Trains

Late at night on the 27th of March, Leah, and I as well as two of our roommates (Jessie and Laura) departed from St. Petersburg on an overnight train to Moscow. The very first week that we arrived in Russia, we had given our passports to the school so that our Russian visas could be registered, and also so that we could apply and recieve another extended Russian visa (Russia only grants 3 month study visas, and since our program at Smolny is four months we needed to apply for another visa as well). The downside to this procedure is that it takes a long..long...long time to recieve our passports back and so we only just recieved our passports back around the 20th of March. Yes...it took them almost two months to get through all the red tape. Unfortunately for us, not having a passport in Russia not only doesn't allow us to leave the country and come back in, but it also means that we could not stay anywhere outside of St. Petersburg (where we are registered to be) overnight. So, with that said, when we recieved our passports we were all ready to head out on an adventure, and decided on Moscow! We went to the Moskovskii train station and booked ourselves on an overnight train from St. Petersburg to Moscow departing late at night, around 11:00pm which was set to arrive in Moscow around 7:00am and our returning train departed Moscow around 8:00pm and arrived in St. Petersburg around 5:00am. We were very pleased with our Russian ability as we actually recieved what we had gone to the station to purchase. On Russian trains there are, like airplanes, different classes of tickets. On overnight trains the entire train is what is called a "sleeper" train. Where the benches (see picture) fold down into beds and bed padding, pillows and blankets are all provided. The difference between classes is simply how many roommates you get to sleep with. In first class, the car is divided into rooms, and one room is shared by two people. In second class the car is still divided into rooms, and one room is shared by four people, like two bunkbeds. Third class, which is what we opted for, is shared by about fifty other people in an open car, as opposed to rooms like the other two classes. The beds themselves are actually quite comfortable, and in all honesty I prefer it to flying. Not only do you have unlimited legroom, but the smooth motion of the train is quite relaxing (Russian trains do not seem to bump or jolt, but rather glide down the tracks). There is also a restaurant car which serves delicious looking food (we didn't order anything) for reasonable prices and even has a tv. I was even amazed at how nice the toilet was on the train to Moscow, much nicer than any plane that I've been on, as all of the fixtures were stainless steel and it was quite roomy. On each car of the train there is also at least one person (usually a woman) who makes sure that everything and everyone is alright and who initially checks the boarding passes of everyone on the train and helps people make their beds, stoke the samovar (a sort of hot water heater that dispenses hot water so that people can drink tea or make instant noodles, or kasha (porridge) and answer any questions. The train stations are like airport terminals with numerous bars, cafes, and restaurants as well as stores selling the staples of travel such as books, movies, music, souvenirs and pharmacies. After a sushi and pizza dinner for the road, the four of us boarded the train and were off to Moscow. The only downside to trains, like planes, is your neighbours. Unfortunately for us, the trip to Moscow was interupted about halfway through the night by one of the Russian men, who had been drinking and was lying on his back, snoring incredibly loudly. I can't speak for everyone else, but I seem to recall him eventually stopping, and I remember waking up to the train lady telling everyone that we had made it to Moscow. One thing that I will always remember about the train is the distinct smell of the interior. It's not a bad smell at all, but rather a mixture of tea, coal, smoke and body odour that I now associate with being distinctly Russian and smells a lot like the "Russian Caravan Tea" that Elisa bought Leah and I. The trip back to St. Petersburg was a little less comfortable as the train seemed to be quite a bit older than the one that we had taken to get to Moscow. Unfortunately for us we happened to be on the car with a troupe of young (maybe ten year old) girls and their mothers. Of course, being that age and on a big road trip they didn't do a heck of a lot of sleeping and continually throughout the night we heard whispering and lights flickering (each bed has a little light like an airplane). We still managed to get some sleep and it was definitely more enjoyable than sitting in an airplane seat. Overall I would say it was a very positive experience. Although I would have liked to have paid a little bit more and gotten a second class room for the four of us, rather than being in the open carriage, but money was tight and we made a compromise. Leah and I will definitely be taking the train again and are even planning a trip to Finland on the train soon.

*A note on the picture, we didn't actually take this picture of the third class we found it on the internet as none of ours really turned out. It looks nearly identical to the train car that we were in however.