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Published: August 28th 2010
18th August 2010
Yekaterinburg- city tour
We woke up in the Dacha in the middle of the countryside just outside Yekaterinburg where little wooden houses are all lined up with little gardens full of fruit and veg. Constantine was supposed to have cooked us dinner last night, but since it was midnight by the time we got there, we told him there was no need- so, instead, he served us our dinner for breakfast! At first my stomach balked at the idea of Chicken and Salad for breakfast, but once I’d had a few bites it was actually quite tasty….. the tomatoes were so juicy and the chicken was minced with cheese and it was light and fluffy- so we all cleaned our plates. In the garden Sid got busy picking raspberries and apples. It was a lovely day and we had hoped to find other (cheaper) accommodation in the area, but this is not a ‘tourist’ destination and there were no other options, so after breakfast we ended up going back to the city to sort something out. We checked into another ‘luxury apartment’ for $50 a night (this country is not cheap…. or luxurious no matter what they
say) and Constantine put us in contact with Bigfoot who will pick us up tomorrow and bring us to the Ural Mountains for 2 nights of camping.
In the meantime, Olga (a popular name in Russia it would seem) brought us for a city tour of Yekaterinburg. Olga, a lovely bubbly University graduate who does tours during the Summer walked us around this vibrant city pointing out all of the main historical and significant sights. It is a very rich modern city, most buildings having been rebuilt in the last Century. Sid was absolutely wrecked after his midnight bedtime last night but we didn’t cover too much ground and there were lots of interesting things for him too, like the skateboarders everywhere and the padlocks on the bridge (a recent tradition when couples get married) and the ice cream trolleys! We plied him with sugar and got him through the day without any meltdowns. We were told about a 'Fire station’ restaurant with a real fire truck inside, so we went there for dinner and had platters of sausages and potatoes. We got Sid to bed early in anticipation of our camping expedition in the morning.
19th August
2010
Camping in the Ural Mountains
Must have eaten something dodgy last night because my day started off with the trots and a queasy stomach, so no breakfast for me. Toily and Max picked us up at 10am for our camping expedition in the Urals. Again, a couple of fun loving chatty Russians for a refreshing change- they smiled and everything! We set off on our 3 hour drive, stopping off to pick up some food on the way in a little village, chop down a tree for firewood using a chain saw and get water from the spring (as you do!). Russia is an amazing place - you can hop out of your car at any stage and chop down a tree! We passed days of forest on the train - the log supply seems endless, but I’m sure it will come to bite them in the bum at some stage. When they stopped to buy food they suggested that they buy some beer. Nigel asked, “one beer?” And Max answered “you are not in Ireland now Nigel, we will buy many beers!”
The lads brought us to a lovely place in a forest of birch trees
by a rock face. I went straight to bed in the tent feeling as rough as a dog while the lads went climbing the rock face and were rewarded with an amazing view of the lake and a site marked out for tomorrow where a climbing competition will take place. Luckily for Sid there was a climbing camp full of 9 and 10 year olds near us who were climbing 4 hours a day and when they weren’t doing that they were playing in the forest. Nigel and Sid wandered down and Sid was invited to play balancing and jumping games. I got up at dinnertime when the weather was still fine but only risked bread and tea and retired early with Sid. We all had our fingers and toes crossed for another fine day tomorrow.
20th August 2010
Camp Change
Yay! Woke up feeling human again but couldn’t face the delicious fish soup that Toily had made for breakfast. I did enjoy the warm campfire on a nippy morning and managed to stomach bread and yoghurt before our morning adventure walk in the forest. Nigel and Sid took me to the top of the rock face to
see the view, but unfortunately there was a thick layer of fog and I never saw the lake from up above! It was really eerie up there with a blanket of white cloud enveloping the rocks and trees around us. We wandered off to see the camp kids to ask them about the competition timing, but due to the all night rain the rocks were slippy and the competition was on hold unless the sun came out! They showed us how to use their balance rope and we had great fun failing (except Sid who got across after a few tries).
