The flight from Hong Kong lands on time at Helsinki Vantaa airport.
It is 06:00 local time. There will be time to kill…..
Immigration and customs are cleared, luggage collected, the passengers emerge into the early morning. It is foggy. Fog often precedes a nice sunny day. Hope springs eternal.
An airport to city coach has just pulled away. It is no problem. Another will depart 20 minutes later. There will still be time to kill…..
The €6.30 airport coach fare is paid. The thirty minute coach ride, in morning peak hour, is quite smooth and enjoyable. The Central Station is reached before 08:00. Much of the outside of the station is hidden by scaffolding. The fog is lifting.
The train will not leave until 10:00. Time to kill…..
Helsinki Central Station is warming to the buzz of morning travellers on their way to work. A coffee shop beckons; coffee and pastries go down well.
There is still time to explore. Each in turn minds the luggage while the other takes in the surroundings. The opportunity presents, and is taken, to change some euros into rubles.
The station Booking Hall is quite beautiful and reminiscent of times past. It is quiet. There is a large model steam engine and model railway. One small boy appears to enjoy looking at them.
The train from/to St Petersburg is called “Allegro”. It arrives at the allotted platform. Passengers from St Petersburg alight.
Passengers going to St Petersburg head towards the train. The doors are locked while cleaners do their work. One young woman seems agitated that she can’t board. Eventually, the doors open.
At 10:00 precisely, Allegro #784 pulls out of Helsinki station. Soon it is speeding through forest landscapes at up to 220 km/hr. Snacks and drinks are offered and accepted. The sun comes out.
After a couple of hours, Finnish Customs and Passport Control officers pass through the carriages. Passports are stamped to indicate departure from Finland. At Vainikkala Station, the Finnish officers leave the train.
At the same station, Russian Customs and Immigration Officers board the train. Soon they move through the carriages. Few words are exchanged. With Passports and Visas in order, they are stamped to indicate arrival in Russia. The processing goes smoothly.
Three and a half hours after leaving Helsinki, the train pulls into St Petersburg’s Findlandsky Station, its journey complete.
For some, the journey is just beginning.