D55 - Volga Trip

AUG06 - Day57 - Seliger Lake - Km4770

El nostre camp esta quedant mes buit cada dia que passa, els nens han marxat i ara nomes queden els entrenadors i els turistes com nosaltres. A l'hora de sopar Sergey em ve a buscar i m'explica que uns quants estan pensant anar en Baidarka seguint el Volga fins prop de Moscu. Segurament es la unica oportunitat a la vida de fer una travessia d'una setmana i 120km seguint un dels rius mes emblematics de Russia, amb gent local, dormint a la vora del riu, pescant i cantant cancons a la vora del foc. La temptacio es gran, pero ja havia promes a Arina que passaria una setmana a Moscu amb ella i la seva mare i, a mes, ja porto uns dies de retras en el meu viatge, es hora de seguir endavant i dir que no a Sergey, no es facil, pero un viatge esta ple de decisions complicades i aquesta n'es una. Llastima.

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The camp is getting emptier and emptier, there are no kids anymore, only the trainers and the tourists, about 30 people left in total. Today Sergey comes to me with a tempting proposal. Some people will go by Baidarka along the Volga river, he asks if I want to join. The Volga starts at Seliger and travels all the way down to the Caspian Sea, it flows near Moscow. Their plan is to take baidarka and go downstream the river for 6 days along 120km, fishing and sleeping on the shore of the river. This is one of the points in the trip when making a choice is difficult. This is most probably the only time in my life when I get this kind of offer with local people and for free. On the other hand, I promised Arina to go back to Moscow together and stay 1 week visiting the city. Temptation is temptation, but my trip has to go forward and I decide to refuse the offer. Pity.

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D55 - Hudochnik

AUG04 - Day55 - Seliger Lake - Km4770

Un dels personatges curiosos del camp es Victor, el pintor. Sempre explica histories extranyes de la seva vida, solter i una mica extravagant. Un dia li preguntem si te o ha tingut familia i ens diu que no esta segur pero que podria ser que tingues una filla de 6 mesos a Moscou. Es passa el dia buscant joves models per pintar. Com cada any, tambe dibuixa a Arina a la vora del foc, tot i que ella, amb 21 anys, no es prou jove pel gust de Victor. Avui a la tarda li pregunto que si mai dibuixa nois perque sempre el veig amb noies jovenetes. Em respon que no vol perdre el temps pintant nois quan te suficients models femenines. Tot i aixi, s'ofereix a dibuixar-me a mi, com a excepcio. Anem prop de la seva tenda i durant 2h em fa 3 dibuixos i me'n regala un.

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One of the interesting persons in the camp is The Painter (Hudochnik in russian). Victor lives in Moscow and comes to the camp every summer. He likes the nature and landscapes of the lake and uses all his free time painting around the camp, specially young ladies. He draws Arina every year even if she is (21) already too old for his taste, he prefers younger models. When I ask him if he ever draw men he replies: "why to waste time with men, if you have beautiful girls everywhere!". Well, the last day I asked if, as an honor guest, he can draw me. He agrees and there we are, near his tent in the afternoon, drawing me for more than 2h!!!

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D54 - Ostashkov

AUG03 - Day54 - Seliger Lake - Km4770

Plou durant dos dies seguits, vivint en una illa semi-deshabitada i dormint en una tenda de campanya no es la millor situacio quan plou i esta tot xop. No hi ha res a fer, nomes dormir i llegir o jugar a cartes a la vora del foc. Per matar l'avorriment, a Arina se li ocurreix posar-se malalta. Li fa mal la panxa i es pensa que podria ser apendicitis. No hi ha cap metge en el camp pero alguns entesos la toquen i li diuen que no, que prengui pastilles i esperi a que li passi, que es una intoxicacio normal. Es fa fosc i decidim que el millor es anar ara a l'hospital d'Ostashkov perque a la nit, si la cosa empitjora, no hi podrem anar. Aconseguim convencer una parella perque ens porti en barca a terra ferma sota la pluja. Truquem un taxi i en menys d'una hora som a l'hospital que sembla una escola abandonada. El metge esta en el primer pis, nomes un metge i una infermera en tot l'hospital, que ara ja no em sembla una escola sino un magatzem secret d'armes i sense calefaccio. Per sort, Arina no te apendicitis, el metge li diu que prengui unes pastilles que comprem a la farmacia i que tot se solucionara. Tornem al camp.

