Blogs from Yekaterinburg, Urals, Russia, Europe
July 23rd 2011
Hi Everyone, You might be thinking that I must be the pokiest blogger ever. Well, I wrote these articles when I was actually traveling on the Trans-Siberian Railway last month. Now I am back in Beijing and trying to send them but I am getting a lot of interference form the Chinese "50cent-cyber-police" who don't like bloggers. I have been trying to send this every night for the past week and have been blocked. Maybe they have Saturday nights off because it looks like this might fly - Yippee! If you can stick with me you might find what I observed in the Wild West of China to be interesting - if I can send it! OK, back to Yekaterinaburg. I had a strange adventure the next day, which I'll try to send right away. PS ... read more
Yekaterinburg – unexpected visit of an ice rink :)
Published: July 3rd 2011Europe » Russia » Urals » Yekaterinburg
July 3rd 2011
Kazan to Yekaterinburg – my first train ride during the day! I wanted to cross the Urals by daylight – well, turns the highest “mountain’’ in the Urals is about 1’800m above sea level :) Nevertheless the ride was beautiful! I was in a platskartny wagon as usual – this means a wagon with many open compartments, in each of them there are six sleeping spaces. So those 5 other people are usually your travel buddies. The atmosphere in the whole wagon is pretty chilled – some people sleep, some people eat, some people talk, some people read, some people stare out of the window and one person writes blog entries :) My five travel buddies: two ‘elderly’ babushkas, Darja & Nadezhda, travelling from Moscow to Petropavlovsk-Kazakhstan , one young babushka with her grandson travelling from ... read more
February 23rd 2011
Ok, so it's been quite a while since I've last posted and a lot has happened since in terms of the present here in Piter. But I want to finish this series before I start talking about the here and now.... 12.12 Phone is not working again! I received a message from a friend in Piter but was unable to reply. It comes and it goes, but I guess that's to be expected on the way to Siberia. Today has been a good day on the Trans-Sib. It began around 0300 when we got our new suite-mates...two old soldiers! When they first came in I caught a glimpse of their badges and thought, "Oh shit! We're rooming with militsia!" But thankfully they weren't Russian cops, but Russian soldiers who are usually much nicer and these were ... read more
Yekaterinburg and the Ural Mountains
Published: August 28th 2010Europe » Russia » Urals » Yekaterinburg
August 18th 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 ... read more
July 28th 2010
Yekaterinburg is so totally different to anywhere else we have been in Russia. It immediately feels like a big city full of grand European style buildings with lots of traffic driving in an organised and disciplined way. Technically we're still in Asia but it all feels very European and the people consider themselves European. All the other places have had a much more small town feel to them. From the top of the original dam you can see all the eras of the city: Istoricheskiy Skver; the site of the dam & 1723 city. A square crammed full of historical info that comes alive in the late afternoon with locals chilling out on the benches beside the river. Pre-Stalinist buildings: grand, intricate and colourful as befits the town presiding over a rich mining region. They are ... read more
Back on the Trans-Siberian - but only for 51hrs
Published: December 8th 2010Europe » Russia » Urals » Yekaterinburg
July 25th 2010
We're back on the Trans-Siberian again for a 3 day trip from Irkutsk to Ekaterinburg. This particular train, the No9, is much posher and more modern than the previous trains. There are digital displays at the ends of the carriage telling you the temperature, Moscow Time, if the toilet is free and which station is coming up. We've never had anything that sophisticated before but there's still the trusty samovar in the corner for making cups of tea & coffee. Initially the landscape feels far more inhabited and industrial. There are even giant fields of potatoes – the first signs of commercial agriculture we have seen. The forests are still around but they occur in patches between the more frequent villages and the occasional town complete with tower blocks. The whole area is a hot spot ... read more
July 18th 2010
Six hours on a train whose rock-solid seats were shaped roughly halfway between an L and a ... read more
June 3rd 2010
I spent three whole days in Yekaterinburg at the end of February, 2009. I remember how very sad I was waiting for the night train. Russia is a very large country, and traveling by train could take whole days and days, but the trip to Yekaterinburg took only seven hours or so, you know, it is very close to my homeland. Lately, I began to dislike the time before train. By now, 100% of my travels were fulfilled alone, except some cases when I spent a little time with people, for example, I met with a girl in Sochi. But usually I walk and travel alone. So, I listened to music while waiting for the train; it came some 30 minutes late. One more thing - there were seats, and it is rather uncomfortable to sleep ... read more
June 2nd 2010
Pause assez courte dans cette ville qui a eu du mal a me convaincre, je dois bien l'admettre. Heureusement notre CS est un original batteur/ingenieur semi-lituanien possedant une passion pour fumer la pipe et porter des chapeaux, ce qui rend le sejour tout de suite plus sympathique :o) Petit apparte historique tout de meme elle est nomme d'apres Catherine II de Russie, personnage haut en couleur ayant reigne trente ans (1762-1796). Cette femme peu commune avait de nobles ambitions pour son pays (qu'elle a agrandi d'un demi-million de kilometres carres par diverses conquetes) ; elle a importe la culture des Lumieres et l'usage du francais a la cour de Russie, en plus de maintenir les paysans dans une misere noire, fouetter un peu les polonais, enfiler les amants et endosser un role de mediateur europeen de ... read more
