At 9am on the spot we sat upright in our beds. Our hearts nearly stopped. The loudspeakers were bursting out: breakfast time! Oh no, not just yet! We only went to bed a while ago. But as we were thirsty we didn't have a choice. Then, right after the breakfast we went back to bed. Sleeping was out of question though. Every half an hour the loudspeakers were turned on for announcements. We were so tired.
In the afternoon we went on deck and sat in the sun. It was ever so hot. Suddenly there was an alert. Had something happened? Nobody seemed to care though. Then crewmembers came running upstairs with their lifejackets on. Surely they would have said something if the ship was about to sink, wouldn't they? After 5 minutes they came back. So it was only a test alert. That they acctually do this. They don't even care about the state of the ships.
It got even hotter. On the uper deck there was a swimmingpool. 3x3x2m. Guess we should try that. We were only too lazy to get our swimming cloths out of the cabin. Maybe we could just go like this. So we did. Uh, it was 0,5cm cold. We could hardly breath. As there were big waves in the sea, we had the same in the pool. It was so funny. Of course, we got company very fast. Was it because of our clothing? Or better non existing clothing? And again we were the highlight of the ship.
After a few minutes we lay down in the sun to dry off. Then, suddenly they let out the water of the pool and put fresh water in. How nice! Does this mean we have to jump in again? Ok.
We sat outside until 7pm. I nodded off a few times. As I woke up the last time, I felt terribly sick. Was that seasickness? But I'v never had that before. All over sudden Claudia came running and bent over the railing. We only had dinner for four tonight. I took some seasickness pills just in case and quickly felt better. As we were finished with dinner, Claudia was still standing outside.
Later we got to know why the sea was so rough. There was a typhoon in the south of Japan. Was it because of that that the crew did the training alert?
The later it got, the rougher it got. Walking straight without stumbling was impossible. Near our cabin there was a loud bang every time a big wave went by. What could that be? A door would surely have fallen into the lock already.
Sunday, September 21, 2003
Saturday, September 20, 2003
Vladiwostock - Ferry to Japan
A shower! Once more before getting on the ferry. Whether there'll be water? At home we do not have to think about that but here ... I (Nicole) was lucky. The reason for the water problem though we still don't know.
About noon we left our hotel rooms. No second earlier than we had to. Our ferry to Fushiki/Japan was supposed to leave in 2.5 hours. Thus, we still have some time left. But to walk with these heavy rucksacks? No, out of question. Not if we can take a bus. We were just about to pass the street when a jeep stopped. The driver asked us in English where we come from and where we wanted to go. He offered us to take us to the harbour. Hmm, can we trust a Russian? We hesitated for a moment but the Russian had already opened the car boot. OK, well, now we couldn't refuse anymore. And somehow it was all right with us as he could certainly take us closer to the harbour than the bus. We learned from him that he used to be a backpacker, too and therefore, is happy to help. Fantastic! But what's that? That's not the right direction to the harbour? Where does he take us? Hm, it's surely only a shortcut. He all of a sudden then asked us whether we would have a couple of minutes. Oops, what are his plans with us? OK, what for? "Do you want to be on Vladiwostok news?" Eeh, hello? Did we get that right? "Excuse me, would you say that again?" "I work for Vladiwostok news and would like to do a report on you." Of course, we now had plenty of time. Our ferry is only at 2.30pm. We drove to the office but no-one seemed to work on a Saturday. At least no camera man. Oh no, whether this goes right now? But it didn't matter. The driver, whose name we still didn't know, took his own camera and presented us to two of his colleagues. We had to put our rucksacks on and action! We had been asked where we were from, how we like Russia, what we do in Vladiwostok, where we will go next, etc. We had also been asked for our view on the water problem. ... Of course, Ramona and I had agreed on our responses before as we didn't want to tread on the Russian's toes and give political correct answers. After a few minutes everything was over. It didn't have to be redone, well, we even didn't have to go to the stylist. We probably just are geniuses! :) As promised, the driver then took us to the harbour. Only then he told us his name. Dimitri will now work on the film and will then publish it. He asked us to send him an email once we are back in Germany. He'll then send us the video.
He also explained us the water problem in Vladiwostok. The lake of which Vladiwostok gets its water is almost empty. One could put pipelines to get water from different places but the government would just not pay for that. So, in the office of the film crew i.e. there is only water for 10 hours, then 30 hours without. Especially for the toilets this is rather disgusting. And above all, people in Vladiwostok do suffer from that. How they will solve this problem? And when?
In the travel agency, where we got back our passports and were also given our ferry tickets, we got to know Joyce from Chicago. She also wants to go to Fushiki. At 3pm we could finally leave the agency for the ferry. First to the passport control. Is there a problem? Maybe because we haven't registered in time? The woman in the glass case was clearly swamped with the situation. She phoned several times, served other people before us while we stood there like packed donkeys. Then, eventually another woman turned up and now it seemed to work. Bang! That was the stamp. We are allowed to depart. Japan, we'll come ...
At 7pm it was announced through the ever so loud loudspeakers that the restaurant had been opened. We went there and had been put at a table for six just in the middle of the restaurant. Why a table for six? And why is there a 'reserved' sign? Well, that probably is the tourist table as Joyce as well as Matthias and Claudia, a Swiss couple, joined us. It was surely because we were the highlight on the boat as there are only Russians.
There was enough to eat and it was alright. But we couldn't just get anything to drink. Why not? We haven't been told. But later with the cake we got some tea. Well, now the waitress had to run a lot. We all wanted to have several cups of tea. She probably hates us already.
In the evening, we tourists met in the music saloon. We had been the first guests and there were only a few to come. This didn't matter though to the entertainer. He started immediately but it was far too loud. Ramona and I couldn't afford any good drinks or cocktails as we had spent our last Rubels for the ferry ticket and had hardly no cash with us. The rest of our coins was just enough for a coke.
But one seemed to have mercy with us. A Russian guy from the neighbour table - in the meantime about six Russians had a party there - got us a bottle of Vodka with short glasses as well as a decanter of apple juice. Now we had lost! We couldn't get out of it anymore. We had to drink it as in Russia it's very impolite to refuse such an invitation. But pure Vodka? We only drink it mixed with orange juice, Red Bull, or others. But here? No way. We had apple juice to drink after the Vodka but not with it. ... When we had finally emptied the bottle, Joyce, Matthias and Claudia managed to leave. Ramona and I however, had been invited to the Russian table. And only now it started. They changed from Vodka to Whisky, Cognac and Martini. We didn't always manage to hide our glasses. They just poured it in every time and we had to toast then and of course drink. We had a real party. We even danced to really bad music - if that doesn't say everything. And again we had been the highlight. We partied until 4.30am ...
About noon we left our hotel rooms. No second earlier than we had to. Our ferry to Fushiki/Japan was supposed to leave in 2.5 hours. Thus, we still have some time left. But to walk with these heavy rucksacks? No, out of question. Not if we can take a bus. We were just about to pass the street when a jeep stopped. The driver asked us in English where we come from and where we wanted to go. He offered us to take us to the harbour. Hmm, can we trust a Russian? We hesitated for a moment but the Russian had already opened the car boot. OK, well, now we couldn't refuse anymore. And somehow it was all right with us as he could certainly take us closer to the harbour than the bus. We learned from him that he used to be a backpacker, too and therefore, is happy to help. Fantastic! But what's that? That's not the right direction to the harbour? Where does he take us? Hm, it's surely only a shortcut. He all of a sudden then asked us whether we would have a couple of minutes. Oops, what are his plans with us? OK, what for? "Do you want to be on Vladiwostok news?" Eeh, hello? Did we get that right? "Excuse me, would you say that again?" "I work for Vladiwostok news and would like to do a report on you." Of course, we now had plenty of time. Our ferry is only at 2.30pm. We drove to the office but no-one seemed to work on a Saturday. At least no camera man. Oh no, whether this goes right now? But it didn't matter. The driver, whose name we still didn't know, took his own camera and presented us to two of his colleagues. We had to put our rucksacks on and action! We had been asked where we were from, how we like Russia, what we do in Vladiwostok, where we will go next, etc. We had also been asked for our view on the water problem. ... Of course, Ramona and I had agreed on our responses before as we didn't want to tread on the Russian's toes and give political correct answers. After a few minutes everything was over. It didn't have to be redone, well, we even didn't have to go to the stylist. We probably just are geniuses! :) As promised, the driver then took us to the harbour. Only then he told us his name. Dimitri will now work on the film and will then publish it. He asked us to send him an email once we are back in Germany. He'll then send us the video.
He also explained us the water problem in Vladiwostok. The lake of which Vladiwostok gets its water is almost empty. One could put pipelines to get water from different places but the government would just not pay for that. So, in the office of the film crew i.e. there is only water for 10 hours, then 30 hours without. Especially for the toilets this is rather disgusting. And above all, people in Vladiwostok do suffer from that. How they will solve this problem? And when?
In the travel agency, where we got back our passports and were also given our ferry tickets, we got to know Joyce from Chicago. She also wants to go to Fushiki. At 3pm we could finally leave the agency for the ferry. First to the passport control. Is there a problem? Maybe because we haven't registered in time? The woman in the glass case was clearly swamped with the situation. She phoned several times, served other people before us while we stood there like packed donkeys. Then, eventually another woman turned up and now it seemed to work. Bang! That was the stamp. We are allowed to depart. Japan, we'll come ...
At 7pm it was announced through the ever so loud loudspeakers that the restaurant had been opened. We went there and had been put at a table for six just in the middle of the restaurant. Why a table for six? And why is there a 'reserved' sign? Well, that probably is the tourist table as Joyce as well as Matthias and Claudia, a Swiss couple, joined us. It was surely because we were the highlight on the boat as there are only Russians.
There was enough to eat and it was alright. But we couldn't just get anything to drink. Why not? We haven't been told. But later with the cake we got some tea. Well, now the waitress had to run a lot. We all wanted to have several cups of tea. She probably hates us already.
In the evening, we tourists met in the music saloon. We had been the first guests and there were only a few to come. This didn't matter though to the entertainer. He started immediately but it was far too loud. Ramona and I couldn't afford any good drinks or cocktails as we had spent our last Rubels for the ferry ticket and had hardly no cash with us. The rest of our coins was just enough for a coke.
But one seemed to have mercy with us. A Russian guy from the neighbour table - in the meantime about six Russians had a party there - got us a bottle of Vodka with short glasses as well as a decanter of apple juice. Now we had lost! We couldn't get out of it anymore. We had to drink it as in Russia it's very impolite to refuse such an invitation. But pure Vodka? We only drink it mixed with orange juice, Red Bull, or others. But here? No way. We had apple juice to drink after the Vodka but not with it. ... When we had finally emptied the bottle, Joyce, Matthias and Claudia managed to leave. Ramona and I however, had been invited to the Russian table. And only now it started. They changed from Vodka to Whisky, Cognac and Martini. We didn't always manage to hide our glasses. They just poured it in every time and we had to toast then and of course drink. We had a real party. We even danced to really bad music - if that doesn't say everything. And again we had been the highlight. We partied until 4.30am ...
Friday, September 19, 2003
Vladiwostock
Arround lunch time we went into town. First to the ferry terminal to buy our tickets to Japan. They kept our passports. Hopefully we will be able to get out of Russia with it, as we forgot to get our visa registered which we should have done 3 days after entering the country at the latest. We only got the stamp 5 days ago by accident. Although they had told us to do so when we picked up our visa. Typical! We really are some sleepyheads.
The tickets we wanted to pay by visacard. No! Only Cash. So we went to get some. We only got as much as we needed for the thickets as we won't spend a lot today anyway. The ATM was at the post office and while we were there we thought to send our parcel home, some books we had read, citymaps and brochures. Staff one collects on such a journey which would be unnessesary weight to carry. But to send it, you can not just do like that. First everything has to be packed correctly. For this there was an extra counter. Queueing. The stuff got first wrapped into paper and glued. For the big parcels a piece of cloth was cut and then sewed with a machine to form a sack. The parcel is put in and then the last open end is sewed close per hand. Finally, the sews got sealed with wax for safety. No wonder it takes so long. This service of course was not free of charge. We had to pay Rubels 6 = Euro 0.20. Then we had to go to the next counter to post the parcel. The whole act took us nearly 20 Min. Back at the ferry ternimal we paid our tickets. Tomorrow at 2pm is boarding time.
We went to Al who had waited outside in the sun. He wanted to go to an Internet Cafe and later Nicole wanted to take him to the airport. Therefore, our ways parted here.
I went for a walk and ended up at the beach. Sitting down on an old pier I watched the people arround me. Some were swimming and the real touch ones climbed onto an old ship and jumped of the railing.
In the evening at the hotel I met up with Nicole again. We finished the day with a bottle of red wine.
The tickets we wanted to pay by visacard. No! Only Cash. So we went to get some. We only got as much as we needed for the thickets as we won't spend a lot today anyway. The ATM was at the post office and while we were there we thought to send our parcel home, some books we had read, citymaps and brochures. Staff one collects on such a journey which would be unnessesary weight to carry. But to send it, you can not just do like that. First everything has to be packed correctly. For this there was an extra counter. Queueing. The stuff got first wrapped into paper and glued. For the big parcels a piece of cloth was cut and then sewed with a machine to form a sack. The parcel is put in and then the last open end is sewed close per hand. Finally, the sews got sealed with wax for safety. No wonder it takes so long. This service of course was not free of charge. We had to pay Rubels 6 = Euro 0.20. Then we had to go to the next counter to post the parcel. The whole act took us nearly 20 Min. Back at the ferry ternimal we paid our tickets. Tomorrow at 2pm is boarding time.
We went to Al who had waited outside in the sun. He wanted to go to an Internet Cafe and later Nicole wanted to take him to the airport. Therefore, our ways parted here.
I went for a walk and ended up at the beach. Sitting down on an old pier I watched the people arround me. Some were swimming and the real touch ones climbed onto an old ship and jumped of the railing.
In the evening at the hotel I met up with Nicole again. We finished the day with a bottle of red wine.
Thursday, September 18, 2003
Vladiwostock
Today, we wanted to get up early in order to leave that den as soon as possible. But again we didn't manage. Only at 11.30am we had breakfast - same as yesterday. And I (Nicole) was so happy to finally get a chocolate drink. By accident, I had seen it in a shop yesterday and bought a big carton to share with Ramona. But I got so disappointed: Despite the brown package the chocolate proved to be just milk. Only then I remembered: the different colours show the different fat content. :(
After breakfast off we were. Take bus no 65 and hence to town. We had known that this bus only rides rarely so we were happy to see it already after 15 minutes of waiting. But what does the driver do? Why does he pass us? Both Al and Ramona had waived with their arms. Al's disappointment was clearly shown in his face, we could only laugh. Let's just take the next-best bus. It was a mini-bus. But it didn't go to the centre. In the middle of nowhere the bus stopped and wouldn't go any further. What about no 7? Maybe this will work out. We were lucky!
In the Internet Cafe we again had problems with our pictures. Then Al decided to take care of it. He uploaded them on his hard drive and will do the rest when he comes to Irkutsk. Well, this time we had solved the problem. But what about next time? Does it mean that we do have to buy a hard drive ourselves?
Later in the evening we wanted to have some drinks and sat down in a tent near the beach. I had seen a poster of Red Bull and was esperate for it. Al went off to get the drinks and spotted it just in time. Here, Red Bull is a strong American beer. Damn!
For dinner, we went to our Italian restaurant. It was our last evening with Al - he'll fly back to Irkutsk tomorrow - and he should have had some good Italian food before leaving. But everything was just not the same anymore. The waitress, a bunny, seemed to be new. We had ordered a starter and pizza. And what did she do? She served us the pizza first. Hello, are you alright? Ever been out eating in a restaurant? Well, no, it does not work like this. First the soup, then the pizza. On top of it she took away our seat plates. Why that? We let her do it though. Then, she eventually served the soup which was not hot anymore. No wonder. But where are our spoons? Well, guess she still needs to learn a lot. It's a tough job to be a waitress ...
After breakfast off we were. Take bus no 65 and hence to town. We had known that this bus only rides rarely so we were happy to see it already after 15 minutes of waiting. But what does the driver do? Why does he pass us? Both Al and Ramona had waived with their arms. Al's disappointment was clearly shown in his face, we could only laugh. Let's just take the next-best bus. It was a mini-bus. But it didn't go to the centre. In the middle of nowhere the bus stopped and wouldn't go any further. What about no 7? Maybe this will work out. We were lucky!
In the Internet Cafe we again had problems with our pictures. Then Al decided to take care of it. He uploaded them on his hard drive and will do the rest when he comes to Irkutsk. Well, this time we had solved the problem. But what about next time? Does it mean that we do have to buy a hard drive ourselves?
Later in the evening we wanted to have some drinks and sat down in a tent near the beach. I had seen a poster of Red Bull and was esperate for it. Al went off to get the drinks and spotted it just in time. Here, Red Bull is a strong American beer. Damn!
For dinner, we went to our Italian restaurant. It was our last evening with Al - he'll fly back to Irkutsk tomorrow - and he should have had some good Italian food before leaving. But everything was just not the same anymore. The waitress, a bunny, seemed to be new. We had ordered a starter and pizza. And what did she do? She served us the pizza first. Hello, are you alright? Ever been out eating in a restaurant? Well, no, it does not work like this. First the soup, then the pizza. On top of it she took away our seat plates. Why that? We let her do it though. Then, she eventually served the soup which was not hot anymore. No wonder. But where are our spoons? Well, guess she still needs to learn a lot. It's a tough job to be a waitress ...
Wednesday, September 17, 2003
Vladiwostock
Nicole woke me up as the breakfast was ready. She and Al had prepared it. Toast and tomatoes with melted cheese. It was even the good cheddar cheese. Oh, how delicious! Al wanted to go into town today to sort out his flight to Irkutsk. Nicole and me were not really in the mood to go all the way into town and rather stayed at the appartement. This was a great opportunity to bring our diaries up to date. We handed Al our shopping list and gave him our tickets to claim our ever so cheaply, freshly washed laundry on his way back.
