The Trans Siberian Railway is often called the vodka train. The train ride from St. Petersburg to Moscow I decided to call a "Russian Tradition".

Sasha and her friend took me to the train station to see me off and to make sure I got on the right train. My car was on the complete opposite side of the platform, and this made me realize how long this train was. Must have been more than 70 cars!

On this enormous train a new world opened to me. There were people everywhere, and everyone were talking to each other, fighting for the blankets and the linen. There was enough for everyone, but russians are not very patient! I had a lower bunk bed, and a large ruski had the one above me. Nobody next to me spoke any English, but that did not prevent them from talking to me! After a while they got a girl from another car to come and translate. She was very nice and helped us out. People around me came up to me with different foods, tea, and of course vodka. They all said, in English: "Russian tradition". This meant, my translator told me, that I could not refuse it. Even when I was so full I could hardly eat any more this one couple invited me to the restaurant wagon to have more food and vodka. I could not say no. It was a lot of fun, again, thanks to the translator! They would not let me pay anything for the meal, and said it was "Russian tradition" for them to buy me the food since they had never met anyone from Norway before. The only thing I could do in return was to eat and tell everyone at home that the Russian people are good people. So here it is; Russians are good people! This time on the train is just another proof of this. I have not yet met anyone that has been a little grumpy even!

If everyone is in such a great mood because it is a "Russian tradition" or if they all have been drinking sufficiently with vodka is hard to tell. But I understand that vodka is a very important part of "Russian tradition." This I learned a lot about in the Russian Museum of Vodka. Even Peter the Great was a heavy drinker, and to his parties, if you came late, you had to shot a one liter (1 liter!) glass of alcohol to catch up with everyone else, as a penalty!

Another rule of vodka I learned on the train from St. Petersburg was that when the bottle is empty you have to remove it, not only from the table, but also from everyone's sight.