To the Urals and the Russian Riviera

Summary

Direct trains from the Lithuanian capital Vilnius to such far flung destinations as Sochi and Adler (both on the Russia's Back Sea Riviera) and to Anapa and Chelyabinsk recall the days of Soviet travel. We scan the departure boards for a few exotica.

hidden europe 58 / Snippet / By hidden europe

Of the three Baltic capitals it is Vilnius which presently has by far the best range of train services. This is not the result of native enthusiasm for railways, but more an accident of geopolitics. The Russian Federation includes the exclave Oblast of Kaliningrad. Overland travellers between Russia proper and the Kaliningrad region must perforce transit Lithuania. And the Lithuanian authorities insist that Russian transit trains all stop in Vilnius. Apart from obvious destinations such as St Petersburg and Moscow, there are some exotica like the weekly train from Kaliningrad to Chelyabinsk (Челябинск) which brings a bit of colour to the Vilnius departure boards every Monday afternoon. Chelyabinsk lies just east of the Ural Mountains.

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Editorial hidden europe 58
Editorial

By hidden europe

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Off limits

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Snippet

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Snippet

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To the Urals and the Russian Riviera
Snippet

By hidden europe

Direct trains from the Lithuanian capital Vilnius to such far flung destinations as Sochi and Adler (both on the Russia's Back Sea Riviera) and to Anapa and Chelyabinsk recall the days of Soviet travel. We scan the departure boards for a few exotica.

Read on
Preview hidden europe 59
Preview

By hidden europe

A look ahead at hidden europe 59 which will be published on 11 November 2019.

Read on

hidden europe 58

To the Urals and the Russian Riviera

Summary

Editorial

Feature

Feature

Feature

Feature

Places

Perspective

Consuming matters

Special spaces

Off limits

Words

Snippet

Snippet

Snippet

Snippet

Snippet

Preview

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