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December 27, 2004

Summer in Siberia

For those who want to read a more structured report about my trip to Siberia than what I posted on this blog (and with less spelling errors to boot), I just posted a travel story on bootsnall: Summer in Siberia....

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Posted by Karlien at 11:42 PM | Read Comments (0)
September 13, 2004

No picnic, no shower

Miraculously, I managed to sleep for 9 hours on the boat, in a small plastic chair. It helped that I had a front seat, so I could lay down my backpack in front of me and stretch my legs on...

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Posted by Karlien at 06:16 AM | Read Comments (0)
August 21, 2004

No picnic # 1

It`s the journey that counts, not the destination. And that`s a very good thing, for the destination turned out to be a rather dismal place, despite the guidebooks` praise....

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Posted by Karlien at 10:43 AM | Read Comments (0)

Trains

In Europe, the thought of spending three nights in a row on a train would never enter my mind, but in Russia it`s quite comfortable - certainly more comfortable than some other places I spent the night, but I`ll tell...

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Posted by Karlien at 10:23 AM | Read Comments (0)
August 19, 2004

Blessed by Buddha

As I watched lake Baikal from the Irkutsk-Ulan Ude train, I almost wished I had suffered some great hardship to get there, so I could say "this makes it all worth it". But from the moment I had left Novosibirsk...

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Posted by Karlien at 02:00 PM | Read Comments (0)
July 26, 2004

A weekend well spent

When I told people at home I was going to spend the summer in Siberia, they looked at me as if I`d finally completely lost my mind, and pressed me to bring warm clothes and a winter coat. I tought...

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Posted by Karlien at 12:51 PM | Read Comments (0)
July 15, 2004

Akademgorodok

I am currently taking a 4-week Russian course in Akademgorodok, a small academic settlement about a 40 minute drive from the centre of Novosibirsk. It was built in the late fifties, in the middle of the forest, near the Ob...

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Posted by Karlien at 01:19 PM | Read Comments (1)

Worlds apart

Moscow and Novosibirsk are 2 days apart by train, but to me it almost seems like they are on different planets. The inhabitants of Moscow seem mostly cold, intolerant and selfabsorbed, most Siberians I`ve met are warm, open, friendly, and...

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Posted by Karlien at 01:06 PM | Read Comments (0)
July 13, 2004

Moscow pros and cons

First, the bad news: 1. Ho(s)tel prices 2. Unfriendly, unhelpful, monolingual people (there are of course exceptions) 3. Traffic, and the lack of pedestrian crossings 4. Bus stops without a schedule 5. People cutting in line, or trying to get...

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Posted by Karlien at 10:50 AM | Read Comments (0)

Failure to communicate

This globalfreeloaders thing really does not work. The girl with whom I was supposed to stay in Moscow stopped replying to my e-mails a few days before I went there. The first thing I did when I arrived, after having...

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Posted by Karlien at 10:32 AM | Read Comments (0)
Latest Comments
Johannes: Nice photos. I have read about these places and it... [read]

Christopher: Karlien, I am also interested in taking Russian c... [read]

delara: dig the pics!... [read]

Jeremy Nichols: Hi, In the 1970s a combination of natural factors ... [read]

Sor Raimunda: Hey!! sounds like you are having a great time!! I'... [read]

Marko: neo folk, death metal, Nabokov & Kundera :) :) my... [read]

Willy: Karlien, This is cool....thanks for sharing:)... [read]

delara: I am really excited to add this blog to my daily r... [read]

Madhu: have a great trip!! Love your hometown...... [read]



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