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Over the hills and not so far away
“Tomorrow we arrive in Europe, Tomorrow I arrive home”, I explain in my phrasebook? Russian to Nikolai,? the soldier who’s sharing my Kupe on the very well-appointed train number 25, the? Sibirsk. I’m...
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The good, the bad and the ugly
The beautiful gold domes are receding behind me, and the rustic wooden houses are thinning out too. I’m not sure if I’m walking in the right direction, but a dark grey concrete jungle is coming into...
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Much Maligned Moscow
“Territoria Kremlin Zakrite”, says the sign in Russian script. This means the Kremlin is unexpectedly closed on my last day in Moscow. I try to ask a couple of people why, and they look at me as if I’d...
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Back once again
“Everyone gets a stamp except me”, I sigh, feeling rather left out. It’s about 5.30am local time and I’ve just arrived at the Latvian border. My kupey companions on Latvian Railways train number 1,...
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A gesture for all occasions
The expectant faces are all around me, jostling for position, keenly staring at the doorway ahead. Many are holding flowers; bunches, bouquets and the occasional red rose. People in this part of the...
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Shortages and Lengthenings
“He must have known how long we were stopping”, I observe casually as we watch the man who’d wandered off twenty minutes ago return with a McDonald’s bag. I’m on Polish train D79112 at Suwalki in...
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Goodbye Lenin
I can see it in the distance as I walk down Friedrichstrasse; around me are hordes of tourists reading the museum-style displays that line the street. At the junction with Zimmerstrasse, a double row...
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The end of the line
Leaving Berlin on ICE 952 for Koln (Cologne) And now the end is near And so I face the final curtain My friend, I’ll say it clear I’ll state my case of which I’m certain I’ve lived a life that’s full...
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Frequently Asked Questions
What was your favourite country? I’ve been asked this question repeatedly over the last three weeks and I hate it, because it’s so hard to answer. I tend to try to split it up – the place I have the...
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