A classic Soviet steam engine (P36 class) pulls our Golden Eagle train in a photo-op by Lake Baikal.

With my recent Russian student Aleksandr in front of awesomely eclectic St. Basil's Cathedral, nothing else like it.

Aleksandr and his wife Xenia standing in front of the Museum of Russian History in Red Square. They had just given me a good "off the beaten path" walking tour.

One of the "hidden gems" Aleksandr took me to see was small, sparkling St. Clement's Church. Saw many ornate Orthodox churches during my three weeks in Russia, but this Sunday service was the most moving. Singers harmonized behind the golden altar panel as young and old worshipers seemed deeply devout. (Храм Священномученика Климента Папы Римского в Замоскворечье)

Despite destroying most churches during decades of anti-religion campaigns, communists left intact St. Basil's in Red Square and these beautiful church buildings located inside the Kremlin.

From our hotel roof looking across Red Square to St. Basil's with Kremlin stars and wall on the right.

Route of the Trans-Siberian railway across Russia

The legendary Trans-Siberian railway...

• the longest single train journey in the world
• 9,258 kilometers; 6,152 miles
• spans 8 time zones across Russia
• hits major cities in each region east of Moscow
• vital historical link uniting European and Asian Russia

The Golden Eagle runs a handsome "czar-style" tourist train on this route with many excursion stops, plus a bonus jaunt into Mongolia. It exceeded expectations in every way.

At Lake Baikal, we had photo-ops with the usual diesel engine (shown above) as well as a steam engine beloved of train enthusiasts (opening photo).

Lounge and bar car (left) and dining car (right). Not bad at all.

First excursion stop was Kazan ~ a big shock. I'd ignorantly expected a dusty, tawdry, provincial outpost. Instead, it was a big, sleek city with a beautiful, historic hilltop and a kilometer-long downtown pedestrian street.

Kazan is about half Tartar (descendants of Ghengis Khan's Mongolian wave; now Muslims) and half ethnic Russians. This striking mosque stands on the historic hilltop fortress. Kazan is the center of Tatar culture and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Tartarstan.

In Kazan's long pedestrian street was a fountain featuring a statue of pigeons in a fountain. Taking the meta to the next level, there were no actual pigeons on it.

Almost every city we visited will host a game when Russia gets the FIFA World Cup in 2018. Here is the new stadium for the games in Yekaterinburg.

We had excellent weather through the two-week train trip so I won't complain about light shower when (obligatory cliche photo) I stood astride the continental divide between Europe and Asia just outside of Yekaterinburg in the Urals.

On the way to the continental divide, was a simple alphabetical memorial to the many thousands of local people who were killed in Stalin's prison camps. Yekaterinburg is also famous as the place where the Bolsheviks murdered Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, son, and four daughters.

From the train not long after departing Yekaterinburg, I saw this rainbow over the Ural forest.

The day in Novosibirsk was not as enthralling as other stops but I did manage to get this sweet shot of the big opera house with Lenin looking over his shoulder as the patriotic youth point to the cool-gesturing skateboarder.

Young Matt and Stuart had a hard time keeping up with the demanding excursions.