1. Stopover: Novosibirsk

After 50 hours of travel, I arrived in Novosibirsk. I am still struggling with the time difference. Now it's +5 hours from Germany and +4 hours from Moscow, where I started. In the train, I sometimes didn't know what time it was. But the punctuality of arrival and departure, and thus the accuracy of the plan hanging in front of the compartment, helped me to always understand where we are and what the corresponding time is, if I wanted to.

The strict medical book reader turned out to be a great conversationalist and very helpful. We talked a bit in English and more with Google Translate about my trip, Russian politics, Putin, and his profession. He is a neurologist, so reading about the human brain was relevant. Phew! 😉

He also served as a translator between the two grandmas and me. They also started asking what I am doing here and studied the pictures and maps in my Trans-Siberian handbook. The neurologist has been traveling from Moscow to Tyumen (east of Yekaterinburg) 2-3 times a year for 10 years and is seeing a "foreigner" in the train for the first time. It got to the point where the conductor wanted to receive the pictures we took together, as it is apparently atypical for tourists to travel... I wonder if that's really the case or if it's maybe more because of the 3rd class that they haven't had tourist experience yet. 😄

Anyway, I'm happy and glad to have met such great people. Later in the evening, we made a stop (43 minutes) in Yekaterinburg and I bought bread. My fellow travelers told me I have to eat something substantial, not just fruit. 😄 After continuing the journey with a decent lunch, they shared sausage, cheese, and tea with me. When I was cold, they brought a blanket and covered me... just like at home with mom 😂

So today the nice journey came to an end. Anton, the neurologist, got off tonight, one grandma got off with me in Novosibirsk, the other is continuing.

The hostel in Novosibirsk is okay and the shower was simply wonderful!

After a few steps, I find a small snack bar. I eat and then walk back to the hostel. At first glance, Novosibirsk is not as beautiful and interesting as Moscow and St. Petersburg. However, the guidebook promises a bit more. So tomorrow I will explore the city with approximately 1.6 million inhabitants. And on Thursday morning at 5:44 am, the journey continues towards Irkutsk.