB building
Russian Duma (parliament>
I went back to the Red Square to see the buildings at night:
The next day, i started the day with a mission to see Stalin’s bunker but i failed miserably. It was closed – despite the city guide saying it’s open. The guard wouldn’t let me in. I have a feeling you might have to be part of a private tour but i couldn’t speak Russian to the guard to understand why he was yelling at me. In the end, i relented and left the place. Bah, what a way to waste 2 hours!
Disappointed, i spent the rest of the morning and a big chunk of the arvo in the Gallery.
I also made my way to tour the metro station again and also to the White House. The Kremlin is where the president works, whereas the Prime Minister, Putin, works in the White House:
At 22:20, train no 52 took me on an overnight journey to St. Peterburg, the final leg of my Transiberian adventure.
For more Moscow pic, click here
St Petersburg
St Petersburg is the most European-looking city in Russia. It’s opulent and very well planned. The day i arrived, it was pouring heavily. I was completely drenched as we toured the city.
Some pictures from St Pete:
The Library – unfortunately too much paperworks required to enter.
White chairs on a park outside Karzan Cathedral
Karzan Cathedral
THE bookstore – beautiful building
A sculpture dedicated to Pushkin
Hermitage – one of the largest museum in the world
I also visited the Museum of Political History and saw the balcony where Lenin made the speech to his comrades
Stalin’s study
Peter and Paul’s Fortress
Around midnight (when the sun about to set), i took a boat tour along Nevska River to see the infamous bridge openings. Yup, St Petersburg is well-known for many rivers and bridges and the city is separated into two for 5 hours every night when the bridges are opened. Apparently, if you were on the wrong side of town, you just stay in the pub until the bridge was brought down again.
The next day is the first Thursday of the month which also means that a visit to the Hermitage is FREE! I was lucky the queue wasn’t that long when i first arrived in the morning
Went to see all the famous paintings:
and a library setup in olden days:
Five hours later, i emerged culturally enriched and head my way to climb the St Isaac.
The White Nights Art Festival is also on, so prior to me going to my first every ballet performance, i decided to load up on carbs (didn’t realise i haven’t had a proper lunch) so this has to be a lunch-dinner combo.
Following dinner, i headed to the Mariinsky Theatre to see the Leonid Sarafanov Gala Performance
That performance capped my St. Petersburg’s excursion.
For more pic on St Pete, click here
The following morning, i made my way to the airport to start the European leg of my travel. Everything was pretty much smooth sailing until you guess what, the immigration at the Povolko airport. At first the ladies at the counter took a long time to process my exit from Russia. They kept glancing up. Then i was asked to move back 5 metres and waited for another 15 minutes. Suddenly, i was asked by another official to follow him. He spoke something in Russian and after realising i cant speak any, he just said ‘Sit’ while pointing to a row of chairs in front of us. It will be another 45 minutes before he emerged out with another official who approached me and said:
Official: Do you speak English?
Me: Yes
Official: My name is Sergei
Me: Yes
Official: Good. Why are you in Russia?
Me: Travelling
Official: Why are you in Russia?
Me: Travelling – holiday.
Official: Why are you on holiday?
Me:
And the interrogation continued for another 10 minutes with a successive of at least 20 questions including where i worked, what i do on a daily basis, where did i stay in Russia, what did i do in Russia, where else i’m going, why i’m going there, why do i leave for 8 months, etc etc.
After a while, i got tired and asked:
Me: Sir, i’m very happy to answer all your questions. But you need to let me know at the very least whether my paper is in order?
Official: hmmm… ok… its just interesting. That you have American visa expiring much latter than your passport.
At this time i knew what the problem was – normally embassies don’t issue visa longer than the expiry of your passport except America (and Australia too). So they must have thought that my passport is a fraud.
Me: I understand where you are coming from. It is actually a standard procedure for America to issue a 5-year visa regardless of your passport expiry. In fact, i don’t think you can get a shorter visa. You paid one price and you get issued with a year visa.
