Well, this is it, this is where things will get interesting. Today we go to Russia!
Our train was at a very civilised time of 11am. We were at the station with plenty of time and were able to board about 20 minutes early. Pretty standard set-up as per all our other trains. Clean, large comfortable seats, lots of leg room and good wifi. Our seats were in a booth of 4, and our travel companions did not join us until the second hour of the journey.
The first formality was a Finnish train conductor to check our tickets and ensure we had the correct documentation ready for the guards.
Following this, the Finnish guards come along and complete the immigration process out of the country. A new stamp in our passport and technically I guess in no particular country at all.
Next, was the Russian custom officials to check over the bags and ask if there was anything to declare. Fortunately, they did not ask us to open our backpacks. She took a look at them up in the racks and probably thought, 'oh, that's too hard' and continued down the carriage.
And lastly, the Russian guards to complete their immigration process. Our passports and visas were scanned & scrutinised as we nervously attempted to look nonchalant. And then the satisfying sound of our migration cards and passports being stamped. 3 stamps each. We need to register our presence in every town that we stop in and have these migration cards stamped.
During the last 3 steps, you are required to sit in your allocated seat and are not allowed to move around until the guards have completed in your carriage.
We then entered a 'customs zone' where there is some menacing fencing lining the rain track and apparently, there is also CCTV footage of the trains passing through this zone.
We are now officially in Russia! The rest of the journey passes uneventfully and about an hour later we disembark at Finlyandsky station. Now someone pass me the vodka!
