To state that Mother Russia is underwhelming would be to lie. Not only did she show us her gorgeous and impeccable nature, the display of organisational and national prosperity was a surprise to both of us. At first glance, the station at which we arrived in Moscow looked barren, old, and even shabby. Upon entering the main hall, which boasts marbled floors, 10 meter pillars that are built in accordance to the ancient Greek guidelines, and more security than passengers, it became clear that this initial glance did not result in an accurate mental representation of what we could expect of Russia. Pestered by our YouTube biased view, we immediately took notice of the chaotic traffic, abundance of squatting, Adidas clothed (just kidding) smokers, and endless arrays of old and grey flats. A man held up a sign that said "Tiara Tours"; instinctually, we approached the man and he introduced himself to us as Pet'r. The, roughly, 15 minute drive to our hotel displayed and confirmed even more of the negative images of Russia that we were unconsciously expecting to see. Unable to see beyond those images, we arrived at our hotel and were greeted by a man whose job prospects certainly did not match his intended course of life. This incongruence showed in both his facial expressions and his tone of voice. Our hotel room thermometer displayed a comfortable 29 °C when we opened the door. We put our backpacks down, looked at each other and, without words, excitedly agreed: We could not wait to see, explore, taste, and feel everything within our reach!

Okay enough dramatic descriptions! The same afternoon we went to the famous Red Square, walked around in the gardens next to the Kremlin, and observed the St. Basil's Cathedral. Impressive sights, but of course stacked with tourists.. We walked towards the river and found a park with magical music coming from hidden speakers, as if you were walking in the Efteling! On top of the hill there was a weird glass roof, which looked like a turtle's shield and wasagood cover for the unexpected rain. After a nice Thai dinner (why would you eat russian food in Russia?) we went back to our warm hotel room. The next morning we went on a more exciting trip towards Kremlin Izmaylovo, a small (but still full of uniqie buildings and decorations) Kremlin-like palace. This place was like another fairytale land with all its colourful buildings! Behind the first square we discovered a big flee market where many different things were sold, from antique art (or kitsch, it's hard to tell?) to souvenirs, and from paintings to second-hand shoes. After some lunch, we went back to the city centre while enjoying two famously beautiful subway stations on the way. In the center we went to GUM, a beautiful building with way too expensive shops, and walked towards the other side of the river for a great view on the real Kremlin. Tired from all the walking we rested in a big parc full of art and went back to the hotel. Once it was time for dinner, we googled what restaurants were in our neighborhood. After picking one, a short walk brought us to a boarded up entrance.. Was the restaurant permanently closed? Well, maybe not, there was a small entrance around the corner! So the restaurant still existed and it has a lovely menu, which was completely and only in Russian.. With the help of Google Translate and the waitress, we were able to make an educated guess, which luckily resulted in a delicious dinner!

All in all, we were very surprised by our impressions of Moscow and the Russian people and culture. The initial seeming poverty of flats and housing was negated by the stunning subway stations, some of which were true works of art. In general, all public spaces were in pristine condition; gardeners working, people cleaning up, and fine craftsmanship led to a lively and lovely atmosphere, truly making the plentiful parks worth spending time in. During our train ride from Moscow to Irkutsk, which takes 87 hours, we had the pleasure to be accompanied by a Russian mother and son from Novosibirsk, the capital city of East Siberia. Galina and Dionis were initially not very talkative and a bit glacial. However, quickly after introducing ourselves, pictures were showed, music shared, card games played, and phone numbers exchanged. On the first night already, our compartment was filled with 7 persons! Next to us 4, there was Hannah (Flamish), Kamiel (Polish), and another Russian neighbour. Despite the rising heat in our compartment (no airco unfortunately), lively conversations in English, Dutch, Polish/Russian, and French took place. The days passed quickly with the occasional hunts for food on platforms and stations during the 10 to 30 minutes stops, and of course the time difference. When our Russian mother and son left us, we were accompanied by Russian parents and their 1 year old daughter. She made the cuteness level of our compartment raise sky high and many staring competitions were played continuously.

After 3 days and almost 16 hours, we arrived in Irkutsk where we were picked up and brought to Listvyanka, a small village at Lake Baikal. Before going out and exploring the village we first took a long desired shower and nap! We enjoyed the quietness thoroughly and slept 3 hours instead of the planned 1.. oops :o The next day, we went out to find a viewing point and took a refreshing dive into the largest and deepest lake on earth! While avoiding all the Chinese tourists we found a nice place to have dinner and celebrate our baby (9 months together)! The next day we went to our homestay in Irkutsk where we stayed with a Russian mom and daughter. They showed how we could go to all the sightseeing spots of Irkutsk. We walked another 22000 steps around this, for Siberian standards, old town. Several old and crooked wooden buildings, colourful churches, and massive statues could be found all over the city! A final dinner and that is all that we could explore and enjoy from Russia this time.

We found several things to be true and characteristic of the Russian culture and people and distilled them into the following seven points:

1. Enjoying your work is not common, pretending to enjoy your work is even less common. Many were not afraid to display their displeasure and meet you with short and monotone grunts instead of the smiley responses one can expect elsewhere.

2. What lacks in private wealth, is made up for in communal wealth. The remaining elements of communism are adamant, leading to little no property and luxury owned by (the majority of) individuals, but truly remarkable public spaces. Evenings were always lovely, with plenty of folk out and about in the gardens and well-maintained public areas. We believe that this leads to a more connected and interwoven society: something we can learn from in our individualistic country.

3. Traffic is organic. The lines on the road? Those are more like suggestions, right? Small villages, big cities, it matters not. If you can fit your car there, you can drive there!

4. Carrying your own speakers around and playing music of your choosing loudly in public is common and accepted. Often, cyclists, people on scooters (the ones where you paddle with your feet), and chatting people will have a speaker playing their music. As a result, overlapping music is not rare. In restaurants, playing loud, very unfitting music, is also custom. Think Electro House and Hard Bass for breakfast, or a lunch in a park close to a river (?!).

5. On the topic of restaurants, one should never expect all their food to arrive at the same. It happened to us only once and that was because the food was already done.

6. People wear masks and are quite cold and distant at first. Once theyunderstand that you act out of genuine goodwill or interest, they open up and becomeenthusiasticand will do everything within theirvocabulary to understand and help you. Take for example our Russian bunkmates, who took us in likechildren!

7. Russian people are generally very interested in what you think ofRussia. It seems that they are very aware of the somewhatdistorted image you may find on theinternetdoes not portray the country welland arecurious to hear what your opinion is. The word "scared"might be toopowerful, butseveral individuals have sought verbalconfirmation from usthat Russia is not the drunk,macho, and poor country we see onthe internet.

Ciao Russia, untill we meet again. Next stop, Ulan Bator, Mongolia! The (only) 23 hour train ride will traverse us south into the typically Mongolian steppe, where we will continue our adventure.

Lots of hugs from us!