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One of the worst situations when being in the nature is the rain. It has been raining for 2 days without stop. There is nothing to do other than sleep, read inside the tent or play cards near the fire. All clothes are getting dirty but no way to wash them with this weather. If this wasn't enough, Arina got stomach-sick, she believes is something serious, so we decide to go to Ostashkov hospital, the nearest town from here. To get there we must ask some good soul to take us to the mainland by boat under the rain, call a taxi and hope there is one available at this time. We get a van that looks like a war-van, with home-chairs instead of car-seats in the back. Is not very comfortable but does the job and we get to the "hospital" in less than 30min. After waiting in one cold building for 20min we are redirected to another cold building that looks more like a warehouse than a hospital. The only doctor and the only nurse take Arina. We are lucky, is nothing serious, she must take some tablets and wait. We go, all happy, back to our camp.

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D53 - Nilov Monastery

AUG02 - Day53 - Seliger Lake - Km4770

Anar de compres no es cosa facil aqui. El poble a l'altre costat de la nostra illa te una botiga petita i s'ha de caminar mes d'1 hora per arribar-hi. L'altre lloc es l'illa del davant, on hi ha el monestir de Nil i que esta connectada per un pont a la carretera principal. Sant Nil (1594) va arribar aqui en busca de tranquilitat i va fundar aquest monestir que avui en dia es lloc de peregrinacio. No obstant, durant la segona guerra mundial es va convertir en en camp de presoners de guerra que va arribar a acollir fins a 7000 soldats polonesos. Per nosaltres la unica manera d'arribar-hi es per aigua i remant perque no tenim cap barca amb motor, nomes son 500 metres pero si fa vent pot ser una tasca bastant dura. Jo nomes hi vaig estar 2 vegades en 12 dies, la primera vegada per visitar el monestir i la segona per comprar begudes per una festa.
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The other main place to go shopping (mainly beer and vodka because the food is provided for free in the camp) is Stolbnyi Island, the home of the beautiful Nilov Monastery, founded by Saint Nilus in 1594 when he was looking for a quiet place. It is now a pilgrimage place but was used a camp for war prisoners during the WWII. It's an island connected to the mainland by one bridge. For us, to go there from our little island, we need to take a boat and cross about 500m, which can be really tough on a windy day, we do not have any motor boat. I was there only 2 times in 12 days, first time to visit the monastery and the second time shopping with the young guys.
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D52 - Russian Lessons

AUG01 - Day52 - Seliger Lake - Km4770

Un dels entreteniments durant el dia es aprendre rus i castella. Arina m'ensenya rus basic i jo l'ajudo a conjugar els verbs en castella. Ella porta temps estudiant-lo i ja te un nivell bastant bo, tot i que li costa parlar per falta de practica. El meu rus es molt basic, pero ja consegueixo entendre algunes converses i construir certa base de vocabulari. Tot i aixo, la comunicacio meva es basicament en angles amb Arina i algunes persones mes del camp, no masses, que tambe parlen angles.
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One of my entertainments in the camp is to learn russian. Arina teaches me russian, I teach her spanish. We both brought books for it and spend many hours on the beach or near the fire, depending on the weather. Even if I learn russian and she learns spanish, our communication is still 90% in english. The other people of the camp also starts learning english and sometimes, for fun, they talk between them in english too. They said that the camp this year is not the "enviromental camp" like other years but a "language camp".
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D50 - Samogon

