The heart of Siberia

Writing on Sunday evening, sitting in the station concourse (where I seem to have spent a lot of time over the last couple of days!) waiting for train 005 (UB-Moscow) to Yekaterinburg. Been staying here at the station guestrooms, which have been very good value, even if we have had to fall asleep to, and wake up to station announcements! Fantastic.

There's been a slight change in plan for the final leg of the t-sib, to Moscow. Emily's decided to go directly to Moscow from Yekaterinburg, to see a friend who should (hopefully) be accommodating us there, and I'm going via Kazan, spending two nights in the capital of Tatarstan before being reunited in Moscow early Monday morning. So I've now sorted my train tickets, and the total cost, unbelievably from Ulaanbaatar to Moscow by train, in kupe, has been $180 (112quid!), to travel 6306 kilometres (3917 miles) over 23 days.

We were recommended the Mexico Cafe and Grill in Novosibirsk by a couple of Emily's friends who passed through two weeks earlier en route to Vladivostok. Tried it, spent a small fortune (by Russian standards remember), but was damn good. Even had a live band playing good Mexican music! Took the obligatory photo - remember, we're 'supposed' to have been eating Mexican in EVERY city en route!

The weathers been fantastic the last week, since Lake Baikal infact, and we had our first opportunity to swim in the 'sea' here in Novosibirsk. About 30km south of the city, nestled in the woods is the town of Academgorodok, established by the Soviets in the 1950's as a township of scientists, with prestigious institutes, in an attractive setting with a higher standard of living than that enjoyed by ordinary citizens. A sort of 'utopia', one might consider it. A short walk away in the Ob sea, an artificial lake formed by the damming of the Ob River and construction of a hydroelectric power station, also in the fifties. Imported sand, water sports, excellent weather, ice cream - fantastic for the middle of Siberia! Nearby there's also the West Siberian Rail Museum, free admission, with plenty of old locomotives and trains, including a carriage in which Tsar Nicholas is rumoured to have travelled to Siberia, in 1891.

In the evening we tried Patio Pizza, a favourite back in Moscow, and I was suitable impressed. I tend to be fussy about restaurants, but the pizza they presented did qualify as one, unlike Russian 'provincial' pizza (microwaved with cucumber, tomato and sour cream on it!), or the now infamous Pizza Della Casa back in Ulaanbaatar.

And that brings us to today. It's been a walking tour of Novosibirsk. The city is relatively young, founded in 1891 when the Trans-Siberian was built, and now swollen to a population of over two million. Main sights are the Chapel of St Nicholas, apparently the geographical centre of Russia, the Local Studies Museum (which was closed fo four days, no explanation), the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral with its attractive golden domes, Ploschad Lenina (Lenin Square) and the Opera House. Photos of these will be uploaded from back in the UK in October. Had lunch in the Balkan Grill, yes, the same gut-busting place as back in Krasnoyarsk, which was again excellent, and a safe choice knowing we'd eat little more than bread and cheese for the next twenty-four hours. Ahh! Also finally, caught the metro (wehey!) back to the station, after checking out the 'sunday fun' at Tsentralny Park, which, sadly, wasn't nearly as good as Krasnoyarsk.

So only two days here, but thats probably enough. Plenty of people pass straight through, I'm glad I've stopped, if only to see my brother Rich's old haunt (he lived here for a month last year). Just seen the 002 ROSSIYA (Moscow-Vladivostok service), the mother of all trains in Russia at the station - fantastic. Strangest thing yesterday evening -as I was brushing my teeth in the shared bathroom, this music started booming out across the platforms. I gestured questioningly towards a maid, who led me to the window overlooking the platforms. There, the Sibiryak, Novosibirsk's flagship service between it and Moscow was pulling in after its two day journey! The music included the words 'Sibiryak' and was very lively. Quite a welcome home!

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