To the Neva on a Sleeper (There's No Holiday That's Cheaper)...

And the train does indeed go slow...whoa, whoa, whoa!

I have just arrived at my hostel in St. Petersburg, where I will be staying tonight and tomorrow night while I see what Russians call their Northern Capital, and what my guidebook refers to as the Venice of the North. Having about an hour until I can formally check into my hostel, I felt now was as good a time as any to catch up on some blogging.

Yesterday, after quite a bit of running around Moscow teaching and taking care of a few loose ends, I collected my ticket, my bags, and my mind and headed out to Leningrad Station to catch the train north. I came the station at 8:30, almost two full hours before my train was to leave, thinking that boarding might be a hassle (ah, the habits we develop flying in the United States!). I needn't have bothered; when I arrived, the platform number for my train had not even been posted, so I was forced to find some way of filling the time. I went into a restaurant in the station and had some beef about the texture and toughness of shoe leather, with mashed potatoes that could have passed for spackle. For this I paid the princely sum of 200 rubles (about $8 American). That may not seem like much, but it is high for that kind of food in Russia.

I had hoped a meal and a quick read-through of my St. Petersburg guide might kill the full two hours, but it didn't. I was forced to go sit in the main hall--or rather stand, as there was not a seat to be found for love or money--until my train's platform number appeared on a big screen. Eventually it did so, however, and I was at last able to proceed to my train.

I have noticed a couple of differences between Leningrad Station and, say, Grand Central. The first is that long-distance passengers are much more in evidence in Leningrad Station; there are far more suitcases around and far fewer men in Armani suits. Largely, this has to do with the popularity of night train service in Russia. In Russia, many cities are located at distances from each other that make a night's journey on a train the most pleasant way to travel between them. The other major difference is on the platforms. In Leningrad Station, the platforms are littered with little kiosks where every kind of food and drink imaginable is on sale. I managed to buy a Pepsi and a bag of chips before boarding my train.

Russian train service come in four main classes. The highest class ticket gets one a berth in a two-person compartment; the lowest gets one literally a seat. I had chosen a second-class ticket, which got me a berth in a cramped but still quite comfortable four-person compartment with a door. Luck was on my side, as my berth turned out to be a lower berth, more convenient than an upper berth because it affords the space under it for storage.

My fellow traveling companions were nice enough, but not especially talkative. That was just as well, because they and I were all quite tired. As soon as the train had departed and the provodnitsa (train stewardess) had come around with light refreshments and bottled water, we all turned in.

I can't say that my bed was the most luxurious I've ever slept in, but it was comfortable enough, and even compared favorably with the convertible bed in my Moscow apartment. Far from disturbing my sleep, the rolling of the train actually seemed to help, as did the light noise from the wheels gliding over the track. I slept quite pleasantly until about 6:00 in the morning, when the provodnitsa awakened us all and told us we were approaching St. Petersburg. I hurriedly gathered my things together and dressed.

More later...a line is forming for the hostel computer.