Irkutsk and Lake Baikal – More walkie less talkie!!

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On the platform at Irkutsk we were met by Helen, our tour guide for the next two days. Although all of our group were in the same carriage, number 9, Helen seemed to think she had one more guest who had been travelling in carriage number 7. We all stood around whilst she went to investigate. Several minutes later she reemerged with a new addition to our party, Tobias from Germany. A twenty-something who had been travelling as a solo passenger starting his trip in Moscow. Until now, for reasons best known to ‘Go Russia’, he had been escorted around Moscow and Yekaterinburg as part of a German group (quite understandable). However, now he is alone so I guess the other Germans had taken a different route. Tobias spoke English fluently so immediately was welcomed with open arms in to our group.

Irkutsk is the capital of Eastern Siberia. Siberia covers a massive area of 63 million square kilometres. Irkutsk has a population of about 850,000 and as such the area of the Irkutsk district is the size of Turkey. This equates to an average of 3 persons per square kilometre.

We were driven to Listvyanka on the shore of Lake Baikal, a one hour drive away. The picturesque colours of the autumnal forests have followed us across the vast expanse of Siberia and once out of the city, the road was pretty straight although followed the hilly contour of the land as it sloped down to the Lake.

Lake Baikal was created by a rift valley where the earth’s crust is slowly pulling apart. This is the largest freshwater lake (by volume) in the world. Its length is 395 miles with a 1,300 mile shoreline. The widest point of the lake is 49 miles but at Listvyanka the width is only just over 4 miles so the mountain range rising on the opposite shore was easily visible. Lake Baikal is 1,642m (5,387ft) or over a mile at its deepest point but the average depth is 744m (2,422ft) This lake accounts for 22% of the earths fresh water.

We followed the lake’s shoreline into Listvyanka before turning off up a narrow country lane. Our accommodation for this evening was in a Siberian B & B run by Nickolaya and his wife. We were told by Helen that Nickolaya doesn’t speak English but has a great sense of humour and is always laughing or joking. We were not disappointed. He was very upbeat and despite him knowing his guests probably don’t speak Russian, he continued to tell us jokes in his national tongue!! How do we know they were jokes?? The truth of the matter is that we didn’t!! But his laughter and clownlike antics were infectious and he had soon brought a smile to everyone’s face. There was a point when I became very suspicious as this behaviour seemed to contravene all Russian doctrines (orthodox or otherwise!) but when I asked for a photo, he obliged without hesitation but his ‘pose’ reverted back to the ‘Russian way’!!

The rest of the day was our own free time. Something up until now we had not been used to!

Roisin and I took a stroll down the lane to the shore of the lake. There was not a whole heap of stuff to do but having done so much already we were just happy to chill, relax and watch the rest of the world pass by!! There is an aquarium and a chair lift to the top of the nearby mountain but these were over 4km away. A couple of tacky souvenir shops were scattered along a small promenade where you could also take a one-hour boat ride to a nearby island situated in the middle of the lake. The cost of the trip was 500 roubles (£6.50) However, there is no scheduled times but the skipper was not prepared to depart with less than eight persons otherwise the trip would cost 5000 roubles (about £65). A Siberian zoo was situated on the opposite side to the waterfront but being built on a slope I’m not sure if the owners realised that the exhibits could be seen from the roadside and looking at the size of the zoo, there didn’t seem to be many residents!!

After having tea at a nearby grill restaurant we stopped at a mini market to buy supplies for the next leg of our journey tomorrow. The mini market had all the supplies behind the counter in glass cabinets or on the shelves at the back of the store so it was a case of pointing in the general direction of what you required, gesturing up, down, left or right with your finger then using the words ‘Nyet’ or ‘Da’ as appropriate!!

The following morning we were given a breakfast consisting of the thickest omelette we have ever experienced. The hens that Nickolaya kept must have worked overtime to accommodate such a feast! This mega-omelette was complimented with the usual array of bread cheese and meat. At 10am we loaded the mini bus with our luggage and set off for a full day excursion that saw us visit an open-air museum and a city tour of Irkutsk.

Taltsy is a wooden open-air museum dedicated to the Cossacks and depicts their way of life. The museum is designed to replicate a Cossack settlement. Helen, our guide explained how the Russian’s took Siberia and persuaded the Cossack nation to fight alongside them by offering them a subsidy of food, money, and military supplies from the tsar in return for acting as border defense.

These wooden buildings were expertly constructed. A modest cabin would take at least 100 trees. The logs were knitted together with pin point precision and all joints were butted to the millimetre. The first thing I noticed about the wooden buildings were the doors. The height of the doors was no more than 4’ 6”. Now either tales of the Cossacks have been exaggerated and this was a nation of dwarfs or whilst they were experts at constructing buildings, they were rubbish at estimating door heights!!

We followed Helen in to each building in turn where she stood and explained its purpose and related stories to us. In one of the homesteads, a corner of the main area was dedicated to the grandmother, who may not have been long for this earth or may had already passed. Incidentally, the babushka doll, the famous Russian doll within a doll within a doll was originally created when the grandmother (babushka mean Grandmother in Russian) was coming to the end of her life and the doll would be created in her likeness. The smaller dolls within the larger doll would represent the phases of her life right back to infancy.

Samovars were used by Cossacks and I spotted a fine example in one of the buildings. Unlike the glorified water heaters we have been used to on the trains (also referred to as samovars) this was a fine example of craftmanship. A traditional samovar is a large metal hot water urn usually with an intricate shape and design. This particular one seemed to be gold gilded. Inside the samovar is a tube where hot coals are stored. This provides the means to heat the water within to a required temperature.

