Platzkart Adventure!
Mar. 10th, 2015 11:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
peacetraveler22
Many people often ask me "why Russia?" I can afford to travel to much nicer places and stay in more upscale accommodations, but to me there's no adventure in this. Complete boredom. With Russia, there's always something interesting! A complex puzzle to solve, new experiences each journey, and constant brain explosions and frustration with infrastructure and societal interactions as a whole. When I thought about visiting Kazan for a few days, there were two options to get there. Fly or take Russian Railways. I not only chose the latter, but decided to travel in a platzkart to get a true Russian experience. :) At first, I was a little nervous to ride the train dormitory style by myself. This uneasy feeling arose not from my own thinking, but from Russian friends when I posted a status update on Facebook that I would ride alone in a platzkart on the Railways. Responses included - "why?!?", "brave and wild!" and "are you crazy?" What did I think of the experience?
1. I think it's a good way for foreigners to travel if they wish to interact with locals, but not for comfort. The train from Moscow to Kazan was very old and shitty. Train number is 112мц. Avoid it! I'm not certain, but I think the final destination of the train wasn't Kazan but onward into the depths of Russia. The main problem for me is that it was a night train, and I was completely unprepared. Upon boarding, the lights on the train were out, cut on only for a few minutes when the train took off for the conductor to check tickets. After that, complete darkness. Most passengers immediately went to sleep and remained in silence all night. Besides the echoes of loud snores in the air, there was little movement or motion. No one to talk to, complete darkness, and zero outlets for phones or computers. For twelve hours, I sat in boredom, staring in blackness. I can't sleep in planes, trains, automobiles, or even a bed on most nights.
Salvation came in the wee hours of the morning when I encountered a handsome young man. At the sight of a young Russian face, there's always a glimmer of hope that the person will speak English. I asked him in Russian if he spoke the language, and his face lit up! Yes! For a few hours, we sat and chatted at the tiny table by my bunk. He had spent a summer in America, on the work/travel program sponsored by the U.S. government. Most important, he gave me food. I was starving, carrying with me no food or water for the long ride because I thought all trains had a dining car, where such items can be purchased. This train had nothing. No real food, only a dispenser for hot water. My new friend gave me a homemade meat pie and some instant mashed potatoes. Add hot water, and suddenly hunger pains subsided. So, I learned a proper lesson on how to travel on some Russian trains - bring boiled eggs, bread, potatoes and meat pies for survival. :)) And for some, I suppose vodka. After Yaroslavl, I will not touch this poison for a long time!
2. The train from Kazan to Moscow was more modern. For this journey, I picked second class, a private room with four bunks. Of course, it was much nicer, and I was in a room with all females. Here's one of my bunk mates - a Russian fashionista with a sullen expression for the entire 12 hour train ride. All of the women were friendly, but there were language barriers so conversation was almost impossible. On the theme of trains, I attended a hockey game in Yaroslavl, where the local team is named "Lokomotiv." :) About Russian hockey, I can say it's more calm and civilized than the U.S. version. At least the game I watched - there were almost no fist fights. In most NHL games in the U.S., numerous brawls break out each game.
3. After four trips to Russia, I think I have a lot of insight to offer foreigners traveling to the country. Perhaps I'll make a post about it sometime, but the most important thing is to learn the Cyrillic alphabet. Otherwise, you will be completely lost the entire time. In the train station in Moscow, there are almost no signs in English. The alphabet is easy to learn, with many letters and sounds similar to English. It will help you navigate on your own immensely, as a lot of basic Russian and English words overlap, or are very similar.
You'll recall that when I traveled to the Sochi Olympics last year, I took a 24 hour train ride from Moscow to Adler. However, on that journey I was in a private, first class kupe with someone I knew. I've now traveled in all classes of the train - first and second class and dormitory style. Each has something unique to offer. When I arrived in Kazan, I had a long conversation with the hotel manager. I told him how I traveled to the city, and he was in complete amazement that a 42 year old American woman and lawyer would choose to travel in a platzkart. He told me he "hates Russian Railways," and would "rather sit in an airport for 10 hours than take the train." I think this is a bit of an elitist attitude. For me, train travel remains interesting and my impressions of Russian Railways mostly favorable. The most important thing is to research the train on which you will travel. They are not all created equal.
About Kazan, there will be a separate and detailed post. This is now my second favorite city - right behind St. Petersburg.
Do you take the train often? In which class do you travel? Any interesting or unusual experiences with bunk mates? I envision sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll on some of these journeys, especially for train rides lasting several days! :) Share fun stories in the comments. I will be amused and happy to read them.
I'm now back in the USA after a long plane ride home yesterday. Many stories about Russia to follow...stay tuned my dear readers! I've missed communicating with you the past two weeks!
