THE FIELD OF THE MADNESS

MAKING DREAMS COME TRUE

I’ve been dreaming of going to Russia since I was 15.
But at the time, it was just a dream and a faraway destination.
Then I started travelling alone and on my return from the Basque Country, I realised that I could go anywhere with myself.
I had no doubts or hesitations.
Next on my list was Russia. I was going to go alone.
I wanted to see the Soviet Union.

It was a bit of a challenge organising everything on my own, but it was a fantastic experience.
It took me over a year, but it was a challenging, long, and complicated journey: the Trans-Siberian Train.

I’ve always been the type of person who wants to do things big, with a bang.
The Trans-Siberian is a bit like an atomic bomb in terms of travel.
The Trans-Siberian is THE travel, an experience of a lifetime, it’s something you’ll never forget.

Over the years, I’ve been back in Russia four times, including once for the celebrations of the Centenary of the Red October Revolution.
The last two times I felt even more at home, after taking a Russian language course at the Honorary Consulate of Belarus, in Cagliari.
Talking a little Russian certainly helps.

MAIN CITIES OUTSIDE AND ALONG THE TRANSIBERIAN

Most people think of St. Petersburg and Moscow when they think of Russia, but it’s hard to talk about Russia without mentioning the Trans-Siberian route.
It’s a major railway line that connects Moscow to Vladivastok, passing through Siberia.

LENINGRAD

My first steps in Russia were in Leningrad (or St. Petersburg, Petrograd, Piter – everyone still calls it what they want).
I started my Trans-Siberian journey here, and it was here that I really began to think about travelling the world as a traveller.

It was also here that I realised my dream of seeing the Soviet Union.

There are many reasons why Leningrad will always have a special place in my heart.

MOSCOW

When you get to Red Square, you’ll know you’ve reached a major milestone.

But Moscow is not just that.
Moscow is the Museum of Cosmonauts.
Moscow is the amazing metro, its stations so spectacular that you’d think they were museums..
Moscow is VDNH.

SIBERIA

Irkutsk is definitely worth spending at least a day in.

The Russian music played by the streetlights provides a great background to your walks among the dozens of statues.
The most ironic one I saw shows one of the many travellers who have arrived on the Trans-Siberian and who is left speechless while walking with a backpack on their shoulder in the streets of Irkutsk.
The houses are made of wood with splendid carved windows to face the Winter General.

Another historic and unmissable place is Baikal Lake the deepest and with the largest water volume lake in the world.
It’s so clear that the water is drinkable.

It’s hard to believe it’s a lake.
It’s 636 km from north to south, 48 km wide on average (up to 79.4 km), and 744 m deep (with a maximum of 1.642 m).

Have you ever thought about how it looks when it’s frozen?

In the summer it’s like the sea, and in the winter cars and trucks run on its icy base.