Lenin everywhere (Omsk, Russia)

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(Day 43 on the road)Omsk itself was nothing special. What made it for me was meeting a Russian train conductor that had lived for a few years in Germany, and spoke very good Russian. After we had established that I used to work for the German railway, this practically making us colleagues, we exchanged stories about the different railways and the like. Arriving in Omsk around midday, he took me to his office, showed me around the station a bit, helped me to buy my onward ticket to Novosibirsk that same evening, and I met his wife and his little son. It was a pleasant experience.

Omsk however was pretty dull, at least the parts that I have seen. They really had a lot of references to Lenin in the city. Actually, every place that I have been to in Russia so far has had either statues or streets named after him (or both), and sure enough the main street in Omsk was also called ulitsa Lenina.

Maybe a longer visit would have shown me some nicer areas, but with my little time in the city it was just enough to see the center with the hideous musical theater in the shape of a ski-jump, have some nice launch by the river, and have a quick peek at the local art museum. The museum was dull - but just like in Yekaterinburg, I was the only visitor, with 7 members of staff (no kidding, I counted them!) hanging around. I wonder what they do all day?

Next stop: Novosibirsk (Russia).



To view my photos, have a look at pictures.beiske.com. And to read the full account of my journey, have a look at the complete book about my trip at Amazon (and most other online book shops).

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