Kituo cha Yaroslavsky

Kituo cha Yaroslavsky huko Moscow kilionekana, kutoka angani, kama keki iliyopambwa na mpenzi wa mapambo. Minara ya kijani na nyeupe. Paa zenye ncha kali. Mapambo ya dhahabu. Mbunifu, Fyodor Shekhtel, alikichora mwaka wa 1902.

Yaroslavsky Station in Moscow looked, from the air, like a cake decorated by an enthusiast. Green and white turrets. Pointed roofs. Gold trim. The architect, Fyodor Shekhtel, had designed it in 1902.

Polly alifika chini kupitia ukungu wa jiji. Moscow mwezi wa Juni ilikuwa na joto na mwangaza. Alizunguka kituo mara moja na kutua juu ya dari ya chuma juu ya mlango mkuu.

Polly came in low through the city haze. Moscow in June was warm and bright. She circled the station once and landed on the iron canopy over the main entrance.

Reli ya Trans-Siberia inaanzia hapa. Inakwenda mashariki kwa kilomita 9,289, urefu wa bara lote la Eurasia, ikimalizia Vladivostok kwenye Bahari ya Pasifiki. Reli hii ilikamilika mwaka wa 1916. Bado ni reli ndefu zaidi duniani. Treni maarufu, Rossiya, huondoka Kituo cha Yaroslavsky kila siku nyingine saa saba mchana. Inafika Vladivostok baada ya siku saba na kanda za saa saba baadaye.

The Trans-Siberian Railway begins here. It runs east for 9,289 kilometres, the length of the entire Eurasian landmass, ending at Vladivostok on the Pacific. The line was completed in 1916. It is still the longest railway line in the world. The flagship train, the Rossiya, leaves Yaroslavsky Station every other day at one in the afternoon. It arrives in Vladivostok seven days and seven time zones later.

Polly alikuwa na nafasi ya dirishani katika chumba cha pili daraja la pili, nambari 7. Kondakta alimtazama mara moja kupitia miwani yake na kuamua, kwa busara, kwamba hili halikuwa tatizo lake.

Polly had a window berth in second class compartment 7. The conductor had taken one look at her glasses and decided, sensibly, that this was not his problem.

Chumba chake kilikuwa kidogo kikiwa na paneli za mbao na vitanda viwili vya juu na viwili vya chini. Vitanda viwili vilikuwa tayari vimechukuliwa. Kimoja na mwanamke mstaafu mwenye utulivu aliyevaa sweta ya beige, akisoma. Kingine na kijana mwenye ndevu akiandika kwenye kompyuta mpakato, ambaye alimwona Polly, akasema "Sawa," na akaendelea kuandika.

Her compartment was a small wood-panelled room with two upper and two lower bunks. Two bunks were already taken. One by a quiet retired woman in a beige cardigan, reading. The other by a young man with a beard typing on a laptop, who saw Polly, said "OK," and went back to typing.

Polly aliruka juu ya meza ndogo na kutazama nje ya dirisha. Jukwaa lilikuwa limejaa harakati. Samovar kwenye kona ya behewa ilitoa mvuke.

Polly hopped onto the small table and looked out the window. The platform was full of motion. A samovar in the corner of the carriage hissed.

Saa moja kamili, treni ilianza kusonga. Haikuonekana kama mwanzo. Magurudumu yalipata mdundo wao ndani ya dakika mbili na kuushikilia. Jukwaa liliteleza mbali.

At exactly one o'clock, the train moved. It did not feel like a beginning. The wheels found their rhythm in two minutes and held it. The platform slid away.

Ndani ya nusu saa, Moscow ilikuwa imepungua hadi vitongoji. Ndani ya saa moja, vitongoji vilikuwa vimegeuka kuwa dachas, nyumba ndogo za majira ya joto za Kirusi. Ndani ya saa mbili, dachas zilikuwa misitu. Polly alinyosha miwani yake moja kwa moja dhidi ya mdomo wake.

Within half an hour, Moscow had thinned to suburbs. Within an hour, suburbs to dachas, small Russian summer houses. Within two hours, dachas to forest. Polly tilted her glasses straight against her beak.

Mwanamke mtulivu alitazama juu. "Mara ya kwanza?" alisema kwa Kiingereza cha uangalifu. Polly alitikisa kichwa chake chekundu. "Ni safari ndefu. Jipange vizuri."

The quiet woman looked up. "First time?" she said in careful English. Polly tilted her red head. "It is a long way. Settle in."