We joined him the way to the bus stop and then went to buy some eggs for the potatoe salat and some red wine. We went back to the appartement and started writing our diaries with the little help of a bottle of wine. We managed to write quite a lot, but were not ready for long when Al got back.
He looked a littel worried. What had happened? I, I... I've got some bad news for you. Ey??? Well, it's got something to do with your laundry. Did it shrink? Or had the colors come our? A T-Shirt got torn? We made up all kinds of things and found it rather amusing. Al didn't. He really seemed to worry, but didn't know how to tell us. What is it? Didn't you have those Rubels110 and now we have to fetch it tomorow? No, but it got a little more expensive than we thought. Oh, we see. If it's only that and nothing worse. Then Al handed me (Ramona) my receipt and pounted to one spot. It said: USD! Oh!!! And then I bursted into laughter! I showed it to Nicole and she started laughing too. USD110 for only 3 T-Shirts each, 1 trousers and a few underwaer. Not bad! How could we have been so stupid! We knew it was a 4 star hotel and surely they wouldn't have bent a finger for only Euro3. How could this happen to us. Me, where I have worked in a hotel for about 10 years, and Nicole, who constantly had to deal with hotels workwise! About so much stupidity one could only laugh. Al was quite relieved now.
Nicole started mixing the sauce for our potato salad. Al had brought all ingredients, even our washing up liquid. So meanwhile Al and I did the dishes. Finally everything will become clean. Then it came to our minds that we didn't have anything to eat with the salad. Al and Nicole went to the shops again to get some sausages. Then, finally, we could enjoy our selfmade potato salad with sausage and red wine. Delicious!
We joined him the way to the bus stop and then went to buy some eggs for the potatoe salat and some red wine. We went back to the appartement and started writing our diaries with the little help of a bottle of wine. We managed to write quite a lot, but were not ready for long when Al got back.
He looked a littel worried. What had happened? I, I... I've got some bad news for you. Ey??? Well, it's got something to do with your laundry. Did it shrink? Or had the colors come our? A T-Shirt got torn? We made up all kinds of things and found it rather amusing. Al didn't. He really seemed to worry, but didn't know how to tell us. What is it? Didn't you have those Rubels110 and now we have to fetch it tomorow? No, but it got a little more expensive than we thought. Oh, we see. If it's only that and nothing worse. Then Al handed me (Ramona) my receipt and pounted to one spot. It said: USD! Oh!!! And then I bursted into laughter! I showed it to Nicole and she started laughing too. USD110 for only 3 T-Shirts each, 1 trousers and a few underwaer. Not bad! How could we have been so stupid! We knew it was a 4 star hotel and surely they wouldn't have bent a finger for only Euro3. How could this happen to us. Me, where I have worked in a hotel for about 10 years, and Nicole, who constantly had to deal with hotels workwise! About so much stupidity one could only laugh. Al was quite relieved now.
Nicole started mixing the sauce for our potato salad. Al had brought all ingredients, even our washing up liquid. So meanwhile Al and I did the dishes. Finally everything will become clean. Then it came to our minds that we didn't have anything to eat with the salad. Al and Nicole went to the shops again to get some sausages. Then, finally, we could enjoy our selfmade potato salad with sausage and red wine. Delicious!
Tuesday, September 16, 2003
Vladiwostock
Again it was time. I (Nicole) and my diarrhoe. I again woke up because of my stomch. But this time it wasn't the train which had stopped, this time there was no water. I couldn't just go ... oh no, better not. How would the loo look like afterwards? And how would it smell? No, no, first wait a bit longer and hope ... Why is it always me? But what was that? Isn't there anyone taking a shower? Fantastic. In that case there must be water.
We were just about to leave for downtown when we thought about extending our stay in the hotel. We had to let them know as we wanted to stay until Saturday. But there was a problem. What? The hotel is fully booked? Why that? How come? Who the hell stays in a hotel where there's only water at certain times? Oh man, what now? Were shall we go now? We needed a room for two nights. We could come back here on Thursday. Hmmm. Where shall we look for another hotel now? But they had mercy with us, they wanted to help us. The receptionist called a number and asked for 2 rooms for Al, Ramona and myself. But our Russian was already good enough by now to understand that it was fully booked, too. Next number. No, nothing. Another number. Negative again. I cannot believe it. The film festival is already over. But then - there was one. But we had to take the bus for 20 minutes. That's the last thing we wanted. But we had no choice. However, no matter how cheap this hotel was going to be, we wanted to be back in 'our' hotel from Thursday onwards. Don't they dare to forget our reservation. At least, we could leave our backpacks and only take the most important stuff: toilet bag, clean pants and our diary. Then, we went off. By bus. But where is he going? How does it look like here? Where did we finally end up? The area was everything but not nice. Everything wrecked, grotty and broken. And there is supposed to be a hotel here? Who the hell does want to live here voluntarily? The address led us to an office. When we entered the building, we almost had to hold our breath. Are we in the right building? Well, it was a home office. Legal? Who knows... A rather thicky woman opened the door and asked us to come in. She squeezed behind her desk, we three sat on the sofa in front of her just like in the dock. Luckily, Al was with us. His Russian was much better than ours. The woman quickly offered us a flat with three rooms for about Euro 45 a night. Oops. May we see that first? Where is the flat? About 20 minutes from here. By foot. Oh no.
Fortunately, we didn't bring our heavy rucksacks. We at home would call the area rather slums. But again we had no choice, hadn't we? We rushed through the flat and decided to go for it. The whole story took us several hours. The whole day was spoiled.
And we had to go back to town as we wanted to bring our clothes to the laundry. In the hotel then, we had to fill in a form and list every single item. Then, the lady calculated. Fantastic. Only Rubels 52 and 58, about Euro 3. Light footed and happy we went to the Internet-Cafe. We sent Al off to go shopping and he got a long shopping list. In the meantime, we tried to get our pictures sent to Tom, our webmaster. But it's like to milk mice. It again didn't work. Will we ever succeed in sending them over?
As it took ages to wait for bus no. 65 we decided to once more take a taxi. Rubels 200, Euro 6 is just what we could afford. If the driver had known though all the lanes and road holes he would have probably asked for more money. Now, it's too late. :)
Back in the flat we had to clean the kitchen first. But with what? There were dishes in the cupboard - but almost only used stuff. And the clean stuff was glued to everything. The table could be also cleaned for once. Luckily, we still had some toiletpaper. And one had filled water in bottles for us. Although, who knows for how long this had been here already? ... Well, one gets used to everything. We liked our dinner. A bit of red wine - this is not a bad life, is it?
After dinner I cooked 2 kilos of potatos. We wanted to have potato salad tomorrow. We'll see - Russian potato in the skin. I checked them every other minute. But obviously not good enough or not often enough. When I looked in the pot again, half of the potatoes had peeled off, some were just like mash. Well done, Nicole! I had to let them cool down and then make the best of a bad job.
We were just about to leave for downtown when we thought about extending our stay in the hotel. We had to let them know as we wanted to stay until Saturday. But there was a problem. What? The hotel is fully booked? Why that? How come? Who the hell stays in a hotel where there's only water at certain times? Oh man, what now? Were shall we go now? We needed a room for two nights. We could come back here on Thursday. Hmmm. Where shall we look for another hotel now? But they had mercy with us, they wanted to help us. The receptionist called a number and asked for 2 rooms for Al, Ramona and myself. But our Russian was already good enough by now to understand that it was fully booked, too. Next number. No, nothing. Another number. Negative again. I cannot believe it. The film festival is already over. But then - there was one. But we had to take the bus for 20 minutes. That's the last thing we wanted. But we had no choice. However, no matter how cheap this hotel was going to be, we wanted to be back in 'our' hotel from Thursday onwards. Don't they dare to forget our reservation. At least, we could leave our backpacks and only take the most important stuff: toilet bag, clean pants and our diary. Then, we went off. By bus. But where is he going? How does it look like here? Where did we finally end up? The area was everything but not nice. Everything wrecked, grotty and broken. And there is supposed to be a hotel here? Who the hell does want to live here voluntarily? The address led us to an office. When we entered the building, we almost had to hold our breath. Are we in the right building? Well, it was a home office. Legal? Who knows... A rather thicky woman opened the door and asked us to come in. She squeezed behind her desk, we three sat on the sofa in front of her just like in the dock. Luckily, Al was with us. His Russian was much better than ours. The woman quickly offered us a flat with three rooms for about Euro 45 a night. Oops. May we see that first? Where is the flat? About 20 minutes from here. By foot. Oh no.
Fortunately, we didn't bring our heavy rucksacks. We at home would call the area rather slums. But again we had no choice, hadn't we? We rushed through the flat and decided to go for it. The whole story took us several hours. The whole day was spoiled.
And we had to go back to town as we wanted to bring our clothes to the laundry. In the hotel then, we had to fill in a form and list every single item. Then, the lady calculated. Fantastic. Only Rubels 52 and 58, about Euro 3. Light footed and happy we went to the Internet-Cafe. We sent Al off to go shopping and he got a long shopping list. In the meantime, we tried to get our pictures sent to Tom, our webmaster. But it's like to milk mice. It again didn't work. Will we ever succeed in sending them over?
As it took ages to wait for bus no. 65 we decided to once more take a taxi. Rubels 200, Euro 6 is just what we could afford. If the driver had known though all the lanes and road holes he would have probably asked for more money. Now, it's too late. :)
Back in the flat we had to clean the kitchen first. But with what? There were dishes in the cupboard - but almost only used stuff. And the clean stuff was glued to everything. The table could be also cleaned for once. Luckily, we still had some toiletpaper. And one had filled water in bottles for us. Although, who knows for how long this had been here already? ... Well, one gets used to everything. We liked our dinner. A bit of red wine - this is not a bad life, is it?
After dinner I cooked 2 kilos of potatos. We wanted to have potato salad tomorrow. We'll see - Russian potato in the skin. I checked them every other minute. But obviously not good enough or not often enough. When I looked in the pot again, half of the potatoes had peeled off, some were just like mash. Well done, Nicole! I had to let them cool down and then make the best of a bad job.
Monday, September 15, 2003
Vladiwostock
Together with Al we went to town. We wanted to look for a washing salon. Our cloths needed a wash pretty badly. We knew the direction of where to find a washing salon, but couldn't find it anyway. We asked in a shop and they sent us to a hotel. Of course, we can bring our washing, they said. The porter showed us the laundry service and we said we would be back tomorrow. Great, one problem solved.
For lunch we went to Magic Burger. The Russian McDonalds. Either you love it or you hate it. We did the latter.
We strolled allong the harbor area. Suddenly it got to Nicole's and my mind that we could ask some skippers if they were going to Japan. Maybe they would take us along. But that was easier said than done. We were a little scared. It had to be in Russian. We pulled ouselves together and stepped abord an old and rusty ship. Our dictionary close at hand. We had already looked up all the words. And there we go! They did understand! Unfortunately they showed us to the ferry port. These cargo ships would not go to Japan.
Well, we went to the ferryport and asked at the first traveloffice. They wanted to have USD270. For that price we might as well fly to Japan! The next office wanted USD210. Already better. Since all good things are three, we tried another traveloffice behind the station. On the way we then found Hotel Moryak. It was in a totally different area than it had been described in the Lonely Planet book. And it was not at all cheaper than the one we were staying in now. The third ofice wanted to charge us USD 235 for the crossover to Japan. So we'll take the 2. ofice. We'll book the tickets on Friday, since the next ferry is only leaving on Saturday.
For dinner we went to another pizza place with Al. It was just as good as the one near the beach. No wonder! It was the same owner, as we found out later.
For lunch we went to Magic Burger. The Russian McDonalds. Either you love it or you hate it. We did the latter.
We strolled allong the harbor area. Suddenly it got to Nicole's and my mind that we could ask some skippers if they were going to Japan. Maybe they would take us along. But that was easier said than done. We were a little scared. It had to be in Russian. We pulled ouselves together and stepped abord an old and rusty ship. Our dictionary close at hand. We had already looked up all the words. And there we go! They did understand! Unfortunately they showed us to the ferry port. These cargo ships would not go to Japan.
Well, we went to the ferryport and asked at the first traveloffice. They wanted to have USD270. For that price we might as well fly to Japan! The next office wanted USD210. Already better. Since all good things are three, we tried another traveloffice behind the station. On the way we then found Hotel Moryak. It was in a totally different area than it had been described in the Lonely Planet book. And it was not at all cheaper than the one we were staying in now. The third ofice wanted to charge us USD 235 for the crossover to Japan. So we'll take the 2. ofice. We'll book the tickets on Friday, since the next ferry is only leaving on Saturday.
For dinner we went to another pizza place with Al. It was just as good as the one near the beach. No wonder! It was the same owner, as we found out later.
Sunday, September 14, 2003
Vladiwostock
For a change we could sleep long today. As we couldn't reach Tanja yesterday, we had no plans for today. Relaxed and in a slow mood we went to town. It was a lovely day, the sun was shining. We made use of that and went for a walk at the beach. Attention please: What we do see here is not the Pacific yet, it's just the Japan Sea. Did you get that now, Al?
Because it was a Sunday, we thought we had deserved a nice dinner. What about the Italian restaurant we'd been to yesterday? Would they recognized us again? In fact, we had had a shower and did wear clean clothes. ... It was a long evening in that restaurant. It was warm, bright ... what else do we need to write our diary?
We had just entered the hotel hall when we were attacked by someone. Help! Who is this? We were frightened to death, turned around and ... this just cannot be true! Who was standing in front of us with a big smile? Al! What a surprise. We were speechless. But what about his visum? He can apply for it later. Well, he could have thought about that earlier, couldn't he? He probably just had to be on his own for a day to realize that it's much more fun with us. Men!
Because it was a Sunday, we thought we had deserved a nice dinner. What about the Italian restaurant we'd been to yesterday? Would they recognized us again? In fact, we had had a shower and did wear clean clothes. ... It was a long evening in that restaurant. It was warm, bright ... what else do we need to write our diary?
We had just entered the hotel hall when we were attacked by someone. Help! Who is this? We were frightened to death, turned around and ... this just cannot be true! Who was standing in front of us with a big smile? Al! What a surprise. We were speechless. But what about his visum? He can apply for it later. Well, he could have thought about that earlier, couldn't he? He probably just had to be on his own for a day to realize that it's much more fun with us. Men!
Saturday, September 13, 2003
Vladiwostock
We had just fallen asleep as the conductor came in and turned on the light. The dumbass in our cabin had to get off at the next stop. He started packing, it was a constant rustling and rumble. Finally, he had left but then Tanja started. It was her turn to get off next. I (Ramona) just want to sleep! But not enough, the English woman from next door came over to say good-bye to Tanja and nearly sat down with her giant bum onto my head. I could only just rescue myself by turning my head.
Tanja didn't live far away from Wladiwostok so we said to meet up again on Sunday. She gave us her phone number and said good-bye. At 4.30am it was our turn to pack. At 5.20am we arrived at the station in Wladiwostik. It was quite warm, nearly like spring. We went to look for a place to stay, without our luggage though. We had heared that Hotel Moryak had the cheapest rooms. At that adress we did find a hotel but not the Moryak. Nobody spoke English nor German over here. The receptionist was ever so nice. She really gave her best to understand us. Talking with hands and feet we managed to get a room for 2 nights. We were so much looking forward to having a shower. It was about time as well. What is that lady doing now? Why is she putting a bucket of cold water into our room? We should find out very soon. One turn on the watertab gave the anser. No running water! Big disappointment fell uppon us. We went to bed and had a few hours sleep.
It was already after 1pm as we woke up again. had we been a little tired? We went for a walk through town. The first thing we passed was a photoshop. Great, we can download our pictures! in the late afternoon we came pass a pizzaplace. We were so hungry. We hadn't had anything to eat all day. Carefull we went inside. Too late, they saw us directly and welcomed us. It was a real noble restaurant. And look at us! Dirty cloths, filthy hair, not to mention our black fingernails. We did feel slightly embarrassed. But nobody seemed to care in here. We ate like queens.
Strengthened after the good food we went to the station to pick up our backpacks. We treated ourselves with taking a taxi back to the hotel. for the cost of only 100 Rubel = 3 Euro.
In our room there was a nice surprise waiting for us. Running water! Finally we could have a shower! Great! We tried to call Tanja as we planed to meet up tomorrow. Unfortunately, she must have given us the wrong number, as there was somebody else answering and they didn't know her. What a shame, we can't meet up now.
Tanja didn't live far away from Wladiwostok so we said to meet up again on Sunday. She gave us her phone number and said good-bye. At 4.30am it was our turn to pack. At 5.20am we arrived at the station in Wladiwostik. It was quite warm, nearly like spring. We went to look for a place to stay, without our luggage though. We had heared that Hotel Moryak had the cheapest rooms. At that adress we did find a hotel but not the Moryak. Nobody spoke English nor German over here. The receptionist was ever so nice. She really gave her best to understand us. Talking with hands and feet we managed to get a room for 2 nights. We were so much looking forward to having a shower. It was about time as well. What is that lady doing now? Why is she putting a bucket of cold water into our room? We should find out very soon. One turn on the watertab gave the anser. No running water! Big disappointment fell uppon us. We went to bed and had a few hours sleep.
It was already after 1pm as we woke up again. had we been a little tired? We went for a walk through town. The first thing we passed was a photoshop. Great, we can download our pictures! in the late afternoon we came pass a pizzaplace. We were so hungry. We hadn't had anything to eat all day. Carefull we went inside. Too late, they saw us directly and welcomed us. It was a real noble restaurant. And look at us! Dirty cloths, filthy hair, not to mention our black fingernails. We did feel slightly embarrassed. But nobody seemed to care in here. We ate like queens.
