Wolzstyn off the main line. Steam and History.

Hello Our next stop is to be a town in the Polish countryside. Our goal is to reach a small town near the German border called Wolsztyn.
Our reason for going to the town. We were sitting talking of our journey on a Sunday morning breakfast prior to our dearture with Voitek our friend. He mentioned he had left Poland as a refugee and he had never been back. The town was Wolsztyn.
So we said "we will go and take a look and take a few snaps" So here we go!
We were not prepared. We had no detailed map of Poland to reference. So we visited the rail information centre in Warsaw. They are marvelous. We discussed our itinerary with them and they printed out some scenarios.
Train to Krakow. OK done that.
Then miss breakfast and catch the 7.45 to Lesno. (Missed our paid breakfast but the train station has ladies cooking up rolls and coffee (much more fun))
On the 7.45 to Lesno. Stopping all stations. ETA 3.10. Lots of locals on and off the train.
The country close to Krakow is coal mining centres with heavy industry. Some of it is left from the Soviet era and is derelict. The country is not pretty but I find that interesting as it is the history of Poland. The Germans controlled this area for 250 years as part of Prussia prior to 1914. Therefore the old villages are Germanic in appearance.
After lunch the scenario changed. The country turns into beautiful rolling farmlands with last years hay still in the fields. Beautiful villages with a church steeple and white washed cottages every so often as our train takes its time winding through the country.
We love this style of train travel. Every so often a tea coffee trolley appears with pastries and good coffee. The locals are friendly and inquisitive about our travel and why we are on this train? Too soon it is 5 minutes to Lesno.

Arrive Lesno 3.11 late. Wolsztyn train due to leave 3.15. Six platforms which one?
Pam gets the count on the hand of a sweeper-porter,
Platform 5
Go Go to 5 only problem is huge flights of stairs and we are fully packed with all gear.
Up the stairs and there in front of us is the little rail engine.
The school bus. Wow says I with camera out catching the scene. "Shiiet" says Pam "get on. Put that stupid thing away". The school kids get the giggles and it is all up hill from there.
The country is rolling farmlands with 15 stops to Wolzstyn. The stations are not stations as such but grass platforms.
Further up the track glasshouses and small crops. Deer graze in the fields, an idyllic site. I think to myself it is easy to see why the Mongols, Swedes, Russians, Germans, Austrians last of all the Soviets wanted this land. It grows food and you need food to feed armies and industrial workers. I am a smart Guy! Thanks John
Wolzstyn we see the steam engines before we see the town. 25 or so of the huge machines. The town is a living museum of steam as well as Voitek's birthplace (he did not mention the steam bit). Every May the Rail Buffs that love smell of smoke meet and engines come from all countries to celebrate the age of steam. They say 50 engines turn up for the festival and if you like you can hop up on the plate and drive one of these monsters. Awesome.
We find a hotel and start the search for Voitek's house. This is a town with a long history. Changed flags so many times since 1155 AD.
The main street is dominated by the train station but also a cemetery with headstones of soldiers telling us that a major battle was fought here in Jan - Feb 1945. The soldiers aged between 18 and 24. I, like others, wonder when will we ever learn?
Then we discover a beautiful lake in the centre of town and by the pictures it is a sailing centre in summer.
The buildings in the main town are two storied shop houses, shingled roofs, timber and masonry framed with narrow winding streets. The town is full of charming shops The three churches dominate the skyline Lutheran, Catholic, Orthodox.
There is a large house dominating the town square To the right of the large official house is a row of shops and there it is the shop-house as described. Voitek's parent's old shophouse, his birthplace, renovated and looking resplendent.(subject to confirmation by Voitek) Our search is over and it is dark. Decide to photograph in the morning as our train is at 11.45am. Celebration time. I noticed a beaut pub housed in an old building. So in we went and had a real merry Polish evening. The best. We love Wolsztyn! Thanks Voitek. What a bonus.
Next morning. Train to catch. Photographs to take and on to Poznan to connect to the Berlin Express.

Route to travel Berlin a city on the express lane. Then Paris via express\ Then Euro Star to UK and our close friends and the end of the Great Train Journey.

