It's -21 °C right now 😵💫.
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Good morning !
The night was short but I finally arrived in Russia and made my way to St. Petersburg. I got all my connecting tickets and I'm looking forwards to spending the rest of the day in a comfortable 
wagon-lits compartment sleeping my way to the Kazakh border.
At this point, the mandatory reminder : Do not travel to Russia as a European citizen. We are in a difficult political conflict. Border and diplomatic regulations can suddenly change at any time, it's therefore not safe and reliable to travel between Europe and Russia these days.
Also a brief reminder : This is a publicly visible thread and I'll therefore limit my contributions to railway postings rather than writing any other content related to the current situation.
I hope despite the situation you will enjoy my travel report 🌈 !
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Whereas the 
"Aurora" did not happen for this year, the still operate their 743У "Аврора" running from St. Petersburg to Moscow as a daytime inter-city train - in good Soviet manner featuring 1st class sleeper compartments for sure.
I'm taking this train for two hours to Bologoe-Moskolkoe where I'm going to catch my long distance sleeper to the Kazakh border - further away from scary western Russia.
Surprise to my vegan soul : The menu of the first class catering includes an entire page dedicated to plant-based food and I'm looking forwards to some dinner in a moment.
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Enjoying dinner in the @diningcar service onboard of the 743У "Аврора" inter-city service on my way from Sankt Petersburg to Bologoe during my #FOSSRail trip from Brussels to Bangkok.
The three course menu includes some fresh salad with grilled vegetables, a tasty bulgur dish and some fruit pastry, served along with juice, tea, fruits and snacks.
While enjoying the tasty dinner, winter landscapes of Leningrad Oblast are passing by at -20 °C.
Stay safe, warm and take care ✊🏽🌈 !
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Second sleeper train of my trip completed on day five. Now waiting for 15 minutes for my connecting train from Bologoe to Chelyibinsk. I booked a comfortable sleeper compartmznt for the 32 hours trip over two nights.
The Аврора service was definitely a luxury experience, the staff was very helpful with my spontaneous reschedule and helped me with everything despite no common language.
The railway station in Bologoe has a weird layout : The station building is located in the middle of a field of tracks, there are two main tracks where most trains depart and the other platforms are scrambled over the area. Access via a tunnel only.
I'm looking forwards for a comfy sleeper and finally some time to rest without any hurry for two days.
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My sleeper arrived : I got a single СЛ compartment for the next 32 hours bringing me via Moscow to the Asian part of Russia in the Ural district, right to the Kazakh border.
The train is comfortable, food is provided (vegan again) and I will already switch my clock to Ural time adjusting my day-night rhythm 😴.
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