Once Tatiana left us we were in the
hands of Luba our very kind compartment attendant, mother hen and guardian, for
the next four nights.
She immediately made us a cup of tea and
we had the amazing glass cups in silver
holder with Moscow to Vladivostok printed on them and a pretty embossed spoon.
We knew from the Warsaw train that you
keep the mug/glass for the duration of the trip. It would be nice to buy one.
The train is huge and has 16 carriages and an enormous engine. It is of course electric but somehow there is a whoosh of steam every now and again which is amazing
We are travelling first or "soft" class so have a compartment to ourselves. The other choices are a compartment for four people or "hard" class which seems to be but 40 bunks in one big compartment which does not sound much fun unless you are very young!
Our little compartment suits us well/
Living on a boat prepares you for it well. Two comfy settees which turn into
two comfy beds at night. Lovely stiff white sheets, a cosy duvet and two
pillows. On this train the loos are not locked before and after every station
which is a relief. And as far as I could tell they do not smell!
Luba said proudly. “I have proper
toilets.” On the Berlin to Moscow train the loos were locked for an hour at a
time and sometimes longer when we were stationery, for obvious reasons so you needed to plan ahead.
It was midnight so we did not waste much
time setting up the beds and turning in.
Our travelling companion who is down the
corridor from us is Andrea Wilson. She is working in Moscow and this trip is
the completion of a gap year she took when she was 21. She travelled in China
and had planned to go home on the Trans-Siberian Railway but ran out of steam
as she puts it and flew home.
This part of our journey is four nights
and three days and I am very excited about it. I cannot imagine what it will be
like but for the moment
goodnight
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