I woke this morning without any real expectations of the day ahead and have been rewarded with an amazing few hours staring out over Lake Baikal whilst drinking reasonable coffee in the restaurant. I chat to Valerie whilst Mrs Chef organises my blinis.
This is my favourite place on the train. I feel very welcome here. It feels like a Russian version of Fawlty Towers crossed with Robin’s Nest. There are not too many customers today, just a thick-set Russian chap eating a bowl of Solyanka, accompanied with a small carafe of vodka.
A range of officials and paramilitary pass by, and I wonder what they actually do on the train. Last nightm a chap in a No 2 dress uniform, with a leather briefcase, showed up in the restaurant and produced some paperwork for completion. His badges were definitely military. Sometimes I see our train police force on patrol – made up of three officers, two men and a woman. Then there are the RZD employees, the provodnitsas, the engineers, and the “fix it” men. This train really is its own mobile, self administered community.
Last night I broke train rule No 4 – never to look inside the kitchen of a train restaurant. I have only done this once before and it put me off eating for a bit. The food tasted good, but I hadn’t counted on the bacterial load that came with it. This time I got lucky. The kitchen on this train is amazing. It is as big as the restaurant and has several huge, commercial fridges, made from stainless steel that sparkles. Even the chopping boards were neatly stacked and labelled.
The reason I visited the kitchen was to catch a glimpse of the cellar. Sometimes they stock a box or two of really fine wine. The Russian passengers don’t touch it, meaning I get to enjoy quality wines from France to Azerbaijan.
You need to get in and look around yourself. The staff aren’t experts. Sadly, the results of my investigations on this train was a little disappointing – just a half-bottle of Russian red, from an undisclosed region and vintage. There is some champanski though, so purchased a bottle. I shall lay it down in my compartment and drink it over Christmas.
