- [Narrator] I've been wanting to do this journey for years.
10,000 kilometers.
One quarter of the planet.
The faces might be what I'll remember most.
Orthodox Christians, Russia imams,
Buryatian shamans, singers,
woodsmen, friends,
adventurous souls, kind eyes.
Or maybe it's the food I remember.
The dumplings, the okroshka, pavlova, borscht, pine cones.
We saw the most beautiful landscapes
with not a single tourist,
(gentle inspiring music)
learned history from places I couldn't imagine.
But I think what I'll remember most was the sound
of the tracks and a bed too short
around people we didn't know.
Birch trees and boxcars (murmurs).
Rocked to sleep, rocked awake.
It was the journey of a lifetime.
I can't wait to share it.
(uplifting music)
(train chugs)
In this first episode of The Transsib Challenge,
we depart St. Petersburg
and arrive in Moscow.
Here myself, Gareth, Reuben and Yaroslav meet some locals
for a day sightseeing by bicycle
before we embark on our big train journey.
Across Russia
(train engine chugs)
- [Man] Cruiser or, this is a mountain bike right?
- [Seller] A mountain bike, city bikes and tandem bikes.
- [Man] And tandem (chuckles).
You guys going with the tandem?
Tandem for the vlog
- For the vlog.
We'll do a tandem.
- Tandem?
- [Man] Yeah.
- Tandem, one tandem bike.
And everybody laughs at us.
- [Man] Have you tried tandem before?
- Only in my grandparents house.
(chuckles)
- [Man] With your grandparents?
- Yeah.
- [Man] At the same time?
- No. - But there is only one chain.
- [Man] This guy's right.
- [Seller] There is only one chain.
- [Man] You're wrong.
- The guy in the front can just do everything.
- Yeah, you have to move at exactly the same time.
- Not exactly. - That's it!
- It is very true.
This might have been a bad idea.
Here we go, tandem bicycle!
Ding-a-ding!
- [Man] On your marks, get set.
- Attempt one.
Oh, not a good start.
It's really hard with a GoPro.
Gareth, dude, what are you doing?
- [Gareth] I didn't get...
- I feel extremely wobbly.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Whoa!
Okay.
(laughs)
If I get off what happens?
Can you still pedal?
Can he still do a tandem bike by himself?
He doesn't even need me.
Can I?
Can I get one city bike please?
(laughs)
I'll take a city bike.
All right.
We are saying goodbye to Moscow State University.
We're continuing our ride in the city today
and the weather's looking good.
Hard to bike when it's cold though.
Should have worn a helmet.
(upbeat music)
Okay, it is lunchtime.
This place looks quite traditional.
(gentle music)
Typical Russian lunch restaurant.
- [Man] There's a lot going on in here.
- [Man] What is it?
- It's like grandma's kitchen in here.
Man this is...
(woman murmurs)
Be careful why?
- Because it's stronger than vodka.
- Stronger than vodka!
- [Man] Whoa!
Look at that one!
- Oh!
(man laughs)
Oh!
Yeah it's stronger than vodka.
All right, it is lunchtime and the food is here.
I have something called okroshka which is a bit like,
I've been calling it beer soup.
I don't know if they like me calling it that.
But it's like a malt,
like a carbonated malt beverage made from bread
with diced up vegetables, baloney, all floating on top.
Yeah, so it's interesting.
That looks amazing.
She, she.
(woman laughs)
Is that real?
(laughs)
- [Man] Ready?
- [Man] Yeah.
(man murmurs in Russian)
Selyodka which is pickled herring.
Pickled herring,
is that right? - Exactly.
- [Man] Exactly.
And boiled potatoes.
I heard these are both extremely Russian.
Reuben has borscht, a beet soup.
Right?
- [Reuben] That's right.
- [Man] And Yaroslav, how are you man?
- We have soup inside the piece of bread, so.
- [Man] And it's good?
- I find it really fantastic.
(laughs)
- That's great.
(they all toast in Russian)
The party has taken an abrupt turn.
Babushka, the beautiful chef, has made the dumplings
and now she's returning the cooked dumplings
and we found some, some props.
(Babushka speaks in Russian)
- [Man] Good?
(Babushka speaks in Russian)
- [Man] The freshest dumplings possible.
- [Man] Thank you.
- Boom, dumplings.
Boom, medieval chainmail hat.
Don't know why, doesn't matter.
This is what matters, dumplings,
made freshly by our beautiful little host.
Oh they're still, like, they're fresh out of the water.
Mmm, mm-mmm.
Potato on the inside,
pork on the inside.
(murmurs)
It doesn't matter.
It's delicious, though. (laughs)
It's got some sour cream on top.
But really nice texture
and I don't think it gets much more homemade than this
because look at her face, she made these.
But this is good!
And you should try some, if you come to Russia.
All right.
It is time.
We are at the railroad station in Moscow
because we're about to go on the railroad,
the Trans Siberian railroad,
across the entire country of Russia.
It's been a pretty interesting few days sightseeing
in St. Petersburg and Moscow,
but for me this is where the journey begins.
And we'll see you on the train.
In the next episode of the Transsib Challenge.
(upbeat music)
We become Russian (murmurs),
we enjoy traditional tartar cuisine,
and we dance with zebras
as we make our way from Moscow to Kazan.
(upbeat music)
(train engine chugs)