---

So, we travelled another 45h to get to Irkutsk and we happened to take exactly the same train as Cyril - the guy we met in Novosibirsk. What are the odds??? Train ride was fun – this time in the 3rd class - and we really enjoyed it. First we met some Ukrainian guys (60 of them all together) who were going to Irkutsk for 6 months work contract. Why travel so far and leave the families behind?? Three times higher salary than in Ukraine – that is why ;-( We also came across drunken army boys that invited Tomek to drink vodka, Russian whiskey (cheap brandy) and champagne with them and also fed him with some chicken kebabs hahhah They had loads of fun together and they also gave Tomek some gifts like a Russian military belt for example. Apparently very impressive gift to receive from a Russian man so Tomek was very happy about it. They were really funny when drunk and not dangerous or disturbing at all. And on top all of these experiences we met a group of people coming from the Russian Capoeira Conference and they played some Brazilian music for us and showed us movies from their latest trainings. How can someone say that travelling Platzkart is a daunting experience?

As we met Cyril we decided to go with him to his CS contact that he arranged for himself for the next 2 days and decide on what to do next. The night we arrived massive snow storm broke and we had an opportunity to experience something really extraordinary. At least for us it was new. The moment streets got snowed in and dangerous to drive, convoy of clearing trucks appeared on the streets escorted by the Police. They cleared all the snow in Irkutsk centre in less then 2 min. That is what is called great organisation - I though, having reminded myself about 7 hours spent in traffic on M25 in UK last winter because of 2cm of snow ;-) The snow storm brought really cold temperature of -10C but the scenery however was very beautiful.

We bought some dinner and vodka in a local shop as it is rude to visit with empty hands and we waited for Sasha (our CS host) to pick us up. We had great evening drinking and talking with our host. Sasha's place had only one sofa bed for a disposal of three of us. This was the beginning of our great friendship with Cyril as how not to become friends after sleeping together on one bed for 2 nights hahha

We really wanted to go to the Wooden Architecture Museum outside of Irkutsk but after late night we managed to get up around noon. Our first point of visit then was a bus station. We were told that we missed the bus to Listvyanka (for the museum) and also that there were no buses to Olkhon Island at Baikal due to the winter season. We got very disappointed at this point as we really wanted to go the Island. We decided to walk around and ask some minibus drivers about other possibilities. We found 3 different drivers that gave us different times and places from where we could take the bus the next morning. We also had another option which was the only guest-house in Olkhon – Nikita's place - that became famous on its own. People visit them even if they don't stay over there. We called them through skype and they confirmed time and location of the bus. At least we managed to sort this out.

We had the whole afternoon and evening in Irkutsk and we were wandering around the beautiful town in a nice snowy scenery. We really enjoyed the architecture of the place especially when compared to the grey and dull Novosibirsk. There are some nice Museums, Orthodox churches and some statues to see around. Also we got really interested in the open market, located at the same street as the bus station You can purchase fresh fruit, meet dishes, dried fish, beer and 'kwas' (one step before beer, non alcoholic and refreshing drink). We also visited some nice Mongolian restaurant for a great dinner. Russian food is pretty much the same as Polish so we really wanted some change. Also, Cyril would not continue the journey to Mongolia with us therefore he ordered double sized portion of food to taste sth new.

We bought some fresh bread from the bakery and some 'Ikra' (red caviare) for the evening. We walked across the town to the Angara river to catch some sunset and see quite impressive statue of the Tsar Alexander III. We only lacked some alkohol so we stoped at the supermarket to purchase some freshly brewed beer from the draught (sold in plastic bottles). Once again we had a great evening with Sasha. Guys were playing guitare, eating dried fish, ikra and drinking local beers.

Generally speaking Irkutsk is a really nice town and great place to rest in between travelling. Most people only stop in Irkutsk to visit Baikal shore as still this massive lake remains the main attraction of the region. This is exactly where we were heading the next morining....

---