On the road again on the road again. Like a band of Gypsies we go down the highway We're the best of friends

Insisting that the world keep turning our way

Willie Nelson

Image 1 Rail Motor School Bus

image 2 Derelict station

Image 3 Station on the line

Image 4 Big Wheels

Image 5 Wolsztyn station

Image 6 Headstones

Image 7 Lake at Sunset

Image 8 Local with his dog

Image 9 Voitek's birthplace house (with rolled arches and dormas)

Krakow a medieval city. Schindlers factory. Poland

Hello we moved along fairly quick from Warsaw as we wanted to get out of the big cities and visti some more rural areas. Our train the 15.10 express was due in Krakow by 18.30

Its historic centre was inscribed on the list of World Heritage Sites as the first of its kind.^[3] Situated on the Vistula river (Polish: Wisła) in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century.^[4] Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural and artistic life, and is one of Poland's most important economic centres. It was the capital of Poland from 1038 to 1596 source www.wikipedia.com

The cost in human life in Krakow has been immense. During WW2 the Nazis reputedly murdered 3500 Jews and the work of one Krakow man to save lifes is immortalized in the movie Shindlers List. There is a stirring memorial in the city where the Ghetto once stood to the people who will never return, the factory of Shindler still stands and operates.

1945 saw the country taken into Stalin's Soviet State and 1994 saw the independence from Russia and the work of rebuilding a modern country. Poland is now part of the EU community.

In the walled medieval city you will find art galleries, university, opera house. Bars, wine bars, restaurants, music bars, in every street.

The city has an annual tourist visit of between 7 - 9 million. Students mingle with tourists and trams trundle up and down the streets. The shops are modern and well stocked with all top labels available. It is near picture perfect.

But all the art is not in the galleries. We found interesting paintings on the streets and graffiti in the most unusual places.

I met the bird man of Krakow and he was feeding the knights of the realm as the legend goes.

Krakow is interesting refined and very very proud.
Image 1 Town Square
Image 2 Opera house
Image 3 Horse and carriage tourist transport
Image 4 Bird man feeding the Knights of the realm (legend)
Image 5 Penelope Cruz reconfigured.

Next stop Woltzsyn.
Steam trains and the birthplace of our dear friend Voitek Biskup

On the road again on the great train journey.

Warsaw Poland, a city reborn

Hi We had to forsake our journey to Tallin in Estonia (15th century medieval town) and catch a plane direct to Warsaw.

As it turns out our decision was opportune as Polish railway had cancelled

the train from Vilnius Lithuania to Warsaw. We would have been stranded and had to take a bus. Oh No!!

Warsaw, a town completely rebuilt into its original form. After Adolf peronally supervised the dynamiting the whole of the city after the unsuccessful uprisinging in 1944 by the citizens of Warsaw. It is stated that Warsaw was the biggest brick pile in Europe.

The human figures are staggering. 350,000 Jews lived here prior to WW2. Today there are 2000. Auschwitz, Treblinka are all close by.

We are told the bricks to rebuild the city came from Wroclaw. So they demolished one city to build another. The result is astounding. The city is vibrant, full of art, coffee shops and hope.

They also completely recreated the Hotel Bristol (6 stars). Queen Elizabeth opened it and stayed in the penthouse. Beautiful building.

Building work is still going on as there is scaffolding everywhere. Here comes the Poles into the 21st century.

Flowers everywhere. Malcolm got carried away. Even taken on a personal tour of one of the shops.

Modern trams offer an quick and efficient way to get around to all parts of the city. Pity help you if you are not hanging on when they take off.

The Science Museum was a gift from Stalin to the city but he did not live to see it finished. The locals do not like it. What do you reckon?

It is 20 years since the fall of the Communist government. The Government are working to

make the city the Shanghai of Europe. We hope they do.

We had 3 days in the city walking and discovering wonderful places.

Off to Krakow on 16.05 Express. Krakow

only town in Poland not to suffer major damage during WW2. "On the road again!!"

Image 1 Stalin's gift The Science Museum

Image 2 Warsaw station

Image 3 Flowers everywhere

Image 4 Hotel Bristol

Image 5 Warsaw tram

Saint Petersburg Home of the Tzars

Saint Petersburg situated on the Baltic Sea bordering Finland. Closest city is Helsinki.
Formerly Leningrad beseiged in WW2 by the Nazis over 90 days. They say it was the defeat of Hitler.