At this point, Helen had been constantly talking about the life and times of one of the settlements but we had appeared to have made little progress in moving around the museum. ‘Too much talkie, not enoughwalkie’, Roisin whispered. This made me laugh out loud which incurred the wrath of Helen. Like a strict school mistress who would only need to stare at a disruptive child to retain order, Helen’s glare, albeit only glancing, had the desired effect on me!!

Just before lunch, we were taken to our first church of the day!! An unusual feature were the rifle holes either side of the main entrance. One of the rifles was in place peeping through this small aperture. I noticed two ladybirds exploring the end of the barrel. You could say they were riding shotgun!!

Two Cossacks were waiting for us inside as Helen spent the next fifteen minutes explaining all the exhibits. Finally, we were all instructed to stand in a group at one side of the room whilst both Cossacks, one in a blue full-length tunic with oversized Cossack fur hat, and the other all in black, sporting a long goatee beard and standing at least 6’ 4” who wouldn’t look out of place on a Viking long ship, began to sing a couple of traditional Cossack songs. At the end of their performance we all clapped politely, they took a customary bow then strolled over to their lectern where an array of CDs lay. Roisin and I were already half way out of the chapel before the shorter of the Cossacks had time to pitch their goods for sale. This was the last stop before lunch. All meals have been of an exceptional standard so far and this one didn’t disappoint. We ate in the restaurant within the Taltsy museum. Our first course consisted of borscht, a spicy beetroot based soup with ham and diced vegetables followed by roast chicken breast and potatoes. Our desert consisted of a crepe with sour cream and syrup. Suitably fed and watered we headed back to the bus for the next part of our excursion, the Irkutsk city tour.

On entering the city, Roisin noticed that many of the cars were right-hand drive yet Russia drive on the right. In the 90s when commercial relations with Japan improved, many cheap second-hand cars were imported from Japan to Russia via the short strait that separates Japan to Vladivostok. As Japan drive on the left, all vehicles had right hand steering wheels and, as long as the vehicle was registered, there was no requirement to convert the steering to the Russian standard.

The first half hour of the city tour wasn’t so much the highlights of Irkutsk as the highlight of Helen’s life; where she grew up, where she lives now, where she went to school, where her kids go to school and where her father works!!

Finally, the bus pulled up outside the Church of the Saviour and a walking tour began. Our first stop was Victory square which commemorates those who fell during the second world war (known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War). We passed the memorial to the unknown soldier with the vivid colourful floral arrangement that borders the flame which constantly rises from the communist symbol of a six-pointed star. We then stopped in front of a statue of one of Russia’s most decorated war heroes – General Belbororov. With 5 orders of Lenin and eighteen other Soviet awards, this guy could turn his hand to anything, get results and succeed. If he was around today he’d win the BBC Sports personality of the year, the Eurovision Song Contest, be a Master Chef finalist, win Strictly Come Dancing and play scrum half for Wigan!!

The imperialist double headed eagle that is seen on many statues and flags throughout Russia represent civil power and religious power. As Russia was (and remains) a non-Catholic state, the head of the church was the Tsar and not the pope hence religion being incorporated into their national emblem.

Our next stop was the Church of Epiphany. Built in 1693 the church became a bakery from 1924 when Lenin decided to ban religion and close all the churches. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the ban was lifted and all churches reopened their doors. Unfortunately, the original frescos that adorned the walls and ceiling of the Church of the Epiphany were badly faded so they painted fresh ones. However, the church of the Saviour still has its original frescos. This is due to this church not being reused. The doors remained firmly closed after 1924 so the frescos were not subject to the elements.

Our city tour nearly at an end, we gathered around a statue of Alexander III. He was the father of Nicholas II, last Tsar of Russia, as well as cousin to the Queens grandfather, George V. After the Russian Revolution of 1917 the people of Irkutsk did not want to be seen as Imperial sympathisers so the statue was taken down and stored in a remote yard. When the Local Authority came to restore it after the collapse of Soviet Union they couldn’t find it. Apparently, it had been melted down to use in the Lenin Statue that replaced it. Now there’s irony!!

Tour over, we were driven to the Hotel Angarawhere an arrangement had been made with the hotel to leave our luggage and use the hotel lobby as a base before being picked up at 9pm. We now had a few hours to wander, get supplies and tea then we were taken in the mini bus to the train station.

Whilst waiting for our ride, I observed the hotel Head of Security watching what sounded like the funniest Russian sitcom ever. After every delivered line, guffaws of laugher followed. It may have been any of the following long running Russian classic comedies: Mrs Browns Comrades, Last of the Summer Vodka, The Two Boris’s (and it’s ‘do svidanya’ from him) or even Bless this Dacha!! His expression (or lack of it) was priceless. He was completely deadpan (see photo!) Whilst all of his facial muscles must have been in hibernation, I’m sure he was chuckling inwardly!!

So now it was time to say goodbyes. This is where our group split. Adeline, the three Irish ladies; Val, Rosie and Ann, our Romanian friends from New York, USA; Alex and Elena were off to Vladivostok and the rest of us: Les and Mary; Godfrey and Doris, our South African contingent; Anna-Mie, Hetta and Carol and ourselves were away in the direction of Beijing via Mongolia. The Vladivostok mob have another long leg of four days before they reach their final destination while we have only two nights aboard a local train from Irkutsk to Ulaan Baatar (He! He! – we’re not gloating!), the capital city of Mongolia. We have two border controls to experience. This should be interesting…

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