Blogs from Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, Russia, Europe

When we flew away from Krasnoyarsk after our last bicycle tour, something felt unfinished. We had made a few friends and become comfortable with the neighborhood. We knew where to go for a nice run, a beautiful hike, the cities best espresso machiatto, and the best bowl of noodles we have ever had in Russia....maybe anywhere. Fate doubled down on our departure anxiety with a two hour delay on the tarmac. We waited in a long queue with the seatbelt light on trying to think about anything besides urinating. Finally, one of us rushed the bathroom and used the "I'm a girl in a chivalrous country" ploy, while the other nearly overflowed an empty bike bottle under an in-flight blanket. One would think that a couple of weeks in a smoggy, Siberian city would leave ... read more

We arrived in Krasnoyarsk about 10am on Friday. We were met and immediately taken off for a city tour. Unfortunately the weather had turned and it was misty, grey and threatening rain. We drove into the city centre and the main square, where predictably there was a theatre .There were some intersting "dancing" fountains which were amusing a lone small child in the centre of the square. To the left we were told to look at the clock tower. This was described as Krasnoyarsk's Big Ben. On the side of the square was another fountain which would hve been very pretty, but it was undegoing repair and restoration. This depicted the local rivers as maidens and the god of the river in the front accepting his guardianship. At the bottom was also a statue to Anton ... read more

The rider thought about to have a lol with the music on. And didn't want to think about to hold the wheel even we were driving with 110km speed :)) Ooh never mind that we gonna fly to the valley :))) http://youtu.be/FfFlwAgoAIw... read more

I forgot to add hostel information for Krasnoyarsk on my last blog, so here it is: I stayed at: Sib Tour Guide Hostel, Krasnoyarsk, Mira street, building 85, apartment 72 г. Красноярск, проспект Мира, д. 85 кв. 72 http://sibtourguide.com/accommodation/hostel/ anatoliy14@yahoo.com Anatoliy and co. are very helpful and a wealth of information on local stuff to do and the Stolby park. The Hostel is tricky to find however. When you're on Mira Street, facing the large white building at number 85, take the little alley around the back of the building where there are several doors to apartments. They're at apartment 72 but there was no sign to say it's hostel there. Make sure you contact them in advance, as the hostel is just a flat and there's not usually anyone in! I went to: Stolby Nature ... read more

The first task of the day is to cross the border back into Russia. We're braced for the usual hours of hanging round when suddenly its all over and we're through. 30mins to leave Kazakhstan, 90mins to get into Russia - its the smoothest & quickest crossing we've had As soon as we enter Russia the landscape is totally different. The Western Siberian Plain is still flat, like the Kazakh steppe, but there's no grassland, its all crops - giant fields of sunflowers, wheat, potatoes. The European style houses have gone and we're back to gingerbread cottages. The roadside cemeteries have gone and we now have onion domed chapels. We head north, through the fields, to Barnaul where we cross the River Ob whose banks are full of locals sunning themselves. Its the world's 7th longest ... read more