The City is built on marsh lands therefore canals with lots of waterfront opportunities for developers. Most have been here before me. With castle names like Stroganoff and Yusupov, Williams just does not seem right.

The Hermitage is the Palace of the Tzars being built on by consecutive rulers over 500 years. It now houses the greatest art gallery in the world. We are told four floors, 1.6 kilometres. It is huge marble edifices, magnificent stairways, chandeliers.

There is the largest collection of Rembrandts and Dutch masters in the world along with the modern marsters, Renoir, Picasso, Cezanne, Andy Warhol and sculture by Rodin. It would take a week to see the best of it all. Probably still miss out on the antiquities of the Greeks, Romans and Egyptians.

Again our stay was short. There were numerous cathedrals, churches, monuments. They are everywhere, each one bigger and better than the rest.
The whole Saint Petersburg thing is awesome. We recommend it in the summer. Come for the Light Fest. 24 hours of daylight with festival running late June early July.


BUT "Houston we have a problem".

The trains to Latvia and Lithuania do not run anymore. We can go Via Helsinki, or catch a bus. To get to Tallin, Estonia, was our goal. NO TRAINS!!


The great train journey was in a siding:

So not to worry we hopped a LOT flight to Warsaw.







Image 1 Nikita the Provodnitsa
Image 2 Saint Petersburg station
Image 3 The Hermitage
Image 4 Canal cruise
Image 5 Lot flight to Warsaw Poland

Moscow Big, Brash.

Hello Moscow in the Autumn is not the most popular place on the Tourist agenda but it is the end of the Trans Siberian line.

Our stay. Two days.

The tourist thing in Moscow is easy.

The Kremlin is a must including the Diamond exhibition and the Armoury. Exhibiting gems, gold, and special manufactured jewellery. The Armoury exhibits period costumes of the czars including the largest collection of coaches outside London.

The churches are everywhere and resplendent. Most are in various stages of renovation after years of being locked up, closed to worshippers under Soviets rule.

The city was to us really expensive. Accomodation was double most cities.

The temperature was not so cold compared to Siberia.

We heard stories of no food in the shops and the Moscovites doing it tough. We saw no evidence of this in fact the reverse seems to be true.

The image of the shops is an arcade in central Moscow It is a gorgeous building even if you do not like the retail experience.

However we had the tourist thing to ourselves. Not a lot of tourists too cold?

Our next stop is Saint Petersburg. Our night train leaves at 23.10.
The train is a sleeper commuter train slick clean and very very fast. 8 hours.

Next St Petersburg North of Moscow on the Baltic Sea traditional home of the Tzars for 500 years.



Image 1 end of the trans siberian line Moscow.
Image 2 inside Leninsky Moscow Station there are 3 stations.
Image 3 Red Square showing lines for the May Day Celebrations
Image 4 Spot Pam. The Tzars cannon Kremlin
Image 5 Gorgeous shopping mall

See told you not to leave the truck in the street

Now that is serious grafitti.








Spotted in the streets of Paris.

The Trans Siberian; The artery of a nation. Russia.

Planned by Tsar Nicholas 1 in 1847, the first train completed the journey in 1900 from Moscow to Irkutsk. From there it is all history. Wars with China and Japan, Revolution and the Soviets. The story will go on.

The Trans Siberian is steeped in myth and history.

Facts

• Trans Siberian refers to the line from Moscow to Irkutsk. It follows the old Mongol Post road

From this line spurs go to other places, Central Asia, The Stans and Northern areas.

It is important and vital to Russia as it is the artery of her transport system

Fom Irkutsk there are 3 destinations available at this day

Trans Mongolian - Beijing via Ulan Bataar following the old tea and silk route

Trans Manchurian – Beijing via Harbin (China) with a line to Vladivostck

Trans Siberian – Vladivostck via Russia

BAM (Baikalo Amurskaya-Magistral) is a new line. It skirts to the Norh of Lake Baikal and reaches Sovietskaya Gavan on the Tartar Strait giving Russia access to another port on the Pacific. This line was completed in 1992 and is said to be the engineering achievment of the 20^th century, traversing perma frost, huge mountain ranges and extreme weather conditions.

