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Published: October 29th 2008
So having spent the past 4 nights on the train....we weren't exactly smelling of roses! We were really really looking forward to a hot shower.....so when we were told there would be no shower where we were staying....our jaws droppped & we all looked at each other thinking 'what the ....' Little did we realise that we were getting SOO much more than an electric shower.........
We had signed up to stay with a Russian family in a traditional log cabin in the beautiful village of Listvyanka! Being traditional meant there was no running water. So our toilet was in a little hut at the end of the garden....lovely when you have to pee at 4am......up outta bed.....jacket & shoes on...slipping like an idiot over the icy pathy way leading to the hut!!! Ha....it was comical!
As for the shower part....we used a traditional russian "banya".......which is like a sauna with a big tank of hot water. There were large tin basins (something like you would see on Little House on the Prairie or the Waltons! :D And you mixed the VERY hot water with a scoops of cold from a big barrell in the corner of the banya.
Russian Orthodox Church
Really lovely & cosy inside....loads of paintings & flowers & candles.It was without doubt the nicest shower I have had yet! We were like 2 kids splashing the water over ourselves!
The Mammy of the household was an amazing cook! When we arrived to the house she had lovely sponge cake hot from the oven. The food was the best we had so far. Pancakes straight from the pan for breakfast! Yum!!
We did the whole tour of Listvyanka, went to a Russian Othodox church. Learnt all about the deepest & oldest Lake in the World....Lake Baikal (which we could see from our log cabin).
On the 2nd day we went for a trek in the mountains. It was very steep and in parts the track was at most a foot wide with a sheer drop to to rocks below - I'm not scared f heights, but even I was geting dizzy. Our guide called Sasha was a nice and very chilled out man - he used to be a teacher, and after one season guiding mountain treks part time, gave up teaching. He clearly belongs in the forest! We trekked for about 2 hours over the mountain, had lunch on a pebble beach, Sasha built us
Fishies
In the aquarium in the Lake Baikal Museum a fire in seconds, and then 2 hours back. Right as we set off, it started snowing - so we all got to see snow in Siberia. I'm not sure Sasha understood why we were so happy about it though! After the long trek, the Banya was really what the doctor ordered!
All in all....our visit to this beautiful village changed our whole experience of Russia! After one more night in Irkustk City our next stop was Mongolia! Soooo excited!
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