Today we will take you to Irkutsk in Siberia, which we visited in the summer of 2006. We continue today to tell you about our journey on the Trans-Mongolian railway that started in Moscow and continued all the way to Beijing. But we are going to tell you about the first stop, the one that happened after about four days on the train.
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On board the Trans-Siberian railway
The Trans-Siberian railway is not a hop on hop off train, you simply buy the tickets you need. We bought three stages, via Bas International, and the first stage was Moscow - Irkutsk. And that's quite a long stage if you say so! We don't remember exactly how long the journey took, but guesses between three and four days.
What we did on the train? We looked at the view, read, listened to music, got hot water in the samovar for coffee, went to the restaurant car, drank beer with the cabin attendants... This train journey was a really relaxed experience!
Through Siberia
So what did it look like outside the windows as we travelled through Russia and Siberia on our way to Irkutsk? Endless, we must say! The most fascinating thing was the distances. That you can travel through forests and mountains and cities you've never heard of, day after day. As if there was somehow no end to this country.
Sometimes we stopped for a while at a platform and you could buy from the babushkas who sold bread and pastries and vegetables from their prams. Then we went on again!
The turquoise blue colour
What fascinated us most in Siberia was the turquoise blue colour. Just about everything was painted in this colour - station houses, cabins, barns, poles. We didn't have much to do on the train, so eventually we started fantasising that maybe they had a lot of military paint left over that they had mixed with white. Or maybe they simply liked turquoise blue. In just about all of Russia.
Irkutsk - The Paris of Siberia
We finally arrived in Irkutsk! Siberia has a harsh climate and an inaccessible location, which is perhaps why in the past it was considered convenient to deport 'uncomfortable' people here. In the 19th century, many Russian artists, officers and nobles were exiled to Siberia during the 1825 uprising against Tsar Nicholas I. They were also sent to Siberia as a result of the war.
Irkutsk gained a population consisting largely of intellectuals. These people could not leave Siberia, but they sent for French governors, painted, wrote poetry and built beautiful decorated wooden houses. Some of these wooden houses are today opened as museums, and we walked around here with a guide. Fascinating!
When we visited the city in the middle of summer, it was 30 degrees and the women were dressed up in beautiful dresses. We shopped for cool clothes here ourselves, and it felt right that the city has sometimes been called the Paris of Siberia!
Hotels in Irkutsk - and the same carpet
Where did we stay in Irkutsk? To be honest, we don't remember the name of the hotel, but we remember the creaking bed that fell to the floor ... and we remember the carpet in the corridor! What was so special about it?
Nothing really, except that the same carpet turned up a few days later in a historical museum in Mongolia. How long were those carpet rolls originally? We imagined the world being painted turquoise blue and this carpet being rolled out, mile after mile ...
Lake Baikal - the deepest lake in the world
When visiting Irkutsk, you should of course take the opportunity to see Lake Baikal, which we did. We loved the calm and relaxing atmosphere here. The deep lake also provided some kind of cooling freshness in the otherwise sweltering heat. Read more about our visit to Lake Baikal - the deepest lake in the world.
After our stop in Irkutsk and at Lake Baikal, we continued our journey on the Trans-Mongolian railway. Now it was time to leave Russia and we eventually entered Mongolia.
Facts about Irkutsk
- Country: Russia
- District: Siberian Federal District
- Oblast: Irkutsk oblast
- Population: 620 000 (2015)
- Location: On the shore of Lake Baikal in southern Siberia
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4000mil says:
Oh I get so hungry! Next summer it must be if not this, then at least some other longer train journey for us.
07 February 2018 - 7:18
Helena says:
Glad you are keen on the Trans-Siberian! Really cool trip! And yes, there are many other interesting train journeys you can do too!
07 February 2018 - 13:47
Britt-Marie Lundgren says:
For many years, this train journey was almost at the top of the travel wish list, but for some reason the men in my life have kicked back at the very idea. Perhaps 15 years ago, I was asked by a work colleague, who then travelled on his own because we couldn't make it work with time off.
It's great to be travelling with you now. Looking forward to Mongolia, which still attracts me.
Train journeys are special and some have given me unforgettable memories from India and Vietnam.
07 February 2018 - 7:45
Helena says:
How sad that you did not get any of the men on this trip! Trains in India and Vietnam also sound exciting! 🙂
07 February 2018 - 13:48
Kenneth Risberg says:
I really like their handsome buildings with spires and towers in gold and other colours.
