Amurskaya Oblast’

In Vladivostok, we only saw people drinking vodka once. In 6 days.

People walk along freeways. It's not quite clear where to, as there are no obvious bus stops or settlements close by.

Russians might seem intimidating at first. If you try a little bit and give them a reason to smile, they will. After the first impression was overcome, we had beautiful experiences connecting with the locals.

Lots of cars are right hand drive even though traffic is right sided again. We've been told this will change the further west we go (and it did).

You can't drink tap water. It's contaminated not by bacteria but heavy metals and rust in the pipes.

Water sold at natural springs might turn brown on you. We bought some and even though we filtered it, it did. The guy who sold it to us did mention it's for drinking and washing, but not for cooking. We researched a bit and found out that the discoloration might derive from iron that oxidated with the water's temperature increase (it was quite warm in the car).

Vegetarian or vegan food is - once again - hard to come by. Unless you cook yourself of course.

Our first public toilet at a gas station was super clean. But you have to bring your own toilet paper.

Houses in the countryside are mostly built out of wood and painted super colorful. Blue is a popular color.

We saw lots of gardening. People seem to grow their own veggies and sell excess on little street stalls. Either next to their house or randomly placed on the main roads.

At gas stations, you pay first and then fill up your tank according to the amount paid. If you paid too much, you will get the change back.

Churches often have golden roofs.

Vast stretches of the country are covered in untouched forests, marshland and pastures. In spring, they're often covered in colorful flowers, really beautiful to look at.

Birches are incredibly common.

Cyrillic (the Russian alphabet) uses Latin letters but they have a different meaning. E.g. P=R, H=N, B=V, C=S.

I've never heard so many cuckoos in my life.Read more