Having himself traveled extensively here, Mike 'made the call' as to how the two of us would travel North from Abakan up to Krasnoyarsk here in Russian Siberia. He had absolutely no hesitation in saying he far preferred to take the train.
I snapped the below photos of the Abakan Railway Station the day we purchased our tickets.
The time has come the Walrus said for us to depart from Abakan.
Attention : Patti
In the below photo, if you will look closely on the right, you will see that the car is number 2. Mike and I were on car 10.
Now again look at the left side of the above photo. My Dear One, you can't even begin to see car 10 in the far distance. So the walk to our train car was a very long one.
Now add to this fact the issue of the ambient temperature being in the vicinity of -20°F, and you will see the reason that I said, "This would not necessarily have been a fun experience for you."
"Oh Captain! Do we really need more train coach photos?"
Alexander, our 'Point Man' here in Abakan, and Ira (Eeee-rahh) who drove us to the railway station, confirming we are where we belong.
We were where we belonged so we all sat and had a little visit.
We were in a very nice, private cabin, off the main aisleway in the coach.
Spotless. Immaculate 'necessary room'. I was astounded.
"You WHAT?"
"You do NOT believe me it was cold?"
The below four photos were snapped in the vestibule areas at the end of each car.
I scratched a little opening in the ice. It would re-ice faster than I could photograph it. You can see, near the bottom of my scratch, the one area where the actual window can be seen.
Oh My.
The wonder of the world we live in.
Just look, if you will, at Mother Nature's paintbrush mural-in-the-ice.
These are not two photos of one icy window. They are separate windows. Will you look, I mean actually take a moment to study the two photos, at the beauty of the designs!
Well! What have we here? This I do not believe! We are on a second class train with no first class cars and I was shocked when, as I was out-exploring, I found a dining car.
Piping hot ..
Chicken Noodle soup with vegetables and bread. It was great.
We've arrived in Krasnoyarsk.
On our car number 10, outside of the door into our cabin, our welcoming hosts appeared.
I did NOT take their photos at the time because I was shocked to see them taking my baggage from me and there was not time to shoot photos.
I told Patti that they were beautiful young ladies.
So I snapped their photos at the meeting we spoke at in the evening.
It WAS, after all, New Years Eve! Our driver (on the right in the below photos) was 'dressed-to-the-nines' for New Years Eve fellow shipping after the meeting.
Mike and I, dead-on-our-feet even after sleeping some during the day, did not participate in after-the-meeting New Years Eve fellow shipping.
I almost, but did NOT say, when I heard we were speaking at a 7:30pm meeting, "We just are not going to be able to so this."
So we went to the evening meeting and I did, with Mike's help translating .. what I am able to do .. I shared my experience ..
"My name is Cap! I'm so sorry to be late getting here. I was born in 1936 and it has taken me 82 years to get here to Krasnoyarsk! .."
After the meeting, Mike and I went home and, dead-tired, crashed.
KRASNOYARSK, Russian Siberia.
Another long walk, in the cold, to get to the station proper, we were pretty tired.
Yes! We had to navigate, in very dim lighting, several challenging flights of ancient and elderly narrow and steep stairs, some down and some back up, en route to the station.
"Oh Miss Krasnoyarsk railway station! What a Grande Dame you are!"
Out and off we drove, on New Years Eve day, in the early morning ice fog, here in Krasnoyarsk in Russian Siberia, to our apartment.
Cap, and a relived Patti, who was not along for the (long walks and severe cold) train adventure
I snapped the below photos of the Abakan Railway Station the day we purchased our tickets.
The time has come the Walrus said for us to depart from Abakan.
Attention : Patti
In the below photo, if you will look closely on the right, you will see that the car is number 2. Mike and I were on car 10.
Now again look at the left side of the above photo. My Dear One, you can't even begin to see car 10 in the far distance. So the walk to our train car was a very long one.
Now add to this fact the issue of the ambient temperature being in the vicinity of -20°F, and you will see the reason that I said, "This would not necessarily have been a fun experience for you."
"Oh Captain! Do we really need more train coach photos?"
Alexander, our 'Point Man' here in Abakan, and Ira (Eeee-rahh) who drove us to the railway station, confirming we are where we belong.
We were where we belonged so we all sat and had a little visit.
We were in a very nice, private cabin, off the main aisleway in the coach.
Spotless. Immaculate 'necessary room'. I was astounded.
"You WHAT?"
"You do NOT believe me it was cold?"
The below four photos were snapped in the vestibule areas at the end of each car.
I scratched a little opening in the ice. It would re-ice faster than I could photograph it. You can see, near the bottom of my scratch, the one area where the actual window can be seen.
Oh My.
The wonder of the world we live in.
Just look, if you will, at Mother Nature's paintbrush mural-in-the-ice.
These are not two photos of one icy window. They are separate windows. Will you look, I mean actually take a moment to study the two photos, at the beauty of the designs!
Well! What have we here? This I do not believe! We are on a second class train with no first class cars and I was shocked when, as I was out-exploring, I found a dining car.
Piping hot ..
Chicken Noodle soup with vegetables and bread. It was great.
We've arrived in Krasnoyarsk.
On our car number 10, outside of the door into our cabin, our welcoming hosts appeared.
I did NOT take their photos at the time because I was shocked to see them taking my baggage from me and there was not time to shoot photos.
I told Patti that they were beautiful young ladies.
So I snapped their photos at the meeting we spoke at in the evening.
It WAS, after all, New Years Eve! Our driver (on the right in the below photos) was 'dressed-to-the-nines' for New Years Eve fellow shipping after the meeting.
Mike and I, dead-on-our-feet even after sleeping some during the day, did not participate in after-the-meeting New Years Eve fellow shipping.
I almost, but did NOT say, when I heard we were speaking at a 7:30pm meeting, "We just are not going to be able to so this."
So we went to the evening meeting and I did, with Mike's help translating .. what I am able to do .. I shared my experience ..
"My name is Cap! I'm so sorry to be late getting here. I was born in 1936 and it has taken me 82 years to get here to Krasnoyarsk! .."
After the meeting, Mike and I went home and, dead-tired, crashed.
KRASNOYARSK, Russian Siberia.
Another long walk, in the cold, to get to the station proper, we were pretty tired.
Yes! We had to navigate, in very dim lighting, several challenging flights of ancient and elderly narrow and steep stairs, some down and some back up, en route to the station.
"Oh Miss Krasnoyarsk railway station! What a Grande Dame you are!"
Out and off we drove, on New Years Eve day, in the early morning ice fog, here in Krasnoyarsk in Russian Siberia, to our apartment.
Cap, and a relived Patti, who was not along for the (long walks and severe cold) train adventure
The ice etchings by Mother Nature on the inside of the train vestibules windows were stunning. Quite artistic! Great that you and Mike had the 4 persons cabin to yourselves. Eureka! A Dining Car and delicious looking hot soup. The train depot in Krasnoyarsk IS beautiful. You were correct, your welcoming party ladies ARE lovely! I am amazed that you were still able to stand and deliver at a meeting after traveling all night the night before ... I should not be surprised, but I am continuously amazed by your energy and determination. Your energy touches a LOT of people. Love to you in what is already 2019 where you are .. and hugs. Patti
ReplyDeleteYour train compartment brings fond memories of he train in Mongolia that we three rode. And the frosty windows reminds me of visiting a friend in Fairbanks one Thanksgiving when it was 50 below. The metal door knocker had a mounting plate that went through the door. We could guess how cold it was by the thickness of the frost on the inside.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy Siberia, Cap. And more of that yummy chicken soup.