Days 3-4: Moscow to Kazan

Helge and Karen's train has reached Kazan, and they've sent two more blog updates from their journey!

Karen describes her encounter with a birch branch in a traditional Russian banya before she and Helge head to Novodevechy Monastery and Cemetery where they visit the graves of Stalin's wife, Boris Yeltsin and other famous Russians.

After boarding the train, Karen learns about the history of the Tatars as they approach Kazan, and why "Ivan the Terrible was a big baby."

Like a petulant child throwing a tantrum over a toy, he stomped his way to Kazan, a beautiful city perched on the banks of the Volga River. When Ivan arrived with his troops in 1552, he set to work destroying all the gorgeous mosques that dotted the landscape, conquering the city and forcing the local Tatar population into swampy, disease-infested areas of Kazan.

But the Tatars were a hardy bunch. Sprouted from tough Mongolian and Bulgarian roots, the Tatars resisted the Russian conquest, and continued to pray in their homes. And just to make double sure that cranky Ivan didn't seize any more than he already had, they tossed all their treasures and jewels into Lake Kaban for good measure. Take their mosques AND their money? No way.

After many years of suffering under the sledgehammer of Russian rule and during the rein of Catherine the Great, religious tolerance once again flourished and mosques were rebuilt. Today we visited one such jewel and newest construction, the Qol Sharif mosque.

For pictures of the Qol Sharif Mosque, slideshows of Karen and Helge's travels and information about the legendary Trans-Siberian Express, visit MIR's website.

First Stop: Moscow

Read the first installment of Helge and Karen's blog and see the stunning pictures as they arrive in Moscow and have an adventure in the city across 8 lanes of traffic:

Traffic whizzes by just inches behind and in front of us. Can't go forward. Can't go back. Can't go forward... until Tatiana spots a lull in oncoming traffic and we make a break for it. Whew! We lurch safely to the other side of the highway, sweating just a little. I rather liked the excitement of it all. But here's the kicker. Climbing to the top of the River Road bridge amidst spectacular views of the city, Tatiana cautions against my going overboard as I sit along the wide edge of the cement bridge, ready for a photo op. She's not particularly worried about whether or not I would survive the 120 foot drop. Instead, she's worried that IF I were to fall... "the water is dirty... very, very dirty" she says. I had to laugh. Putting the dreaded River Road highway aside, sweet Tatiana IS looking out for our best interest after all.

Helge and Karen are now aboard the legendary Trans-Siberian railway and will be reporting back with posts from across Russia and Mongolia.

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