Vladivostock, Russia, Oct 09, 2011

Vladivostock was established in 1860 as a military fortress. In 1871, the Russian Pacific Fleet was moved here along with the commercial port. Thirty years later, the port became the Pacific terminus for the Trans Siberian Railway. This railway connects Moscow to the Pacific 9,000 kilometers ways, a six day train ride. For more information on this rent or visit your local library and take out “Trans Siberian Railway” with Ben Kingsly and Woody Harrelson, a great movie which begins here in Vladivostock.

The day was nice and warm, around 16 degrees with cloudy skies but no rain, very pleasant for our walking tour. 

Our pictures...

Executive Chef Bernie along with Tom the person in charge of all the staffing at the main restaurant, they did a casino night and once again went way over the top in decorations.

 Jan in front of one of two bridges under construction both at about the same level on completion. Vladivostock will be hosting the OPEC summit next year and is undergoing a major facelift and restoration. The Russian government is investing a ton of money in this area and is hoping for increased interest here, both in population and economic development. 

 Me in front of the Trans Siberian Railway. 

 Lenin under restoration. 

 Jan in front of the house that Yul Brenner was born in. 
 Our guide, Katya, she is studying to be a teacher, she speaks English very well and is also learning Chinese.

 A stuffed dear in a museum here, they had hundreds of stuffed animals from the area both from historical and current times.

 The Museum also had a area dedicated to Yul Brenner. 
 A Russian Orthadox church. 

 A wall dedicated to the fallen solders of WWII. 
 The eternal flame in memory of fallen solders. 
 Jan in front of C-56 Submarine from WWII, it sank 10 enemy ships during the war. 
 There is still a very present military fleet hear, this is one of four ships tied up in the harbour.

 Me with Dolly, Dolly claims she is homeless. She has been sailing on Holland America ships for 30 years, 6 to 9 months at a time, but recently she lost her land home (not sure how) so she says she is homeless and only goes home to her bio family for a few weeks at Christmas and then she begins her year on the World Voyages which begin in the first week of January of every year. Dolly is a real character and is loved by all on board.

 The rail station here has been beautifully restored this is just one small piece of one ceiling, there are many.

 Jan just loved Vladivostock.

Tip or Comment of the day. Despite what you read or see about the old Russia, we see the next generation being very positive about the future. We were here on a Sunday and the amount of couples around town taking each others pictures, holding hands and just enjoying each others company was very enjoyable to see. Hopefully the black cloud of old Russia will soon be left in the history books. What I have noticed is that a smile and a simple hello goes along way. We walked past a group of young men with their skateboards (sound familiar), all looking very serious and I smiled and said hello and they just radiated a smile and hello in return, they were very happy to be recognized and acknowledged. So keep smiling...

Until next time...