Official: I KNOW THAT
Me: (scratching head)
Then he started speaking in Russian to another official who was looking me up and down as if i were the biggest spy they could find. Then he said
Official: You can go now.
phew………
Helsinki
It was nice to see a familiar face when you just arrived at a new continent. Fon, whom i haven’t seen for nearly five years was strolling Monn when i saw her at the arrival hall. I met Fon during our university days through student union. we both represented Victoria at the national level. i used to be (and still am very much) intrigued by her sense of belonging. She grew up all over the world and i found out through her mum that she’s the only person i’ve known to date who used to hold an alien passport i.e. did not belong to a particular country. how’s that come about is another story – i will leave that to her autobiography.
We took a stroll to the city through beautiful park and a monument made of musical pipes (i forgot what its called)
We brought bread crumbs with us to the pond so Monn can see his favourite friends – meet “Kaap kapps”:
Mikko, Fon’s fiance, soon joined us to officially kick off the architectural tour of Helsinki. He is an architect and used to work as a tour guide. You cant ask for more! He took us to the famous church…
As i was getting out, i saw various greeting cards in various languages that you could take. I was surprised to find an Indonesian. There were lots of ‘prayers and words of wisdom’ and mine read:
‘Sekalipun kita kehilangan segala sesuatu, ada satu yang tetap kita miliki: Yesus Kristus! Bila kamu memilikiNya, berarti kamu memiliki segala sesuatu yang kamu butuhkan di tengah-tengah kesukaran dan kecemasan.”
Ibu Basilea Schlink
translated to be:
‘Even if we were to lose everything, there is one thing that we will always have: Jesus Christ! If you have Him, you have everything you need in the midst of any difficulty and worry’
Basilea Schlink
How apt and i hope it wasn’t the sign that i will lose all my belongings on my travel. Although for those who are keeping count, i have lost my water bottle in between my travel from St Petersburg to Helsinki.
From the church we went to Kiasma – a gallery where we relaxed at the cafe. Fon has always wanted Monn in this very artsy child seat:
We strolled along the city and on the way home saw many Finnish architectures.
My first home-cooked dinner in my travel courtesy of our legendary chef – Fon was perfect. There were: vegetable soup, ‘the lazy man’ bruschetta and for main, the vegetarian bolognese. Fon is a vegan and has been experimenting with various ingredients – you should really check out the newly launched blog on her cooking:
I have always admired parenthood especially young family. I don’t know how people can manage to bring up kids when they are working, studying etc. They always have special place in my Respect Spectrum. Fon described it as ‘you don’t have the time to think – you just do it’. I guess the concept of an entire person completely dependent on you in every single thing is mind-blowing (and admirable). Something very foreign to me.
I also learnt first hand that you require a lot of patience – lots of them. No wonder parents are the most wonderful people on this planet and why young people, are relatively, impatient. Because really, patience is a virtue and i don’t think you can ever compare the patience required in daily life to those required in bringing up a child. It’s a full time job – 24 hours and no break. Your sleep pattern is also altered depending on when the baby decides to get up or sleep. RESPECT.
On the other side of the coin, apart from learning more about yourself, you have the opportunity to observe how a new human being learns everything from zero. I’m naturally a curious person so observing Monn finding our or learning new things are in itself a privilege.
Back to my travel, the next day they took me to Kansalliskirjasto Nationalbiblioteket – The National Library of Finland.
Oh and i forgot to mention, Fon and Mikko took me to this little shop where they sell Obama mints – how could i resist not to buy. But they also have Obama’s finger puppet and soon enough Obama decided to rejoin me again.
Old section of the library
New section of the library
Monn loves stairs, so he climbed to the very top on his own.
Some pictures from Mikko’s city tour:
I was privileged enough to have been invited into Mikko’s niece graduation party – it was a family affair held at a beautiful house. I couldn’t resist with my camera. The house was opened for this very special occasion. Even Monn was dressed as a sailor.
and for the bonus, the house has a library!
There was one section of the house that i really like. Its at the corner next to the staircase to the top floor, by the window overlooking the front garden. I saw an old gentlemen in a nice white suit with perfect grey hair sitting down sipping his cup of tea. I didn’t take out my camera then, but managed to eventually make my way round that corner and spent a great part of our time at the party in this corner.
