I'm in Berlin now, but I just spent 30 days in Russia, most of it training it from Vladivostok to St. Petersburg on the Trans Siberian Railway. You pass small villages with big gardens that grow food for the winter months, some big towns which surprise you since it's the middle of Siberia, and many small stations where the locals meet the train to sell berries, cabbage pastries and much more. There is a lot of forest filled with different pines, birch, and aspen as well. I stopped in Irkutsk, Lake Baikal, Ekaturinburg, and Moscow. Irkutsk is a 600,000 person town near Baikal, a gigantic blue lake that holds 20% of the world' fresh water. I stayed in a log cabin and took many cold refreshing dips in the lake. Irkutsk is a bustling place with these amazing log houses that have beautiful trim around the windows and roof. Ekaturinburg is near the Urals, the boundary between Asia and Europe. It's the home of Boris Yeltsin and where the czar and his family were murdered. I had fun going to the outdoor tented cafes. Moscow was probably my favorite. There is so much history to do with the Soviet Union days and Red Square with St. Basil's Cathedral is very cool. The city is really alive and changing it's identity in front of your eyes. Life on the train was very relaxing, a lot of time for reflection. It was 6 full days from Vladivostok to Moscow, plus one night to St. Petersburg ( where I think I broke a landspeed record by doing the Hermitage in 1 hour ). I also met some great people including Chuck and Chris from the U.S.A.. Our schedules coincided and we hung out at the stops along the way. We also laughed about the Russian Mafia on one of our train legs. No joke, these guys get drunk in the dining car and whip out their guns during arguments with each other. Russians are great people, I think very similar to Americans in temperment. They can be very friendly and they enjoy life. I noticed many crying at the stations as loved ones headed west. I think they are passionate people. What a country! Well, I'm enjoying Berlin now ( same as Moscow in that it is changing in front of your eyes ) and then off to Poland and Hungary.

I just spent 10 days in Kamchatka, Russia looking for brown bears. Kamchatka is a huge peninsula that juts into the ocean at that eastern edge of Russia. It is still a pristine and unspoiled wilderness.

Our group of 11 was led by a head guide; Dimitry and his assistant; Sasha, a cook; Elena and her assistant; Tanya, and an interpreter; Yulia. The group consisted of 2 French; Phillip and Maris, 2 Dutch; Irene and Helen, 4 Swiss; Barbara, Peter, Christian, and Barbara, 2 Germans; Sigrid and Martine, and 1 American; me. We got along great. I learned as much about Russians as I did the wildlife. They are very warm and fun. It was fun to exchange Russian and English words. The food was great too. We had great Russian soups like Borsch and many specialities like cabbage wrapped pork, even Chaga, a birch born fungus that wards of colds.

After watching the soldiers perform at Navy Day ( Petropavlovsk was home to a top secret submarine base ) and taking a bay cruise where we saw hundreds of Puffins and views of the surrounding volcanos, we left Petropavlovsk on a huge Soviet era helicopter. We were dropped off at the edge of steaming lake in the middle of a caldera. We spent the next 3 days hiking around this volcano and then out of it, and down to a lake about 30 kilometers away. Along the way, we saw a bear sow with her cub and hundreds of huge bear prints. They were everywhere, as well as bear do-do, everywhere! Kamchatka is known for its bears and this is prime bear country. The country is lush green. The birch forests even look like jungle canopy.

We stayed in dorm rooms at a cabin by this lake and went out everyday looking for bears. The salmon and berry season is late so we did not see them as up close as we hoped, but it was just as exciting to track them and then suddenly say, "Bear!" as one magically appeared. The best sighting was when we were sitting among some trees overlooking the tundra hoping one would wander by us. Within 5 minutes one came within 200 meters. It was so exciting. He was just grazing, sort of like a cow. In the end, we saw 12 bears. One even came within 50 yards of us at the cabin. We had been looking all over that day without success and then this guy just drops in our laps. Even when we did not see them, it was thrilling to be walking in their territory, even on their trails.

On the way out yesterday with the helicopter, we stopped at some remote hot springs on a river next to a volcano and had an end of trip dip.

I'm in Vladivostok today and I board the Trans Siberian Railway in a few hours. Vladivostok is really cool. It is surrounded by water. It even has an in-town beach. Well, I've got my books and my food. I guess I'm ready. I hope my compartment mate is cool.