Braid in trains 
- solidarity with 
I will write more about the day tomorrow morning.
For now I'm just happy to be back in ๐ช๐บ Europe.
Oh, and a friendly 
for charging me 300 (!!!) EUR for a sleeper reservation from ๐ต๐ฑ Warszawa to ๐ฉ๐ช Muenchen.
After one more night onboard of the 
071ะ, I reached ๐ท๐บ Sankt-Peterburg Ladozhskiy around noon. Leaving my comfortable first class single SV compartment behind, I'm preparing for the final leg in Russia : Tonight, the dieziel' (or is it an elektrichka when it's bi-mode ?) ะ 6661 will hopefully bring me from ๐ท๐บ Sankt-Peterburg Baltiyskiy to ๐ท๐บ Ivangorod-Narvarskiy right at the border to ๐ช๐ช Narva.
Since the suburban train will depart in the evening, I'll have half a day to spend in ๐ท๐บ Sankt-Peterburg. The agenda is obvious : After some lunch, I will head over to the Museum of the Russian Railways right next to the Baltiyskiy railway station ๐ !
So far, day 14 of my journey !
๐โ๐ฝ
After spending the evening in ๐ท๐บ Ekaterinburg with the amazing Children's Railway, I boarded one of the two actually occupied SV compartments of the 071ะ "Diemidovskii Ekspriess" brining me to ๐ท๐บ Sankt-Peterburg during its 40 hour journey. Sadly, this is my last sleeper train for a while since the journey down the baltic's will be entirely seated due to the lack of night trains.
After the exhausting afternoon in the city with its chaotic tram lines, I slept like a baby and started my day as usual : with an amazing @diningcar breakfast.
The chef served me fresh oatmeal porridge along with Asian-fusion rice noodle salad with steamed vegetables, juice and a bun. I rounded this up with oat milk cocoa and fresh fruits from my groceries and at the end had the meal of my life ๐ฅฐ. While I initially was sceptical about the combination of porridge and rice noodles, the chef de cuisine could fully convince me : It was a truly perfect match for an amazing start in my day ๐ !
My train is meanwhile following the last miles of the Transsibirskaya Magistral north of ๐ท๐บ Nizhny Novgorod so that I'm now notably reached Moskva Time Zone +3 ๐ !
I will enjoy some rest with good food today - and plan the final few days of my trip which is mostly reserving seats 
, booking my 
EuroNight home and looking for hotels in the baltic's.
๐โ๐ฝ
I slept like a baby onboard of my Ammendorf SV wagon ๐ฅฐ. While sleeping, I made it from Siberia to Ural Federal District so I guess I'm back in Europe now ?
In any case, the border to ๐ช๐บ EU seems within reachable distance and while I absolutely enjoy my travels onboard of comfortable night trains, I'm also looking forwards to taking my 
Rรฉgiolis back home in a couple of days.
For now, I got my breakfast from the @diningcar : Freshly cooked coconut porridge, vegetable salad, orange juice and the mandatory tea ๐ต.
Good morning Fedi ๐ !
๐โ๐ฝ
Ammendorf first class SV sleeper wagon, coal heated and with the most floofy interior possible. Tell me about any better railway carriage ๐ฅฐ๐ฅฐ๐ฅฐ ?
I was said good-bye by the conductor with a German "Auf wiedersehen" when leaving the train in ๐ท๐บ Novosibirsk. Even though I have a one hour transfer here, my connecting train already arrived after 10 more minutes.
The 115ะ on its journey from ๐ท๐บ Tomsk to ๐ท๐บ Adler will bring me up to ๐ท๐บ Ekaterinburg within the next 21 hours. My journey across Siberia thereby ends tomorrow since the starting from Tyumen Oblast, I'll be in the Ural Federal District.
Considering how this train will travel through ๐ท๐บ Rossosh, ๐ท๐บ Millerovo, ๐ท๐บ Shakty and ๐ท๐บ Rostov right at the border of Russian-occupied ๐บ๐ฆ Luhansk, ๐บ๐ฆ Donetsk and ๐บ๐ฆ Crimea with its terminus ๐ท๐บ Adler right at the border of Russian-occupied ๐ฌ๐ช Abkhazia (where you notably are not allowed to takes horses across the border when coming from Russia) riding sometimes just five kilometers next to the border I'm feeling apprehensive and drowning. This train is not just a link from Siberia to the Russian black sea beaches but also a military supply backbone transporting soldiers to their fateful and mostly deathly duty in Russia's war against freedom and liberty. The sole positive side on this is how Russia can no longer recruit as many soldiers as killed, wounded or taken captive while attacking Ukrainian defense. While this is a good sign for world freedom I don't even dare to imagine what durable pain this causes to both conflict parties tearing apart families and friendships with no return. May their bereaves find solace in peace and fraternity ๐ค.
Once again, my travel report is no tourism suggestion. May you take this inscrutable sorrow as a warning to avoid Russia's hazardous dictatorship at any cost. It is not safe to be here. For no one.