BAM spurs at Tayshet for its long ride North East. The distance is halfway across Russia to its destination. This area is rich in diamonds, gas, oil platinum, gold and other resources and is emerging as Russias’ treasure trove.

Source Lonely planet and http://www.wikipedia.com/

For more history on the Chinese involvement and the Japanese visit these sites

We travelled for 3 days and 15 hours across Russia,

We found that

You can watch 3 sunsets and 3 sunrise

Carriages have coal fired boilers for heat

The Samovar is coal fired (Hot water for tea and noodles)

Beer is sold on all stations (it is cold as it is minus degrees)

The train stops at all major stations, some for only 1 minute, others 30minutes

Fresh linen is supplied for the beds. There are 4 bunks in a “kupe”

We shared our cabin for some of the way then we had a full cabin to ourselves

Life becomes a very pleasant experience watching the country unfold and listening to the clik clak of the rails.

We played cards, listened to the ipods, read and wrote this blog.

There were some beaut families aboard with little kids so we had some fun with twisties and whistles and other things

Like all journeys it all comes to an abrupt halt and we were in Moscow. The weather was warm 2c, the time was 04.40am

We waited for the Metro to start and made our way to our Hostel then set out to do some sightseeing in this huge city.

On reflection the journey was to us an experience that we had dreamed of for a long time. Citt had given us the book for inspiration at Xmas back in 2002 and Kellie and Richie encouraged us to make the journey. We were not disappointed. How amazing. To one day get on a train in Beijing and then in a few days, to be a world away. The culture differences along the way. And now we are firmly in Europe and looking at the end of our journey. Tthe faces on the street are like ours and the smells are not unusual. It is not Asia anymore and we both love Asia. But guess what? They serve the best capaccinos you can imagine in Moscow and the cakes. MMMMMm.

Reflections. The scenes along the way took Pam back to stories in an old book of her childhood. Hunters with guns, wolves, little birds, wooden cottages.

Some places it was like stepping inside a Christmas card scene. Snow covered forests, carriages, churches in the distance, bright moonlight.

We are looking forward to visting the Kremlin, Red Square and exploring this big City of Moscow.

On the “Great Train Journey”. Moscow.

Image 1 The train
Image 2 Typical rail station (Voksal)
Image 3 our little companion with his twisty
Image 4 The station sellers
Image 5 Country side taken from the window

Lake Baikal is situated to the north of the Mongolian border.

• Formed by movement in the teutonic plates of the earth.
• It is 60 kms wide and 630kms long.
• 1645 metres deep
• 20% of the worlds unfrozen water
• The water is pure and is said to be clear to see 40 metres down
• The lake has a hydro system dam and is fed by two rivers the Angara and the Selanga
• 80% of the local flora and fauna are unique to this area
• In the summer months the area is the playground of the nouvo rich Russians

We travelled the 70 kilometres to the lake by local bus. It was deserted of tourists.

However we encountered a wedding party in the freezing cold and they had the stamina to have a photo shoot. The local ferry was working and so was the local bar in the hotel. We had some time to wait for our bus back to Irkutsk so we joined what was left of the wedding party, Pam, of course, was as always spoiled by the loacals

That night we were on the Baikal night train out of Irkutsk at 23.55 the Trans Siberian.

On the road again

Just can’t wait to get on the road again.

Seeing things that I have never seen

and may never see again

Just can’t wait to get on the road again

(Willy Nelson)

On the Great Train Journey. Lake Baikal

Irkutsk, capital of Siberia, Cossacks, Gulags, Intelligentsia and Wooden Houses

Irkutsk started as a Cossack garrison in 1651 to control the indigenous Buryiats and Mongols. It was a springboard in the 18^th century for expeditions to far North, East, Central Asia and Alaska. Trade sprang up with China in the way of furs and ivory. In return the rich tea and silk trade flourished.

The city was a dumping ground for anarchists and reformists. Starting in 1820 with the Decemberists. A movement against the Tsar to reform the feudal system.

The Decemberists were exiled to gulags in the area to work in silver mines. The wives joined them and settled in Irkutsk to be near their men and wait for their release. The end result! A city with beautiful buildings, hospitals, schools, museums, art galleries and a transport system that works.

