The Turkish train makes a final stop on the edge of lake Van. A waiting ferry will take us over to Van in the very east of Turkey. In Van an Iranian train will wait and we will continue the journey to Tehran. Or should have been waiting I might say. From Istanbul the train has been delayed a couple of hours. The ferry takes about four hours across lake Van. But on the other side there is no train. Neither is there a heater on the ferry. It is January and if there was a thermometer in sight I would look away. With a wool hat, jacket and to pairs of thick woolen socks I wait in nearly five hours on the ferry. Luckily the enthusiastic salesman in the coffee shop sells cheap toast. The taste reminds me of grandiosa (a famous/infamous Norwegian frozen pizza). My new Iranian friend warns me of the taste and that probably describes what foreigners think of the most sold dish in Norway. I do not mind but what I do mind is getting the toast and various other stuff out of my body. I have off course forgot to buy toilet paper even though it was on my list. The squat toilet has none. Luckily I manage to keep it in. But unfortunately for the passengers within smelling distance not all is kept in. The shopkeeper yells out: 'toast! chocolate ottoman!'. The five hour wait makes it a good day at the office for him.
Eventually the Iranian train arrives and I find a couchette that I share with two Italians and a German guy.