I know, writing these things in public is recklessly dangerous while I'm still in this country but I cannot be silent. I cannot travel home through Russia without showing to ugly sneer of this cruel machinery found between the lines everywhere since I crossed the Sino-Russian border.
I meanwhile occupied (cynic pun intended) my comfortable 1st class single sleeper SV compartment and wait for the departure of my train to get my long awaited dinner served. Enjoying my luxury life while the soldiers designated dead in a couple of days take their rest in the Platzkarty carriages just a few meters away from me.
Sorry, I think I need to vomit ๐ฏ๏ธ ...
Stand with Ukraine, fight for freedom and sleep tight ๐ด.
๐โ๐ฝ
#FOSSRail #TeamNightTrain #SleeperAndEater #SlavaUkraini #RussiaIsATerroristState
After round about 30 hours of travel time, I could finally convince myself to leave the cozy SV compartment and walk around the train to visit the @diningcar .
Despite some language barrier, I could be explained how they're out of the regular vegetarian options. I could nevertheless somehow clarify how I'm looking for vegan food and was provided with tasty fried potatoes and a fresh vegetable salad after a while ๐.
Only my order for รay somehow got lost ๐ค.
Anyway, my lunch was delicious and I'm looking forwards to enjoying my dinner onboard of the 115ะ later today.
Enjoy your meal and stay strong ๐ฅฐ.
๐โ๐ฝ
trains sometimes are a pure dog and pony show : One minute, the conductor comes collecting the used dishes of my dinner, five minutes later someone from the bistro knocks asking whether I'd like to order any drink. Shortly later, the customer satisfaction officer asks whether I enjoy my journey or have any complaints. No five minutes later someone with a vacuum cleaner opens the door and immediately starts cleaning the floor without saying a word.
And poor me just wants to go sleep ๐ด.
But to be fair, the clean and carefully maintained trains are an amazing counterpart to the dirty, crappy and broken 
trains I crossed China with. Notably all rolling stock here is much older than the Chinese trains I used - but still the Russian trains feel much more modern and less left behind. The way *how* you handle things once again shows more impact than the *initial* quality of things.
Enjoying a delicious meal onboard the 009ะ on its 6-days route from ๐ท๐บ Vladivostok to ๐ท๐บ Moskva on my leg from ๐ท๐บ Irkutsk to ๐ท๐บ Novosibirsk.
The @diningcar served a tasty sweet vegetable risotto along with a salad plate. I'm proud of my Russian skills sufficient to explain the conductor how I'd like to have the vegetarian menu but without cheese.
Despite the cold Siberian winter outside and the cruel war Russia is fighting against us, my stay onboard feels appallingly homely and cozy. With the facade of accommodative staff, comfortable trains and friendly people one could almost forget how the are the backbone of military logistics in the disgusting Russian invasion to Ukraine, with soldiers traveling to their horrifying duty at the front line on every train.
Again, here a reminder to not copy what I'm doing. Russia is no safe place for travelers. It's no state of law where you can rely on your safety if you behave according to the set of laws. Russia is a licentious dictatorship no one is safe in. Stay away from here. Really. You might get a railway nostalgic and normalizing impression of Russia when you read my travel report but please be sure : There are things I leave out, occasions I do not dare to publicly speak about. Russia is an evil place and even the most careful travelers won't be able to protect themselves from the repression mechanisms and the hazardous authorities prevailing here.
With this said, it's slowly getting dark outside and after my delicious meal, I'll go to bed soon.
Stay strong and sleep tight ๐ด.
๐โ๐ฝ
#FOSSRail #TeamNightTrain #SleeperAndEater #RussiaIsATerroristState
After one more night in ๐ท๐บ Irkutsk, I'm finally back on tracks. I boarded the 009ะ train where I got a comfortable 1st class single SV compartment for the next 1ยฝ days before changing in ๐ท๐บ Novosibirsk.
While waiting at the station, my initially considered ๐ฒ๐ณ UBTZ ๐ค๐ฝ 305ะ ended at the opposite platform after it's 19 hours journey from ๐ฒ๐ณ Ulaanbaatar.
Additionally, some 
through-carriages from the 069ั were shunted even though I did not understand to which other train.
Notably, the last two carriages of my train are the through-carriages from ๐ท๐บ Yatusk coming from the legendary Amur-Yatusk Mainline following the Lena river up to ๐ท๐บ Nizhny Bestyakh where passengers can cross the frozen river in winter, take a boat in summer or need to fly onwards during spring and autumn.
The 009ะ/010ะ is the cheaper transsib long-distance train, rated worse by the passengers (yes, rating trains *really* is a thing in Russia ๐คท๐ฝ). While apparently most travelers prefer the modern carriages running on the 001ะญ/002ะญ "Rossiia" train pair, I'm personally a huge fan of the mid-generation carriages used on my train pair.
Anyway, time to relax and wait for the included @diningcar food to be served ๐ฅฐ.
Good night ๐ด !
๐โ๐ฝ
