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hidden europe 17

Crossing the Urals

by hidden europe

Summary

What about the most northerly railway route across the Ural Mountains? Way up north in the Nenets regions, the train to Labytnangi makes the Trans-Siberian route over the Urals seem rather tame.

hidden europe 17 / Snippet  / By hidden europe

Moscow's Yaroslavsky station is the terminus for the Trans-Siberian railway. It is here that on alternative evenings Russia's Train No. 2 embarks on its week long journey to Vladivostok. Fyodor Schechtel's main station building has a hint of the exotic with its turrets and art nouveau foibles. A picture by Ivan Kulikov is on display in the station. It depicts peasants busy harvesting apples in Russia's Far East, an idealised rural scene that invites even hesitant travellers to join the train in the firm knowledge that, however uncomfortable the journey, it will all be worth it in the end.

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