The revolution in 1918 did not have a good outcome for Irkutsk as Admiral Kolchak (commander of the White Russian army) made his headquarters in the city. Irkutsk fell and Admiral Kolchak was captured and shot in 1920 and the rich merchants mourned the day.

However the Soviets centred industry and scientific activity in the city having space centres and atomic testing facilities to the South. Today the city is a vibrant fun place to be. (Once you get used to the glum looks on the people.)

Note the City has erected statues of Admiral Kolchak and Tsar Nicholas 11( sort of up yours stuff.)

(Source Lonely Planet publication)www.wikipedia.com

We had some three days here enjoying the city and the art galleries and the natural history museums.

From here our journey will take us on the Trans-Siberian to Moscow. We expect the

journey to take 3 days and 15 hours.

Travelling on the Great Train Journey.Irkustsk Siberia Russia

Image 1 & 2 wooden houses in Siberia
Iamgae 3 Natural History Museum
Image 4 Irkutsk Rail staion
Image 5 the padlocks are allover this fence and they are all engraved it is by the river and is a lovers bower enlarge the pictures by double clik.

Mongolia – gers, snow, wild horses and beautiful people.

UB (Ulaan Bataar) Nothing quite prepares an Australian for UB! The city and outskirts sprawl over a large area. There are no trees, the roads are wide and not marked, huge potholes and bits of road are missing. The buildings are a mixture of standard Soviet era unit blocks 8 levels high. Ugly as sin! Timber dwellings are mixed with newer blocks of units. The timber dwellings are not painted and appear black. In amongst all this are the traditional felt Mongolian gers.
The majority of Mongolians follow the Buddhist faith. We found the people of UB to be happy, helpful and generally pleased with themselves.
Our stay was for a short time before we took a 350klm trip west of UB to Karakoram, the old Mongolian capital, the Erdeen Zuu monastry (birthplace of Mongolian Buddhism)
We experienced with our guide Tseegii and our driver Ihavga
1. Severe cold – down to -10
2. toilets – 2 boards over a deep pit in the middle of a field
3. Ate the traditional Mongolian roadhouse food
4. snow and sleet (usual for this time of the year) They tell us it drops to -30
5. we camped in a tourist ger
6. shared an evening with a nomad family in their winter ger
When we arrived, Sukhgerel (the head of the family) killed a goat. Oyunchimeg (his wife) made us welcome with Mongolian butter tea and naan bread and we were entertained by 3 year old Nandia. Toward the end of the afternoon I was invited to take a horse ride with Sukhgerel. The horses are short, stout, very strong ponies. The saddle is wood and is very tight fitting on the body. The stirrups are very short and forces the rider to be in crouched position. The reason – the terrain is very steep and it is difficult to stay on the horse at full gallop down hill. The trick is to stand up and put your weight either behind or over the front legs. Sukhgerel took me to the top of the ridge ( the temperature was -10, the wind was icy at 50kph). It was so stinging it hurt my lungs. The view from the ridge was absolutely amazing. Miles and miles of snow covered rolling hills. Sukhgerel could not speak English. I could not speak Mongolian. That was of no concern as I realised he was showing me his country. The moment was magic. He took me and showed me his flock of 50 goats and sheep and 30 horses (10 of which were blood stock. His horses hold 2 gold medals, 2 silver and 1 bronze from the annual Nadaam Festival in July, Mongolia’s Melbourne Cup). We finished the afternoon with a mad gallop back to the ger. It was amazing. Then dinner was fresh cooked goat and steamed handmade noodles. We played ‘knuckles’, sketched, before the 7 of us bunked down around the pot belly stove fuelled with dung.
Next morning wwe woke to a winter wonderland (it had snowed quite heavy during the night) and we set off to the Khasti National Park to look for the Prezwalski wild horses, a rare breed reintroduced to Mongolia by the French and Dutch. Actress Julia Roberts is one of the patrons. We were lucky to find a herd of 8 only 3 or 4 klms into the park. It was so cold we had almost abandoned the search. I got some great shots. After this we returned to UB, to catch the Trans Mongolian to Irkutsk in Russia at 11.30pm that night.
Image 1 the road out of UB minus 5c
Image 2 our hosts the Nomads
Image 3 Sukhgerel and I on the mongol horses
Image 4 Karakoram walls
Image 5 wild Prezwalski horse