Yekaterinburg to Nizhny Novograd

Leaving Yekaterinburg meant leaving Siberia. With its vast taiga landscape and warm welcome from everyone, I’d grown very fond of Siberia.

I had expected to see mountains. Not so. Big rivers running close to the track, low hills, limestone outcrops and lots of people swimming, boating and picnicking in the warm sunshine. The Urals do rise to nearly 2000 metres, but not here.

I shared the compartment with Anastasia. She worked in sales and was on her way to Perm for a business meeting. She spoke very good English and we talked at length. Brexit, elections, travelling alone, Europe. The train stopped for 60 minutes at Perm, plenty of time to get off and have a walk along the platform.

At Perm I was joined by Olga and her daughter Maria. Maria had spent the summer with her grandparents and they were returning to Moscow before flying off to Italy for a holiday. They made pleasant companions for my last overnight on the Trans Siberian route. It was a particularly good train, old style but in pristine condition. The provodnitsa convinced me of the need for some railway souvenirs.

After a good night’s sleep in a top bunk I arrived in Nizhny Novograd.