From the party, Fon drove us (Mikko was intoxicated) to her parent’s place in Kiita (spelling could be incorrect). It’s beautiful estate by the water. You can see a lot of works have been put into making the place cozy and beautiful. Fon’s parents just got back from Adjerbaizan and i was in charge of dinner that night. I cooked an improvised Sambal Tahu dan Tempe (with potato, long bean, bean sprouts) while Fon made a clear soup.
After dinner, we all went to have the traditional Finnish sauna in the house. It was my first time! I remembered the temperature was like 72 degrees inside – i took about 3 breaks in total for a 45 minute sauna. Felt relaxed afterwards and sleep was given.
The next day we took a stroll along the forest and when we got back, Fon’s mum made special hotpot for us. We have a lazy afternoon (stuffed with chocolates!) and headed back to Helsinki in the early evening.
Fon made a dish out of Tempe for dinner.
On my last day, i went to the bookstore in the city and checked out the local shopping scene. Didn’t really buy anything.
Oh, there is an Aussie bar too!
Fon then took me to the Torin (a tower with a cafe/bar at the top) where you can see Helsinki.
We also went to the park (i forgot the name) where there were graves around. spooky!
Soon enough, its time to bid farewell as my ferry to Stockholm is due to depart.
Fon, Mikko and Monn – Kiitos!
I got a nice surprise – i have the whole cabin for myself!
and nice buffet – i stuffed myself silly!
For more picture on Helsinki, click here
Stockholm
Well this post is a two part post as i’m writing this on board of X2000 train no 529 from Stockholm to Copenhagen. I spent the last three days and two nights in Stockholm.
The ferry arrived at Stockholm around 10am and soon i was transferred to the City Terminal. I put my backpack in the locker before venturing out in the city. I got myself the Stockholm Card (i swear its good value – you get free public transport, free boat travels and free entrances to museums!).
First stop was the Stockholms Stadsbibliotek with Gunnar Asplund as the architect. It has a beautiful Rotunda in the centre.
My second stop was the Riksdagen Library – the Swedish Parliament Library.
I was rather disappointed that i couldn’t visit the Bernadotte Library. Its closed when there isn’t any events/official events – so there goes my chance.
Along the way, i stumbled across a public high school celebration in the centre of the city. These young people were so happening with beer and alcohol everywhere. The roads smell of alcohol and people stood by the roadside cheering them on. It was electrifying to see them!
I also visited the Nobel Museum (a must, given Obama won the Peace Prize in 2009!)
After the museum, i visited the Cathedal,
and the Ericsson Globe to take the SkyView – the largest spherical building in the world
At around 6pm, i went back to T-Centralen to meet up with Dessy – my second couchsurfing’s host. She is a fellow Indonesian who is currently doing an internship exchange from National University of Singapore.
Dessy took me back to her place so i can put down my luggage and we headed back to the city for dinner and night stroll.
It is also the Love Festival week in Stockholm. The festival is held one week prior to the Crown Princess’ wedding. Her groom is apparently her personal trainer. so free concerts are everywhere!
The next day was spent in a Museum, Skansen and Fotografika. I was taking an easy day because i had to do my laundry in the morning (after 5 days worth of dirty clothes! – finally they are clean). Didn’t really take a lot of pictures on this day as i spent most of my time inside.
At night, we went to this nice organic restaurant – Nyagatan, to have our dinner. I have a gnocchi and Dessy had grilled salmon.
The next day, Dessy took the metro with me to T-Centralen before we bid farewell. (Dessy – Thank you so much for your hospitality and please tell me about Croatia!)
For more pics on Stockholm, click here
And here i am now sitting on seat no 22, second carriage of Train 529. My lunch was old potato chips and peanuts that Fon’s mum gave to me. Sceneries are lakes and forests. There’s a bit of a drizzle outside. The travel will take approx 5 hours and i will spend the next 3 days in Copenhagen before heading to Amsterdam.
Very excited especially the World Cup is kicking off soon. Go England and Go Socceroos!!
Thats the full lid!