Strengthened after the good food we went to the station to pick up our backpacks. We treated ourselves with taking a taxi back to the hotel. for the cost of only 100 Rubel = 3 Euro.
In our room there was a nice surprise waiting for us. Running water! Finally we could have a shower! Great! We tried to call Tanja as we planed to meet up tomorrow. Unfortunately, she must have given us the wrong number, as there was somebody else answering and they didn't know her. What a shame, we can't meet up now.
Wednesday, September 10, 2003
Transsib
We spent most of the day in our smelly cabin. As we discovered the card games yesterday, we started playing again. There were so many different games. Uno, swim, mau mau, hahn. It was just so funny! Unless Nicole or I lost...
When we had longer stops at the stations, we went outside and joyned the locals. Of course, we got some goodies for dinner again. The sun shone the whole day, but at our laststop the temperature dropped down to only 6 degrees Celsius. Brrrr. At some time late, we got fed up with playing cards. Yes, this does exist aswell. But what could we do instead? Riddles! The best one came from Al: In an airlocked room is a lamp. Outside the room are three switches. How can you find out which of the 3 is the one for the lamp if you are only allowed to go into the room once? There are no windows in the room and you can't see the light gleaming from anywhere outside. Well? Have fun! Looking forward to you answers.
When we had longer stops at the stations, we went outside and joyned the locals. Of course, we got some goodies for dinner again. The sun shone the whole day, but at our laststop the temperature dropped down to only 6 degrees Celsius. Brrrr. At some time late, we got fed up with playing cards. Yes, this does exist aswell. But what could we do instead? Riddles! The best one came from Al: In an airlocked room is a lamp. Outside the room are three switches. How can you find out which of the 3 is the one for the lamp if you are only allowed to go into the room once? There are no windows in the room and you can't see the light gleaming from anywhere outside. Well? Have fun! Looking forward to you answers.
Irkutsk - Wladiwostock
At 3.30am we jumped on the train. Unfortunately, Al could only get a ticket for wagon 14. We had wagon 11. In our cabin two beds had been already occupied. Tanja, a young Russian, who studies German and another Russian guy. We embosomed her right from the beginning. Not only because she knows German. :) This, of course, though helped us a lot. She also asked this Russian guy whether he would like to swap beds with Al. But he dared to say no. Dumbass! He will have to feel that during the next days.
Al joined us again a bit later. When the others wanted to sleep, Al and I (Nicole) left the cabin and sat down in the aisle. We were both not tired yet. And it didn't take long and it was daybreak. Unfortunately though, we couldn't see the sunrise. Anyway, we just stared out of the windows. There wasn't much to see except for trees. We changed wagons as the windows there were on the other side. And now we could see Lake Baikal! Oh yes, I had almost forgotten about it. The train would pass 270km of the lake's coast. Who knows how much we had already missed? Ramona and I eventually had missed the border between Europe and Asia as well. Al and I thought about waking up Ramona. She had been so tired and already slept at the station. She certainly is happy to finally sleep in peace. We thought we would do something good for her ...
Actually, the gaze at Lake Baikal is not different as a gaze at any other lake. And still this is Lake Baikal - somehow special. However, 270 m is a long time. I got tired more and more and I almost fell asleep. But I didn't want to go to bed. Not as long as one can see the lake. Typical Nicole! I had to stay until 8.30am. Only then I was "allowed" to go to sleep. When I came to our cabin, Ramona had already been awake. I briefly mentioned the journey passing the lake. And only then she thought about that, too. It would have been her highlight and again she had slept. She was really angry about herself. If Al and I had only known...
Lateron, we all played cards. All means Tanja, Ramona, Al and I. It was obvious that the dumbass was not allowed to join. And it was also obvious that we couldn't play cards without drinking Vodka. But this probably was only fun for Al and Tanja. That is to say that Ramona and I had even more problems to lose a game than when being sober. And one who knows us ... We both got really snappish and every time the other one lost we were so happy like little children. Did we lose though, we just did not want to realize it. It all was just so unfair!
Al joined us again a bit later. When the others wanted to sleep, Al and I (Nicole) left the cabin and sat down in the aisle. We were both not tired yet. And it didn't take long and it was daybreak. Unfortunately though, we couldn't see the sunrise. Anyway, we just stared out of the windows. There wasn't much to see except for trees. We changed wagons as the windows there were on the other side. And now we could see Lake Baikal! Oh yes, I had almost forgotten about it. The train would pass 270km of the lake's coast. Who knows how much we had already missed? Ramona and I eventually had missed the border between Europe and Asia as well. Al and I thought about waking up Ramona. She had been so tired and already slept at the station. She certainly is happy to finally sleep in peace. We thought we would do something good for her ...
Actually, the gaze at Lake Baikal is not different as a gaze at any other lake. And still this is Lake Baikal - somehow special. However, 270 m is a long time. I got tired more and more and I almost fell asleep. But I didn't want to go to bed. Not as long as one can see the lake. Typical Nicole! I had to stay until 8.30am. Only then I was "allowed" to go to sleep. When I came to our cabin, Ramona had already been awake. I briefly mentioned the journey passing the lake. And only then she thought about that, too. It would have been her highlight and again she had slept. She was really angry about herself. If Al and I had only known...
Lateron, we all played cards. All means Tanja, Ramona, Al and I. It was obvious that the dumbass was not allowed to join. And it was also obvious that we couldn't play cards without drinking Vodka. But this probably was only fun for Al and Tanja. That is to say that Ramona and I had even more problems to lose a game than when being sober. And one who knows us ... We both got really snappish and every time the other one lost we were so happy like little children. Did we lose though, we just did not want to realize it. It all was just so unfair!
Tuesday, September 09, 2003
Khuzir - Irkutsk
Today we were to go back to Irkutsk to take the Transsib to Wladiwostok. We said good-bye to Nikita. We had had just enough money to pay our gut. Now we didn't have a penny left. Perfect calculation!
The minivan was already waiting for us. The driver helped us and put our backpacks onto the back two seats. We were only three passengers. Great, maybe we could sleep a little then. But no. At the next couple of stops more and more people came in and soon the van was full. Travelling by bus was much more confortable than by that tiny cart.
At 3pm we arrived at the bus station in Irkutsk. Unfortunately, this was the final destination instead of the train station. We put on our heavy rucksacks and were just about to stroll of as the driver stopped us and asked for money. He wanted us to pay him. Pay?! Rubbish, we had already paid the tickets. But he didn't want them. Only cash. Too bad, we don't have any more. We explained to him that we had gotten the tickets from Olchon to Irkutsk like that, but why were we explaining all this? He didn't understand us anyway. Then an English speaking woman appeared and helped us. The only opportunity to get to money was to exchange the tickets back. Ater a little discussion it was done. I (Ramona) gave the money to the driver and what did he say? He wanted us to pay two tickets each because our backpacks were so big. Was he kidding!? It wasn't our fault that he put them onto the backseats and not into the trunk underneath. I told him to sort that out with Nikita as we don't have any more money left. And finally he gave up. Let's go quickly now, before he changes his mind.
We went direction to the train station and came to the internet cafe where we wanted to meet up with Al. So, we first went in here. We had another look into our purses and luckily we found just enough to pay the internet. Just as good that the bus driver didn't know. We had just logged on as Al arrived. Good timing! Nicole had problems again with her email account at AOL. She couldn't get in. I still had some mails to answer and so Nicole and Al left for the station to lock our lugage. They were only gone for 10 min. as I opened a mail from Stein-Hugo from Gjesvaer. Oh no! What a terrible message! Svein-Thore, the guy who drove us from Gjesvaer to Rovaniemi with his car, had died. That couldn't be! He wasn't old at all! It said that his heart just stopped beating. As Nicole got back we sent an email back in sorrow. We were so close to Wladiwostok now and were going to send him the postcard which we had to promise him so often. Well, maybe it shouldn't be.
Al had also got a ticket for tonights train, but he will leave us again 15 hours before Wladiwostok, to go to Mongolia. Our train was only at 3.50am tonight, so there was lot's of time to spend. We went to a beer tent for the evening which had an open air disco. It was so funny to watch the kids. They were dressed and danced like we did in Germany 15 years ago.
The minivan was already waiting for us. The driver helped us and put our backpacks onto the back two seats. We were only three passengers. Great, maybe we could sleep a little then. But no. At the next couple of stops more and more people came in and soon the van was full. Travelling by bus was much more confortable than by that tiny cart.
At 3pm we arrived at the bus station in Irkutsk. Unfortunately, this was the final destination instead of the train station. We put on our heavy rucksacks and were just about to stroll of as the driver stopped us and asked for money. He wanted us to pay him. Pay?! Rubbish, we had already paid the tickets. But he didn't want them. Only cash. Too bad, we don't have any more. We explained to him that we had gotten the tickets from Olchon to Irkutsk like that, but why were we explaining all this? He didn't understand us anyway. Then an English speaking woman appeared and helped us. The only opportunity to get to money was to exchange the tickets back. Ater a little discussion it was done. I (Ramona) gave the money to the driver and what did he say? He wanted us to pay two tickets each because our backpacks were so big. Was he kidding!? It wasn't our fault that he put them onto the backseats and not into the trunk underneath. I told him to sort that out with Nikita as we don't have any more money left. And finally he gave up. Let's go quickly now, before he changes his mind.
We went direction to the train station and came to the internet cafe where we wanted to meet up with Al. So, we first went in here. We had another look into our purses and luckily we found just enough to pay the internet. Just as good that the bus driver didn't know. We had just logged on as Al arrived. Good timing! Nicole had problems again with her email account at AOL. She couldn't get in. I still had some mails to answer and so Nicole and Al left for the station to lock our lugage. They were only gone for 10 min. as I opened a mail from Stein-Hugo from Gjesvaer. Oh no! What a terrible message! Svein-Thore, the guy who drove us from Gjesvaer to Rovaniemi with his car, had died. That couldn't be! He wasn't old at all! It said that his heart just stopped beating. As Nicole got back we sent an email back in sorrow. We were so close to Wladiwostok now and were going to send him the postcard which we had to promise him so often. Well, maybe it shouldn't be.
Al had also got a ticket for tonights train, but he will leave us again 15 hours before Wladiwostok, to go to Mongolia. Our train was only at 3.50am tonight, so there was lot's of time to spend. We went to a beer tent for the evening which had an open air disco. It was so funny to watch the kids. They were dressed and danced like we did in Germany 15 years ago.
Monday, September 08, 2003
Khuzir
We were lucky. Already at 10.30am the trip to the south of the island could start. Together with Gregory and two Hungarians. Al had already left for Irkutsk and we'll follow him tomorrow.
We first drove to a small lake which had been cut from the rest of Lake Baikal through a dune - all by nature. This small lake is very famous for swimming during summer and in autumn/winter the fishes come here. Gregory also told us about the different winds around the lake. Where are trees on the island, there's hardly no wind. And during winter time, when the whole lake is covered by ice there is no snow either. All gone with the wind.
At the next stop we learned why the lake is so clear. There are millions of 0.1mm small crabs which eat everything. Would one i.e. throw a dead body in the lake, nothing would be left of it after a couple of days. The water of the lake, therefore, is almost like distilled water with only 0.001g/l salt in it. It is true that one can drink the water but it wouldn't be healthy drinking it all the time as
there are no mineral nutrients in it.
Lateron, Gregory told us about a beautiful birch standing all on its own on a huge field. There used to live a Shaman who had said shortly before his death that he would come back as a tree. And after his death this birch grew at the same place where he had lived. Whether the story is true or not, Gregory couldn't tell us.
We then drove further to the graves of the aboriginees. Nowadays, people throw coins at this place as it's said to be holy.
We also walked to the round houses of the aboriginees. One can still see the living parts because of some stone walls. Everywhere we could smell thyme. It grows everywhere. But why the hell do we get only dill added to every single dish every single day?
At the highest point of the island we could see both the small and the big lake. An impressing picture. It's difficult to imagine how huge this lake is. One often doesn't see land at the horizon so one could think to see the ocean. But still it's "only" a lake.
It was soon time for our picknick. For a change we had fish. Omul, as at least once a day. The omul only lives in Lake Baikal. Thus, I (Nicole) had to eat it. An omul can get up to 25 years but the ones we were served were only nine to twelve years old. I actually liked the grilled fish. If only there wasn't that hard job with the fishbones to be done.
During lunch, Gregory told us loads about himself, the life on Olchon, their rubbish problem, toilets - biotoilet or shithouse? - his years in Germany, etc. All in all a very interesting and informing day.
Back in the holiday resort Ramona and I went to the banja again. Finally, we got warm again as we had been pretty cold during the day. It had been only 10 degrees Celsius and it was so windy. Later, we both had deserved again a healing massage. And our money just last for that.
We first drove to a small lake which had been cut from the rest of Lake Baikal through a dune - all by nature. This small lake is very famous for swimming during summer and in autumn/winter the fishes come here. Gregory also told us about the different winds around the lake. Where are trees on the island, there's hardly no wind. And during winter time, when the whole lake is covered by ice there is no snow either. All gone with the wind.
At the next stop we learned why the lake is so clear. There are millions of 0.1mm small crabs which eat everything. Would one i.e. throw a dead body in the lake, nothing would be left of it after a couple of days. The water of the lake, therefore, is almost like distilled water with only 0.001g/l salt in it. It is true that one can drink the water but it wouldn't be healthy drinking it all the time as
there are no mineral nutrients in it.
Lateron, Gregory told us about a beautiful birch standing all on its own on a huge field. There used to live a Shaman who had said shortly before his death that he would come back as a tree. And after his death this birch grew at the same place where he had lived. Whether the story is true or not, Gregory couldn't tell us.
We then drove further to the graves of the aboriginees. Nowadays, people throw coins at this place as it's said to be holy.
We also walked to the round houses of the aboriginees. One can still see the living parts because of some stone walls. Everywhere we could smell thyme. It grows everywhere. But why the hell do we get only dill added to every single dish every single day?
At the highest point of the island we could see both the small and the big lake. An impressing picture. It's difficult to imagine how huge this lake is. One often doesn't see land at the horizon so one could think to see the ocean. But still it's "only" a lake.
It was soon time for our picknick. For a change we had fish. Omul, as at least once a day. The omul only lives in Lake Baikal. Thus, I (Nicole) had to eat it. An omul can get up to 25 years but the ones we were served were only nine to twelve years old. I actually liked the grilled fish. If only there wasn't that hard job with the fishbones to be done.
During lunch, Gregory told us loads about himself, the life on Olchon, their rubbish problem, toilets - biotoilet or shithouse? - his years in Germany, etc. All in all a very interesting and informing day.
Back in the holiday resort Ramona and I went to the banja again. Finally, we got warm again as we had been pretty cold during the day. It had been only 10 degrees Celsius and it was so windy. Later, we both had deserved again a healing massage. And our money just last for that.
Sunday, September 07, 2003
Khuzir
After breakfast Gregory, a Russian tourguide speaking perfectly German, offered us a big tour in the south of the island. Ramona and I were all for it right away. Eventually, one would tell us something about Lake Baikal and the island - even in German. But there was a hook. There weren't enough people yet to do this trip. Thus, we had to wait. Nothing new though for us.
Al in the meantime had found out that there is only a bus to Irkutsk on Sundays and Wednesdays. How come? We already had a bus ticket for Tuesday. Now, do we have to sort this out as well? We asked Gregory who offered us to solve our problem with Nikita. Fantastic! With regard to the tour though it had to be postponed to tomorrow. We could only hope that there will be enough people then.
But for a change a day without plans is great, too in order to write our diaries and website reports. When Al joined us though all our good resolutions had gone.
In the late afternoon we went to the banja, the Russian sauna, together with Al. In front of the banja a film crew shot a scene. Well ... hadn't we seen them already yesterday at the beach? Is there a movie star? Maybe Brad Pitt? Or maybe we'll be the future movie stars? In any case, the Russian sauna is still heated by fire. There was a woman responsible for always putting wood on it. She had also always started to heat the sauna 2 hours ago. The heat was boiling. Sweat was just running down our skins. Very relaxing! When we were just outside to chill out, the door opened. A good-looking man entered holding a big bowl in his hands. What's in there? That smells good. Well, that's the yeast dough. We couldn't resist, we had to try it. But the man put on some cling film - what a shame! - and took the bowl into the hot banja. There, the yeast dough could grow.
After dinner we originally wanted to write. Originally! But there were these four young Germans who had done the yeast dough. Now, the two men prepared it: Panfritas, a Chilene national dish. There had been so many that we all were allowed to have some. Just with cheese or with chocolate. Delicious! From the Germans we also learned about the film team: They had been from ZDF! In Germany, they were looking for two families to be abandonned in the middle of Sibiria for four months. They are supposed to live there during the Sibirian winter, not knowing any Russian at all. But that's just a joke! In Khuzir, there are so many tourists, above all Germans - even during winter time. And in addition to that there's a Polish man in the film team knowing perfectly Russian and German. All this done for ZDF? We wouldn't have been surprised if it was for RTL2...
The rest of the evening Al, Ramona and I spent in our hat - with vodka in front of the lit oven (we by now know how to light the fire).
Al in the meantime had found out that there is only a bus to Irkutsk on Sundays and Wednesdays. How come? We already had a bus ticket for Tuesday. Now, do we have to sort this out as well? We asked Gregory who offered us to solve our problem with Nikita. Fantastic! With regard to the tour though it had to be postponed to tomorrow. We could only hope that there will be enough people then.
But for a change a day without plans is great, too in order to write our diaries and website reports. When Al joined us though all our good resolutions had gone.