JUL30 - Day50 - Seliger Lake - Km4770

Avui si que toca inaugurar la sauna, fem 4 sessions sempre seguides d'un bany al llac. S'ha d'anar en compte, quan es prepara una sauna rustica, a treure totes les cendres, perque una mica de foc crea CO2, que es toxic de respirar. Despres de la Sauna anem a beure vodka per celebrar l'aniversari de Sergei i els meus 50 dies de viatge, la festa es intima, nomes 6 persones, pero despres vaig al camp del costat on un grup de joves encara estan de festa. Ells beuen "samogon" un licor destil.lat en el poble del costat. Parlem i parlem i ja es de dia quan anem a les tendes a dormir.
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Sunday. Today after the volleyball match (I was with the "veteran" group) we will inaugurate the brand new built BANYA. The other 4 russian guys meet once a week in Moscow to take banya, they say that in winter they jump naked to the snow because there is no water, all is frozen of course. Here we have the lake where we swim in the dark, 4 times after the 4 sessions. They worry about me because there is always a bit of CO2 in the air, even if we have removed the ashes carefully there is always the possibility to leave something small burning.
After banya we celebrate Sergei's 54th birthday and my day 50 of the trip. Party is long. After party I join another party with the young neighbours, they drink Samogon, a local distilled spirit. We talk talk talk until 6am, I didn't know but in the silence of the night, all the camp could hear us.
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50 days

D49 - Banya (Sauna)

JUL29 - Day49 - Seliger Lake - 4770Km

Un dels luxes mes grans del camp es la sauna, o "banya" que es el nom rus. La primera nit em van convidar amb els jefes del grup, com a convidat d'honor del camp. Avui Sergei em proposa ajudar a construir-ne una de nova i mes gran. Sergei es Enginyer Quimic i parla bon angles, ell em va donant instruccions i jo l'ajudo tan be com se. Al final ha quedat una estructura consistent i l'interior pot acollir fins a 6 persones. Dema a la nit la inaugurarem i despres celebrarem el seu aniversari i els mes 50 dies de viatge, l'ecuador.
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The day of the arrival I was invited to take Banya (Sauna) with the bosses of the camp, like the "honor guest". Today Sergei asked me to help to build a better one, near the small beach. Sergei (54) is Chemical Enginner, now retired, the early retirement is due to dangerous working conditions during 10 years. Now she has other businesses in Moscow because the pension is not enough to survive. First we built the structure with consistent sticks, then the fire place with big stones and later the walls with old sails from catamarans and baidarkas. At the end looks wonderful, it can take 6 people inside. We will inaugurate it tomorrow in the evening.
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D47 - Baidarka

JUL27 - Day47 - Seliger Lake - 4770Km

Primera nit a la tenda. Pel mati anem amb Arina, la seva mare i la seva tia a l'altre costat de l'illa, on hi ha l'unic poblet i on podem comprar algunes coses i prendre cafe. Es tarda una hora en arribar, pel cami mengem maduixes silvestres i altres fruits que creixen a l'estiu per aquestes contrades. A la tornada arribem just pel dinar de les 2. Els horaris de menjar son: esmorzar a les 9, dinar a les 2 i sopar a les 8. A la tarda agafem un parell de "baidarka" una mena de kayak tipic de Russia i anem a donar una volta pel llac tots 4.
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Today is the first full day in the island, we go to the other side, the only populated place, a small village with one shop and one bar. It takes 1h to walk there. The family that runs this bar lost their job when the factory where they worked closed after the soviet union collapse. Without jobs, they decided to move to this remote and lonely place. Nobody comes here in winter, which can be up to 9 months long, but summer time is full of tourists enjoying the nature of the island. In the afternoon we go by Baidarka, a boat similar to a kayak, this will be our main transport system during the next 2 weeks.
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D46 - Seliger