My long train journeys have been Hallsberg-Åre/Duved 2014 when they had to change a train carriage in Stockholm C in the middle of the night due to loose?
In 2015 I took the night train from Kiruna to Stockholm where the train pulled into the centre only 2 minutes after the scheduled time, well done for the long distance.
07 February 2018 - 9:12
Helena says:
You can go by train quite a bit in Sweden as well. I went to Kiruna once a long time ago when I travelled with a group to the North Cape (afterwards we rented minibuses).
07 February 2018 - 13:59
Steve says:
When I read about your trip, I start to see Siberia with different eyes.
07 February 2018 - 9:55
Helena says:
I guess it's easy to have preconceived ideas about Siberia that aren't true 😉.
07 February 2018 - 13:59
Johnny Friskilä says:
And I thought a few days ago that I should write about the Trans-Siberian, or Transmongolian then... Well, I have no idea where the colour comes from, maybe there was one zero too many in the central planning?
07 February 2018 - 11:06
Helena says:
Well, we don't have a patent on writing about this topic, so write! 😉 Would be fun to read! 🙂 And haha, well maybe it was a zero too much ... ! 😉
07 February 2018 - 14:01
Nils-Åke Hansson says:
Have travelled a lot by train in Sweden. Norrköping Kiruna 1963 and to Mora from Norrköping 1964. But the time in Uppsala it was the train that mattered
Of course there are things that attract us, but the motorhome will be our means of transport.
07 February 2018 - 17:43
Helena says:
Sweden is also a long country to travel by train! Although Russia is even longer 😉 .
07 February 2018 - 20:07
Ruth i Virginia says:
What beautiful, magnificent buildings! Unexpected - but only because
I haven't read much about Siberia.
My longest train journey was from Providence, Rhode Island to London.
Tampa, Florida. Took almost 30 hours. I was accompanied by a
older lady; we shared a sleeping compartment. Slept through the first part and
got to see the (backside of the) South in daylight. An eye-opener for a
young Swedish.
Popular on this page is 'the Trans-Canadian Railway'.
07 February 2018 - 19:14
Helena says:
The USA and Canada are also very large countries! We have talked about trains in Canada sometimes, sounds like a cool experience!
07 February 2018 - 20:08
BP says:
Well, we have our falu red cottages with white knots, so Siberia has the turquoise blue colour as a characteristic. I googled colours and think it has something to do with Lake Baikal. It freezes into turquoise ice during the winter.
Fantastic buildings that are in surprisingly good condition and well maintained. Yes, I had not associated such handsome buildings with Siberia.
Nice to (for once) not have my preconceptions confirmed;-)
PS. Saw that you changed transmongolian railway to trans-Siberian ditto. I was just going to ask if there were two railways or if they change names somewhere along the way. DS.
07 February 2018 - 19:25
Helena says:
But wow, how cool that you tried to google this with the colour! Interesting if it has to do with Lake Baikal! So ... I have probably been a little unclear about the Trans-Siberian and Trans-Mongolian railway. It's the same railway until it splits. The Trans-Siberian line goes to Vladivostok in Russia. The Trans-Mongolian line goes to China. We took the line that goes to China and then it should be called the Transmongolian railway. At the same time, the word Trans-Siberian Railway is much better known, and the longest stretch is the same line ...
07 February 2018 - 20:11
Johanna i Skåne says:
In 2004 we travelled by train Lund-Stockholm and then by boat to Helsinki. From there train to Moscow and then on to Irkutsk and Ulan Bator. There were many nights on the train and I also remember the turquoise colour? Another memory is the food shopping we did when the train stopped at the stations. Bread, sausages, pickles. Our train had a good restaurant car so the time we didn't read or look out we spent eating.
07 February 2018 - 19:34
Helena says:
So fun that you also made this trip! Did you have a restaurant car all the way? We did not ... Will tell you about it next time (Saturday) 😉.
07 February 2018 - 20:12
Ann-Louise says:
How exciting to read about Siberia and what beautiful buildings!
07 February 2018 - 22:09
Lena - gott för själen says:
What an interesting experience it seems to have been! Hehe, funny thought with the colour and the carpets 🙂 .
Hug Lena
08 February 2018 - 6:08
Rune Karlsson says:
I have been to Lömsk, also a nice town next to the railway.
14 February 2018 - 8:41
Rune Karlsson says:
Omsk should read
14 February 2018 - 8:41