Emīls made some notes while on this train, some of which I got to read recently. As it is a lot easier to remember this way, the following story will be based on his notes with my additions.
July 9:
We got on the Kazakhstan train in the evening. Also here it is not possible to open the window and it is bad as there’s some kind of not nice smell in the kupe. Though in some minutes we have got used to it and don’t notice it anymore. The good thing – the train has conditioner. The bad thing – the conditioner works only when the train is moving fast enough. But as it is moving the best part of all the time, we feel ok.
Our kupe is not very big, but – the more, the merrier – so usually we are more than just 4 in here. And for supper (and most of the following meals) we have proved that all 7 of us can sit on the lower bunks (quite squeezed, but still ok). There’s a carpet on the floor and some soft backrest on the wall. The berths are very soft. Later we will know that these berths were the softest of all the trains we took. The window has curtains which can cover the lower half of the window and also a shutter that can cover all. Unlike the previous upper berths, where a bump on your forehead would be a normal thing after waking up (very small space between the berth and the ceiling), here it is possible to sit normally. Each berth has a small not very bright light – bad for reading but good enough for searching something. Each berth has a little shelf and a hook. 2 bags can fit under the lower berth (1 of them inside the box and the other – outside) and if that is not enough, there is big space for something above the corridor with a width of kupe itself, usable from the kupe side of course.
We have Latvian porridges for supper – either oatmeal or buckwheat, which are ready just some minutes after you add hot water and stir. To my mind – a good and easy way to eat. We are quite tired during the day in Moscow and go to sleep soon after the supper.
