Four Weeks In

At the four week point we are a thousand kilometres into our big 5,000km train journey. We have crossed half of one of the biggest countries on Earth. What do we think of the past week?

Harry: “There wasn’t much sushi in Russia which was very strange. The people are Russian but not rushing, only some of them were. Lake Baikal was freezing cold for my toes like they were going to fall to pieces, so I didn’t play in it. It was like we were in the movies ‘cos the butterflies in the trees didn’t look real. The blue ones were like 3D.”

Maisie: “The food at Galina’s house was nice and although I didn’t swim in Lake Baikal I wanted to. Russian people are really grumpy, a bit like Daddy. I like the ‘baina’ (sauna) and going hiking to see all the different flowers and butterflies.”

Marcelle: “Russia is big and this train journey is long! I enjoyed the ‘baina’ (sauna) at Galina’s house and want one in my house in the UK. I don’t like Russian bread. I really enjoyed the day hiking on Lake Baikal and sharing the day with Kevin and Lalita and it was lovely to catch up with Sally, who we'd last seen in Mongolia! Never say never, but I’ll never go back to Irkutsk again!”

Matt: “Unlike China this past week has had a ‘communist’ feeling. People in the hotel look at you suspiciously, border guards check your passport with utter distrust and you can easily imagine having a KGB tail! I loved hiking around the lake and it made me look forwards to hiking when we get back to the UK. Never order food in a Russian dining carriage...”

So, only one more week until we reach Blighty! Having said that, it’s still 2,200km from Moscow to Cologne, 180km from Cologne to Brussels and 330km from Brussels to Kings Cross!