In the late afternoon we went to the banja, the Russian sauna, together with Al. In front of the banja a film crew shot a scene. Well ... hadn't we seen them already yesterday at the beach? Is there a movie star? Maybe Brad Pitt? Or maybe we'll be the future movie stars? In any case, the Russian sauna is still heated by fire. There was a woman responsible for always putting wood on it. She had also always started to heat the sauna 2 hours ago. The heat was boiling. Sweat was just running down our skins. Very relaxing! When we were just outside to chill out, the door opened. A good-looking man entered holding a big bowl in his hands. What's in there? That smells good. Well, that's the yeast dough. We couldn't resist, we had to try it. But the man put on some cling film - what a shame! - and took the bowl into the hot banja. There, the yeast dough could grow.
After dinner we originally wanted to write. Originally! But there were these four young Germans who had done the yeast dough. Now, the two men prepared it: Panfritas, a Chilene national dish. There had been so many that we all were allowed to have some. Just with cheese or with chocolate. Delicious! From the Germans we also learned about the film team: They had been from ZDF! In Germany, they were looking for two families to be abandonned in the middle of Sibiria for four months. They are supposed to live there during the Sibirian winter, not knowing any Russian at all. But that's just a joke! In Khuzir, there are so many tourists, above all Germans - even during winter time. And in addition to that there's a Polish man in the film team knowing perfectly Russian and German. All this done for ZDF? We wouldn't have been surprised if it was for RTL2...
The rest of the evening Al, Ramona and I spent in our hat - with vodka in front of the lit oven (we by now know how to light the fire).
Saturday, September 06, 2003
Khuzir
Today we had a big excursion on our plan to the north of the Island. Up with a boat and down by bus. Al and the two Norwegians were joining us. Because it was only a small boat, we had to be split into two groups. Nicole, Al and me were to go by boat first and Laila and Frode by bus. In the north of the island we would swap, later this afternoon. Said and done hours later.
At 11.30am we started the trip. It was quite windy and chilly on the boat but we were prepared and had wrapped up in thick cloths. We went along the coast and it was marvellous! White sand beaches, forests and high cliffs. At one group of cliffs, the 3 brothers, we halted to climp up. It was about 200m high. Exellent view! We went further round the northest point of the island which is also called "Northcape" like in Norway. Here the two seas of Lake Baikal float together. The small and the big sea. A few kilometers further out there is the deepest spot in Lake Baikal: 1637m deep. The deepest lake in the whole world! The water was so clear, you could easily look down 10-20m. When we had passed the cape, the water got much rougher. Just as if it were really two different seas.
We arrived at the next village Uzury where we were supposed to swap with the others. It took another hour until they came. Five German girls and a boy were with them. They wanted to hike back with their backpacks in about four days. Unfortunately, they didn't take any food with them. They thought there would be a supermarket here. Too bad! There was none. And the bus even stopped at a shop on the way to here. Now the six were standing there asking us for bisquits and sweets. Oh dear, they really have to learn a lot still.
For lunch we had fishsoup. What else?! As we wanted to get on our way, the tourguides gave the rest of the food to the Germans. Only now it turned out that they didn't even have a map of the island with them. How on earth did they want to find the 70 km way back to Khuzir?! They didn't even think about taking water with them. How naive! Good luck to them.
We swappd places with Frode and Laila. They went into the boat and we in the bus. We went through a valley and then a forest and down to the beach Ulan-Hushin-Bay where in the early days there had been a concentration camp. It looked like a desert. The way to here was a catastrophy. It was not a road we drove on but huge cracks in the earth. Much worse than in the middle of the island. The driver didn't make it any better, he was speeding like a racer. Back in Khuzir we stopped at the supermarket to get some more red wine and Vodka.
After dinner a massage woman came to the camp and offered her service. Oh yes! That was nice! And it nearly cost nothing. Only 4 Euro for 20 Min. It was only now that it occured to us that we hadn't changed any more money before coming to the island. Will the little money we have left be enough to pay everything? Credit card was useless over here and there was no bank neither an ATM machine. Well, what the heck! We'll cope with this when the time comes.
Just in thime for the fire Frode and Laila arrived. They also brought a bottle of wine. The party can begin! Four bottles of red wine and one bottle of Vodka. Tonight we started the fire ourselves.
At 11.30am we started the trip. It was quite windy and chilly on the boat but we were prepared and had wrapped up in thick cloths. We went along the coast and it was marvellous! White sand beaches, forests and high cliffs. At one group of cliffs, the 3 brothers, we halted to climp up. It was about 200m high. Exellent view! We went further round the northest point of the island which is also called "Northcape" like in Norway. Here the two seas of Lake Baikal float together. The small and the big sea. A few kilometers further out there is the deepest spot in Lake Baikal: 1637m deep. The deepest lake in the whole world! The water was so clear, you could easily look down 10-20m. When we had passed the cape, the water got much rougher. Just as if it were really two different seas.
We arrived at the next village Uzury where we were supposed to swap with the others. It took another hour until they came. Five German girls and a boy were with them. They wanted to hike back with their backpacks in about four days. Unfortunately, they didn't take any food with them. They thought there would be a supermarket here. Too bad! There was none. And the bus even stopped at a shop on the way to here. Now the six were standing there asking us for bisquits and sweets. Oh dear, they really have to learn a lot still.
For lunch we had fishsoup. What else?! As we wanted to get on our way, the tourguides gave the rest of the food to the Germans. Only now it turned out that they didn't even have a map of the island with them. How on earth did they want to find the 70 km way back to Khuzir?! They didn't even think about taking water with them. How naive! Good luck to them.
We swappd places with Frode and Laila. They went into the boat and we in the bus. We went through a valley and then a forest and down to the beach Ulan-Hushin-Bay where in the early days there had been a concentration camp. It looked like a desert. The way to here was a catastrophy. It was not a road we drove on but huge cracks in the earth. Much worse than in the middle of the island. The driver didn't make it any better, he was speeding like a racer. Back in Khuzir we stopped at the supermarket to get some more red wine and Vodka.
After dinner a massage woman came to the camp and offered her service. Oh yes! That was nice! And it nearly cost nothing. Only 4 Euro for 20 Min. It was only now that it occured to us that we hadn't changed any more money before coming to the island. Will the little money we have left be enough to pay everything? Credit card was useless over here and there was no bank neither an ATM machine. Well, what the heck! We'll cope with this when the time comes.
Just in thime for the fire Frode and Laila arrived. They also brought a bottle of wine. The party can begin! Four bottles of red wine and one bottle of Vodka. Tonight we started the fire ourselves.
Friday, September 05, 2003
Khuzir
At 10am there was a meeting in the cantine. Nikita should have told us what excursions are on the list for today. But even though all tourists had been there, nothing happened. At 11am still nothing. Is that the Russian punctuality everybody talks about? Finally, at 1.30am a bus arrived. Together with 4 Russians and a Norwegian couple we entered it. The trip was to the closer environment of Khuzir, through forests, mountains and steppe, with gophers. Originally, there was supposed to be an English speaking guide. But not today! Luckily, two of the Russians did translate what the driver had said.
For lunch we had fish soup, with complete fishes. It was served with tea and the Russians opened a bottle of vodka. They told us all about their vodka traditions - one needs to put the fingers in the cup and splash the drips on the table cloth before drinking the vodka - but did not even think of offering us a sip. We will not forget that.
After dinner Nicole and Al went to the supermarket to get some more drinks. Red wine and Vodka. The wine we emptied on the terrasse and then Al found the lit fire place, which should normally be burning every evening at 10pm. We were the only ones sitting by the fire but not for long. 2 of the Rusians, who had been with us on the excursion today, joined us. Over was the silence. Helena and Marc talked without a break. And all over sudden we thought we were dreaming! Al offered some Vodka to them. How could he? And "they" preferred to spread their Vodka arround at lunch time instead of sharing it with us! But the best was yet to come! Al asked us if we could give them our drinking mugs so he could serve the Vodka. Our prescious drinking mugs. But what could we do? It was Al who paid the Vodka. The Russians even dared to ask for more once they had finished the first cup. They won't finish our whole bottle, will they? After the 2 had left, silence came back to the fireplace.
The sky was so clear, one could even see Mars and the Milkyway.
For lunch we had fish soup, with complete fishes. It was served with tea and the Russians opened a bottle of vodka. They told us all about their vodka traditions - one needs to put the fingers in the cup and splash the drips on the table cloth before drinking the vodka - but did not even think of offering us a sip. We will not forget that.
After dinner Nicole and Al went to the supermarket to get some more drinks. Red wine and Vodka. The wine we emptied on the terrasse and then Al found the lit fire place, which should normally be burning every evening at 10pm. We were the only ones sitting by the fire but not for long. 2 of the Rusians, who had been with us on the excursion today, joined us. Over was the silence. Helena and Marc talked without a break. And all over sudden we thought we were dreaming! Al offered some Vodka to them. How could he? And "they" preferred to spread their Vodka arround at lunch time instead of sharing it with us! But the best was yet to come! Al asked us if we could give them our drinking mugs so he could serve the Vodka. Our prescious drinking mugs. But what could we do? It was Al who paid the Vodka. The Russians even dared to ask for more once they had finished the first cup. They won't finish our whole bottle, will they? After the 2 had left, silence came back to the fireplace.
The sky was so clear, one could even see Mars and the Milkyway.
Thursday, September 04, 2003
Irkutsk - Olchon (Lake Baikal)
It had been about 5am when I (Nicole) woke up because of my stomach. I needed to go to the loo. Quick! But the train had stopped at a station and thus the toilet was closed. For how long? I had put on my clothes to be ready when the train left. To me one minute was like an hour. Only after 20 minutes the train had started to move again. Luckily, the toilet got opened right away. It hurt so much but at the same time it was good to let all that shit out of me. One didn't let me in peace though. Someone knocked at the door already for the second time. I got off and just hoped that he got his job done quickly. I was lucky but the second time for me was even worse. Sweat was running down my skin, I could see how I changed colours. I wasn't even strong enough to crouch over the toilet. I had to sit down - no matter how disgusting it was. I had no choice. Then, it knocked at the door again. Not yet. Please! I tried to put on my trousers again. Now I had to pull myself together. I went out again and sat down at a seat in the aisle. When the lady came back she realised that something was wrong with me and offered to help. My fingers started to cramp and I couldn't move my underarms anymore. The lady massaged my fingers and hands and gave me a cup of black tea with lots of sugar. But I wasn't even able to hold the cup. So she had to feed me. Already with the first sip I felt that my stomach got better and after a short while the cramps stopped. The woman wanted to call a doctor. A doctor? Not yet only after two months of travelling. I felt better already. I put the tablets in my pocket the conductor had given me. Who knows what that had been? I just had another cup of black tea and went to bed in order to get some sleep. Ramona hadn't realized what happened to me. And this was good. I didn't want to wake her up. She would have only worried about me. And like this at least one of us had slept.
At 9.35am we arrived in Irkutsk. Our worries that no-one would be there for us proved to be needless. The German speaking Russian colleague of Mrs. Knop welcame us and gave us our bus and train tickets to Vladiwostok. She also gave us some explanations and presented us to a guy who was supposed to drive us to Olchon with his car. And again we were on the road.
Nicole had laid down on the back seat and tried to get her stomach under control. The car was more than old and quite small. Alexander but our two backpacks in the teeny-weeny car boot. Don't you dare to break something! There was a lot of traffic in town and the streets and houses didn't look inviting. Everything dirty, grey and sad. If Irkutsk is worth a sight-seeing tour? In front of us was a trip of 320km. Streets had been very bad and therefore we couldn't think of any sleep. The further we got to the north, the further away was one village from another. These were only wooden houses, partly very wrecked. It seems that only in big cities there are stone houses. The automatic window opener seemed to be broken as the windows had been open all the time. And the heating blew like mad. But only on my feet. It was a wonder that the shoes didn't melt. At 2pm we reached the ferry harbour. We had moved quite fast - and this with that cart. There was only one ferry from here to Olchon, the largest island of Lake Baikal. Therefore, we had to wait 45 minutes until we could take the ferry. What was funny was that the cars had to drive off the ferry backwards. What a drama! If
people here have a driving license at all? The journey continued - this time on even worse streets. It was almost a chivvy. With 110 km/h we rushed over huge road holes. Will we survive this? The driver wanted to catch the next ferry to the mainland which was one hour later.
He took us to Nikita in Khuzir, the biggest city of Olchon where 1,500 people live. Nikita, a former European Champion in table tennis, had built a holiday resort which is known not only on the island. Originally, we wanted to camp but the oven in the hut was irresistible. We even had our private toilet, outside the hut. It was alive! Our bathroom - also outside - was a bucket of cold water with a bowl. Included in the price for the hut were three meals. Although it had been already after 5pm we were served lunch.
After dinner which we had only 2 hours later we wanted to go to the one and only pub in town - together with Al, an English man, we got to know - in order to meet other travellers who Al had known already. We quickly rushed to our hut. What was that? Firewood in front of our door. Very nice! When we put it inside the wood woman appeared to help us. That's what we thought. She put all the wood in the oven and lit the fire with a piece of paper. All our tries to keep her from doing so failed. Hopefully the fire will still burn when we are back.
Unfortunately, the pub was closed. Thus, we bought the alcohol in a shop and had our drinks on the street. At 00.30am we came back to our hut. No fire anymore. We did our best to light the fire again - without success.
At 9.35am we arrived in Irkutsk. Our worries that no-one would be there for us proved to be needless. The German speaking Russian colleague of Mrs. Knop welcame us and gave us our bus and train tickets to Vladiwostok. She also gave us some explanations and presented us to a guy who was supposed to drive us to Olchon with his car. And again we were on the road.
Nicole had laid down on the back seat and tried to get her stomach under control. The car was more than old and quite small. Alexander but our two backpacks in the teeny-weeny car boot. Don't you dare to break something! There was a lot of traffic in town and the streets and houses didn't look inviting. Everything dirty, grey and sad. If Irkutsk is worth a sight-seeing tour? In front of us was a trip of 320km. Streets had been very bad and therefore we couldn't think of any sleep. The further we got to the north, the further away was one village from another. These were only wooden houses, partly very wrecked. It seems that only in big cities there are stone houses. The automatic window opener seemed to be broken as the windows had been open all the time. And the heating blew like mad. But only on my feet. It was a wonder that the shoes didn't melt. At 2pm we reached the ferry harbour. We had moved quite fast - and this with that cart. There was only one ferry from here to Olchon, the largest island of Lake Baikal. Therefore, we had to wait 45 minutes until we could take the ferry. What was funny was that the cars had to drive off the ferry backwards. What a drama! If
people here have a driving license at all? The journey continued - this time on even worse streets. It was almost a chivvy. With 110 km/h we rushed over huge road holes. Will we survive this? The driver wanted to catch the next ferry to the mainland which was one hour later.
He took us to Nikita in Khuzir, the biggest city of Olchon where 1,500 people live. Nikita, a former European Champion in table tennis, had built a holiday resort which is known not only on the island. Originally, we wanted to camp but the oven in the hut was irresistible. We even had our private toilet, outside the hut. It was alive! Our bathroom - also outside - was a bucket of cold water with a bowl. Included in the price for the hut were three meals. Although it had been already after 5pm we were served lunch.
After dinner which we had only 2 hours later we wanted to go to the one and only pub in town - together with Al, an English man, we got to know - in order to meet other travellers who Al had known already. We quickly rushed to our hut. What was that? Firewood in front of our door. Very nice! When we put it inside the wood woman appeared to help us. That's what we thought. She put all the wood in the oven and lit the fire with a piece of paper. All our tries to keep her from doing so failed. Hopefully the fire will still burn when we are back.
Unfortunately, the pub was closed. Thus, we bought the alcohol in a shop and had our drinks on the street. At 00.30am we came back to our hut. No fire anymore. We did our best to light the fire again - without success.
Wednesday, September 03, 2003
Birjusa - Irkutsk
Today, on our program we had a hike through the Taiga. At 12.15pm we started. Victuals for our lunch had been carried by Alexej and Tanja. Over the bridge at the village's end, then across the forest. Partly, it was quite boggy and we had to be careful not to stumble. There was no way in this part of the forest. We only followed Alexej and Tanja. Hopefully they will know where they are going.
We had hardly made it out of the labyrinth, when we were attacked by mosquitos. Tanja gave us a repellent against them but it only helps until one sweatens. Well, sun and fleece jacket? It was obvious how long it will take. When we had come to the river Birjusa we saw a bag swimming in it. It was caught up in a trunk. What would that be? A bag full of money? A skull? Or just rubbish? Alexej tried to balance over the trunk to the bag. But he soon gave up. Of course, it again had to be the woman's turn. Tanja took off her shoes and socks and climbed on the trunk. Briskly she went to the bag. It was obstinately attached to the trunk. Tanja got it but directly let it go again. She had seen what was in there. Was it really a skull? No, but the gaze was not much nicer. Someone in fact seemed to have drowned a whelp.
After this exciting interlude we went a bit further until Alexej and Tanja had found us a place for our picknick. In an instant Tanja had brought some wood and loppings and lightened the fire. We had shashlick spits. After this refreshment we went back home. Although there are supposed to be a lot of wild animals we have only seen mosquitos and frogs. Oh yes, and a little striped squirrel.
At 9.45pm the whole family - Alexej, Tanja and son Denis, took us to the train station. It was time to say good-bye. The two days in Birjusa had been really interesting. We got a deeper impression of the Siberian life and had home grown, home made food to eat. We even learned some more Russian. If our Russian was only as good as Alexej's German. He had taught himself German. Well, many thanks to the whole family!
In our train to Irkutsk we shared our cabin with a Russian couple. The whole cabin stank from the man's aftershave. The conductor came to get our tickets. And this time we didn't have to pay for the blankets. Why that? Well, it was included in our ticket, she explained to us. So why did we pay Rub 41 the last time? We should have read the small print!
