June 11 – On the Train, Russia. Today started early. Or should I say it started yesterday. At 11PM on 6/10 we caught a taxi to the Belorusskiy Train Station. It's an old station that has a long history. The most recent chapter was in WWII. This is the station from which the Russian soldiers departed to head to the front. All we're doing his heading to Vienna, Austria.
As with many public buildings, it's under renovation. You can't really get to the front so the taxi had to drop us off across a parking lot. We had to negotiate several curbs before actually getting to the station. Not insurmountable obstacles but a pain nevertheless.
Once inside, well really outside because the building itself is long but very narrow. You pass through it very quickly and find yourself outside again on a large patio from which the track platforms extend. It was a warm evening so being outside was very nice. I got Diana and our baggage settled and then went off to see if I could find the platform and track from which our train would depart. It was just a bit away from where we were settled and since there was a train already on the track I tried to check the train and coach numbers to see where our accommodations were located. We are two cars up from the end of the train. Since departure time is 11:55PM I headed back to get Diana and out stuff to move near the door to our car. Thankfully we are in the second room from the door so I won't have to carry Diana's suitcase a long way in the narrow aisle. My suitcase has four wheels that rotate 360 degrees so I can push or pull it in any direction. Diana's only has two fixed wheels so if the aisle is not wide enough you have to carry it sideways in front of you. This is not exactly the most advantageous position from a leverage point of view. Hard on the back but for such a short distance it was no problem.
About 10 minutes before time to leave the attendant opened the door and I made the 4 trips to the room required to get our luggage stowed. While this process is underway Diana stays on the platform to make sure none of our gear walks away. In about 5 minutes we were settled in our room and had arranged our stuff so that we had leg room to sit comfortably. Once again we are riding backwards. The chairs in these small bedrooms are a couch during the day. Luckily neither of us minds riding backward. As it was late, when everyone had boarded and we pulled out of the station the attendant asked if we wanted our beds pulled down. I'd do it myself but you need a tool to unlock the beds. The beds are comfortable but I wouldn't want to be any taller, they are not that long. I slept much better this time than I did last time on the way to Moscow. Could be I was more tired. Since it's a 36 hour trip and we're starting at night we'll have another night on the train before we get to Vienna at 6:30AM.
The ride is through mostly open areas with small villages and farms occupying the land. Every now and then we'd pass through a town but only stop in the larger ones. You don't really notice when you cross from Russia into Belarus because both are members of the Russian Federation. When you reach the border with Poland it's a different story. This direction the Belarusian officials get first crack at you. They are polite and somewhat stern in their approach but I guess that's to be expected. They lived and worked under a very strict and yet capricious system so toeing the mark and being officious was the safe route to take.
In both directions the officer inspecting our passports seemed surprised to find Americans on the train. This young ladies eyebrows went up as she exclaimed, "Ah, Amerikanski!" They took our passports off the train and into the office. I guess they scan them to make sure they're not forged and we're not wanted in any of their jurisdictions.
It's ok because they have plenty of time. It's time to change out the train trucks again to the smaller European gauge. This time I walked back to our car's vestibule to watch the process. I didn't think they lifted the cars off the trucks but that they dropped the trucks down away from the car. I was wrong. The car is supported at four points and the trucks are released. This process is usually accompanied by a lot of hammering. Apparently the trucks are very happy where they are and they have to be persuaded to let go. Once they are disconnected the car is raised off them by screw drive jacks. Once all the cars are up a rope system pulls the trucks forward and as they clear the new trucks are pulled under the cars. The cars are then lowered and the new trucks attached.
I didn't notice last time but they also change the coupling system for the cars. Not sure why that's necessary. The new trucks are not as wide as the old ones so the wheels on one side are not entirely resting atop the rail. This would be bad at speed on irregular track but it's fine for the slow move out of the shop and through the first switch that leads to the European size track.
After about a 2.5 hour process we are again ready to roll. Our attendant brought back our passports and we pulled forward to arrange for the visit of the Polish officials. Allow me to observe that there are an unusually high percentage of Polish Immigration officials that are very attractive blondes. This time they were accompanied by police officers with what I assume were drug sniffing dogs. This process was over fairly quickly and we were on the way again.
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