JUL26 - Day46 - Seliger Lake - 4770Km

El tren ens deixa a l'estacio d'Ostashkov a les 7 del mati. Anem a la platja on truqem les organitzadors del camp que ens envien dos nois amb una barca que ens duran a l'illa. Viurem a l'illa mes gran del llac, davant del monestir. En el camp hi ha unes 20 persones mes els grups d'estudiants de diferents parts del pais. Nosaltres som turistes pero ajudem en la mesura que podem a organitzar les activitats. Hem de pagar 3EUR/dia i a canvi tenim esmorzar, dinar i sopar.
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We arrive at Ostashkov, the capital of the region at 7am. The taxi drive us 10km to the shore of the lake where many people is waiting for the boats to collect them. We will sleep in the biggest island of the lake, opposite Nil's monastery. We call the boss of the campsite and 2 young guys (friends of Arina) come with a small boat to pick us up. We are tourists in this camp, as opposite of trainers and the students. The cost is 100RUR/day (3EUR), we get breakfast, lunch and dinner for that price, we can use all facilities in the camp when they are free, but at the same time we are supposed to help to cook and organize events with the trainers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Seliger
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D45 - Go Camping

JUL25 - Day45 - Moskva - Km4390

Avui ens diem adeu amb Tania. 8 dies junts i molts moments especials, no es facil, pero ella ha decidit anar a passar uns dies de reclusio en un monestir prop de la frontera ucraniana i jo m'he deixat convencer per Arina i anar de camping a uns llacs al nord de la ciutat amb la seva mare i la seva tia. Conec Arina nomes de dues trobades curtes als vespres, pero l'oportunitat de sortir de la ciutat i coneixer la naturalesa m'atrau i accepto la invitacio. Elles es quedaran 2 setmanes pero jo tinc intencio d'estar-hi nomes una i despres continuar el viatge cap a l'Est. Pugem al tren en vagons separats perque vam comprar el bitllet en dies diferents. Amb mi hi ha tres estuidiants que van de vacances al mateix lloc, un enginyer aerospacial, un enginyer electronic i un metge cirurgia. Arriba Arina i ells treuen una guitarra i comencen a cantar tots plegats, convidem la seva mare i la seva tia i tots 7 en un vago per 4 persones sopem, bevem cervesa i cantem fins que els veins es queixen, passada la mitjanit. Es hora de dormir.
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Today Tania goes to a monastery in the south and I have decided to accept Arina's invitation to go to Seliger lake to a campsite for children. I don't understand what will we do in a children's camp but she is very persistent and I believe that this will be a unique opportunity to see the countryside, the nature and meet new people with whom I will share new and interesting experiences. We go with her mother Elena and aunt Alla. Since I bought the train ticket later than them, we are in different wagons. In my compartment there are 3 young guys with a guitar. Arina comes to pick me up for dinner but we finally decide to call her mother and aunt and have dinner together with the guys in my place. We eat, drink and play guitar until the neighbours start to complaint after midnight. Time to sleep.
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D44 - Registration III

JUL24 - Day44 - Moskva - Km4390

Per fi aconsegueixo registrar el visat. Ja se m'havia passat pel cap abandonar el pais i tornar a Ucraina o potser anar als paisos Baltics en comptes de seguir cap a l'est. Pero tot surt be, no es facil pero ho aconseguim. L'agencia que em va enviar l'invitacio a traves d'una empresa falsa es qui ha de registrar el meu passaport. No ho puc fer jo personalment. Els deixo el passaport i tots els documents que hem hagut d'omplir per demostrar que viure a casa de Tania els propers 90 dies (cosa que tambe es falsa). Pago 50 dolars mes i en tres dies em tenen els segells corresponents en el passaport. He tardat 9 dies en poder ser legal al pais, oficialment nomes tenia 3 dies per fer tots els passos burocratics. Russia segueix essent un estat altament burocratitzat i qualsevol pas administratiu es un maldecap que complica el desenvolupament del pais. Tania m'explica que te ganes de trobar una feina a Moscou per estar prop de la familia pero que quan veu coses com aquestes se li passen les ganes de tornar.
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The only way to register the visa is to give all my documents to the agency. They sent me the invitation from the fake company and now they must register me in the general registration office. I pay 50USD more, give them my passport and all the papers proving that I will stay in Tania's place for 90 days. 3 days later I get 2 stamps in my passport. It took me 9 days to register, officially I had only 3 days, which is practically impossible. Bureaucracy is still a big problem in Russia, lots of people's time wasted to fill hundreds of forms. You can find yourself queueing for half an hour to get a form in one building, then go to the bank to pay as little as 0.50EUR and back to the original place with the prove of the payment, queue again and finally get the stamp you need.
With a tourist visa, if you move from city to city you must register everywhere you go. Luckily, with my business visa and my prove of residence in Moscow, I don't need to worry anymore about registration, my stamp is valid all over the country for the next 3 months.
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D42 - Dacha

