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.