The rain started after lunch and Toily suggested that we move our camp further out to beside the lake where some of his friends had a camp and a banya- hot coals under a tarp for steam and then into the lake to cool off! We set off mid afternoon but the dirt road was impassable and we never did find his friends. But the campsite was very nice and some local cows wandered by to say hello. After dinner Toily and Max made a giant candle for Sid by cutting a giant log in two with a
Olga our lovely guide!
She spent 4 hours with us walking around the city explaining the history.chainsaw, then cutting a middle channel piece out and joining it back together again with a string off Toily’s guitar. They helped it along with some cooking oil. Sid who is a proper pyromaniac loved it! Nigel and I sat up for a campfire chat with the lads late into the evening and we discussed all the taboo subjects like religion, sexuality and politics that are apparently forbidden topics for discussion with tourists. It was great to talk to Russians about their lives and Toily told us that before he became a guide he thought that Westerners were really different to Russians, but he discovered that at the end of the day, we are all the same ☺
21st August 2010
Dacha and a Russian Banya EXPERIENCE!
After breakfast the heavens opened and the rain came pouring down. We weren’t going to hang about in this weather, so we packed up and headed back to Yekaterinburg. Toily took us to his friend’s outdoor shop and Nigel bought some new sandals and I got a head torch (Nigel is sick of me borrowing his), and then they too us to the Irish bar and bought us a pint-
great way to finish off the trip! It was sad to say goodbye to the lads, they were really good company.
Constantine picked us up at the pub and took us back for our last night at the Dacha. We took a walk along the country lane in front of the Dacha while Constantine prepared a delicious meal of roast chicken, new potatoes from his parent’s garden and fresh salad from the Dacha’s garden. We picked raspberries along the way and Nigel and Sid went into one Dacha to ask if they could pick some apples off their tree. Of course nobody spoke a word of English and they probably were wondering who these strange people were pointing at their trees and making munching actions! Anyway, no one wrestled them to the ground as they went picking, so it was all good.
After dinner Constantine introduced us to his banya which was very different to the previous one in Lake Baikal where there was just one room for sauna and washing. Constantine had 3 rooms- a sauna, a washroom and a chill out room all of which had a wall against the boiler, so they had varying degrees
of warmth. We were shown the banya ritual. Firstly you enter the sauna which is now hot, hot, hot, at 95 degrees, naked of course, but we wore sheets around us while Constantine demonstrated. Then one person lies down on the top bench while the other takes two clumps of birch tree branches tied together with string (mostly leaves) and dips them in a basin of warm water and then they shake the branches sprinkling water all over the body of the person lying down. That is the nice bit.
Then they twirl the branches in the air round and round which sends the temperature up a few degrees and it gets unbearably hot. Then the bad bit. The leaves are used to literally beat the person all along their body from head to toe, quite vigorously for a couple of minutes. This is repeated twice on the back and once on the front (placing a hand over the delicate bits). It is a hard being the beater too as it takes a lot out of you in the heat. The whole beating up process takes about 10-15 minutes and then you go into the washing room where a
Church of the blood
A church built as a memorial to the 'Tsar martyrs' who were murdered in 1918, the original building where they were murdered was demolished and this church built on the site . Still a much loved family apparently - people inside in tears as they passed the 'actual site' of the murders of the royal family - the parents and 5 kids. bucket of ice cold water is thrown over your head. You are supposed to scream and this helps release any tension or stress from your body - I admire anybody who does NOT scream! It is absolute sheer unadulterated pain for about 5 seconds and then it is refreshing and nice!
After the torture you retire to the chill out room and drink herb tea, and engage in stimulating conversation for 20-25 minutes. The whole beating up process is repeated 3 times for each person before the final ‘washing off the leaves’ and it can take anywhere between 2 and 4 hours. The banya was too hot for Sid who said the hairs inside his nose were burning, so we quickly washed him off and put him to bed - it was 9pm at this stage, and then Nigel and I continued the real Russian banya routine till 11pm. A great feeling of true cleanliness after 2 nights of camping. We slept like babies……..
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Lenny
non-member comment
Bath time
Lenny and William had a great laugh about the Bath time photo. Lots of fun looking at your travelbolg. Lenny and Co.