JUL22 - Day42 - Moskva - Km4390

La mare de Tania passa la meitat de la setmana a la casa que tenen al sud de la ciutat: a la "dacha", que es el nom que reben les casetes de vacances o segones residencies lluny de les ciutats. Avui hi anem per ajudar la seva mare i per passar-hi la nit. Dacha esta al sud de la ciutat, agafem el tren i pel cami Tania m'ensenya el seu antic lloc de treball i l'esglesia on la van batejar. Caminem uns 20 minuts des de l'estacio de tren, creuant boscos i altres dachas. La casa esta situada enmig del bosc de pins alts, un lloc ideal per desconnectar de la ciutat els caps de setmana. Mengem maduixes, ajudem a la seva mare a preparar conserves per l'hivern i sopem plegats mentre xerrem i juguem amb Magda (el gos) i Yulichka (el gat)
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Tania's family has a dacha (countryside house) in the south of the city. Her mother is doing some repairs in the building and we decide to go and help this afternoon. We take the train for 40 minutes and walk for 20 minutes, is a hot day. Dacha is in the middle of the forest, beautiful place to disconnect from the rush and pollution of the city. We eat strawberries from the garden, spend time watching pictures and preparing some food. Tonight we will sleep here and tomorrow Sunday back again to Moscow.
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D40 - Registration II

JUL20 - Day40 - Moskva - Km4390

Registrar el meu visat porta encara mes maldecaps. Intentem que ens segellin un document a les 9 del mati perque a partir d'avui soc il.legal al pais, han passat 4 dies des de la meva entrada i encara no estic registrat. La dona que te el tampo amb el segell no hi es perque ahir a la nit van celebrar un aniversari i aquest mati arribara tard. Increible. Suposo que va veure massa alcohol, el que m'extranya es que el tampo no estigui a l'oficina... potser se l'endu a casa i dorm amb ell. Sigui com sigui hem de tornar a les 4 de la tarda. Un cop tenim el segell en el document anem a la policia per fer el darrer pas. Avui no sera possible, ens diuen que com que tinc un visat de negocis les coses s'han de fer d'una manera diferent. Hem perdut ja tres dies omplint papers aqui i alla, ingressant diners en el banc i pagant factures en diversos estaments... Molta energia i temps perdut i encara no estic registrat. Segueixo essent il.legal.
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My visa registration is not done yet, I am illegal right now. 9am we go to get a stamp in one document but the lady is not there because last night they had a birthday party in the office and she is going to be late in the morning. Nobody else have the same stamp, we must wait until the vodka goes away from her head and she decides to go back to the office. I am wondering if she sleeps with the stamp. From 4pm to 6pm the office is open to everybody, she seems to be back there and we got our stamp. With 4 different documents and after paying for each of them in different offices/windows we go to the police. We are told that business visas cannot be registered here. We have lost another day, many hours and lots of energy.
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D40 - Masha and Arina

