The Dream

Many people ask me "why Mischa Vladivostok?". Apart from my long standing interest in Russian culture and (especially) history, I chose Misha (later transformed into Mischa) as an obvious translation of my name. Vladivostok is slightly more complicated: once I learned at school that the longest train journey in the world was from Coimbra B (in Portugal) to Vladivostok in Russia (technically not 100% correct, but close enough). My name was chosen, and since then I've dreamt of that journey.

20 years dreaming. The wait is over!

Preparations

So after many years dreaming about it, I finally went from Portugal to Eastern Russia by train. It's not easy to summarise everything I went through, but here follows an attempt.

All the way to Moscow

And so it is that, on the 7th September 2010, 5 months after starting to plan this trip, I finally boarded my first train in Lisbon, still unsure of what awaited me along the tracks.

To the End of Europe

After a short trip crossing Western Europe, and the culture shock that was entering Russia, the real exploration of the largest country in the world began.

East of the Urals

After Moscow, any new city was a welcome encounter with the real Russia and Russians. This was to carry on after the Urals, enterering Asia and then Siberia.

Siberia, Siberia, Siberia

Crossing the vast expanses of Siberia by train was a unique experience. Along the way, lovely cities and amazing encounters.

The final frontier

Going beyond Siberia onto the Far Eastern Territories, I kept enjoying Russia, Russians, train life, and discovered a gem of a city in the middle of nowhere.

The dream becomes a reality

After 25 days in trains, I finally connected the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by rail. And my old dream finally became a reality.