Day 1: Vladivostok “Rule the East”

This city, whose name means “Rule the East,” is Russia’s main Pacific port and home of the Russian Pacific Fleet, was originally founded in 1859 by a party of 40 soldiers.  Now boasting a population of roughly 600,000, this teeming port city is beautifully set on rising hills overlooking the Zolotoy Rog (Golden Horn Bay).

The only thing we had for lunch was a cheese sandwich provided by the airline, so we set off to find a place to eat.  We found a Georgian restaurant recommended in the Trans-Siberian Handbook called Крестоывй Перевал (Kretovy Pereval).  Unfortunately, the waitress didn’t speak English, and the menu was in Cyrillic.  Plan B was asking the waitress in broken Russian what she recommended, but after she started pointing out virtually every item on the menu, we chose four dishes at random which turned out surprisingly well. 

We ended up ordering Толма (meat and rice stuffed in vine leaves), Чакапули из баранны (something with lamb), Шашлык из куриныых (skewered chicken) крыльев, and Хачапупи с сыром (a cheesy bread similar to a quesadilla) which cost about $30.  The waitress didn’t smile throughout the meal, though I think part of that is the general trait of most Russians in being reserved towards outsiders and only opening up to close friends and family. 

The interior of the Krestovy Pereval restaurant.	Lance, Liz, and Jasper at the restaurant.  Хачапупи с сыром (left dish) and Толма (right)

We also stopped at a store to get provisions for the trip ahead, most importantly water (for about 30 rubles for 1.5 liters – considerably cheaper than we’d get from the restaurants or on the train.  As in Europe, water isn’t free in restaurants), some black bread, sausage, and some pastries (not the sweetened pastries we’re used to in America, but filled with a meat filling of sorts).

Contrary to most American shops, everything is kept behind the counter and you have to tell the shopkeeper what you want to buy.	A monument to the Soviet victory in the Far East during the Russian Civil War (1917-1922) in which Vladivostok was occupied by the White Russians and foreign troops (to include Japanese, American, and Czech troops among others).

Walking about in Vladivostok we got a chance to see the ships coming and going, a few of the Russian navy’s destroyers in the distance, and see a few of the monuments.  It was too late for us to see any of the museums (mostly centered on the Russian Navy or the coastal fortifications).  We returned to the train station at 2130hrs, about an hour prior to departure, just in time to see the train pull into the station.

All of us (minus Lance, the photographer) getting ready to embark on the Trans-Siberian Railroad at Vladivostok.