Moscow to Istanbul

by Maz Livingston

Frank Zappa's head is in a parking lot in Vilnius, Lithuania. Yes, there he is, surrounded by crazy graffiti and cars. Zappa had absolutely no connection to Lithuania but a free spirited Lithuanian artist decided to pay homage to him by sculpting his head and sticking it on a pole. No one could agree on where to put it and so the sculptures' final resting place is in a lot on the outskirts of town. Frank receives visitors each day and I made my pilgrimage there while traveling from Moscow to Istanbul with Imaginative Traveller. Though this was probably one of the stranger sights on the trip, this was a trip of contrasts with so much to see and do that, by the time we rolled into Istanbul, my head was whirling with the Dervishes.

It really was a whistle stop train trip. Eight overnight trains link Moscow with Istanbul, traveling through 9 countries in 22 days. Trains in Russia have 4 berths but in most of the other countries we were sleeping 6 to a compartment. We got to know each other pretty well by the end of the trip. Clean linens were handed out each night and we tucked ourselves in, with varying degrees of comfort. Those with a head for heights enjoyed the privacy of the top bunks while others enjoyed the ease of the lower bunks. We played games, swapped snacks and drank beers with the locals as we sped through the dark countryside. Border guards woke us in the middle of the night to check passports and we laughed to see them struggling to match faces to photos. We certainly didn't look our best in those early hours.

Every other day we found ourselves in a new city, traveling by night and sightseeing by day. It was an active trip full of highlights including the splendor of the Hermitage in St Petersburg, the amazing salt mine cathedral in Poland, hiking in the Tatras mountains, Dvorak in Prague, pastries in the oldest coffee shop in Budapest and the inevitable carpet shopping in Istanbul. We searched for Count Dracula (we even had dinner with him!) and found cutting-edge Russian Jazz. Auschwitz proved to be unforgettable and many of us bought biographies of survivors and read them silently on the train. We walked and walked and then walked some more, exploring well known sites and making our own personal discoveries.

I'd definitely recommend this trip to people with lots of energy and curiosity. We hit the ground running in Moscow and never stopped until we were sitting on the plane home. We left Europe with lots of reasons to return.

To learn more about this trip and to see current dates and prices click here.

Maz Livingston is Adventure Sales Manager at Adventure Center and is available to answer your questions about travel by train. Her toll free direct number is 1-877-285-0651 or her email address is maz at adventurecenter.com