In Moscow you are going to experience the rich cultural life of the Russian metropole embedded in beautiful winter scenery. After two days of visits to known and unknown places in Moscow, you will depart on your train journey towards Novosibirsk, your first stop along the Trans-Siberian railroad. The construction of the world’s longest and most difficult to build railway, the Trans-Siberian railroad, was finished over a 100 years ago. The link between Moscow and Vladivostok, some 6000 miles apart, was completed employing a labour force of over 90000. Ever since the rail service linking Europe with the Far East was established at the turn of last century, foreign travellers and adventurers have been fascinated by this great journey and crossed Siberia to reach the Pacific or China. Across the Ural mountains to Siberia, through towns that were built along the rails into the Mongolian steps and Gobi desert, the Trans-Siberian journey offers a great opportunity to experience an unforgettable trip. You will spend a total of five days on the train past the Ural Mountains through white forests, along frozen lakes and rivers, and through remote villages of painted wooden houses. Irkutsk, the final destination, is also called ‘Paris’ of Siberia for its pulsing street life and people’s elegant clothes. Still a major trade center for furs, Irkutsk enjoys today a certain economic wealth. Short but hot summers and very cold winters, however, make life here a real challenge. If the weather permits, you will cross parts of the frozen lake on foot for a 20 km walk until the village of Bolshie Koty, where you can take a real Russian steam bath on the shore of the lake (optional, not included) and sleep in a warm comfortable Siberian wooden house. Those brave enough can even take a short swim under the ice. Bizarre formations of ice arise from the high pressure of the thick plate of ice moving against the shore. The noise of the crushing ice at night will last as an unforgettable memory.In Moscow you are going to experience the rich cultural life of the Russian metropole embedded in beautiful winter scenery. After two days of visits to known and unknown places in Moscow, you will depart on your train journey towards Novosibirsk, your first stop along the Trans-Siberian railroad. The construction of the world’s longest and most difficult to build railway, the Trans-Siberian railroad, was finished over a 100 years ago. The link between Moscow and Vladivostok, some 6000 miles apart, was completed employing a labour force of over 90000. Ever since the rail service linking Europe with the Far East was established at the turn of last century, foreign travellers and adventurers have been fascinated by this great journey and crossed Siberia to reach the Pacific or China. Across the Ural mountains to Siberia, through towns that were built along the rails into the Mongolian steps and Gobi desert, the Trans-Siberian journey offers a great opportunity to experience an unforgettable trip. You will spend a total of five days on the train past the Ural Mountains through white forests, along frozen lakes and rivers, and through remote villages of painted wooden houses. Irkutsk, the final destination, is also called ‘Paris’ of Siberia for its pulsing street life and people’s elegant clothes. Still a major trade center for furs, Irkutsk enjoys today a certain economic wealth. Short but hot summers and very cold winters, however, make life here a real challenge. If the weather permits, you will cross parts of the frozen lake on foot for a 20 km walk until the village of Bolshie Koty, where you can take a real Russian steam bath on the shore of the lake (optional, not included) and sleep in a warm comfortable Siberian wooden house. Those brave enough can even take a short swim under the ice. Bizarre formations of ice arise from the high pressure of the thick plate of ice moving against the shore. The noise of the crushing ice at night will last as an unforgettable memory.In Moscow you are going to experience the rich cultural life of the Russian metropole embedded in beautiful winter scenery. After two days of visits to known and unknown places in Moscow, you will depart on your train journey towards Novosibirsk, your first stop along the Trans-Siberian railroad. The construction of the world’s longest and most difficult to build railway, the Trans-Siberian railroad, was finished over a 100 years ago. The link between Moscow and Vladivostok, some 6000 miles apart, was completed employing a labour force of over 90000. Ever since the rail service linking Europe with the Far East was established at the turn of last century, foreign travellers and adventurers have been fascinated by this great journey and crossed Siberia to reach the Pacific or China. Across the Ural mountains to Siberia, through towns that were built along the rails into the Mongolian steps and Gobi desert, the Trans-Siberian journey offers a great opportunity to experience an unforgettable trip. You will spend a total of five days on the train past the Ural Mountains through white forests, along frozen lakes and rivers, and through remote villages of painted wooden houses. Irkutsk, the final destination, is also called ‘Paris’ of Siberia for its pulsing street life and people’s elegant clothes. Still a major trade center for furs, Irkutsk enjoys today a certain economic wealth. Short but hot summers and very cold winters, however, make life here a real challenge. If the weather permits, you will cross parts of the frozen lake on foot for a 20 km walk until the village of Bolshie Koty, where you can take a real Russian steam bath on the shore of the lake (optional, not included) and sleep in a warm comfortable Siberian wooden house. Those brave enough can even take a short swim under the ice. Bizarre formations of ice arise from the high pressure of the thick plate of ice moving against the shore. The noise of the crushing ice at night will last as an unforgettable memory.v