We arrived in Moscow late in the evening. I had an excellent night and slept like a baby until 11 a.m. - after a shower it's now time to grab some late breakfast in the @diningcar : fresh potato wedges with mushrooms and the mandatory black tea.

Side note : The have amazing chocolate onboard, I enjoyed already the second bar 😋.

Day six of my journey will be all trains : I woke up in the train and since my sleeper is only going to arrive tomorrow morning, I will spend the next night in my comfortable compartment as well.

#FOSSRail #TeamNightTrain #SleeperAndEater

We arrived in Moscow late in the evening. I had an excellent night and slept like a baby until 11 a.m. - after a shower it's now time to grab some late breakfast in the @diningcar : fresh potato wedges with mushrooms and the mandatory black tea.

Side note : The have amazing chocolate onboard, I enjoyed already the second bar 😋.

Day six of my journey will be all trains : I woke up in the train and since my sleeper is only going to arrive tomorrow morning, I will spend the next night in my comfortable compartment as well.

#FOSSRail #TeamNightTrain #SleeperAndEater

It's 10 p.m. local time in Chelyabinsk, my meal from @diningcar was just served : Grilled vegetables and buckwheat with mushrooms along with some beautifully packaged dark chocolate and juice.

The food served in the trains was far too much - good that it's sleeping time so that I can curl up under the comfy blanket and digest my amazing food.

The train is very suitable for working and as a bonus for tomorrow and Sunday morning, we have showers in the carriage.

Dream well and stay strong ✊🏽🌈 !

#FOSSRail #TeamNightTrain #SleeperAndEater

There are red Siemens Desiro and white Siemens Velaro trains outside. Chat, is this Germany ?

#FOSSRail

Enjoying dinner in the @diningcar service onboard of the 743У "Аврора" inter-city service on my way from Sankt Petersburg to Bologoe during my #FOSSRail trip from Brussels to Bangkok.

The three course menu includes some fresh salad with grilled vegetables, a tasty bulgur dish and some fruit pastry, served along with juice, tea, fruits and snacks.

While enjoying the tasty dinner, winter landscapes of Leningrad Oblast are passing by at -20 °C.

Stay safe, warm and take care ✊🏽🌈 !

#FOSSRail #TeamNightTrain #SleeperAndEater

My sleeper arrived : I got a single СЛ compartment for the next 32 hours bringing me via Moscow to the Asian part of Russia in the Ural district, right to the Kazakh border.

The train is comfortable, food is provided (vegan again) and I will already switch my clock to Ural time adjusting my day-night rhythm 😴.

#FOSSRail #TeamNightTrain #SleeperAndEater

Second sleeper train of my trip completed on day five. Now waiting for 15 minutes for my connecting train from Bologoe to Chelyibinsk. I booked a comfortable sleeper compartmznt for the 32 hours trip over two nights.

The Аврора service was definitely a luxury experience, the staff was very helpful with my spontaneous reschedule and helped me with everything despite no common language.

The railway station in Bologoe has a weird layout : The station building is located in the middle of a field of tracks, there are two main tracks where most trains depart and the other platforms are scrambled over the area. Access via a tunnel only.

I'm looking forwards for a comfy sleeper and finally some time to rest without any hurry for two days.

#FOSSRail #TeamNightTrain

Enjoying dinner in the @diningcar service onboard of the 743У "Аврора" inter-city service on my way from Sankt Petersburg to Bologoe during my #FOSSRail trip from Brussels to Bangkok.

The three course menu includes some fresh salad with grilled vegetables, a tasty bulgur dish and some fruit pastry, served along with juice, tea, fruits and snacks.

While enjoying the tasty dinner, winter landscapes of Leningrad Oblast are passing by at -20 °C.

Stay safe, warm and take care ✊🏽🌈 !

#FOSSRail #TeamNightTrain #SleeperAndEater

Whereas the "Aurora" did not happen for this year, the still operate their 743У "Аврора" running from St. Petersburg to Moscow as a daytime inter-city train - in good Soviet manner featuring 1st class sleeper compartments for sure.

I'm taking this train for two hours to Bologoe-Moskolkoe where I'm going to catch my long distance sleeper to the Kazakh border - further away from scary western Russia.

Surprise to my vegan soul : The menu of the first class catering includes an entire page dedicated to plant-based food and I'm looking forwards to some dinner in a moment.

#FOSSRail #TeamNightTrain

Good morning !

The night was short but I finally arrived in Russia and made my way to St. Petersburg. I got all my connecting tickets and I'm looking forwards to spending the rest of the day in a comfortable wagon-lits compartment sleeping my way to the Kazakh border.

At this point, the mandatory reminder : Do not travel to Russia as a European citizen. We are in a difficult political conflict. Border and diplomatic regulations can suddenly change at any time, it's therefore not safe and reliable to travel between Europe and Russia these days.

Also a brief reminder : This is a publicly visible thread and I'll therefore limit my contributions to railway postings rather than writing any other content related to the current situation.

I hope despite the situation you will enjoy my travel report 🌈 !

#FOSSRail #TeamNightTrain

It's -21 °C right now 😵‍💫.

#FOSSRail

Day four slowly comes to an end : The Elron train brought me to Narva at the Russian border. The Estonian officials were quite fast but yet strict at the border check : even my remaining 20 EUR bill was not permitted.

Walking over the snowy border bridge decorated by NATO fence and tank blockers was quite a weird feeling.

The border is closed for vehicles, officialy due to construction work at the bridge - which has never been carried out. The railway crossing also is no longer in use since the trains from Moscow to Tallinn are paused since the beginning of the COVID pandemic and obviously there is no political willing to reopen it any time soon. So for now, only pedestrians are allowed to cross the border.

#FOSSRail #CrossBorderRail

My trip finally begins : Tonight, the 453 will bring me in a comfortable wagon-lits to Berlin, the first stop of my #FOSSRail trip from 🇧🇪 Brussels to 🇹🇭 Bangkok connecting the FOSDEM with the FOSSASIA by train.

I will spend the next two weeks on trains across 12 countries and 11.000 km on rails.

May the games begin ✊🏽.

#FOSSRail #FOSDEM #FOSSASIA #CrossBorderRail #TeamNightTrain

My trip finally begins : Tonight, the 453 will bring me in a comfortable wagon-lits to Berlin, the first stop of my #FOSSRail trip from 🇧🇪 Brussels to 🇹🇭 Bangkok connecting the FOSDEM with the FOSSASIA by train.

I will spend the next two weeks on trains across 12 countries and 11.000 km on rails.

May the games begin ✊🏽.

#FOSSRail #FOSDEM #FOSSASIA #CrossBorderRail #TeamNightTrain