Return of the Czars

After the Czars returned from Irkutsk to Moscow on Friday, September 25th, they had a demanding day ahead, the last day of the Czar Reunion trip. The most crucial points in their tight agenda were to 1. collect all the bags they left in Moscow, 2. visit the Kremlin, 3. have a royal lunch, 4. leave for home. Check the detailed minute by minute photo report file of the last prominent day below.

The last Czars photo taken on the trip
Czar Fredovich was leaving by train (because of the heavy luggage he brought at the beginning of his Russian business engagements) at 9pm, Czars Bonegovich and Madonovich were returning by plane at 8am the next day... therefore they spent a night out after seeing off their royal fellow.

The flight was unexpectedly smooth and there was surprisingly no hassle related to the fact that Czars’ visa were already checked out at the Mongolian border crossing (which the Czars were eventually not allowed to cross anyway) Well, expect for 1 thing: the Czars call it “just another nonsense” - hopefully this was the last one**.

Czar Fredovich’s train journey through Ukraine and Poland (with 12-hour stop-over in Kiev and furthermore changing trains in Przemysl, Krakow and Katowice) was not initially looked forward to, however turned out to be quite adventurous and pleasant end of the voyage.

Some secret sources inform there is going to be certain audio-visual material released in upcoming period, so let’s see what happens.

Long live the Czars:) !

10:35 landing in Moscow
14:21 in front of the baggage room, present at every Russian railway station: handing in all the bags after they were previously collected and repacked in the former Czars' residence
15:08 heavy rain has come
15:52 1-hour Kremlin sightseeing begins
(in the picture: the Czar bell and the Czar cannon)
17:37 lunch & dinner, the last royal dish of the trip after which the Czars split: Hudyslav and Martin carried on the Moscow sightseeing, and Zdenik left for the Kiev railway station from where he took his train to Ukraine, Poland and the Czech Republic
19:45 in the botanical garden
…oh, sorry, this was actually in the cinema, in front of the restroom
22:37 evening walk at the Old Arbat street in Moscow
0:29 just fallen asleep at the coffee lounge in a shopping mall near the Moscow Sheremetyevo airport
(the mall guards tried to make us leave when the mall was closing down, but because of many other sleepy squatting travellers, they eventually let us stay over till the morning)
8:47 about to touch down in Prague
** “Russian Federation no”
When Madonovich’s backpack was x-rayed, an old lady in charge spotted an interesting object – 15cm long metal object of supposedly apocalyptic destructive power. Czar Madonovich was ready to fight for his camping gear and requested an English speaker. It took some time. The output of the excited discussion was: “(pointing at the respective aluminium stick) Russian Federation no!” The stick was not sharp, nor explosive or flammable, not big or heavy, nor generally dangerous (definitely not more than knife and fork, also present in the backpack)… “No!”. Although it was accepted on the flight from Irkutsk to Moscow less than 24 hours ago (as well as in Thailand, India, Nepal and some other airports in the past), the answer was still clear: “Russian Federation no!” Another seemingly solid arguments, e.g. the fact the Czars were just about to leave Russia, or that the whole backpack was actually a cargo luggage, not a hand bag, were also refused without any sensible explanation. How logical, how ridiculous, how R. :)

The enchanting beaches of Baikal

From Novosibirsk, the Czars took a 40-hour train ride to Baikalsk, a small village (not too far from Irkutsk) at the shore of the deepest lake in the world - lake Baikal. After writing their memoirs and sending out e-pigeons, the Czars set off to walk along the Baikal beach. By luck they met unstoppably laughing sorceresses Tanya and Veronika, who offered them to stay in their magical mansion for the night. As czar Fredovich has mastered the art of cooking spells, the feast has begun.

Boarding a local bus in Baikalsk

The Czars in the magical mansion

Pancakes summoned by czar Fredovich

In the morning, a slow train came to transport the Czars further along the coast. On nose of the locomotive, they went through tunnels and birch groves to the end of the rails to a small settlement called Port Baikal, where old ship wrecks lined the pebble beaches.

Czar Bonegovich taking a nap on the train

The Czars at the locomotive nose

Wrecks around Port Baikal

After enjoying a sunny day on the shore and fulfilling Fredovich's resolution to bath in Baikal, the Czars took a ferryboat to Listvyanka, the most famous village in the region full of Russian travellers. Finding a comfortable room in a house of local landlord Mikhail did not take very long, so the Czars could even spare some time building kingdoms in royal games.

The Czars playing Eufrat & Tigris

Next day the Czars climbed the cliffs and explored beautiful view points of the lake (which rather resembles a sea) and mountains at the horizon. It would also not be a Baikal visit without tasting omul, delicious local fish.

Tasting delicious smoked omul

Czar Madonovich conquering Baikal cliffs

The mysterious atmosphere

Relaxed and with a classic travellers' feeling of how fast the whole trip passed, the Czars moved to Irkutsk to catch a plane to Moscow.

Long live the Czars! :)