Let's have a look at the restaurant now. If we find it this time? We had passed it before getting on the train. We left our cabin. 1 wagon, 2, 3 ... then the end again. What's going on? But then the conductor explained it to us. We're just so stupid. To the restaurant it's the other direction. Was that the reason why we didn't find the restaurant the last time? So, when we finally got to the restaurant, it was closed. But Nicole was still allowed to buy a bottle of coke.
We had hardly made it out of the labyrinth, when we were attacked by mosquitos. Tanja gave us a repellent against them but it only helps until one sweatens. Well, sun and fleece jacket? It was obvious how long it will take. When we had come to the river Birjusa we saw a bag swimming in it. It was caught up in a trunk. What would that be? A bag full of money? A skull? Or just rubbish? Alexej tried to balance over the trunk to the bag. But he soon gave up. Of course, it again had to be the woman's turn. Tanja took off her shoes and socks and climbed on the trunk. Briskly she went to the bag. It was obstinately attached to the trunk. Tanja got it but directly let it go again. She had seen what was in there. Was it really a skull? No, but the gaze was not much nicer. Someone in fact seemed to have drowned a whelp.
After this exciting interlude we went a bit further until Alexej and Tanja had found us a place for our picknick. In an instant Tanja had brought some wood and loppings and lightened the fire. We had shashlick spits. After this refreshment we went back home. Although there are supposed to be a lot of wild animals we have only seen mosquitos and frogs. Oh yes, and a little striped squirrel.
At 9.45pm the whole family - Alexej, Tanja and son Denis, took us to the train station. It was time to say good-bye. The two days in Birjusa had been really interesting. We got a deeper impression of the Siberian life and had home grown, home made food to eat. We even learned some more Russian. If our Russian was only as good as Alexej's German. He had taught himself German. Well, many thanks to the whole family!
In our train to Irkutsk we shared our cabin with a Russian couple. The whole cabin stank from the man's aftershave. The conductor came to get our tickets. And this time we didn't have to pay for the blankets. Why that? Well, it was included in our ticket, she explained to us. So why did we pay Rub 41 the last time? We should have read the small print!
Let's have a look at the restaurant now. If we find it this time? We had passed it before getting on the train. We left our cabin. 1 wagon, 2, 3 ... then the end again. What's going on? But then the conductor explained it to us. We're just so stupid. To the restaurant it's the other direction. Was that the reason why we didn't find the restaurant the last time? So, when we finally got to the restaurant, it was closed. But Nicole was still allowed to buy a bottle of coke.
Tuesday, September 02, 2003
Birjusa
Originally, breakfast was supposed to be at 9am. But we were lucky. Alexej only called us at 10.15am. Thus, we could stay in bed a bit longer. We thought either Alexej or Tanja would tell us what to do in Birjusa but instead Tanja gave us a travel diary of a German. We therefore spent almost the whole afternoon reading it. It was interesting and funny to read as he had often experienced the same as us. (--> tap/Transsib).
Inbetween, we walked through Birjusa. The houses are all built of wood and each had a gib garden in which they plant fruits and vegetables. Cabbage as huge as medicine balls. Flowers in all colours. On the street we say cows, dogs, cats, chicken, goats ... one could just say Birjusa is a big farm. It was impressing to see how simple people can live and be happy.
Inbetween, we walked through Birjusa. The houses are all built of wood and each had a gib garden in which they plant fruits and vegetables. Cabbage as huge as medicine balls. Flowers in all colours. On the street we say cows, dogs, cats, chicken, goats ... one could just say Birjusa is a big farm. It was impressing to see how simple people can live and be happy.
Monday, September 01, 2003
Transsib - Birjusa
Last night was a bit better than the others. Our body seemed to get used to riding the train. Or was it thanks to our sport exercices?
It was time to get the problem with our missing tickets solved. We quickly looked up some more Russian words and then took the Russian book to go to the conductor. It was all easier than expected. A bit of German, a bit of Russian and we already had our tickets back. We are just geniuses!
At 10.20pm we arrived in Taischet. It rained. Alexej, who picked us up, welcame us in German. We were supposed to stay with him and his wife Tanja for the next two days. In a very small typical Siberian village called Birjusa. No tourists near and far.
After dinner we tried the Russian sauna. What's that? A bathroom. A huge boiler with water, heated by fire and a tub with cold water. 3 big bowls and a small one. One pours hot water in the big bowl and takes cold water with the small bowl and adds it to the hot water. And then just wash. What about the hair? These as well. There was no shower, no sink, not to mention floating water or a toilet. The toilet was at the end of the garden. A small shed with wooden floor. A 25cm hole - everything had to go through that.
We were still awake for a long time in our room. At 5am we went to bed. At 5.30am we switched off the light. But we were still not tired. At 6am the cock crowed. One moaned more than the other. Then we could only laugh. I (Ramona) said:"Now we lay here and stare at the ceiling." and Nicole only answered "Not me. I've closed my eyes already in case I fall asleep." ... OK, one part of Nicole seemed to sleep already. Was it her brain?
It was time to get the problem with our missing tickets solved. We quickly looked up some more Russian words and then took the Russian book to go to the conductor. It was all easier than expected. A bit of German, a bit of Russian and we already had our tickets back. We are just geniuses!
At 10.20pm we arrived in Taischet. It rained. Alexej, who picked us up, welcame us in German. We were supposed to stay with him and his wife Tanja for the next two days. In a very small typical Siberian village called Birjusa. No tourists near and far.
After dinner we tried the Russian sauna. What's that? A bathroom. A huge boiler with water, heated by fire and a tub with cold water. 3 big bowls and a small one. One pours hot water in the big bowl and takes cold water with the small bowl and adds it to the hot water. And then just wash. What about the hair? These as well. There was no shower, no sink, not to mention floating water or a toilet. The toilet was at the end of the garden. A small shed with wooden floor. A 25cm hole - everything had to go through that.
We were still awake for a long time in our room. At 5am we went to bed. At 5.30am we switched off the light. But we were still not tired. At 6am the cock crowed. One moaned more than the other. Then we could only laugh. I (Ramona) said:"Now we lay here and stare at the ceiling." and Nicole only answered "Not me. I've closed my eyes already in case I fall asleep." ... OK, one part of Nicole seemed to sleep already. Was it her brain?
Sunday, August 31, 2003
Transsib
The second night wasn't better than the first. Everything just hurt, we even did some sport exercises for our back in the hope that it will be better during the next night. At one of the stations we bought a kilo of tomatoes for Rub 20 (about EUR 0.80). We added salt, pepper, onions, garlic and oil and our salad was ready to eat. Delicious!
For our evening walk we went to the restaurant. We wanted to see something different to our cabin, drink something and meet other people. The restaurant was supposed to be near our wagon, just 2 or 3 wagons further. After the 7th, the door was closed. And where's the restaurant?? Or isn't there one? We went back to our cabin. Disappointed! Again: lay down and read.
For our evening walk we went to the restaurant. We wanted to see something different to our cabin, drink something and meet other people. The restaurant was supposed to be near our wagon, just 2 or 3 wagons further. After the 7th, the door was closed. And where's the restaurant?? Or isn't there one? We went back to our cabin. Disappointed! Again: lay down and read.
Saturday, August 30, 2003
Transsib
What a night! I (Ramona) woke up hundreds of times because of the train shaking and rattling and not to know how to lay down. I was so tired and everything just hurt. In addition to that, there was a boiling heat and I started to get a headache. I really felt sick. What a torture!
Nicole had already been to the toilet and came back a few minutes later. That was quick! "Not at all. I still haven't been." When I (Nicole) got out of our cabin, the red light had already been on. the sign that the toilet is occupied. I had waited for 10 minutes and eventually knocked at the door. But nothing happened. So I took my book and Ramona joined me. We waited in the aisle. Still nothing happened. And we were not the only ones waiting. Or do we approach a station now? I had read that the toilets are closed 15 minutes before and after a station at which the train stops. In fact, the train stopped. We first had a look at what was going on at the station. Here, they sold everything. Dry fish, tomatoes, cucumbers, fruits, grains, 5 minute terrines, even teddies and tinker stuff. Main nourishments, beer and bread, was also sold. But we didn't want to buy anything, we had to go to the loo. After another 20 minutes the train moved again and we pitched our camp again in the aisle. Then eventually the toilet had been reopened. Relief! Afterwards we faced a new challenge. The following happened to both of us because of lack of communication: After business we had to clean our hands. Soap dispenser? Pushing the button, soap comes out. Water tap, no water. Opening cold button, no water. Opening hot button. Still no water. ??? Maybe there's a light barrier? No. Maybe there's a hidden pedal? Or do we have to use the one for the toilet? No. What about pressing the knee against the wall under the sink? Again negative. The whole drama hadn't been eased by the train's joggling and shaking. We had always knocked our heads and shoulders as we couldn't shore up having our hands soaped. We played with the tab, pressed it back and forth. No success. We pressed it up and ... what was that? Water! But only if you press it up all the time. And how can we clean our hands if one always has to press the tap?
From the upper beds we couldn't see a lot of the landscape. Therefore, we spent the rest of the day with reading.
Nicole had already been to the toilet and came back a few minutes later. That was quick! "Not at all. I still haven't been." When I (Nicole) got out of our cabin, the red light had already been on. the sign that the toilet is occupied. I had waited for 10 minutes and eventually knocked at the door. But nothing happened. So I took my book and Ramona joined me. We waited in the aisle. Still nothing happened. And we were not the only ones waiting. Or do we approach a station now? I had read that the toilets are closed 15 minutes before and after a station at which the train stops. In fact, the train stopped. We first had a look at what was going on at the station. Here, they sold everything. Dry fish, tomatoes, cucumbers, fruits, grains, 5 minute terrines, even teddies and tinker stuff. Main nourishments, beer and bread, was also sold. But we didn't want to buy anything, we had to go to the loo. After another 20 minutes the train moved again and we pitched our camp again in the aisle. Then eventually the toilet had been reopened. Relief! Afterwards we faced a new challenge. The following happened to both of us because of lack of communication: After business we had to clean our hands. Soap dispenser? Pushing the button, soap comes out. Water tap, no water. Opening cold button, no water. Opening hot button. Still no water. ??? Maybe there's a light barrier? No. Maybe there's a hidden pedal? Or do we have to use the one for the toilet? No. What about pressing the knee against the wall under the sink? Again negative. The whole drama hadn't been eased by the train's joggling and shaking. We had always knocked our heads and shoulders as we couldn't shore up having our hands soaped. We played with the tab, pressed it back and forth. No success. We pressed it up and ... what was that? Water! But only if you press it up all the time. And how can we clean our hands if one always has to press the tap?
From the upper beds we couldn't see a lot of the landscape. Therefore, we spent the rest of the day with reading.
Friday, August 29, 2003
Moscow
8am. Get up, we'll soon be in Moscow. At the station we followed the crowd to get out of it. We wanted to lock our luggage at the Jaroslaw station where the Transsib starts. This station was supposed to be next to the one where we arrived. But where is it? Moscow has eight stations, four should be here but we could only see the one at which we arrived. A nice Russian man came to help us. We locked our luggage and went through town. In fact, we only went to the Kreml and its surroundings. Unfortunately, the Red Square was closed because of the world-wide terroristic attacks. But we could walk around it. In the 'Catherdral of Christ the savior' just next to the Kreml we followed a Russian wedding. It was clear that we would not like to get married like that. Everything was just so impersonal. After walking for hours we were so tired that we sat down exhaustedly at the station. We had jumped over the back of the chair on two seats and only learned then that this was only for VIPs. One had to show his/her ticket but not everybody was allowed to enter. Too late. We sat down already. Nicole wanted to have it comfortable and laid down on two seats. Then the security man appeared. No laying down, just sitting. Actually, Nicole should have known better. At the station in Malmoe we had the same situation. Nicole sat down, he left. Then she took off her shoes and put her feet on the seat. Already the security man reared up. "Put down your feet. Tickets please." Ooops! We're lucky though and were allowed to stay.
At 11pm we went to our train. Of course, to the last wagon again. We shared our cabin with two Russians, mother and daughter. As my backpack didn't fit in the luggage compartment, the Russian girl offered to me to put it underneath her pallet. Has she carefully thought about that offer? Or didn't she realize that she had to get up every time I needed something? The train started moving. Finally, our Transsibirian journey starts! After a couple of minutes the conductor came. She brought us some blankets and also wanted Rubels 41 for that. Hadn't Mrs. Knop arranged for that? A few minutes later, she took our tickets with her. When we got them back we noticed that the ticket from Taischet to Irkutsk was missing. Oh no! How should we explain her that? It didn't matter - we still have two days to sort this out.
At 11pm we went to our train. Of course, to the last wagon again. We shared our cabin with two Russians, mother and daughter. As my backpack didn't fit in the luggage compartment, the Russian girl offered to me to put it underneath her pallet. Has she carefully thought about that offer? Or didn't she realize that she had to get up every time I needed something? The train started moving. Finally, our Transsibirian journey starts! After a couple of minutes the conductor came. She brought us some blankets and also wanted Rubels 41 for that. Hadn't Mrs. Knop arranged for that? A few minutes later, she took our tickets with her. When we got them back we noticed that the ticket from Taischet to Irkutsk was missing. Oh no! How should we explain her that? It didn't matter - we still have two days to sort this out.
Thursday, August 28, 2003
St. Petersburg - Moscow
Today, we had the second sight-seeing part on our list: All sights we couldn't see yesterday. Of course, only the most important ones. But the only interesting sight was the Isaacs Cathedral. We could climb the tower and we had a lovely panoramic view of St. Petersburg. Unfortunately, we were only allowed to take three pictures as we hadn't paid for it. That's why you can only see eight or nine pictures on our site. :)
After having packed our backpacks we filled up our washing up liquid. Of course not without having asked beforehand. At the farewell, Vladimir was surprised by our heavy backpacks and asked whether he should call us a taxi. Silly Billy, do we look like we shit money? Why don't you drive us? But we didn't say anything and trudged away.
We had the longest way to our train cabin, directly behind the locomotive. To our surprise it was a sleeping wagon. We wouldn't have booked it, but Mrs. Knop ... :)
After having packed our backpacks we filled up our washing up liquid. Of course not without having asked beforehand. At the farewell, Vladimir was surprised by our heavy backpacks and asked whether he should call us a taxi. Silly Billy, do we look like we shit money? Why don't you drive us? But we didn't say anything and trudged away.
We had the longest way to our train cabin, directly behind the locomotive. To our surprise it was a sleeping wagon. We wouldn't have booked it, but Mrs. Knop ... :)
Wednesday, August 27, 2003
St. Petersburg
After a nice breakfast we left our new home at 11am to explore St. Petersburg. Brave as we were, we had left our Russian books there. By now of course, we could read Russian pretty well. We'll manage the rest. That's what we thought. Already at the metro station we learned our lesson. They all only knew Russian. And please - what's the translation for 'A ticket please'? Well, we had to use our body language. Somehow they did understand us. After 2,5 minutes on the moving stairs we faced our next problem: Which direction with the metro? By the time we found out, three trains had already passed us. Aren't we good readers?
We spent all day with sight-seeing. Although we don't like big cities, we enjoyed it a lot.
We spent all day with sight-seeing. Although we don't like big cities, we enjoyed it a lot.
Tuesday, August 26, 2003
Helsinki - St. Petersburg
Even on our last day together, Pascal had not prepared breakfast for us. But of course, he happily served himself as we had prepared it. That's just him! Pascal went to town and we spent hours packing our backpacks. It was more to pack than usually as we had received our parcels. We were just about to leave when we thought about a last souvenir for Pascal. But what? But Pascal, what was that? Big mistake! And you'll notice tonight. The first thing we discovered - we hadn't even opened his tent - were the laces of his walking boots. It was obvious what had to be done. Our eyes couldn't even follow how fast the laces were knotted. :))
Then we were off to the mbar where we met Pascal again. He took us to the train to say good-bye. We got on the train and there was this unpleasant smell. No clue what this was?! Mouldy, maybe old?! We took our seats and at 3.42pm we left Helsinki. We started our Russian lesson. Not an easy job though. A woman came to our cabin to serve us with apple juice, joghurt and two muffins. Funny - just like in a plane. At 6pm German time = 7pm Finnish time we reached the Russian border. It was 8pm. How time flies!
At 10.30pm we reached St. Petersburg. Viktor picked us up and took us to our guest family. The flat was in the backyard. Of course, on the upper floor, no elevator but therefore 96 steps. Ouch! A young girl called Alyona welcame us and showed us around. She and her grandma, who knows German perfectly, recommended us several things to do for tomorrow's sight-seeing tour. Lateron, Vladimir, the grandma's son and Alyona's father, joined us. It got 2am before we went to bed. What a feeling! After four weeks finally a real bed!
Pascal had sent a text message:"Wait till I get you home. Revenche is waiting for you." Nice to see that he liked our souvenir.
Then we were off to the mbar where we met Pascal again. He took us to the train to say good-bye. We got on the train and there was this unpleasant smell. No clue what this was?! Mouldy, maybe old?! We took our seats and at 3.42pm we left Helsinki. We started our Russian lesson. Not an easy job though. A woman came to our cabin to serve us with apple juice, joghurt and two muffins. Funny - just like in a plane. At 6pm German time = 7pm Finnish time we reached the Russian border. It was 8pm. How time flies!
At 10.30pm we reached St. Petersburg. Viktor picked us up and took us to our guest family. The flat was in the backyard. Of course, on the upper floor, no elevator but therefore 96 steps. Ouch! A young girl called Alyona welcame us and showed us around. She and her grandma, who knows German perfectly, recommended us several things to do for tomorrow's sight-seeing tour. Lateron, Vladimir, the grandma's son and Alyona's father, joined us. It got 2am before we went to bed. What a feeling! After four weeks finally a real bed!
Pascal had sent a text message:"Wait till I get you home. Revenche is waiting for you." Nice to see that he liked our souvenir.
