I came across some travel notebook from previous adventures. This is the first from a trip to Russia visiting an old school friend who was working there.

Triple glazing

One half of carriage faces backwards

Two seats on each side, 64 in all

Carriage 11 – many more!

Full

AC took a while

Man with crisps and drinks

Smelly, undesirable toilet

Plenty of leg room

Table pulls up between chairs

Window blinds

Non-opening windows

Wooden houses amid small allotments

Varying in size and style

Larger the further out of Moscow

Trees, lots of trees!

Silver birch

Scots pine?

Cloud cover, full

2 ½ hours from Moscow

Houses seem to have double windows

Its summer

Green seats covered with blue swirly patterned stretch covers. My water bottle tucked into the seat pocket along with an empty crisp packet. The air previous filled with acid toilet smells is tainted with strong, sweet perfume as a passenger returns to her seat. Two older ladies in front: one blond, the other dark wearing a hair bun net and frill. Across the passage what seems like a family. Dad sleeps with chair fully back. Mum in seat behind dressed in pink is petite, phone around her neck, heads to the toilet. Waves of previous smell wafts back. Her daughter, equally petite sits by the window reading a very old book and making pencil marks at foot of page. She has and still is eating small orange coloured fruits – slightly larger than a marble. Splitting their apparently soft flesh with her nails showing a small stone. She sucks away the flesh and moves on to the next one. Mum has returned to her seat now in different pink clothing. No other travellers are visible. Ruth dozes rocking with the jerky movement of the train. Two guide books lie on the table promising delights and sights.