From Astrakhan to Volgograd: A train journey

The relatively brief train journey follows the Volga north and crosses the river from east to west. It does not lack in romance!

It had been two years since I had stepped on board a long distance train.  The very idea of spending several hours or even days on a train felt like a pipe dream just a few months ago, but here I was (with a friend) in Astrakhan at a quiet and peaceful railway station ready to board a train to the city once called Volgograd.

The 6-hour train ride would r…