June, 2010; Day 5 - The Trans-Siberia, Inter-Continental Ballistic: Ishim to Perm II

In the middle of the night, the train passed through Omsk, Siberia second largest city, as I stayed in bed.
At about 3am, local time, the train approaches Ishim, a region of lakes and swamps. These may have lower the temperature down a few notches, for the first time on this trip, I enjoyed curled up under the China railway-supplied blanket.
A peep out of the window and I was reminded of Sean Penn in Mystic River.

Very soon, the train pulled up in Ishim station. At that hour, it seems only the soldiers are out. I went back to warm bed.
Four hours later, comes sign of another approaching large station: grannies, or babushkas, on platform of smaller stations.
We are head for Tumen Station, of Siberia oldest town.
At the platform was a signboard warning against playing football on the track. A reminder that away from this narrow corridor of Trans-Siberia railway, the rest of the world is in the middle of World Cup fever. Although the crew on board did follow the games on their shortwave radio.
The marker of "2139" at the Tumen station. According to my Trans-Siberia, Tumen should be at the "2144km" mark. In any case, we were edging towards the end of Siberia. At the 2102km mark, the west Siberia plain will end and the Urals would soon begin.
Flowers in the Urals.
Slightly before noon, the train arrived in Sverdlovsk, largest city in the Urals.
It actually has English sign at the entrance to the underpass that says "Exit to Sverdlovsk Str".
Another curious thing about Sverdlovsk is that it was once known as Yekaterinburg. The name change may be the result of a piece bloody history. In July 1918, the last tsar, Nicholas II, his wife, and their children, including the Grand Duchess Anastasia were murdered by the Bolsheviks at the Ipatiev House in this city. The House had since been torn down. In its place is the appropriately-named Church of the Spilt Blood. I imagine these may have attracted non-Russian visitors to the city, thus the English sign.



















On the platform, another sign warning against playing football.
Since leaving Tumen, I have been looking out for these kilometer marker by the track, counting down as the number on them goes down in the direction of Moscow.
After Sverdlovsk, I got my camera ready as I counted down the marker. As the train climbed up the highest point of the Urals, what looks like an over-sized tombstone appeared at 1777km. This is the Europe-Asia Border Oberlisk. Officially, we have crossed into Europe from the Asia continent.
What awaits us in Europe was another river th cross, the Sylva.
And beyond that, the reward of some of the best scenery in Russia from the train window. The Kungur forest steppe is birch, oak and pine; duchas and what looked like resort houses...
...and holidaymakers row-row-rowing their boats gently down the stream, merrily merrily merrily merrily, for life is but a dream.
I made a note that, if possible, I would like to get off the train and stay a couple of nights the next time.
At about 5pm, signs of another city...
as the train arrived in Perm II. Yes, the train used to stop at Perm (the first), which is supposed to be closer to the city centre.
As the train left Perm, it crossed the Kama River, which flows from the Urals to the Volga.
As for the River Volga, that will have to wait as she comes on in Day 6.