St Petersburg railway station

I got the overnight train from Nizhny Novgorod to St Petersburg to get my flight home. It was about 27 C when I got on the train, so it was a bit uncomfortable to be squeezed into a cabin with three other people.

After we got going I took a wander down to the restaurant carriage for a bit of food. I was quietly sitting reading my book when a guy sat down beside me and introduced himself as Alex. I said hello and carried on reading. He was persistent, apologised for being a bit drunk and then bought a little carafe of vodka and two glasses. Well, I didn't want to be rude... Well it turns out that he works in security for a Russian bank and wanted to practice his English-speaking skills and since I'm a good listener this seemed like a good deal for all concerned and it passed the time until I had to go back to my claustrophobic bunk in the small hot cabin. After a 15 hour journey we arrived in St Petersburg and it was hot as hell there too. I jumped in a taxi to the airport and the journey was more like a video game than an actual journey, weaving back and forth over 3 lane roads, cutting in front of people and generally putting life and limb at risk so that I could be 5 hours early for check in. The prospect of sitting in an air conditioned airport was too attractive compared to humping my luggage round a hot humid city, well you can imagine the disappointment when I found that the airport was also hot and humid and not at all air conditioned and I couldn't check in early.