旅人る - Tabibito

 

Ostashkov

 

A historical town on a peninsula at the lake Seliger in Tver oblast. I've been here before, so I looked around the unseen parts. Lake Seliger is perhaps Ostashkov's only flawless attraction.

 

The rest of the town is a measure of hopelessness. For example, city A is as hopeless as five Ostashkovs. Or the content of hopelessness in prosperous city B - only 0.1 Ostashkov.

 

Even if you see an intact building…

 

...there will be a view of a ruin on the backyard.

 

One may assume that the inhabitants of Ostashkov simply do not like the pre-revolutionary heritage. Not at all, they will eagerly abandon even the precious gems of Soviet architecture.

 

A paved road.

 

An unpaved road.

 

A dog.

 

Ostashkov railway station built in 1907.

 

Long ago it was really busy, but now looks desolate.

 

The depot was closed in 1998.

 

A steam-powered train runs between Ostashkov and Bologoye on weekends. It is not a "heritage train" or something, just an ordinary suburban route with common tickets that can be bought at the station just before departure. The steam locomotive L-3051 was built in 1953. Until 2021 it rotted in storage in Roslavl. In recent years, steam locomotives have been restored in Russia. Just in case. So that the railway workers do not forget how to use them.

 

I'm not sure that there is any particular pleasure in riding in a car under a steam locomotive: especially since the cars are new, have air conditioning, you can hardly hear and smell an engine. But it is always delighting to watch a departing steam locomotive from the outside.

 

Getting in (as of June 2022): take M11 tollway to Tver then use old Moscow - St. Petersburg highway M10 to get to Torzhok. The local road between Torzhok and Ostashkov can be bumpy sometimes. It is possible to take the morning Sapsan high-speed train and change to steam or a diesel local train at Bologoye. But the schedule will be very tight.

Where to stay: there are some decent holiday resorts outside the Ostashkov, but they are usually fully booked for months in advance.

Where to eat: Dzhus cafe. The venue became a little worse since 2020 but the burgers are fine.

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