...no joke, thats what we did. I have spent more time on a train in the past week than I have in a very long time. Surprisingly, though, I am not that tired. We got back last night at around 11. I made a simple dinner (I didnt have much food left...need to go to the store today), unpacked, cleaned up, and then went to bed. But as for the trip, it was absolutely amazing. I still cant believe that it happened and that it was only 1 week.
So the trip started in Moscow. They took us on an overnight train, which was really nice. We did a lot of touring around the red square and the downtown area and we went to see the circus. The second day we went to the Kremlin. Unfortunately, we had to leave after that because we had to catch our train to Tallinn. I barely got to see Moscow, which is really sad, and I hope to be able to spend more time there. I can say that the people there were SO nice. I had heard that people were a bit colder and meaner in Moscow, but I experienced the opposite. Also, more people spoke English and they seemed to have more western things like Starbucks. Anyways we took a 15 hour train ride from Moscow to Tallinn. I actually slept a lot, so it didnt feel that long. They gave us tea and there were extra seats so we could spread out and lie down across several seats. It was an overnight train, and we happened to get to the border at some ungodly hour, like 4 am or something like that. Doing immigration while half asleep is never a good idea. They were very strict and took our passports, migration cards, visas, and registrations, which made me nervous because AIFS has been stressing to never part with them if we want to return to Russia after the break. They asked several questions about our travels and our stay in Russia, but eventually we made it. We were in Tallinn for a few hours then we flew to Oslo, where we waited in a ghost town called Rygge (seriously, I ran around looking for people, and EVERYTHING was deserted) until we could go to the train station, which was incredible. I found a place with thai food and talked to the owners (in broken Thai) for a bit. I even got some spicy Thai food which made my tongue rejoice! We were amazed at how different Western Europe is from Russia. Everything just seemed nicer, the fruit was fresh, everyone spoke English, and (of course) prices skyrocketed. We then spent the next day on various trains to Bodo (pronounced Buda) and the scenery was beautiful. Side, note, it looks like this will be a long post so I will do a separate one for pictures. Scenery in Norway is in a league of its own. EVERYTHING was beautiful.
When we got to Bodo, we were met by Kelcey's friend's boyfriend Martin. He drove us back to his apartment, where we showered and chilled for a little bit. We sort of helped make dinner, which was an amazing salad, homemade pasta with some of the most amazing sauce I've ever had, and bread. Dinner was extraordinary, especially since we had been eating instant noodles and snack foods on the trains. Martin and Hanna were so nice, as was their friend who joined us for dinner. It was so great to talk to them. They were so welcoming and warm, even though we had just met and I hope to meet them again. Martin plays for an orchestra that sometimes travels and I told him that he should try to make it to SF! We went for a night hike to try to see the norther lights, but it was too cloudy. The hike was still really nice though. The next morning, we went on a 2 hour day hike, which was EXTRAORDINARILY GORGEOUS! Wait for the pictures. We had to stop every 5 mins to marvel at our surroundings and take pictures. After the hike, we went back to the apartment and had lunch (fishcakes, bread, and another salad, which had avocado) and talked with Martin a bit. We were about to leave, and he let us make salmon sandwiches for the train ride back. We were so grateful and the sandwiches were delicious. Then we began the day long journey back to Oslo to fly to Spain. Ok wow this post is a monster. I'll continue it in another because there is still a lot to say.
So the trip started in Moscow. They took us on an overnight train, which was really nice. We did a lot of touring around the red square and the downtown area and we went to see the circus. The second day we went to the Kremlin. Unfortunately, we had to leave after that because we had to catch our train to Tallinn. I barely got to see Moscow, which is really sad, and I hope to be able to spend more time there. I can say that the people there were SO nice. I had heard that people were a bit colder and meaner in Moscow, but I experienced the opposite. Also, more people spoke English and they seemed to have more western things like Starbucks. Anyways we took a 15 hour train ride from Moscow to Tallinn. I actually slept a lot, so it didnt feel that long. They gave us tea and there were extra seats so we could spread out and lie down across several seats. It was an overnight train, and we happened to get to the border at some ungodly hour, like 4 am or something like that. Doing immigration while half asleep is never a good idea. They were very strict and took our passports, migration cards, visas, and registrations, which made me nervous because AIFS has been stressing to never part with them if we want to return to Russia after the break. They asked several questions about our travels and our stay in Russia, but eventually we made it. We were in Tallinn for a few hours then we flew to Oslo, where we waited in a ghost town called Rygge (seriously, I ran around looking for people, and EVERYTHING was deserted) until we could go to the train station, which was incredible. I found a place with thai food and talked to the owners (in broken Thai) for a bit. I even got some spicy Thai food which made my tongue rejoice! We were amazed at how different Western Europe is from Russia. Everything just seemed nicer, the fruit was fresh, everyone spoke English, and (of course) prices skyrocketed. We then spent the next day on various trains to Bodo (pronounced Buda) and the scenery was beautiful. Side, note, it looks like this will be a long post so I will do a separate one for pictures. Scenery in Norway is in a league of its own. EVERYTHING was beautiful.
When we got to Bodo, we were met by Kelcey's friend's boyfriend Martin. He drove us back to his apartment, where we showered and chilled for a little bit. We sort of helped make dinner, which was an amazing salad, homemade pasta with some of the most amazing sauce I've ever had, and bread. Dinner was extraordinary, especially since we had been eating instant noodles and snack foods on the trains. Martin and Hanna were so nice, as was their friend who joined us for dinner. It was so great to talk to them. They were so welcoming and warm, even though we had just met and I hope to meet them again. Martin plays for an orchestra that sometimes travels and I told him that he should try to make it to SF! We went for a night hike to try to see the norther lights, but it was too cloudy. The hike was still really nice though. The next morning, we went on a 2 hour day hike, which was EXTRAORDINARILY GORGEOUS! Wait for the pictures. We had to stop every 5 mins to marvel at our surroundings and take pictures. After the hike, we went back to the apartment and had lunch (fishcakes, bread, and another salad, which had avocado) and talked with Martin a bit. We were about to leave, and he let us make salmon sandwiches for the train ride back. We were so grateful and the sandwiches were delicious. Then we began the day long journey back to Oslo to fly to Spain. Ok wow this post is a monster. I'll continue it in another because there is still a lot to say.
No comments:
Post a Comment