JUL20 - Day40 - Moskva - Km4390

Com que Moscou es una ciutat gran i cara, abans de venir vaig intentar trobar contactes en cas que Tania em falles. Gracies a Sandra (Equador) em vaig posar en contacte amb Masha i despres amb Arina, que estudia espanyol i li feia il.lusio coneixer-me. Avui deixo que Tania passi una estona amb la seva mare a soles i jo quedo amb elles. Una altra cita a cegues, jo no he vist mai una foto ni d'Arina ni de Masha. A l'estacio de metro ella em reconeix a la primera. Arina (21) estudia art a les nits i treballa de dissenyadora durant el dia. Estudia espanyol i frances i tambe parla angles. La conversacio es una barreja d'espanyol i angles. Passegem una estona per la ciutat i mes tard arriba Masha per anar sopar plegats. Ens caiem be i decidim que ens hem de tornar a trobar abans que jo segueixi el meu cami cap a Siberia
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I got the email of Masha through Sandra, a friend from Ecuador that studied in Moscow for 5 years. Today we are going to meet, first with Arina (21) friend of Masha and later she will join us for dinner in Mu-Mu. I don't know Arina, I have never seen a picture of her but she recognizes me very quick in the metro station. She is learning spanish and can speak english as well. We mix both languages in our conversation. Arina study arts in the evenings and works as designer during the day. We walk and talk for a while until Masha arrives. In the restaurant they help me to choose the traditional food and the waitresses seem to enjoy and try to speak english with me. I get more smiles in Moscow than I thought.
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40 days

D39 - Passport Please

JUL19 - Day39 - Moskva - Km 4390

La Placa Roja es un punt important en el meu viatge. Podria dir que es l'equador en quan a distancia i tambe gairebe en dies. El final d'una part del meu viatge, la part europea, i l'inici de la ruta del transiberia, a partir del qual ja gairebe no tinc contactes. Fem fotos amb Tania, visitem el mausoleu de Lenin, els magatzems GUM i despres passegem per la part antiga de la ciutat mentre mengem un gelat: Teatre Bolshoi, Petrovka...
Un dels perills de visitar la Placa Roja es la policia, estan com voltors esperant turistes. Demanen el passaport i si alguna cosa no els agrada et posen una multa... almenys aixo diu al meva guia de viatges. A mi em paren 2 vegades, els ensenyo el passaport i em fan preguntes perque encara no estic registrat. Per sort Tania esta amb mi i ella els explica tot en rus i em deixen marxar sense demanar-me diners.
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Today is for sightseeing. First thing to visit is the Kremlin and the Red Square. If Keleti (Budapest) and the Forbidden City (Beijing) are the start and end points of my trip, this is the equator. A big landmark and a special moment. We take pictures, go to Lenin mausoleum, GUM shooping center and then walk around the old areas of the city centre.
As Lonely Planet says, this is a place to avoid police, is full of them and they ask for passport and registration to tourists, trying to get some extra money with "false" fines. Tania and I try not to talki in english when police is next to us but they stopped me twice in less than 1 hour. I show (not give) my passport, they ask questions because I am not registered yet, but Tania explains everyhing in russian and they let me go "for free". I wouldn't come here alone, or if I come I must be sure I have enough 20USD notes in my pocket to avoid problems with police.
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D38 - Visa Registration I

JUL18 - Day38 - Moskva - Km4390

Com ja he dit abans, viatjar per Russia no es facil, es necessita seguir uns certs passos burocratics gens facils. Per tal de venir amb un visat de 3 mesos he hagut de demanar un visat de negocis a traves d'una empresa falsa. Ara cal registrar el meu visat i el process es complicat. Primer he d'aconseguir un paper que demostri el lloc on viure els propers 3 mesos (a casa de Tania), amb aquest paper la meva "empresa" falsa anira a l'oficina on em posaran el segell al passaport. Tot aixo s'ha de fer en un termini de 3 dies des de l'entrada al pais o corro el risc de pagar una multa o fins i tot ser deportat a casa. El segell d'entrada es del dia 16, o sigui que tinc fins dimecres 19 (dema) per fer tots els papers.
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Every foreigner that enters Russia and wants to stay more than 3 days MUST register the visa within the first three days upon arrival. There are many different types of visa, being the most common the "tourist visa" for up to 1 month and "business visa". Since I needed more than a month I had to apply for business visa. Now is time to register. My entry date is Sunday 16th of July I must finish the process by Wednesday 19th. We go with Tania to the main registration office in the city center. They tell me that in order to register the business visa, somebody from my company must go there. My "company" is a fake one, only used for inviting tourists that want to stay more than 30 days. We call the agency which issued my visa. The process takes several steps. First I must get a paper showing where I live and then my "company" will go and register the visa for me with the cost of 50USD.
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D38 - Tania

