allll aboard: the trans-siberian from beijing to moscow

We were ending our time in China… and we needed to get to Europe. The prospect of taking the Trans-Siberian railroad on a seven-day (non-stop) train journey from Beijing to Moscow would be much slower, slightly more expensive, and a bit more work to organize. But it appealed to the romantic traveler in us both.

First, though, the not-so-romantic stuff: obtaining tickets and visas. Tickets proved relatively easy. Apparently, not many people take this train in winter so we were in luck! The Russian embassy in Beijing, however, was mysteriously closed on the day we arrived. Luckily, we secured a rush visa the following day.

The Bradshaws are going to Russia! The Cyrillic version of our names

Set up in style at the apartment of Tian-Tian, a friend-of-a-friend, we had a comfy stay in Beijing. The city was interesting and despite the cold temps and visa/ticket shenanigans, we had a fun few days. We must return one day to explore more when it’s not so frigid!

And we’re off! Beijing train station lit up at night

There she is, our ride to Moscow (on the left)

Despite our legit visas, Steve’s multiple temporary passports meant he got held in customs for a few hours at the border crossing. Luckily, the border guards were mostly interested in teaching him some Russian words, including how to ask for four liters of beer. Best not to include what they taught him on the reverse side of this paper!

As it turns out, we should have learned how to say, “How long will this stop be?” The train made several stops each day, with each stop ranging from 10 minutes to an hour. However, as none of the train attendants spoke English nor were interested in attempts at communication, we never knew how long we had to get out and stretch our legs.

We did brave the elements (and risk of being left behind!) a few times though

Smoked fish for sale at one of the stops. Unfortunately many of the Russian travelers loaded up on this odorous snack item!

Steve makes an uneducated stab at the menu in the dining cart. With an all-Russian menu, it was a bit of a guessing game!

Obligatory vodka shots. Just not for breakfast, like some of our fellow travelers. Nastarovia!

The time went quickly. We read. We watched movies. We soaked in the snowy vistas. We made good use of the free hot water dispenser, eating lots of ramen.

Steve, chilling in our cabin. Lucky for us, no one else was in our four-person cabin until the final night. Traveling first-class at the price of economy, score!

Only one other English-speaking couple was on the train–Brits Chris and Alex. Luckily, they regaled us with travel tales, shared movies, and generally proved to be great company.

As for the views: it was mostly snow, birch trees, and more snow over sweeping snowy landscapes. Did I mention the snow? This was broken up by tiny villages of wooden houses and the occasional rather industrial, cold-looking city. While chilly outside, we were warm and cozy in our train… some of our fellow Russian travelers basically passed the entire trip shirtless.

Not the best scenery shots (they’re all from peering out the train window) but a few to give an idea:

And… seven days, no shower, several books and many, many cups of tea later… we reentered the real world in Moscow

A few tips:
– At the time of our trip, this page on Seat 61 had the most comprehensive information on the railroad options.
– To take the Trans-Siberian from China to Russia, we used CITS (the nationally-owned Chinese travel agency). We ordered the ticket online from their website, payed using PayPal, and picked them up in person at their headquarters in Beijing. It was relatively painless except they needed a few phone calls to prompt them to process our order.
– The train took European plugs.
– Bring your own food! The dining cart options are relatively expensive and harken back to the harsh days of the Soviet empire (though nice to break things up every so often). We stocked up on ramen, coffees/teas, and snacks in Beijing.
– Bring a Russian-English pocket book and learn how to say “How long are we stopping for?”