Trans-Siberian Railway / Diary of an expedition dog

(Photos of the diary entry can be found at the end of the text).

My people have a plan for when and where the train stops. How long is very important here. First and foremost, it’s about getting to my walks. These are not as detailed as usual, but fortunately I never have any excess pressure on this trip. What my humans didn’t tell me before the trip was the fact that they put me on half rations. There is only breakfast instead of two meals a day. That’s a tough one for a dog when the extra chunk is no longer available. I don’t let it show, you know I want to be there and I’ve already learned to leave my comfort zone.

I also have interesting encounters on the train. A mini colleague called George is traveling with us. The poor guy’s whole body trembles when he sees me. Nevertheless, he trusts me very quickly when I tell him I won’t eat him for breakfast, I’m not that hungry. The short rounds at the stations become a little more entertaining and George helps me to learn my first Russian.

When we get back on the train at a station, I can’t believe my eyes. A cat has taken up residence in the compartment next to us. Admittedly, a particularly pretty specimen. As white as me and with a few brown accents in the coloring and the nice-sounding name Kusa. The lady is traveling with Box. However, I have the impression that Madam spends most of her time sitting on her mistress’ lap.

I was particularly impressed by the encounter with a relatively small, wiry, brown-black guy. I actually wanted to greet him straight away with “Privet kak dela (Hello how are you) slug” because he is so bald. Luckily, I didn’t take my mouth too full right at the beginning. As it soon turns out, I would have risked a fat cheek with him. Somja, with his mohawk and white comb-over, trains every day and is an agile sidekick. To keep fit on the train, he does pull-ups on the pre-cockpit bar. Unfortunately he is not traveling with us for long, I would have liked to know more about him…

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