Monday, August 25, 2003
Helsinki
Actually we thought that our breakfast would be ready as we got up at 9am, but ... men! How could we expect. Pascal had only thought of himself but as we had our breakfast ready he was happy to join us.
At 11am we went off to the town. We had a lot to do:
- buy the train ticket to St Petersburg (€47.90)
- get 1 and 2 Euro Cent coins for collecting (the Finish coins are not used for payment, only for collection. You pay at least 3,50 € for a set of 1,2,5 Cent.)
- get traveler checks cashed
- get the parcels from our families at the post office (thanks for keeping fingers crossed, it helped!)
- sent home our books which we gave already collected on the trip = 9 books (Parcel costed €23, not much cheaper than in Sweden)
- Supermarket
- final update at Internet Cafe (Shit, this time we had to pay the full price!)
For dinner we met up with Pascal and went to MC Donalds. Later we went to the movies to watch "Identity". Pretty good. Of course, it goes without saying that we spent our last evening in the TV Room.
At 11am we went off to the town. We had a lot to do:
- buy the train ticket to St Petersburg (€47.90)
- get 1 and 2 Euro Cent coins for collecting (the Finish coins are not used for payment, only for collection. You pay at least 3,50 € for a set of 1,2,5 Cent.)
- get traveler checks cashed
- get the parcels from our families at the post office (thanks for keeping fingers crossed, it helped!)
- sent home our books which we gave already collected on the trip = 9 books (Parcel costed €23, not much cheaper than in Sweden)
- Supermarket
- final update at Internet Cafe (Shit, this time we had to pay the full price!)
For dinner we met up with Pascal and went to MC Donalds. Later we went to the movies to watch "Identity". Pretty good. Of course, it goes without saying that we spent our last evening in the TV Room.
Helsinki
Actually we thought that our breakfast would be ready as we got up at 9am, but ... men! How could we expect. Pascal had only thought of himself but as we had our breakfast ready he was happy to join us.
At 11am we went off to the town. We had a lot to do:
- buy the train ticket to St Petersburg (€47.90)
- get 1 and 2 Euro Cent coins for collecting (the Finish coins are not used for payment, only for collection. You pay at least 3,50 € for a set of 1,2,5 Cent.)
- get traveler checks cashed
- get the parcels from our families at the post office (thanks for keeping fingers crossed, it helped!)
- sent home our books which we gave already collected on the trip = 9 books (Parcel costed €23, not much cheaper than in Sweden)
- Supermarket
- final update at Internet Cafe (Shit, this time we had to pay the full price!)
For dinner we met up with Pascal and went to MC Donalds. Later we went to the movies to watch "Identity". Pretty good. Of course, it goes without saying that we spent our last evening in the TV Room.
At 11am we went off to the town. We had a lot to do:
- buy the train ticket to St Petersburg (€47.90)
- get 1 and 2 Euro Cent coins for collecting (the Finish coins are not used for payment, only for collection. You pay at least 3,50 € for a set of 1,2,5 Cent.)
- get traveler checks cashed
- get the parcels from our families at the post office (thanks for keeping fingers crossed, it helped!)
- sent home our books which we gave already collected on the trip = 9 books (Parcel costed €23, not much cheaper than in Sweden)
- Supermarket
- final update at Internet Cafe (Shit, this time we had to pay the full price!)
For dinner we met up with Pascal and went to MC Donalds. Later we went to the movies to watch "Identity". Pretty good. Of course, it goes without saying that we spent our last evening in the TV Room.
Sunday, August 24, 2003
Helsinki
Even though today was Sunday, we had to get up early. Washing cloths was on the program. Already at 9am the first machine was running. We used the time to write the next report for the homepage. Did we actually learn?
Since it was raining all the time we spent the afternoon watching Formula 1 on TV.
Round 8pm it stopped raining for a while so we prepared our dinner. Macaroni al Pesto. We were just talking about Pascal, of who we still hadn't heard a thing although he was going to be in Helsinki tonight, and all over sudden there he was. What a surprise! We didn't think we would see him again so quickly. He was just in time for dinner. Just like in the good old times we were sitting together at "our" table. And of course, we spent the rest of the evening in the TV room.
Since it was raining all the time we spent the afternoon watching Formula 1 on TV.
Round 8pm it stopped raining for a while so we prepared our dinner. Macaroni al Pesto. We were just talking about Pascal, of who we still hadn't heard a thing although he was going to be in Helsinki tonight, and all over sudden there he was. What a surprise! We didn't think we would see him again so quickly. He was just in time for dinner. Just like in the good old times we were sitting together at "our" table. And of course, we spent the rest of the evening in the TV room.
Saturday, August 23, 2003
Helsinki
It was raining as we woke up. Why couldn't it have rained yesterday? Today, we wanted to go to town. Well, we started the day by learning our Russian Alphabet. Maybe meanwhile it would stop raining. But no, not even after we had our shower it didn't stop. So today we've had breakfast in our tent. No eggs, no tomatoes, not even hot chocolate nor tea.
In town we first went to the post office to check whether our parcels from our families had arrived. Ha, you thought we just wanted to use the free Internet again, didn't you? No, not today. Of course, the counter for picking up parcels was closed on Saturdays. Keep your fingers crossed that we'll have more luck on Monday and the parcels will be there.
Then we went to the M-Bar. Again we needed over 7 hours for the reports for the homepage and other stuff. As we both wanted to write our last email for the day, suddenly there was a loud bang and everything turned dark. The power was gone. It seemed to be the whole building block. So we paid. And as usual they didn't want to have our money. Of course, we were cheating a little, but after explaining that girl several times that we needed to pay for 3-4 hours each she still only charged us for 3,5 hours all together. Tough luck, we didn't complain any longer.
We went to the cinema. This time to watch a movie and not only to have popcorn. But here everything was dark, too. Was all of Helsinki out off power??? We gave it a chance and waited for about 10 minutes and we got lucky. The power came back on. But after the announcement of the staff we didn't feel that lucky anymore. All movies had been cancelled until 10.45pm. Great, that's too late for us as there are no trains to the campsite after 11.30pm. Well, maybe at least have some popcorn then. Negative, they had closed.
So what to do with the rest of the evening? There was a free live concert in town but there was no getting through. Finally, we went to a restaurant. A really cool place. It looked like a German brewery and had a bar and disco all in one.
Back at the campsite we went for a little evening walk to the river. Unfortunately, it ended pretty fast. The whole river area was locked with a fence. So there was nothing left to do but go to sleep.
In town we first went to the post office to check whether our parcels from our families had arrived. Ha, you thought we just wanted to use the free Internet again, didn't you? No, not today. Of course, the counter for picking up parcels was closed on Saturdays. Keep your fingers crossed that we'll have more luck on Monday and the parcels will be there.
Then we went to the M-Bar. Again we needed over 7 hours for the reports for the homepage and other stuff. As we both wanted to write our last email for the day, suddenly there was a loud bang and everything turned dark. The power was gone. It seemed to be the whole building block. So we paid. And as usual they didn't want to have our money. Of course, we were cheating a little, but after explaining that girl several times that we needed to pay for 3-4 hours each she still only charged us for 3,5 hours all together. Tough luck, we didn't complain any longer.
We went to the cinema. This time to watch a movie and not only to have popcorn. But here everything was dark, too. Was all of Helsinki out off power??? We gave it a chance and waited for about 10 minutes and we got lucky. The power came back on. But after the announcement of the staff we didn't feel that lucky anymore. All movies had been cancelled until 10.45pm. Great, that's too late for us as there are no trains to the campsite after 11.30pm. Well, maybe at least have some popcorn then. Negative, they had closed.
So what to do with the rest of the evening? There was a free live concert in town but there was no getting through. Finally, we went to a restaurant. A really cool place. It looked like a German brewery and had a bar and disco all in one.
Back at the campsite we went for a little evening walk to the river. Unfortunately, it ended pretty fast. The whole river area was locked with a fence. So there was nothing left to do but go to sleep.
Friday, August 22, 2003
Helsinki
There is not much to say about today. We spent it in the TV room, writing the reports for our website which we hadn't done for 9 days. What a nightmare! Already last time when we had to write so much we said we would keep it up day by day. But laziness needs punishment. :-) Of course, no rain today!
By the way, relating to our criminal career we maybe should mention that we equipped ourselves with toilet paper for our transsib trip. How?! Well, we just took it out of the box in the TV room. :-)
By the way, relating to our criminal career we maybe should mention that we equipped ourselves with toilet paper for our transsib trip. How?! Well, we just took it out of the box in the TV room. :-)
Thursday, August 21, 2003
Helsinki
Today, we met Anna-Leena at 12.30pm at the station in Helsinki. We spent the whole day with her. We walked trough the town and passed the market at the harbor. Here, you can buy food and drinks, cloths, souvenirs and jewelry. But sometimes you don't even have to pay for it. We have no clue how we all over sudden had two new earrings... Some time during the afternoon we went to the RTT travel agency to pick up our visas. Everything had worked out fine. Now we were all set for our Russian trip. It was a really interesting day. Anna-Leena told us a lot about the Finish life.
After we had said good-bye to Anna-Leena we went to the cinema only to get some popcorn. Originally, we didn't want to watch a film, but as it started to rain ... 'Basic' with John Travolta, pretty good!
After we had said good-bye to Anna-Leena we went to the cinema only to get some popcorn. Originally, we didn't want to watch a film, but as it started to rain ... 'Basic' with John Travolta, pretty good!
Wednesday, August 20, 2003
Turku - Helsinki
What a night! I (Nicole) was just about to fall asleep as I heard a strange sound. It was not the rain falling on our tent. Might this have been the animal Ramona had heard the night before? I listened and looked outside a few times but I couldn't see anything. But there had to be! I could hear something rattling at the plastic bags. Then at my backpack. I turned on the lights again and finally I saw it. A mouse! I tried everything to scare it away, but it kept coming back all the time. It really got on my nerves! And Ramona was sleeping like a baby. At some point I didn't care anymore. I just wanted to sleep. I couldn't have won anyway.
We took everything slow and had breakfast as the French people already had their lunch. At 2pm we were ready to check out. Again we only had to pay for 2 nights instead of 3. Can someone maybe explain this to us?
The train to Helsinki left at 3pm. We were just on time. In Helsinki, we went to a book store and bought the book "Teach yourself Russian". We thought the transsib trip was a good opportunity to learn another language. In addition, it's going to help us a lot to read the signs in Russia.
On the way to the campsite we stopped at the petrol station to refill the bottle for our cooker. We kept our backpacks on. Because I (Ramona) had had some bad experiences with petrol coming out of the hose before I could even tuck it in the bottle, I wanted to warn Nicole. But as if she hadn't listened she knelt down further and further. I asked her again: "Didn't you hear ...", before I realized that it was her backpack pulling her down and she suddenly lay in front of me like a turtle on its shell four legs in the air. We burst out with laughter!
We checked in at the campsite, collected our stored luggage and set up the tent near our former place close to "our" table. Then as usual, off we went to the TV room. Nicole started learning Russian and I was trying to finish off reading my last book. Nicole politely wanted to fill our caps with lemonade but the bottle slipped off her hand. She was lucky, not a lot had spilled out. But after she grabbed it and put it upright she slammed it so hard on the table that lemonade spread out like a fountain. The table was soaked with lemonade. What a mess!
We took everything slow and had breakfast as the French people already had their lunch. At 2pm we were ready to check out. Again we only had to pay for 2 nights instead of 3. Can someone maybe explain this to us?
The train to Helsinki left at 3pm. We were just on time. In Helsinki, we went to a book store and bought the book "Teach yourself Russian". We thought the transsib trip was a good opportunity to learn another language. In addition, it's going to help us a lot to read the signs in Russia.
On the way to the campsite we stopped at the petrol station to refill the bottle for our cooker. We kept our backpacks on. Because I (Ramona) had had some bad experiences with petrol coming out of the hose before I could even tuck it in the bottle, I wanted to warn Nicole. But as if she hadn't listened she knelt down further and further. I asked her again: "Didn't you hear ...", before I realized that it was her backpack pulling her down and she suddenly lay in front of me like a turtle on its shell four legs in the air. We burst out with laughter!
We checked in at the campsite, collected our stored luggage and set up the tent near our former place close to "our" table. Then as usual, off we went to the TV room. Nicole started learning Russian and I was trying to finish off reading my last book. Nicole politely wanted to fill our caps with lemonade but the bottle slipped off her hand. She was lucky, not a lot had spilled out. But after she grabbed it and put it upright she slammed it so hard on the table that lemonade spread out like a fountain. The table was soaked with lemonade. What a mess!
Tuesday, August 19, 2003
Turku
Pascal wanted to leave us today to get on with his travel plans for Kusamoo. After breakfast he started to pack and we enjoyed the sun while reading. As he went to wash the dishes he dared to only take his stuff. He had to be punished for that. Quickly we tied his shoe laces together. Both pairs. Then he showed us how to change the nozzle of our cooker. We almost got bad conscious. But no, he deserved it. He continued packing and all over sudden he screamed. He had just discovered his laced hiking boots. Not even looking at the second pair he started untying them. It was so funny to watch him as his underlip moved forward more and more. We were already looking forward to the next pair. It took quite a while before he noticed the second pair of shoes. "I knew it!" he screamed "I knew it the whole time!". While Pascal went to the beach we untied his shoes. It was 17.30pm when he left us.
Today we wanted to cook fried potatoes which we tried to cook with the spirit we had received from a camp neighbour this morning. But the cooker didn't work, not even after we took it apart to clean everything. And as if that wasn't enough it started to rain. After a while we had enough and took everything to the camp kitchen. As it didn't stop raining we spent the rest of the evening there.
Today we wanted to cook fried potatoes which we tried to cook with the spirit we had received from a camp neighbour this morning. But the cooker didn't work, not even after we took it apart to clean everything. And as if that wasn't enough it started to rain. After a while we had enough and took everything to the camp kitchen. As it didn't stop raining we spent the rest of the evening there.
Monday, August 18, 2003
Turku - Naantali - Turku
8.20am, we couldn't believe it. Is there no quiet place at all? The Turkish people probably believed they were alone at the campsite. As if there wasn't enough space they had to set up their tents right next to ours yesterday. Nothing had changed after 10 minutes, so Nicole asked them politely to at least turn down the music. To our surprise they turned it off completely but only to replace the noise with their loud talking. After 15 minutes still the same game. Nicole lost her patience and shouted "Haal de Back!" (something like 'shut the fuck up') Silence, but only for a moment. Then the man said "But we have the right to speak." so I shot back "Yes, but not to shout!" We looked at each other and laughed. Of course, they still didn't stop.
After breakfast we went sightseeing in Turku and further to Naantali, another town with a wooden house area. Much more charming than Porvoo. A wonderful harbor, swimming bays and crossing a pier you get to another tiny island where children can visit Moominworld.
It was already late as we took the bus back to the campsite but as if we didn't walk enough already the last station at this time of day was the Hotel 700m before the campsite. Sure that wasn't really far but we were tired and hungry.
After a giant portion of Spaghetti Nicole and Pascal played "Two old Ladies at the hairdressers". Why, because of all the mosquitoes they put on their mosquito net caps which looked like hairdryers at the hairdressers. We laughed our heads off.
After breakfast we went sightseeing in Turku and further to Naantali, another town with a wooden house area. Much more charming than Porvoo. A wonderful harbor, swimming bays and crossing a pier you get to another tiny island where children can visit Moominworld.
It was already late as we took the bus back to the campsite but as if we didn't walk enough already the last station at this time of day was the Hotel 700m before the campsite. Sure that wasn't really far but we were tired and hungry.
After a giant portion of Spaghetti Nicole and Pascal played "Two old Ladies at the hairdressers". Why, because of all the mosquitoes they put on their mosquito net caps which looked like hairdryers at the hairdressers. We laughed our heads off.
Sunday, August 17, 2003
Helsinki - Turku
Today, we took down our tent and went to Turku for a few days which is the oldest town in Finland. We packed the tent, sleeping bag, Inflater, cooking stuff, towel and toothbrush and left the rest at the campsite reception where we got a good deal for the storage after a short discussion.
The train to Turku left at 14.03pm. Two hours later we were there. The campsite is based on a small island about 20 minutes bus ride outside town. It was a quiet place with not many people. And a beach was there as well. After putting up our tents we went for a little walk round the island.
Later we relaxed with a cup of tea. It felt really good not to have to watch TV for once.
The train to Turku left at 14.03pm. Two hours later we were there. The campsite is based on a small island about 20 minutes bus ride outside town. It was a quiet place with not many people. And a beach was there as well. After putting up our tents we went for a little walk round the island.
Later we relaxed with a cup of tea. It felt really good not to have to watch TV for once.
Saturday, August 16, 2003
Helsinki
During breakfast Pascal asked us if we wouldn't like to come to Kusamoo to hike for a few days. We would have liked to but as we arranged to meet up with Anna-Leena on the 21st, it wasn't worth going all that way. We'd rather go to closer places like Porvoo and Turku. Pascal was fine with that. As Porvoo is good for a half day trip the decision was quickly made for today.
After an hour bus ride we reached Provoo, full of expectations. In our travel book we had read that this town had a harbor area with wooden houses which reminded of Sweden. The Dutch couple from yesterday also said that Porvoo was worth a trip. But as we were walking through the wooden house alley we were very disappointed. For us it looked like the houses were especially put there for tourists.
Tonight we were the cooks. Therefore, we chose fish-fingers and mashed potatoes. After doing the dishes we went to the TV room for a change. :-)
After an hour bus ride we reached Provoo, full of expectations. In our travel book we had read that this town had a harbor area with wooden houses which reminded of Sweden. The Dutch couple from yesterday also said that Porvoo was worth a trip. But as we were walking through the wooden house alley we were very disappointed. For us it looked like the houses were especially put there for tourists.
