How I Explored the Largest Country in the World (Russia) Solo, by Train, in 30 Days – Kazan (8）

8/8/2019. I have now seen the two most famous cities in Russia: St. Petersburg and Moscow. Time to move farther east on the Trans-Siberian Express. I wanted to stop at some cities in Siberia, proceeding only when I was ready to move on. Buying tickets for the right time, place, and price could be a problem, but I would not be deprived. The Russian welcome would not extend beyond the 30 days allowed on my visa. So that kind of cramped my style. So, chop-chop, I went from city to city.

I took the night train from Moscow to Kazan, in the Republic of Tatarstan, an autonomous region in the Asian part of Russia. Only the upper bunk in the second class was available. The upper bunk had space only for a corpse in normal repose, so I could hardly sit up on my bed. My kind fellow Russian passengers allowed me to sit with them on the lower bunk until bedtime. The guardrail was barely two inches tall, so I had to further restrain myself from falling from the sky. I finally arrived in the morning, ready to spend a good part of two days here.

The first day was the first glorious day I had experienced in Russia, with the sun eager to please, smiling ever so brightly, painting the sky blue. The people were out and about, faces beaming with smiles all around. It felt like summer had left but returned to me.

The first thing I did was to saunter to the Kazan Kremlin. The centerpiece was an eye-catching mosque, bleached white with turquoise blue dome and minaret pinnacles. It appeared as though it levitated to the cyan sky and cotton white cloud, looking illusorily more heavenly than earthly. Surrounded by white walls, it was protected like a gem. In front of it flowed the Volga River, Europe’s longest, surrounded by a relaxation and recreational area sprinkled with restaurants, parks, stately government buildings, mosques and churches, almost a catchment area of all activities Kazan. I strolled down a long pedestrian mall, Bauman Street, to indulge in some local cuisine in the local canteen-like restaurants for a relatively small price.

Kazan is a majority Tartar Muslim city, but the practice of Islam here seemed surprisingly low-key. In fact, I was confused to see more churches than mosques in the city center. The people looked and dressed almost like other Russians elsewhere. I did not see many hijabs and men were mostly clean-shaven, nor did I see Arabic characters on the streets. I didn’t hear any call to prayer from the minarets. And pubs were as ubiquitous as elsewhere in Russia.

Kazan was a unique Russian city, made up of two major groups: ethnic Tartars and ethnic Russians. The major religions are Islam and Orthodox Christianity. Whatever their religion, to an outsider, they look indistinguishable. Maybe somewhere in there is a successful formula of harmony. That’s good for world peace.

8/8/2019 尝过了俄罗斯两个最代表性城市圣彼德堡和莫斯科，该继续往东行一看前所未闻其他城市。打算骑西伯利亚大列车穿越这大地，西到东。但只有三十天签证，每个城市不能久留。因经常在各城市过夜，买到车票难以保证。但我志在必行，完成这壮举。

晚上搭上连夜火车，第一次糊里糊涂买到上铺位，根本无法坐在铺上，只能容纳一个安息的死尸。幸好底铺的俄罗斯人让我坐在他们铺上，直到大家都休息。火车一早到喀山（Kazan)，开始进入亚洲的俄罗斯，我打算在这里住上两天。

在这里的第一天真正享受俄罗斯的夏天，太阳开怀大放异彩，把蓝天也请了出来，几天来看着夏天她背影今天回眸一笑，人们抓紧户外享受温暖。原来俄罗斯的夏天这么棒。

我第一个目标就是喀山克林姆林 (Kazan Kremlin)，像个城堡，在其中心是一座高大尚回教堂，山坡为底座将其撑在高位，蓝顶白体在蓝天白云下好像撑到天上了。 坡底是欧洲最长的河流，河岸有公园，休闲娱乐活动区，市政大楼，基督教和回教堂，一眼看尽喀山人的生趣。

这是个不一般的俄罗斯城市，人口主要是鞑靼穆斯林， 但街上回教迹象不多，面貌衣着跟其他俄罗斯人差不多，在市中心见到回教堂就只一两座，反倒是东正教堂还多。常有的酒吧还有，女孩不带头巾，街上女孩穿着紧身裤炫耀骄人身材。

喀山，看似俄罗斯， 却有自己独特的味道。