JUL18 - Day38 - Moskva - Km4390

Tania (Tatiana, 29) es el contacte mes important que em trobare en tot aquest viatge, ens coneixem des de fa mes de 2 anys. Ella es de Moscou pero ara viu i treballa a Suecia. Ens vam coneixer fa dos anys a Budapest i des de llavors ens uneix una forta amistad. Ella ha estat un parell de vegades de Nica a casa meva i jo tambe he estat a casa seva a Estocolm. Per primera vegada ens trobem al seu pais i a la seva ciutat amb la seva familia, a Moscou. Fa nomes tres mesos des de la darrera vegada que ens vam veure a Franca, tot i aixi, retrobar-nos ens fa una inmensa il.lusio a tots dos.
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Tania (Tatiana, 29) is my strongest contact in this trip. We met first time in 2004 in Budapest. I lived in the hungarian capital and she went there on a business trip from Sweden. She works as tax consultant and Ernst & Young in Stockholm and we have a common friend who introduced us. Since then, she visited me in France a couple of times and I visited her in Sweden too. Now, for the first time, we will meet in her home city Moscow. She has taken 3 week holiday and I have planned my trip to be here at the same time with her.
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D37 - Alone and Lost

JUL17 - Day37 - Moskva - Km4390

 

Arribo a Moscou Kurskaia Vokzal a les 10 del mati, tothom es mou de pressa, signe evident que em trobo en una gran ciutat. Estic sol, Tania no arriba fins les 7 de la tarda. Primer de tot he de deixar les maletes en lloc segur i despres ja veure que faig. Canvio diners, 1Euro son 33Rubles, sera facil de calcular els preus multiplicant per 3. Compro SIM pel telefon i esmorzo. Ara que ja tinc una mica mes d'energia, pero no massa despres de les 15 hores de tren, decideixo endinsar-me en el metro. 13 linies amb mes d'un centenar d'estacions. Creuar la ciutat pot tardar mes de 2h. El sistema es bo, una linea circular que conecta amb totes les demes que van de nord a sud o de oest a est en forma d'un gran asterisc. Els trens arriben cada 50 segons a les hores puntes, rarament van plens. Passadissos amples, espais oberts, no hi ha sensacio de claustrofobia o malestar. La gent de la ciutat sovint decideix trobar-se a les estacions de metro quan han de quedar amb algu.

Arribo al Kremlin despres dels primers exercicis d'orientacio. El fet d'haver estat abans als metros de Kiev i de Minsk m'ajuda perque el sistema de canviar de linia es similar, amb passadissos llargs i indicacions no massa clares per als turistes. Vaig a la Placa Roja pero fa fred i no m'hi estic gaire estona. Torno a l'estacio de tren, recullo les maletes, compro flors i espero que arribi Tania.

