Making friends on the train

Meeting other travelers on the train certainly makes the trip go by faster!

We lucked out with some great Bulgarian neighbors.  Lots chatting and card playing, and they also spoke Russian, which was really helpful in a few circumstances.

Sara with Plam and Mariya

We also shared our cabin with some really friendly Russians on their way from Tyumen to Ekaterinburg for work.  We swapped lots of stories and were sure to find out how cold it really gets in Siberia.  The answer: really cold!  It sounds like they pass the time at dachas with banyas (i.e., country houses with saunas), running back and forth between the heat of the banya and the snow. 

David with Anna and Sergei