Crossing the Urals

On the third morning, the train stopped at Yekaterinburg.

Galina had left in the night. Pavel was still asleep. Two new passengers had come on. A young soldier and an older man with a fishing tackle box.

Yekaterinburg is the biggest city in the Urals. The Ural Mountains divide Europe from Asia. They are not tall, but they are very old. They are 500 million years old. They are some of the oldest mountains on Earth.

The Trans-Siberian crosses the Urals here. There is a small marker by the tracks. One side says EUROPE. The other side says ASIA.

The new passenger with the tackle box opened it. He laid out his fishing lures on the table. He arranged them by colour.

"Where do you fish?" Polly asked.

"Lake Baikal," he said. "In three days. Omul. The fish of Baikal. You will not find it anywhere else in the world."

Later, the train passed the marker in a small clearing. EUROPE on one side. ASIA on the other. Three tourists waved at the train. Pavel waved back from inside.

The train had crossed a continent the way you cross a small street.