Tonight we were the cooks. Therefore, we chose fish-fingers and mashed potatoes. After doing the dishes we went to the TV room for a change. :-)
Friday, August 15, 2003
Helsinki
As I (Nicole) got up at 9am that Dutch couple from yesterday sat on "our" table again. I joined them and we got into a conversation, as suddenly my eyes fell upon a tiny egg whip. I was thrilled, we were looking for one exactly like that for days. Only yesterday I had asked my mum to send us one by post as it seemed impossible to buy it here. I was smelling my chance and asked him where he bought it. The Dutch guy just smiled, handed it to me and said I could keep it. Seems there are still some nice Dutch people out there. :-)
After having had breakfast with Pascal he fixed my sandals sewing the lace which had come apart. You remember that I had only bought them in Norköpping. Afterwards, Pascal went shopping as he wanted to cook dinner for us. We instead went into town to see a skater event. It was a skateboard, inliner and bicycler competition at the harbor, the age didn't play a role. Just before the second run it bursted down with rain. It seemed like the end of the world. In only a few minutes we were standing in water several cm high. However, we were the only ones who were prepared with proper rain cloths. The competition got stopped and ended so we went back to the campsite.
Pascal had cooked already. Potatoes and Fish. Will I be able to eat that? I tried and to my surprise it wasn't all that bad.
Guess where we spent the rest of the evening! Right, in the TV room.
After having had breakfast with Pascal he fixed my sandals sewing the lace which had come apart. You remember that I had only bought them in Norköpping. Afterwards, Pascal went shopping as he wanted to cook dinner for us. We instead went into town to see a skater event. It was a skateboard, inliner and bicycler competition at the harbor, the age didn't play a role. Just before the second run it bursted down with rain. It seemed like the end of the world. In only a few minutes we were standing in water several cm high. However, we were the only ones who were prepared with proper rain cloths. The competition got stopped and ended so we went back to the campsite.
Pascal had cooked already. Potatoes and Fish. Will I be able to eat that? I tried and to my surprise it wasn't all that bad.
Guess where we spent the rest of the evening! Right, in the TV room.
Thursday, August 14, 2003
Helsinki
We struggled a bit to get up and running this morning. No wonder with that weather. It was raining cats and dogs. Even after a long hot shower, the sun still didn't seem to want to come out. So we went to the TV room.
Later in the afternoon we met up in town with Pascal. It was a lazy day. We were so lazy that we couldn't even bother to cook dinner and went to MC Donalds instead.
This exiting day ended in the TV room with yesterdays bottle of red wine and cheese.
Later in the afternoon we met up in town with Pascal. It was a lazy day. We were so lazy that we couldn't even bother to cook dinner and went to MC Donalds instead.
This exiting day ended in the TV room with yesterdays bottle of red wine and cheese.
Wednesday, August 13, 2003
Helsinki
After having had a shower on this special day, Ramona surprised me with a birthday song. Just like in the 'Yes Torty' advertisement Ramona gave me a biscuit with a candle on top. How nice, but wasn't the biscuit already 4 weeks old?! Then she surprised me again. Secretly the last couple of days she had arranged a present from Andrea and Günni to give to me. As it was my special day Ramona said I could decide what I wanted to do today.
So at first we had a nice long breakfast. Like every day and tonight we'll go to the movies. It didn't take long and Pascal came over. He wanted to pick up the key to his flat from a friend and asked us if we wanted to come to the city with him. Sure, as we had to arrange our visa and visit the other weirdo again, to tell him 'no thanks'. But first we went to the post again to check our emails. Did Mrs Knop write again? She did and had made the perfect travel plan for us. We confirmed directly. Too bad, now weirdo had lost already and couldn't even show us how brilliant he was. We paid €1,041 for the 3 weeks trip with the Transsibirian Rail. Who still thinks this is expensive, wait and see what Mrs Knop arranged for us. And guess what! You can read all about it in our diary. Also I was very surprised how many people thought of me and sent me a mail for my birthday. What a good feeling to know that you haven't forgotten about me yet.
We arranged to meet Pascal later on in the harbor and went to the weirdo. He did fulfill his task but pretty careless. He proved to us that we had taken the right choice to book with Mrs Knop. Being in a very good mood we went to the RTT agency to arrange our Visas. Here, they didn't need any travel booking arrangement to provide the Visa like at the Embassy. What they did need though was a certificate of an International health insurance. We did have this paper but only on email and not printed. No problem, Ramona could use the computer to log into her emails and print off the certificate, of course in double copy. She used the opportunity well and also printed off the travel schedule from Mrs Knop and another private email. I didn't sleep either. While nobody was watching I quickly grabbed 2 pens and put them in my bag. Does a criminal career start like this?
We met up with Pascal at the harbor, bought 2 liters of cherries, went into the park and enjoyed the sun. Pascal was not as lucky as we were, he didn't get the key to his flat, which meant staying another night at the campsite. This should be the beginning of a funny week. Although Pascal and later Ramona had bad stomach aches from eating too many cherries, we bought a bottle of red wine and went to the movies. We watched 'Phonebooth' and had a giant bag of popcorn each. Back at the campsite we were too tired to drink the red wine, the only thing we could still manage was to watch TV.
So at first we had a nice long breakfast. Like every day and tonight we'll go to the movies. It didn't take long and Pascal came over. He wanted to pick up the key to his flat from a friend and asked us if we wanted to come to the city with him. Sure, as we had to arrange our visa and visit the other weirdo again, to tell him 'no thanks'. But first we went to the post again to check our emails. Did Mrs Knop write again? She did and had made the perfect travel plan for us. We confirmed directly. Too bad, now weirdo had lost already and couldn't even show us how brilliant he was. We paid €1,041 for the 3 weeks trip with the Transsibirian Rail. Who still thinks this is expensive, wait and see what Mrs Knop arranged for us. And guess what! You can read all about it in our diary. Also I was very surprised how many people thought of me and sent me a mail for my birthday. What a good feeling to know that you haven't forgotten about me yet.
We arranged to meet Pascal later on in the harbor and went to the weirdo. He did fulfill his task but pretty careless. He proved to us that we had taken the right choice to book with Mrs Knop. Being in a very good mood we went to the RTT agency to arrange our Visas. Here, they didn't need any travel booking arrangement to provide the Visa like at the Embassy. What they did need though was a certificate of an International health insurance. We did have this paper but only on email and not printed. No problem, Ramona could use the computer to log into her emails and print off the certificate, of course in double copy. She used the opportunity well and also printed off the travel schedule from Mrs Knop and another private email. I didn't sleep either. While nobody was watching I quickly grabbed 2 pens and put them in my bag. Does a criminal career start like this?
We met up with Pascal at the harbor, bought 2 liters of cherries, went into the park and enjoyed the sun. Pascal was not as lucky as we were, he didn't get the key to his flat, which meant staying another night at the campsite. This should be the beginning of a funny week. Although Pascal and later Ramona had bad stomach aches from eating too many cherries, we bought a bottle of red wine and went to the movies. We watched 'Phonebooth' and had a giant bag of popcorn each. Back at the campsite we were too tired to drink the red wine, the only thing we could still manage was to watch TV.
Tuesday, August 12, 2003
Helsinki
It was just before 11am when we arrived at the Russian Embassy. Masses of people were crowded in front of the gate. Probably about 10 people. But we were lucky. People who needed Visas could come in directly. We filled in our application form only to be told after that we had to go to a travel agency first to book our trip in Russia and then come back. The Visa would cost €37 and would be ready in 6 days. The woman at the counter showed us a board on the wall were 5 travel agencies were stated who could help us with the bookings.
We wrote them all down and went to the first one. But this was only the Headquarters who couldn't do any bookings and they sent us to the next one. As we were near the post office, we decided to have a look at our emails first. Maybe Mrs Knop had replied. We've been in contact with her since a few days to organize our transsib trip from a to z. But also her 2nd offer was still too expensive for us although we were thrilled by the program. One last time we asked her to adjust the offer according to our price limit. To compare prices with the finish travel agency, we went to have a look at the 2nd one on the Embassies list. The bunny in this agency was totally lost. She had no idea what we were talking about. So off we went to the next travel agency, RTT. But also here they couldn't help us. Although they offered us to organize our Visa for €62 in 6 days. In addition, we received an address of another agency which was specialized on transsib trips. That sounds great, let's go. We arrived at a closed door. How come? Open hours from 10am - 15.30pm, lunch 13.30pm - 14.30pm. Someone should be back in half an hour. We sat on the doorstep waiting. 14.40pm, we were just about to leave as a man came and asked us if we were waiting for the door to open. What kind of question was that? Didn't it look obvious?! The guy opened the door and we stepped in. We explained to him our plans and were hoping that he could offer us something. He couldn't. This guy was so weired! He couldn't explain anything to us nor convince us to book with him. But just like Ralf in Gjesvaer that weirdo should be given a second chance. His task was to deliver us an offer for the transsib tour until tomorrow afternoon. As we left his office we knew already that we would not book anything with him.
This evening we explored the TV Room at the campsite. There were not only two German channels: MTV and 3Sat, no, there were also a lot of sockets. Of course, we used them straight away. We started watching TV and soon Nicole fell asleep. A man cam in and asked whether he could change channels and I said sure. He chose a film in a language I didn't know. He didn't even stay 5 minutes before he left. Great! What did he change channels for then? I couldn't bother to move and nearly fell asleep as well, as another guy entered the room. He sat down next to me. After quite a while he asked me what the film was about. No idea I said. I don't understand a word. He got up and switched to another program and only then we found out that we were both from Germany. His name was Pascal and he was from Wittlich. How small is the world!
We wrote them all down and went to the first one. But this was only the Headquarters who couldn't do any bookings and they sent us to the next one. As we were near the post office, we decided to have a look at our emails first. Maybe Mrs Knop had replied. We've been in contact with her since a few days to organize our transsib trip from a to z. But also her 2nd offer was still too expensive for us although we were thrilled by the program. One last time we asked her to adjust the offer according to our price limit. To compare prices with the finish travel agency, we went to have a look at the 2nd one on the Embassies list. The bunny in this agency was totally lost. She had no idea what we were talking about. So off we went to the next travel agency, RTT. But also here they couldn't help us. Although they offered us to organize our Visa for €62 in 6 days. In addition, we received an address of another agency which was specialized on transsib trips. That sounds great, let's go. We arrived at a closed door. How come? Open hours from 10am - 15.30pm, lunch 13.30pm - 14.30pm. Someone should be back in half an hour. We sat on the doorstep waiting. 14.40pm, we were just about to leave as a man came and asked us if we were waiting for the door to open. What kind of question was that? Didn't it look obvious?! The guy opened the door and we stepped in. We explained to him our plans and were hoping that he could offer us something. He couldn't. This guy was so weired! He couldn't explain anything to us nor convince us to book with him. But just like Ralf in Gjesvaer that weirdo should be given a second chance. His task was to deliver us an offer for the transsib tour until tomorrow afternoon. As we left his office we knew already that we would not book anything with him.
This evening we explored the TV Room at the campsite. There were not only two German channels: MTV and 3Sat, no, there were also a lot of sockets. Of course, we used them straight away. We started watching TV and soon Nicole fell asleep. A man cam in and asked whether he could change channels and I said sure. He chose a film in a language I didn't know. He didn't even stay 5 minutes before he left. Great! What did he change channels for then? I couldn't bother to move and nearly fell asleep as well, as another guy entered the room. He sat down next to me. After quite a while he asked me what the film was about. No idea I said. I don't understand a word. He got up and switched to another program and only then we found out that we were both from Germany. His name was Pascal and he was from Wittlich. How small is the world!
Monday, August 11, 2003
Helsinki
Today was a special day. We had to go to the Embassy. Therefore we should better have a shower and brush our teeth.
We awoke at 9am. Damn it, too late! Between 9am and 9.30am the showers got cleaned. So we had to stay in bed. But at 9.45am we could go. I (Ramona) needed a little longer today, so meanwhile Nicole prepared the breakfast. We had just finished eating as 2 squirrels came to visit us. Unfortunately, Nicole had gone to the toilet. The squirrels were playing in the trees nearby and I was so fascinated by them not being shy at all. I quickly took some pictures which came out pretty well. As Nicole came back I showed them to her excitedly. But she just said: "So what, I thought you would have cleaned up the table." When we finally left the campsite shortly after 11am it was clear that again we wouldn't make it on time to the Embassy. Remember, they close at 12pm. Maybe we'll manage tomorrow. And then we won't need to shower.
We went to the Internet Cafe and as always we spent hours on checking emails and updating our website. Afterwards we strolled through the Bonzenviertel of Helsinki. When we passed by a stage where a band played live music, we stopped to listen. It was a young finish band called Pihka. Not bad. We found out that during the summer there are bands playing every day in the afternoon. When the music stopped we went to have a little drink in a cafe. Well, mostly we don't go to the pubs because of the drinks, but to recharge our mobiles and cameras.
As we got back to our campsite round 10pm we got hit by a truck. What happened here? Our rubbish bag seemed to have exploded. Our garbage was laying around everywhere! Although we had closed the bag with knots and put it under our tent. Might that have been our finish neighbors who we didn't think were worth mentioning before? It surely hadn't been an animal as the bag got unknotted and not ripped apart. Will we ever find out?
We awoke at 9am. Damn it, too late! Between 9am and 9.30am the showers got cleaned. So we had to stay in bed. But at 9.45am we could go. I (Ramona) needed a little longer today, so meanwhile Nicole prepared the breakfast. We had just finished eating as 2 squirrels came to visit us. Unfortunately, Nicole had gone to the toilet. The squirrels were playing in the trees nearby and I was so fascinated by them not being shy at all. I quickly took some pictures which came out pretty well. As Nicole came back I showed them to her excitedly. But she just said: "So what, I thought you would have cleaned up the table." When we finally left the campsite shortly after 11am it was clear that again we wouldn't make it on time to the Embassy. Remember, they close at 12pm. Maybe we'll manage tomorrow. And then we won't need to shower.
We went to the Internet Cafe and as always we spent hours on checking emails and updating our website. Afterwards we strolled through the Bonzenviertel of Helsinki. When we passed by a stage where a band played live music, we stopped to listen. It was a young finish band called Pihka. Not bad. We found out that during the summer there are bands playing every day in the afternoon. When the music stopped we went to have a little drink in a cafe. Well, mostly we don't go to the pubs because of the drinks, but to recharge our mobiles and cameras.
As we got back to our campsite round 10pm we got hit by a truck. What happened here? Our rubbish bag seemed to have exploded. Our garbage was laying around everywhere! Although we had closed the bag with knots and put it under our tent. Might that have been our finish neighbors who we didn't think were worth mentioning before? It surely hadn't been an animal as the bag got unknotted and not ripped apart. Will we ever find out?
Sunday, August 10, 2003
Helsinki
Maybe we should have had some tea last night. That way, while running to the toilet, we might have noticed that we were slowly drowning in puddles. But we only saw the mess in the morning. Inflater wet, sleeping bag wet, clothes and backpack. Nearly everything. But were did the water come from? The rain was floating between the plastic sheet underneath the tent and the tent bottom and squeezed itself through the tent floor.
So we both got up quite pissed, took off the top tent and put everything to dry, including our cloths. Originally, we wanted to go sightseeing, but after all this we were no longer in the mood. We spent another day reading.
For dinner we cooked our first vegetable soup. The best we ever had! For recipes ... 'grin'
So we both got up quite pissed, took off the top tent and put everything to dry, including our cloths. Originally, we wanted to go sightseeing, but after all this we were no longer in the mood. We spent another day reading.
For dinner we cooked our first vegetable soup. The best we ever had! For recipes ... 'grin'
Helsinki
Maybe we should have had some tea last night. That way, while running to the toilet, we might have noticed that we were slowly drowning in puddles. But we only saw the mess in the morning. Inflater wet, sleeping bag wet, clothes and backpack. Nearly everything. But were did the water come from? The rain was floating between the plastic sheet underneath the tent and the tent bottom and squeezed itself through the tent floor.
So we both got up quite pissed, took off the top tent and put everything to dry, including our cloths. Originally, we wanted to go sightseeing, but after all this we were no longer in the mood. We spent another day reading.
For dinner we cooked our first vegetable soup. The best we ever had! For recipes ... 'grin'
So we both got up quite pissed, took off the top tent and put everything to dry, including our cloths. Originally, we wanted to go sightseeing, but after all this we were no longer in the mood. We spent another day reading.
For dinner we cooked our first vegetable soup. The best we ever had! For recipes ... 'grin'
Saturday, August 09, 2003
Helsinki
For those who don't know it yet, just for info: it's no good to drink nearly half a liter tea just before you go to bed. Because then you can be sure to run to the toilet several times at night. Just talking of experience.
After a late breakfast we went to do our washing. Because there was just one washing machine, we had to register at the reception first. For €4.50 we got a token for the machine.
The afternoon we spent at the campsite reading. Just like in Gjesvaer the weather was teasing us again. Cloths on, cloths off, all the time. Just before the shops closed we went to buy our dinner. Spinach with potatoes and eggs. Mmh, it tasted good. But maybe we should mention that there was not a lot of spinach taste but milk and flour.
In the evening it started to rain and we had to sit in the tent. Bad timing, as we could have seen the Mars tonight.
After a late breakfast we went to do our washing. Because there was just one washing machine, we had to register at the reception first. For €4.50 we got a token for the machine.
The afternoon we spent at the campsite reading. Just like in Gjesvaer the weather was teasing us again. Cloths on, cloths off, all the time. Just before the shops closed we went to buy our dinner. Spinach with potatoes and eggs. Mmh, it tasted good. But maybe we should mention that there was not a lot of spinach taste but milk and flour.
In the evening it started to rain and we had to sit in the tent. Bad timing, as we could have seen the Mars tonight.
