Base-camp for visiting Lake Baikal (Irkutsk, Russia)

---

(Day 51 on the road)I love my blog. Not so much because I think it will win me the Pulitzer Prize, but because it helps me to reflect on my travels. It actually makes me stop and think back what I have experienced and what of it is worth noting down. When I first started the blog the main intention was so that friends and family could keep track of me and take part in my journey. The further I travel, the more it becomes important also to myself.

But back to my Trans Siberian journey: After leaving Tomsk and another 36h journey with two straight nights on the train, I arrived in Irkutsk, the starting point for exploring Lake Baikal. I didn't see much of Irkutsk when I first got here, but after returning from Lake Baikal (see next entry), I explored the city and was actually quite surprised by its cosmopolitan atmosphere. Irkutsk is famous for its Decembrist houses, where many Decembrists settled after they had finished their labour terms in Siberia. Other than that, it is a fairly pleasant city to walk around in, with some pretty parks and gardens.

What was quite funny was to meet a Canadian and an Australian girl at the hostel that had read my blog before they came to Russia: The Canadian one walked up to me in the hostel and said: "Hey, I know you! Aren't you the guy that is writing that Blog about his experiences on the Transsib?". What a coincidence to meet two people at once that have been reading my blog!

Next stop: Olkhon Island on Lake Baikal (Russia).



To view my photos, have a look at pictures.beiske.com. And to read the full account of my journey, have a look at the complete book about my trip at Amazon (and most other online book shops).

---

---