Russian Train

Here are a few impressions from the train between St. Petersburg and Petrozavodsk that I took in December 2003 and again this September. Also scanned the tickets -- Russian tickets are always interesting, whether hand-written, typed on a typewriter or printed on multi-colored paper with sophisticated anti-forgery devices, as these were. Blurred out is my name and passport number -- which is required for even domestic travel, a legacy of the Soviet Union.

My trips have run the gamut between sharing a cabin with 3 Russians, to splitting a first-class cabin with one other person, to having the entire cabin to myself. Although stories of robbery are common, I never had a problem. Renting bedsheets for the night in the 2nd-class cabin (they're included in first-class) is usually a matter of digging out the lowest-denomination bill you have on you, and receiving a mountain of coin change in return.

In first-class you get a terrific do-it-yourself meal, including freeze-dried ramen noodles apparently imported from China. Water for these, as well as tea or coffee, comes from the enormous industrial boiler that seems to reside in the bulkhead of each train car.

Strangely enough it was the trip during which I had the entire car to myself that I had the most difficulty sleeping on the 9-hour trip. With other people in the cabin, you had the sense they would wake up first if anything went awry, but when you're the only one locked in your coupé, you have sole responsibility to keep on top of where the train is, what time it is, and what stop you're getting off at.

Be sure to note the terrific oriental carpet runners in the corridors -- a world of difference from Amtrak.