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Moscow Monday morning. People everywhere moving quick in the train station. I have always a very special feeling when I arrive in a new city for the first time, its a mix of curiosity and respect. Everybody knows where to go, I don't. First of all I need to leave my luggage in a safe place but I have no money. I exchange 50EUR (1EUR=33RUR). Second thing to do is to buy a russian SIM card for my mobile. Easier than I expected. Now is time to relax, I go to a kiosk to drink coffee and eat something warm. I send SMS to my local contacts. Tania will arrive from Stockholm at 7:30pm, I have 9h to spend somehow in Moscow. Outside is raining, a bit cold as well. I buy a city plan and go to the metro, 3 lines cross here in Kurskaia I don't know yet how to get from one line to the other. Metro tickets are about 30 cent of Euro and can get you anywhere in the city. System is efficient, at rush hours there is one train every 50 seconds. Finally I get to the Kremlin, the very center of Moscow and Russia. I enter the Red Square but is too cold and I don't have warm clothes with me. I decide to go back to the train station, collect my luggage, buy flowers and wait for Tania.

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D37 - Russian Federation

JUL17 - D37 - Moskva - Km4390

Russia o mes ben dit la Federacio Russa es, amb mes de 17000 quilometres quadrats el pais mes gran del planeta. Si la frontera entre Asia i Europa son els Urals, prodriem dir que es a la vegada el pais mes gran d'Europa i d'Asia. La poblacio, majoritariament concentrada a la part Europea no es massa gran en comparacio al territori que ocupa: 150 milions d'habitants aproximadament i en proces decreixent. El turisme no esta gaire desenvolupat mes enlla de Moscou i San Petersburg, l'economia gira basicament al voltant del enormes recursos energetics del pais. 15 anys despres de la desaparicio de la Unio Sovietica, Russia encara viu epoques de canvis extraordinaris. Es el 62e pais en renda per capita pero Moscu es la ciutat amb mes milionaris del planeta. Es considerat el 10e pais mes ric del mon i a la vegada un dels mes influents politicament i economica.
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The Russian Federation is the biggest country in the world in extension: over 17000 square km, 11 time zones and more than 8000km from west to east. It covers almost twice as much land as the second largest country in the world (Canada). Vast country but low density, its population is around 150 million, mainly concentrated in the western part and along the transiberian train route in the south. 150 different languages, 7.9% GDP increase a year, 10.9% inflation and 8.2% unemployement. Moscow (Moskva) the capital is the biggest city with over 10 million inhabitants, in second place in St Petersburg in the north-west with 4.5 million. Many things can be said about the Russian Federation, history, literature, politics, economy, etc... but is not the point of this blog, here I will explain what I encounter during the next days: landscapes, people, impressions, stories about normal day life, etc...
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D36 - Bye Ukraine

JUL16 - Day36 - Kharkiv - Km3609

Diumenge. Ola va marxar ahir a la nit i jo no vaig tenir prou energia per sortir de festa sol, tot i que era dissabte nit i Kharkiv es un bon lloc per sortir a la nit amb molta festa i gent jove. Com que els meus contactes no son a la ciutat i Ola havia de marxar ahir, vaig decidir comprar el bitllet de tren a Moscu per avui diumenge. Finalment entrare a Russia.
El tren surt a les nou i Dmitry em deixa quedar al pis fins les 7 del vespre sense cap carrec extra. Ell mateix ve a recollir les claus i em porta a l'estacio de tren. Els 15 minuts dins el cotxe els aprofitem per intercanviar informacions, ell parla molts idiomes i ja porta 7 anys llogant apartaments i altres activitats turistiques a Kharkiv. El principi va ser dificil pero el boca-orella ha fet que ara tingui un munt de clients. Quan torni a visistar la ciutat contactare amb ell sense cap mena de dubte.
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Ola left last night, she could get only a ticket for Saturday night. She will be at home on Sunday morning ready for her grandmother 80th aniversary party. My ticket, which I bought in a special room only for foreigners, even though they could not speak any english, is for today Sunday.
I check out from the appartment in the evening with no extra charge, Dmitry comes to pick up the keys and offers me a lift to the station. He has been running this business for 7 years, now he has lots of appartments rented in the city. Dmitry studied foreign languages in Kharkiv, can speak perfect english, good german and some chinese and probably some other languages too. We talk about nightlife in Kharkiv. When I come back to the city I will definitely contact him again, he also has appartments for monthly renting at good prices.
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