P.S.: All photos in this post were taken on iPhone. Sorry, on this trip I was lazy with the big camera.
Other Train Stories
Romance on the Rails - Wolstzyn, Poland
Sapsan Train to St. Petersburg
American Journey to Sochi: Train Ride from Moscow to Adler
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2015-03-11 03:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-03-11 03:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-03-11 03:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-03-11 03:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-03-11 03:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-03-11 03:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-03-11 04:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-03-11 04:13 pm (UTC)if you want to talk to me about my country, I invite you to my LJ. and I ask to speak only in Russian.
no subject
Date: 2015-03-11 04:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-03-11 05:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-03-11 05:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-03-11 05:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-03-11 05:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-03-11 05:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-03-11 08:06 pm (UTC)Regarding your train travel, I have to reproach your friend who apparently didn't tell you much at all about the "train culture". As you know I travel a lot by trains but mostly used coupe (that's originally a French word) and platzkart (German word, Platzkarte). Guess what, when I was younger and poorer I used platzkart, and now I am mostly traveling in coupe.
Sometimes it may be a lot of fun indeed, you never know. E.g. when you go to Kazan in November you may find lots of informally looking people with guitars some of whom will actually sing right in the train; in summer you will find people with backpacks going to travel to remote areas, etc.
So one thing is, in the night train it is better to sleep. I can do it. Some of my friends can't, and they always said they hated trains. When you can, this negative factor vanishes completely. You are actually saving time and resting in the train. Coupe is more comfortable for this, platzkart can be more noisy. When you can't, you'd better take a well charged device to watch movies. :)
The other thing is, you can't starve in a train! :) Even if there is no dining car (I can't tell because I very seldom use them), all train attendants have snacks and sell them with tea; actually, you can simply survive just on this.
An old habit is to take snacks or meal with you on train. I don't take meals, but I do take sandwiches and cookies. :)
Basically, train culture is so embedded that I can't believe you were not told that and boarded a train without any clue what will happen. :)
no subject
Date: 2015-03-11 08:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-03-11 09:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-03-11 11:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-03-12 12:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-03-12 02:12 am (UTC)I don't think that the thing your hotel manager said is an elitist attitude.
Well, when you travel and explore country, a new experience, even a little uncomfortable, is ok and maybe interesting. But when your job, for example, forces you to move between cities, and you have to work the very day you come, you'd want to spend your night in a cosy place.
Secondly... Lots of places that Russians see in their usual life look too similar to that platzkart cars you saw. Too many strangers around, too little personal space, bad air conditioning, narrow halls, rude service - in public institutions, clinics, public transport.. It is rather stressful. And when we have our vacation and travel, we want to take a rest and don't need extra stress. So that's why people who have opportunities to escape Russian Railways do it))
no subject
Date: 2015-03-12 11:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-03-12 05:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-03-12 11:24 pm (UTC)I assume you meant "After Yaroslavl, I will not touch this poison for a long time!" Don't confuse us Russians any more than we are.
My own fun ride was in summer of 1982. Return from a month-long college boot camp in Smolensk region, a local train to Smolensk and a 5-hour wait for the Moscow train... by the time it pulled in half the people couldn't stand upright. As a teetotaler, I secured a 3rd shelf (if you noticed those, above the upper bunks, they're normally for baggage) and could safely watch the proceedings. Mind you, we were college kids, a notch above plain rank and file, but still-
BTW, Smolensk (at least as I remember it from then) is/was? well worth visiting. Beautiful churches wherever you look.
I hear that modern trains are mostly to be found in Europe and Japan. China seems to be catching up too. Years ago I read an article about a new high-altitude line China-Tibet built on permafrost, with breathing oxygen available in the cars... that would be interesting.
The problem with Amtrak is that it's a monopoly, so sleeping accommodations are outrageously expensive; and it doesn't own the tracks (freight companies usually do, so outside the stretch Boston-Washington Amtrak trains are rarely on time). But if there's a baggage car, traveling with a bike is nice: That's how I went down to Blue Ridge. Used to be only $15 extra charge for the bike box, but now I think it's more like $25.
no subject
Date: 2015-03-13 03:07 am (UTC)You want to look at people and the country, but they you are sure consider strange. Besides, in the train or simply traveling, all of you equally will understand nothing and you will have same impressions, as at the tourist. If you the researcher, you need to live and have here the problems connected with it or the positive moments which life gives.
no subject
Date: 2015-03-13 12:00 pm (UTC)By the way, if Ovechkin will play for WC, for example, for 15 years or more, he will record (somewhere in the documents), that he served in the US during this time? If you know of course.
I.e. it's a matter of seniority, someone comes to America and works as a programmer or a taxi driver, well, somebody (Ovechkin) plays hockey, but in general, all of these people, just working in the US, if I understand correctly?