EN ROUTE FOR SIBERIA 37 



vultures on the lookout for passengers with luggage. 

 Entering the huge doors we found ourselves in &. 

 spacious hall with the interpreter's offices on one 

 side, the booking-office on the other, and the offices 

 of the station-master and his staff farther along. 



When booking for Siberia it is well to remember 

 that the greater the distance you go at one booking 

 the cheaper is the mileage charged. Passengers are 

 at liberty to break the journey, but the ticket only 

 allows a few days over the time which the train 

 takes to go the whole distance, and any miscalcula- 

 tion renders the ticket void. It is therefore advisable 

 to distribute the visits to towns on the way by taking 

 half of them going out and the other half coming 

 back. In addition to the extra charge for travelling 

 by the express train — which runs four tiriies a week 

 in summer and three times in winter — travellers to 

 Siberia require a " place " ticket, which reserves the 

 berth, according to the number on the door of the 

 compartment, and is valid to th^ first town where 

 the journey is broken. 



The cheapest route, first class, is : London to 

 St. Petersburg in summer, or Windau in winter, 

 by the Lassman line of steamers, or by those of 

 Helmsing & Grimm to Riga, which costs about £io 

 — return. Hence, by rail to Moscow direct and over 

 the Siberian line by the express, which copies the 

 International Wagons -Lits Company's trains, which 

 are slightly dearer. German and sometimes French 

 is spoken by the guards or " conductors," and 

 occasionally even English. 



Having taken our tickets, we passed into a second 

 large hall to take lunch. Every one seemed to have 

 plenty of time on his hands. There was nothing 

 to resemble the feverish rush noticeable at our big 

 English railway stations. It was more like the 

 landing-stage of one of the great liners sailing to 



