Way to Russia Talk Lounge

pspboy · Just Starting Joined: 13 Jun 2005 Posts: 1

I am going to be taking a journey on the trans-siberian railway this september. i've booked tickets in a 1st car but am not sure what the food situation is like. Can anyone advise me on a resource where i can find out what kind of food is served and how it works? Is there a dining car (i assume) where meals are available? Does anyone know if vegetarian food is going to be possible at all?

Thanks. Peter

wu687 · Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 12:00 am Post subject:

The trains have a dining car, with limited food, hours of operation are on
Moscow time. In Russia you get a Russian dining car, in Mongolia a Mongolian one and in China a Chinese one. Most people bring own food or buy it on the platform.

wavetossed · WayToRussified Joined: 27 Jun 2004 Posts: 337

You should bring your own supply of bread, sausage, cheese, fruit and juice like most of the other passengers on Russian trains. In every car there is an unlimited supply of free boiling water from the samovar at the end of the car beside the provodnitsa's office. So bring tea bags, pot noodles and anything that can be reconstituted with boiling water from the tap. Oh, don't forget a couple of one liter bottles of beer. If you don't drink alcohol, then buy some bottles of kvas instead.

The food in the dining car will be plain and thoroughly Russian. Don't be surprised to be served something like a sausage sitting on top of some rice, or a plate (that's right plate not bowl) of oatmeal porridge in the morning.

In each car there is a schedule posted on the wall showing the names of the stations the train will stop at, when they will arrive there and how long the stop will last. If the stop is long enough you can get out and buy pirozhkis, dried fish, ice cream, etc. from vendors on the platforms. If the stop is too short, the provodnitsa won't let you off the train, but you may be able to do business hanging from a window, or from a door. It is much easier if you can do it in a doorway, because you can kneel down and be closer to the ground level. Don't let the heads and fins of the dried fish turn you off, this is good stuff, especially with some nice warm beer.

Oh, don't forget to bring the utensils you need especially a knife and some cups for tea, etc. I had a folding pocket knife to cut bread and sausage, but I had to buy a pot noodle container and eat the noodles in order to have a cup to make tea. Camping kits are probably the best for this.

And don't forget to PLAN in advance to GET OFF THE DAMN TRAIN!!!!

There is no point in just sitting on a train for days on end. Buy short journey tickets and then spend a day or two in some of the towns/cities along the way. Consider varying the route, i.e. go through Ufa and Chelyabinsk instead of Ekaterinburg. There is no Trans-Siberian train, just many, many long-haul and local services connecting every significantly sized town in the country. If you look at a map of the rail system it is as
complex as the highway system. Enjoy it! Explore it!