Polonia (ferry)

Trelleborg is a port on the south coast in Sweden. There is nothing interesting to say about waiting here by the water. As the sun sets the sea shimmer blue and the small lighthouse turns on.

Once onboard the ferry the atmosphere quickly changes. All around the spoken language is Polish and all of the staff are Polish. It feels like one has already arrived in Poland. Up on deck a group of passengers gaze out into the scenery before the ferry departs into the darkness of the Baltic Sea. The photographer returns inside. The inside is built like an entertainment district. There is a restaurant and a club where a DJ plays music. In the corridors there are people sleeping on the floor. On the ferry a bed costs extra, so they have chosen this method instead.

Swinoujscie

Swinoujscie is a town that is split between Poland and Germany. The train was already by the platform when the photographer went by the train station, so he didn't explore the town any further. Before departure, the conductor approached the cabin from the outside, said something and pointed at the window. Maybe he wanted the photographer to close the window. The train compartment was small and the passengers were seated in such a way where they faced each other. Outside the countryside scrolled past and the photographer fell asleep in his seat.

Warsaw bus terminal

The photographer wakes up in Warsaw where he rushes off the train. In the city there are two train stations, of which the west one is also a hub for buses. The tunnels below are wide and the corridors are made out of cold gray concrete. Buses come and go to the terminal next to the station. There is constant movement on the car road next to the terminal and a police officer kept himself busy all day by stopping cars. The target bus arrived in the evening, the photographer stepped on and departed for Riga.

The bus was camped. The view from the window shows the streets of Warsaw and then the highway. The lights inside were turned off and the room was filled with people snoring and the humming of the engine.

Riga

The photos from Riga are in another post.

On the train to Moscow the photographer talked with the person next to him. The conversation led to experiences and the young man told the photographer that he was in the Russian army. He told the photographer that he had been to Ukraine for a military exercise. (This conversation took place before the Russo-Ukrainian war had started.)

"It didn't feel good. Afterwards I decided to not return to the army," he said.

After the conversation he said "I will go to sleep now," and climbed into the upper seat.

The train sped up to full speed and rode into the night. So much so that you'd easily tumble over if you tried to stand up. In the middle of the night the lights were switched on. It became dead silent inside the cart. The only thing to be heard is a radio that has been left on and is playing 'Green-eyed Taxi.' One man is still asleep but the woman next to him pushes him on the shoulder and says "Wake up! Immigration inspection!" The immigration officers slowly walk through the cart, checking and stamping passports. A female immigration officer approaches the photographer and takes his passport.

"Where are you going?" she asks him.

"I am going to Japan. I will take the ferry from Vladivostok" he answers.

The train stays dead silent and the passengers look at the officer. Without a single word she stamps and returns the passport.

"Please enjoy your trip in Russia," she says and continues to the next person.

Moscow

The photos from Moscow are posted in another post.

The photographer disembarks the train in Moscow on a hot sunny day. The city has a lot of noisy car trafic that he needs to walk next to. He walks down to the Red Square and blends in with the tourists as he goes sightseeing. A fence cuts off parts of the square and from the banners it seems that there will be an international orchestra performance on that day.

In the crowd there is one girl who sticks out to the photographer. She is wearing a red dress and is holding a plushie pokemon in her hand. Without too much of a thought he utters "Hello!" in Japanese to the young lady. The girl seems surprised and greets back, also in Japanese. The two of them sit down by a stall and buy two lemonades. They chat while they drink. She tells him that she is from Japan and just came with the Siberian Railway. The photographer is surprised and tells her that he is going to take the same train in the evening.

"Let's take a walk around the city," he say to the young lady. "I want to go to this park, but would like to talk a bit more first."

"Let's go to the park together!" the young lady say.

"It is quite far to the park."

"That is okay. I want to go together," she tells him.

So, the two walk together. A girl met on the streets of Moscow, and a photographer. They buy some blueberries and eat together as they walk towards the park and talk about hobbies. Turns out that both of them play the piano. In the park they take a walk around and enjoy their time. In the evening they have even begun to sing together and you can hear them sing 'Sukiyaki' as they walk down the street.

In front of the station they become silent. They look each other in the eyes.

"Well... farwell."

The two part ways. He runs into the station and she continues down the street of Moscow.

Siberia

The experience of the Siberian Railway is presented in another post. During that journey the photographer spent a lot of time staring out the window. It happens that the guard climbs on board and patrols the train, and one day the photographer was looking out the window with his leg stretched out in the corridor. On that day a guard came walking and stumbled over the leg. The photographer pulled back his leg, but neither said a thing.

Eastern Dream (ferry)

The Siberian railway ends in Vladivostok. Those photos are available in another post. There is one ferry called "The Eastern Dream" which goes from Russia to Japan. On the deck of the ferry the speaker plays Joe Hisaishi music for Studio Ghibli.

The passengers on the ferry are kind. Some of them even ask the photographer to take their picture. On board you can hear Russian, Korean and Japanese all together.

In the evening the star sky presents itself at sea. The photographer goes in and plays cards with a group of Koreans. Towards the night the ferry entered a storm. The waves hit the ferry and water splashed in through the closed door. A young Russian woman takes a seat next to the photographer.

"This is so scary," she says.

"It is fine. The ship was built for this weather," the photographer says.

"But still, it is scary," she says and takes a sip from her can. "Is this alcohol?" she says and makes a face.

"Yes, it is written right here," the photographer says and points at the can. "You don't drink alcohol?"

"I drink alcohol, but I can't read Japanese," the woman said.

In the morning the ship arrives in Donghae. The photographer steps off the ship to take a walk in the city. (The photos are in another post.) At border control a young inspector opens the photographer's bag and finds a first aid kit inside.

"Hold on, what is this!?" he says.

Another inspector walks over to check the situation.

"This is all fine," he says and the photographer is free to continue into Korea.

The ferry continues towards Sakaiminato in Japan. Before the ferry lands, all passengers are collected by the exit. The photographer disembards the ship and takes a walk around the town. (These photos are available in another post.) Afterwards, he ride his grandfather's car together with his grandfather to Kyoto.

When the photographer stepped out onto the streets of Kyoto he had spent two weeks on the road. This is the final destination for that journey. The camera has more than a thousand pictures on it, and the photographer has gained a lot of new experiences and met a lot of interesting people on the way. That is all for this post.