The  vagon-lits was a pleasant ride yestetday, sadly I have finally been Deutsche Bahned in 🇩🇪 Muenchen and missed my   EuroCity to 🇨🇭 Zurich. Instead, I took the opportunity of the   Tz "München" with the 🏳️‍🌈 pride stripe via 🇩🇪 Karlsruhe.

Finally, a good old  class 628 brought me across the border back to 🇫🇷 Alsace where I was greeted by the beautiful new  🤝🏽  Régiolis transfrontaliers sleeping there.

Finally home.

17 days of travels, 12 countries, 16.600 km on rails and 200 hours onboard of trains to travel from 🇹🇭 Bangkok to 🇫🇷 Alsace !

Thanks for reading 💙💛 !

🚂🇹🇭🇱🇦🇨🇳🇷🇺🇪🇪🇱🇻🇱🇹🇵🇱🇨🇿🇦🇹🇩🇪🇫🇷

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#FOSSRail #CrossBorderRail #TeamNightTrain

Last miles back home : During day 16 of my journey, I made it to my last  night train for a while.

The day began in 🇱🇹 Vilnius with an  Pesa 730 ML ride on the international link to 🇱🇹 Mockava, where there's the break of gauge between Soviet track gauge and standard gauge. The transfer is a no-brainer, the  IC 145 "Wigry" was already waiting for us and after an illegal and annoying border check, we made our 4 h journey onboard of the comfortable, modern  voyage wagons to 🇵🇱 Warszawa Centralnia on time.

I spent a relaxing day in the city enjoying the outstanding Polish cuisine culture and visiting the hacker space before continuing my journey from 🇵🇱 Warszawa Wschodina in the evening.

I was pleased to salute the  068Л "Kyiv-Express" on its overnight trip to Ukraine's capital with its golden roofs and defiant beauty 💙💛.

I meanwhile boarded the   40407 "Chopin"  through-carriages on their 15 h journey from 🇵🇱 Warszawa via 🇨🇿 Ostrava and 🇦🇹 Wien to 🇩🇪 Muenchen. After three exhausting days rushing from 🇷🇺 Sankt-Peterburg via the Baltic's to 🇵🇱 Warszawa I granted me a luxury wrap up of my travels : I could catch a single sleeper compartment with a shower - a good opportunity on a long-running sleeper train with enough time in the morning.

The  vagon-lits are amongst the best sleeper rolling stock available in western Europe. Of course, due to the loading gauge constraints and the fundamental lack of understanding how to design suitable night train wagons here in EU (I absolutely don't get this, just look at what amazing night trains they have east of EU borders even with respect to western loading gauge), they can in no way compete with Soviet-style long hauling trains. Nevertheless, they are comfortable, clean, have somewhat comfortable beds, a private bathroom and even a DVD player 🤓 !

I'm completely exhausted from the speed run of the last days and need to catch up with my strive for sleep, dreaming myself 1000 km westbound before tackling the last miles back home tomorrow.

Good night 😴.

🚂🇹🇭🇱🇦🇨🇳🇷🇺🇪🇪🇱🇻🇱🇹🇵🇱🇨🇿🇦🇹🇩🇪

🌈✊🏽

#FOSSRail #CrossBorderRail #TeamNightTrain

I will write more about the day tomorrow morning.

For now I'm just happy to be back in 🇪🇺 Europe.

Oh, and a friendly  for charging me 300 (!!!) EUR for a sleeper reservation from 🇵🇱 Warszawa to 🇩🇪 Muenchen.

#FOSSRail #TeamNightTrain #CrossBorderRail

After one more night onboard of the  071Е, I reached 🇷🇺 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 ?) П 6661 will hopefully bring me from 🇷🇺 Sankt-Peterburg Baltiyskiy to 🇷🇺 Ivangorod-Narvarskiy right at the border to 🇪🇪 Narva.

Since the suburban train will depart in the evening, I'll have half a day to spend in 🇷🇺 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 🚂 !

So far, day 14 of my journey !

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#FOSSRail #TeamNightTrain

After spending the evening in 🇷🇺 Ekaterinburg with the amazing Children's Railway, I boarded one of the two actually occupied SV compartments of the  071Е "Diemidovskii Ekspriess" brining me to 🇷🇺 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 🥰. 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 😋 !

My train is meanwhile following the last miles of the Transsibirskaya Magistral north of 🇷🇺 Nizhny Novgorod so that I'm now notably reached Moskva Time Zone +3 🎉 !

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.

🌈✊🏽

#FOSSRail #TeamNightTrain #EaterAndSleeper

I slept like a baby onboard of my  Ammendorf SV wagon 🥰. 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 🇪🇺 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  Régiolis 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 🍵.

Good morning Fedi 🌄 !

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#FOSSRail #TeamNightTrain #SleeperAndEater

Ammendorf first class SV sleeper wagon, coal heated and with the most floofy interior possible. Tell me about any better railway carriage 🥰🥰🥰 ?

#FOSSRail #TeamNightTrain

I was said good-bye by the conductor with a German "Auf wiedersehen" when leaving the train in 🇷🇺 Novosibirsk. Even though I have a one hour transfer here, my connecting train already arrived after 10 more minutes.

The  115И on its journey from 🇷🇺 Tomsk to 🇷🇺 Adler will bring me up to 🇷🇺 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 🇷🇺 Rossosh, 🇷🇺 Millerovo, 🇷🇺 Shakty and 🇷🇺 Rostov right at the border of Russian-occupied 🇺🇦 Luhansk, 🇺🇦 Donetsk and 🇺🇦 Crimea with its terminus 🇷🇺 Adler right at the border of Russian-occupied 🇬🇪 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 🖤.

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 🕯️ ...

Stand with Ukraine, fight for freedom and sleep tight 😴.

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#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 😋.

Only my order for Çay somehow got lost 🤔.

Anyway, my lunch was delicious and I'm looking forwards to enjoying my dinner onboard of the  115Н later today.

Enjoy your meal and stay strong 🥰.

🌈✊🏽

#FOSSRail #TeamNightTrain #SleeperAndEater

 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 😴.

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.

#FOSSRail #TeamNightTrain