Awesome. I had the chance to pass by riding the Trans Siberian once in winter twice in summer. The ride actually allowed a stop in Irkutsk, the Paris of Siberia, but time and money did not allow me. Now I do regret not stopping.
Ah, yes. I briefly sailed on a hydrofoil on Lake Baikal back in the early '90s during the month of September. Beautiful lake.
I was on a trip to Magadan, Khabarovsk, and then the Trans Siberian to Irkutsz - which is indeed beautiful.
Lovely old Russian architecture along with the new stuff - and tucked away on the river was a tiny almost copy of
the Sydney Opera House.
The train ride was spectacular (3 days and 2 nights, as I remember) and then a few days in Irkutsz. Then
a nail-biting night ride back to Khabarovsk on a domestic Airflot flight.
Every once in a while, I drag out the pictures, sadly they are fading prints, and enjoy the adventure all over again.
I walked on Lake Baikal when it was still frozen over, near the end of April 1984. Most of the surrounding snow had melted.
We (the tour group) stayed one night in a hotel in Irkutsk on a break in the Tans-Siberian railway ride, so there was a full day to explore the city ... except that I spent most of the day in bed sleeping off an illness. But I managed to go with others to observe the midnight mass for Easter at the cathedral.
I took heaps of slides on that trip but I suppose now they've all got mould on them.
I have realized I was built for cold weather (that's what makes my internal thermostat happy), yet here I am, living in Australia..... *sigh*...... stupid :-(
