We are always excited to get our client's feedback about the journeys we've organized! This time, we received a saturated review and a bunch of nice photos from one of our travelers, Bob Derickson, who experienced the great Tsar's Gold Trans-Siberian adventure in July 2019.
We're happy to share this piece with you and hope that it'll inspire you to embark on an epic journey like this one day!
Setting off on a train ride along the Trans-Siberian and Trans-Mongolian railways is, indeed, a once in a lifetime experience, and we are convinced that Bob's story is a nice way to learn more about such long and complex journeys from a traveler's point of view.
Naturally, the best time for such trips is from May to September during the warm months as Russian weather can be quite harsh and unpredictable during late fall and winter.
The Tsar's Gold is a luxury private train (basically, a hotel on wheels) and one of the best options to pick for such kinds of journeys. Bob's travel lasted 16 days which he spent in a spacious and cozy Bolshoi compartment of the Tsar's Gold train, it boasts all the amenities a traveler needs for a comfortable and worry-free ride along the longest railway in the world.
Along with the Bolshoi compartment, the train offers 4 more accommodation options to choose from including comfortable Classic and Superior Cabins as well as Nostalgic and ultra-luxurious Platinum ones.
Apart from the nice interiors and facilities of the train, Bob noted the meals that he and the other travelers were treated to onboard:
Next is a picture of the daily breakfast buffet. Yes, there is bread, cheeses, fish, meat, cereals, caviar, champagne, and lots of tea choices. Back at the table, you can order eggs and bacon. Oh, we ate well on the train.
The Trip was Wonderful!
Thank you for all the work you did to make that great adventure possible for me.
The route chosen by Bob was the one starting from the gorgeous Russian capital, Moscow where travelers spent several days. Then, the trip continued with a train ride and an exploration of the city of Kazan.
Tsar's Gold then traveled to remote Ekaterinburg, followed by Novosibirsk, and then on to Asia. However, there's also another option: a reverse route starting from Beijing with a grand finale in Moscow.
Bob kindly shared the impressions that these cities have left in his memory and on the photographic film of his camera:
Happily, I am home now and can send you some pictures that I took with my camera. Let's begin in Moscow with a rainy night tour. The wet bricks on the Red Square certainly enhance this picture of St. Basil's.
Next, we traveled to Kazan and here's a picture of the interior of the Kul Sharif Mosque. We were also treated to a surprise concert of Russian students at the conservatory of Kazan.
As a musician, I found that to be the most wonderful event for the day. Those young students brought out the Russian in the music instead of only the notes.
Moving deeper into the territory of Russia, the train reaches the Ural Region which is considered to be the border between the European and Asian parts of Russia, followed by the landscapes of Siberia:
On to Ekaterinburg, I stood in Asia and Europe at the same time. Though the trip to the Eurasia Monument wasn't always included in the itinerary depending on the traffic, but you see me there, standing in 2 parts of the world at once!"
The next stop of the itinerary, the metropolis that is listed in the famous Guinness Book of Records as the fastest growing city in the world, Russia's mighty Novosibirsk, also got Bob enthralled.
The tour includes the exploration of the major city attractions, including the Novosibirsk State Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet, and here's an interesting fact to share which our traveler found out:
Did you know that the Russians stored artwork from the Hermitage in St. Petersburg here during WWII to protect it from the Nazis?
It is an enormous building, and they delayed its opening from 1944 to 1945 since the artwork was stored there.
It also has a marvelous park and garden where I am "playing" the harp.
The Trip to the Eurasia Monument
I stood in Asia and Europe at the same time!
We hope you liked this amazing review just as we do but, fortunately, this is just the first part of Bob's saturated overview of his epic train journey to Russia and Asia. In the second part, we are going to share the feedback about the rest of the tour, including picturesque Siberia, unique Mongolia, and, of course, inimitable China.
