I meet Sergei in the outer compartment at the end of the carriage as we approach Ishim. Depending on your choice of time zone, it was a bright and sunny start to the day. Or a bright and sunny start to the afternoon.
Sergei can be a man of few words, but his English is excellent. He breaks it down into two words for me today – “Cold, problem”. I’m not sure at first of the nature of the problem, but I think it is that the carriage outer door has frozen closed. It’s clearly not insurmountable though, as he has a range of heavy metal implements to beat the life out of it until it opens.
My time at Ishim is focused on getting a resupply of water and chocolate, as the stop is only 10 minutes long. Siberian platform shops are a semi-unique phenomenon, and a concept that I think it is safe to say will never catch on with major western retailers. The shop has a window plastered with every item on sale, and a tiny hatch to conduct business though.
A bit of pointing and proffering some Rubles results in a transaction, and the item is passed out to you. Think of it as an outside version of Argos, but without the catalogue. I also bought a freshly cooked doughnut that was stuffed with meat and vegetables. It tasted pretty good, and I conclude that if it is still warm in this climate it must have literally just come out of the oven.
I am nothing but impressed with the restaurant carriage on my train. My understanding is that these are run as a kind of separate business from the rest of the train and they vary considerably in style, albeit with a common menu. The one on this train is modern, well run and the food is excellent. Chef even added some herbs to my eggs at breakfast yesterday. Real herbs!
Today I have one thing on my mind. That is the possibility of caviar and blinis for brunch. Unfortunately, there can be many things on the menu that are not available, but you never know if you don’t ask, so I head west two carriages and eight doors to find out.
