tram to russia

hadn't it been for the tram driver shouting at people to clear the doors in most original bavarian, I truly would have believed this tram travelling to some russian city. it seemed highly bizarre that on a half hour's ride each group of people that entered the train started to speak in russian, on the phone, to each other...
it was like in a science fiction movie, where everything at first seems to be as always, until one notices that in fact under the surface everything is substantially different.