Friday, August 08, 2003
Helsinki
We had to wake up early in order to go to the embassy. First alarm clock set off at 7.50am, second at 8am and the third at 8.10am. Needless to say that we were not really in the mood to get up. We had no choice. After the shower we had breakfast. The delicious, well kept left over bread from the Reindeer soup. Remember, 3 days ago!
Afterwards we went on our way to the German embassy. But why to the German embassy? We wanted a Russian visa. But this we only noticed when the lady at the German embassy told us so. All the way for nothing. The Russian embassy is in the center, which means we could have applied for our visa already yesterday. Now, it was too late, they close at 12pm. Aren't we heroes!
In order to enjoy the sun we went to a park. After 10 minutes sitting there it poured down with rain. We hurried to the next cafe.
On our way home we stopped at a supermarket to get some food and drinks for the next days, as we now, after being so stupid this morning, had to stay longer than planned.
Afterwards we went on our way to the German embassy. But why to the German embassy? We wanted a Russian visa. But this we only noticed when the lady at the German embassy told us so. All the way for nothing. The Russian embassy is in the center, which means we could have applied for our visa already yesterday. Now, it was too late, they close at 12pm. Aren't we heroes!
In order to enjoy the sun we went to a park. After 10 minutes sitting there it poured down with rain. We hurried to the next cafe.
On our way home we stopped at a supermarket to get some food and drinks for the next days, as we now, after being so stupid this morning, had to stay longer than planned.
Thursday, August 07, 2003
Rovaniemi - Helsinki
Annoyed and still being tired we arrived in Helsinki at 8.45am. At the tourist office we got some information about a campsite, embassies for Russian visa and internet cafes. As the embassy was far out of the center and closed at 12pm we went to the internet cafe straight away. We nearly spent the whole day there, from 10am - 5pm, and when we wanted to pay the waiters couldn't remember when we started. So they only charged us for 3 hours. And on top of that we got the drinks free because we had been there for so long. :)
Our lucky strike carried on. We were checking at the city library whether we could download our pictures from the digicam and they told us about the foto shop down the road. And it was true. They had facilities to download directly from the memory cards. Even better, we didn't have to install the software. The guy from the shop burned the photos on a CD and to make us even more happy, he let us stay to rename the pictures and burned a second CD. Finally, we can send the pictures to our webmaster Tom.
Now, we had time to take care of our breakfast. We hadn't thought about that the whole day and were now starving. We went to an Italian place and had Tomate Caprese and Spaghetti. It seemed we landed in an upper class restaurant because the salat was more for the eye than for the stomach.
Round 9.30pm we took the metro to the campsite and set up our tent. At 11pm it was dark outside and we were sad, as we got so used to the "daylight" nights.
Our lucky strike carried on. We were checking at the city library whether we could download our pictures from the digicam and they told us about the foto shop down the road. And it was true. They had facilities to download directly from the memory cards. Even better, we didn't have to install the software. The guy from the shop burned the photos on a CD and to make us even more happy, he let us stay to rename the pictures and burned a second CD. Finally, we can send the pictures to our webmaster Tom.
Now, we had time to take care of our breakfast. We hadn't thought about that the whole day and were now starving. We went to an Italian place and had Tomate Caprese and Spaghetti. It seemed we landed in an upper class restaurant because the salat was more for the eye than for the stomach.
Round 9.30pm we took the metro to the campsite and set up our tent. At 11pm it was dark outside and we were sad, as we got so used to the "daylight" nights.
Wednesday, August 06, 2003
Ivalo - Rovaniemi
Breakfast was served until 10am, so it was said at the check-in yesterday. But as we came to the breakfast room everything was gone. Reproaching we looked at the waitress. She just smiled and said:"You are late." What was she talking about?? It was only 9.30am! And then it hit us like a rock: the time difference! She was right. But they had mercy on us and brought us some bread with cheese, tomatoes and eggs.
Shortly after 12pm we went on our way to Rovaniemi. Not by bus but by car. Svein took us but we should drive the car. No problem. At 3.30pm we arrived at Rovaniemi. Because our night train was leaving for Helsinki at 6pm we still had some time. So we were looking for a hotel for Svein to stay. The farewell was done very quickly, but that was OK as both of us hate good-byes. We had a small bite to eat and hung around. We didn't pay attention to the time and therefore missed the train. Didn't matter, there was another one at 9pm.
We found two seats with lots of space for the legs. These were reserved for people traveling with pets. But who would travel with pets at night? We stored our backpacks there and sat down. At the next stop a girl with a huge cage entered. Two Husky babies were sitting in there. "Sorry, but I think no. 73 is my seat." Great, that was were I (Ramona) sat on. So I had to move incl. my backpack.
At night it got pretty busy on our wagon. There was a smoking cabin at the one end. Smokers were coming and going not making any effort to be quiet. They even started to smoke outside that cabin. It got really annoying. As the noisy people finally got off the train, peace returned. Not for long though. The Husky babies woke up and were bored. Or maybe they were missing the noise, which they were replacing now with their howling. What a night!
Shortly after 12pm we went on our way to Rovaniemi. Not by bus but by car. Svein took us but we should drive the car. No problem. At 3.30pm we arrived at Rovaniemi. Because our night train was leaving for Helsinki at 6pm we still had some time. So we were looking for a hotel for Svein to stay. The farewell was done very quickly, but that was OK as both of us hate good-byes. We had a small bite to eat and hung around. We didn't pay attention to the time and therefore missed the train. Didn't matter, there was another one at 9pm.
We found two seats with lots of space for the legs. These were reserved for people traveling with pets. But who would travel with pets at night? We stored our backpacks there and sat down. At the next stop a girl with a huge cage entered. Two Husky babies were sitting in there. "Sorry, but I think no. 73 is my seat." Great, that was were I (Ramona) sat on. So I had to move incl. my backpack.
At night it got pretty busy on our wagon. There was a smoking cabin at the one end. Smokers were coming and going not making any effort to be quiet. They even started to smoke outside that cabin. It got really annoying. As the noisy people finally got off the train, peace returned. Not for long though. The Husky babies woke up and were bored. Or maybe they were missing the noise, which they were replacing now with their howling. What a night!
Tuesday, August 05, 2003
Gjesvaer - Ivalo (Finland)
Although we wanted to meet up with Svein at 10am, he already came over 20 minutes before. Of course, we were not ready yet, as we planed to leave at 10am. At 9.58am we went to the car. Perfect time management.
We took the fastest way to Ivalo. Shortly after the border we stopped for lunch break and tested already the Finish food = Reindeer soup. It tasted like typical German beef soup. Thinking ahead to our next breakfast we prepared a doggy bag with the left over bread and butter. As we had paid for it, it was ours anyway.
We arrived at Ivalo at 5pm. Just 45 minutes too late to catch the bus to Rovaniemi. Originally, we wanted to camp, but Svein refused to drive us to the campsite. Instead he wanted us to stay at the hotel with him. He threatened that he would take us back to Gjesvaer if we didn't accept. So what could we do? We took the rooms, went for a walk and stayed the rest of the night in the bar. Looking at the map of Finland Svein said: "Tomorrow I will drive you to Rovaniemi." In the meantime we know that refusing didn't help.
We took the fastest way to Ivalo. Shortly after the border we stopped for lunch break and tested already the Finish food = Reindeer soup. It tasted like typical German beef soup. Thinking ahead to our next breakfast we prepared a doggy bag with the left over bread and butter. As we had paid for it, it was ours anyway.
We arrived at Ivalo at 5pm. Just 45 minutes too late to catch the bus to Rovaniemi. Originally, we wanted to camp, but Svein refused to drive us to the campsite. Instead he wanted us to stay at the hotel with him. He threatened that he would take us back to Gjesvaer if we didn't accept. So what could we do? We took the rooms, went for a walk and stayed the rest of the night in the bar. Looking at the map of Finland Svein said: "Tomorrow I will drive you to Rovaniemi." In the meantime we know that refusing didn't help.
Monday, August 04, 2003
Gjesvaer
Already while getting up we were looking forward to the fact that we had to do the dishes. Well, it only had been laying around for 3 days and still it could be seen that we had fish fingers for dinner. How much we had hoped that the rain would do the job for us. But no, tough luck. We had to do it ourselves. Yak, how greasy!
We tried to enjoy the sun, but this was not really possible. Every time we just had stripped, the sun got covered by a cloud and it got chilly again. Same thing the other way round. Whenever we had just put the cloths back on, the sun came out and burned like hell. At some point we got fed up and decided to collect our washing and say good-bye to everybody, as we planned to leave Gjesvaer the next day.
Svein wasn't at home so we took our cloths from the washing line and went to the harbor. We refilled our bottles with water for cooking and waited for Ola to come back from the bird islands. While waiting, Svein appeared. As he heard that we wanted to say good-bye to everyone, he insisted again to drive us to Finland to Ivalo. He invited us to the pub for a farewell drink. And as if they had planed to meet us there, Ola and Stein-Hugo appeared as well. Even though we were very hungry we didn't want to leave our new friends so soon. In the end it got after midnight when we finallystarted to cook. As we learned our lesson this morning we did the dishes straight after.
We tried to enjoy the sun, but this was not really possible. Every time we just had stripped, the sun got covered by a cloud and it got chilly again. Same thing the other way round. Whenever we had just put the cloths back on, the sun came out and burned like hell. At some point we got fed up and decided to collect our washing and say good-bye to everybody, as we planned to leave Gjesvaer the next day.
Svein wasn't at home so we took our cloths from the washing line and went to the harbor. We refilled our bottles with water for cooking and waited for Ola to come back from the bird islands. While waiting, Svein appeared. As he heard that we wanted to say good-bye to everyone, he insisted again to drive us to Finland to Ivalo. He invited us to the pub for a farewell drink. And as if they had planed to meet us there, Ola and Stein-Hugo appeared as well. Even though we were very hungry we didn't want to leave our new friends so soon. In the end it got after midnight when we finallystarted to cook. As we learned our lesson this morning we did the dishes straight after.
Sunday, August 03, 2003
Gjesvaer - North cape by car
After having had a late breakfast, we went over to Stein-Hugo who invited us to watch Formula 1 and have a shower. He cooked for us and we spent the rest of the day at his place.
Svein Thore, the guy who offered to drive us to Finland, joined as well. In the evening we went over to his place and did our washing. As we had to wait for the machine to finish, we made a trip to the North cape by car. As local people have free entrance to the Cape, we didn't need to pay the NOK185. Glad about not needing to pay we strolled around the area. If we had had to pay so much money only to see a souvenirs shop, a chapel and a video, we would have been pretty annoyed.
On our way back to Gjesvaer we saw plenty of Reindeer on the road and everywhere.
Svein Thore, the guy who offered to drive us to Finland, joined as well. In the evening we went over to his place and did our washing. As we had to wait for the machine to finish, we made a trip to the North cape by car. As local people have free entrance to the Cape, we didn't need to pay the NOK185. Glad about not needing to pay we strolled around the area. If we had had to pay so much money only to see a souvenirs shop, a chapel and a video, we would have been pretty annoyed.
On our way back to Gjesvaer we saw plenty of Reindeer on the road and everywhere.
Saturday, August 02, 2003
Gjesvaer
As it was very hot already we didn't go into the tent to sleep, but stayed outside. 7.30am rain! Ramona didn't seem to notice anything, she just pulled her sleeping bag tighter and slept on. How funny. I drove her attention to the rain and quickly we went inside the tent. But not for long. Only 1 hour later it got hot as a sauna. So again we went outside dressed only
with a slip. This night was crazy, just a short time after we had to take the sleeping bags again as it got too cold. And then finally we slept in peace.
We didn't do much during the day. In the evening we went to the pub and had a pizza for 20 EURO. We seemed to be the big attraction in town. People kept coming over and talked to us. One even bought us a bottle of white wine from Zell. Another man offered us to stay in his house in case it rained too much. When the pub closed at 2pm, we got invited to a party by again somebody else. We couldn't say no. We were 8 people and the offers didn't end. Starting with watching Formula 1, taking a shower, checking emails, then "I can drive you to Finland" and an invitation for next year to come back to Gjesvaer. It really got a bit uncomfortable.
Time passed pretty fast and it was 5.30am as we got back to the tent.
with a slip. This night was crazy, just a short time after we had to take the sleeping bags again as it got too cold. And then finally we slept in peace.
We didn't do much during the day. In the evening we went to the pub and had a pizza for 20 EURO. We seemed to be the big attraction in town. People kept coming over and talked to us. One even bought us a bottle of white wine from Zell. Another man offered us to stay in his house in case it rained too much. When the pub closed at 2pm, we got invited to a party by again somebody else. We couldn't say no. We were 8 people and the offers didn't end. Starting with watching Formula 1, taking a shower, checking emails, then "I can drive you to Finland" and an invitation for next year to come back to Gjesvaer. It really got a bit uncomfortable.
Time passed pretty fast and it was 5.30am as we got back to the tent.
Friday, August 01, 2003
Gjesvaer - North cape by boat
It already doesn't bother us anymore if we are not able to wash ourselves for a day. Is that disgusting? No, just normal. We hope.
Set back to our childhood, we had arranged our "flat" very quickly. A big rock as the bathroom, a smaller one for the living room, the shade behind the tent was our fridge and in the middle of it all our kitchen with dining room. No need to mention that the toilet was not in the bathroom, but miles away. Hm, something's wrong. Whenever we got out off the tent in the mornings when it got too hot, we were sleeping in the kitchen. Well, as you all know, the kitchen is the most coziest place.
We were hanging around, of course in the kitchen, and later on in the afternoon we went for a walk to the harbor to fill up our water supply for bath and kitchen. Guess who we met! Ralf! Full of pride he told us:"The motor is running perfectly now, so how about a trip to the North cape tonight?" As everybody deserves a second chance, we accepted. Meeting time was 10pm.
Before we went we had some diner. Who knows when we will get our next food. We had fish-fingers and rice with Bearnaise sauce. Unfortunately, we forgot to buy some milk, so we had to improvise and cook the sauce with water. It didn't taste as bad as we thought.
Over at the pier we directly took our places on the boat. Ralf loosened the ropes and pushed us off the pier. Then he wanted to start the motor. First try failed. Second, same thing. 20th, 30th, ... we don't need to go into further details, do we?! Annoyed we grabbed to the paddles as the current had dragged us away from the pier. Ralf then asked the locals in the pub for help and they finally got the motor running. It was 11.30pm as we took off again, to the north cape. We didn't get far though. Only half an hour later the motor died. Here we were again, paddling. As we reached the harbor 2 locals saw us and jumped into their speedboat to come and tow us to the shore. But Ralf seemed to be too proud to ask for help again and sent them away. What a jerk! We nearly pushed him over board.
The two locals got the situation, with that boat you never make it to the Cape. Ramona, clever as she is, asked quickly if we could go with their speedboat. The one guy replied:"No, but we can take the big boat." He nodded to the one he does the tourist trips to the bird-islands with. A few minutes later we were on the way. Ola the captain, Chesuwe and us two. Oh yes, and Ralf. Unfortunately!
We passed Knivskjellodden, the real Northest point in Europe.
Then the North cape and further to Skarsvåg where we visited a fish factory. A Swedish friend of Chesuwe was still there, so he showed us around. It was really interesting.
On the way back to Gjesvaer, we passed the bird-islands and saw some seals and sea eagles from close up. In the end it turned out to be a really fun night as Ola and Chesuwe made one joke after the other. Ola even served us sandwiches with self smoked salmon and cheese.
At 5.30am we reached land and went straight to sleep.
Set back to our childhood, we had arranged our "flat" very quickly. A big rock as the bathroom, a smaller one for the living room, the shade behind the tent was our fridge and in the middle of it all our kitchen with dining room. No need to mention that the toilet was not in the bathroom, but miles away. Hm, something's wrong. Whenever we got out off the tent in the mornings when it got too hot, we were sleeping in the kitchen. Well, as you all know, the kitchen is the most coziest place.
We were hanging around, of course in the kitchen, and later on in the afternoon we went for a walk to the harbor to fill up our water supply for bath and kitchen. Guess who we met! Ralf! Full of pride he told us:"The motor is running perfectly now, so how about a trip to the North cape tonight?" As everybody deserves a second chance, we accepted. Meeting time was 10pm.
Before we went we had some diner. Who knows when we will get our next food. We had fish-fingers and rice with Bearnaise sauce. Unfortunately, we forgot to buy some milk, so we had to improvise and cook the sauce with water. It didn't taste as bad as we thought.
Over at the pier we directly took our places on the boat. Ralf loosened the ropes and pushed us off the pier. Then he wanted to start the motor. First try failed. Second, same thing. 20th, 30th, ... we don't need to go into further details, do we?! Annoyed we grabbed to the paddles as the current had dragged us away from the pier. Ralf then asked the locals in the pub for help and they finally got the motor running. It was 11.30pm as we took off again, to the north cape. We didn't get far though. Only half an hour later the motor died. Here we were again, paddling. As we reached the harbor 2 locals saw us and jumped into their speedboat to come and tow us to the shore. But Ralf seemed to be too proud to ask for help again and sent them away. What a jerk! We nearly pushed him over board.
The two locals got the situation, with that boat you never make it to the Cape. Ramona, clever as she is, asked quickly if we could go with their speedboat. The one guy replied:"No, but we can take the big boat." He nodded to the one he does the tourist trips to the bird-islands with. A few minutes later we were on the way. Ola the captain, Chesuwe and us two. Oh yes, and Ralf. Unfortunately!
We passed Knivskjellodden, the real Northest point in Europe.
Then the North cape and further to Skarsvåg where we visited a fish factory. A Swedish friend of Chesuwe was still there, so he showed us around. It was really interesting.
On the way back to Gjesvaer, we passed the bird-islands and saw some seals and sea eagles from close up. In the end it turned out to be a really fun night as Ola and Chesuwe made one joke after the other. Ola even served us sandwiches with self smoked salmon and cheese.
At 5.30am we reached land and went straight to sleep.
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