It was the year 2019. The heat from the day radiated back from the asphalt and onto the streets of Moscow. The photographer had just arrived at Yaroslavl Station where he emptied his pockets onto a tray at security check.

"What about the pants? I don't know what you hide in those. Maybe a grenade? How would I know? But come in," the guard said as he poked the photographer with his nightstick.

The photographer stepped inside and asked "Excuse me, but is there a shower available in this station?"

"A shower? I wouldn't know anything about that. I think there is none," the guard answered and sat back down on his chair.

The photographer stepped out onto the train platform behind the building where a train so long that the front of it was out of view stood on the rails. The electronic information display displayed train #100, Russian Railways. Departure time: 00:35. Destination: Vladivostok.

Life on the rail is calm. Nothing much happens. You may reserve either a lower seat or an upper seat. The advantage is that with the lower seat you may sit up at any time and with the upper seat you can lay down for as long as you want to. Of course, you may also wander around in the train and sit down on any vacant seat.

Most days go by about the same. If you have ordered meals, Russian food will be delivered to you around the same time of the day on those days. The train food isn't the best, but then also Russia isn't famous for its cuisine. There is always hot water available free of charge, which is why tea is a popular choice on the train occupants and the Russian Railway's glass metal cups have become somewhat of a symbol. Depending on the settlement, the train will stop at stations for about an hour which gives plenty of time to walk down to the station kiosk if you need anything. At some stations the local vendors will also approach the train and sell food. In the evening you say hello to the train conductor as she swipes the hallway and you wind your watch with one hour.

At first the journey is nothing but an ordinary train ride. The scenery from the window changes from urban city, to suburbs, to villages and forest. However, the longer you ride the train the more the landscape transforms and every new location feels more detached from the world than the previous one. Sooner or later you will arrive at Ekaterinburg which means that you have made it to Siberia. As you proceed into the countryside it feels like you have entered a different country. The village buildings are run down, their paint slowly peeling off the walls and livestock grazing in the garden. As you gaze beyond and into the forest it feels as if the trees continue forever.

However, you're not alone on this journey. The train is filled with people who have embarked on the same journey and as the days go their faces become familiar. These are people you see every day and it is not out of the question to strike up conversation with people. If you do so the train atmosphere changes. You sit down and talk with your neighbor passengers or play durek (card game) together. The journey has turned from a week long solitary trip alone, to a journey together with friends.

Three days after departure the train arrives in Krasnoyarsk. This is where most passengers go off the train, and unfortunately the photographer's new friends too. Once again the atmosphere of the train has changed. The train continues, and the faces change everyday. Some passengers stay on the train for such a short amount of time that they are not even provided with bedding (mosty less than 24 hours). Yet, it is still possible to strike up conversations with people, and you'll still meet some interesting characters onboard. For example, a few conscripts on their way to duty, or a group of North Korean citizens who are on a political excursion. The photographer made friends with a kind person to whom he showed his photos.

As the train approaches Russia's eastern edge the distance between settlements becomes shorter. This becomes apparent as people stay on the train for a shorter duration, and as time goes on it starts to feel less like people are riding towards the end of the world, and that everybody has their destination. The conscripts are going to a military base on the Russian East coast, and the North Koreans are on their way back to their homeland.

In conclusion, Siberia is truly and unmistakably vast. As you ride the train and look north, you feel like the world ends beyond the horizon. Like if there is nothing beyond that point. Yet, it is peaceful out here. Everybody knows how big Earth is, but the Trans-Siberian Railway lets you experience that vastness. The amount of stops along the way is unearthly, so much so that if they were listed on a piece of paper it would still be incomprehensible. Despite that, the train stopped at every single one of them, one at a time. Furthermore, there are also plenty of places along the railway that the train doesn't stop at. When you look out the window you get to see these places only once before they fade away in the distance. Yet people exist and live in all of these places.

The Trans-Siberian Railway experience is definitely recommended. Seven days after departure in Moscow the train arrives in Vladivostok. As exciting as that is, it is almost hard to step off the train. Yet, here it is, Vladivostok. The last stop.