Blogs from Siberia, Russia, Europe - page 9

Irkutsk is one of Russia's more attractive cities and felt more European than I had expected. It was pleasant just to walk around and appreciate the architecture and green spaces in the sunshine. They also have a fountain similar to the one in Piccadilly Gardens, that spurts out of the ground at intervals and with varying intensity, and with the same consequence as the one in Manchester: lots of children running through it and getting drenched. Irkutsk also has a famous example of the wooden house, the House of Europe, which is particularly elegant. Like most Russian cities it also has a promenade along the river (complete with a fairground), but Irkutsk's is again especially pleasant with lots of interesting churches, theatres and so on. I passed a very nice day just wandering around.... read more

Thankfully the weather today was absolutely beautiful and there were stunning views over Lake Baikal. I was surprised to see snow-covered mountains on the other side! I hired a bike to explore. Overall it was a good way to see the shores of the lake, although there is no circular path to follow around Lake Baikal (yet - they apparently are gradually developing a single trail), so when you try to follow it around in either direction you eventually end up either at a dead end or on a very fast road that leads away from the lake, so I couldn't have a really long bike ride (probably for the best - it is some time since I last rode a bike). The best part of the day was finding a near-deserted cove on the shore ... read more

Today I visited the preserved home of Prince Sergei Volkonsky, one of the Decemberist exiles. These were men and their families who were sent to Siberia as punishment for their involvement in the Decemberist plot to overthrow the Tsar in the late 1800s. The home very much focused on the experience of Volkonsky's wife Maria, who followed him into exile along with their children, and in fact petitioned the Russian royal family tirelessly to be allowed to live there privately with her husband and family. Maria was used to being a society lady in Moscow, but was banned from attending any society events elsewhere (even in Siberia), so consequently held many parties at her own home. As she was an accomplished and wealthy woman, the result was that her home became one of the centres of ... read more

I was taking a 7pm train from Novosibirsk, so most of today was spent packing and preparing. I did squeeze in a visit to the art gallery, which was preparing for "Night Museum", an annual national event where many museums open at night and have extra events. Unfortunately I will miss it (and the Eurovision Song Contest, which no one in Russia seems very bothered about) as I will be on the train. The art gallery is not bad, but not one of the best Russia has to offer, and is dominated by a collection of strange, psychedelic paintings - lots of purple and orange - of landscapes, especially the desert. I have forgotten the name of the artist, as I was not that bowled over. The weather was absolutely atrocious - continuous heavy rain all ... read more

Today was my last day of studying at the language school, and we were given a test, which I hadn't been looking forward to but was actually quite good for seeing progression. Then we had a small presentation with a certificate, present and recommendations for how to improve in future, and a short round of applause, which was nice. In celebration one of the fellow students, who is Spanish, offered to cook us paella. Eating it made me realise how lucky I am at home to have access to so many different cuisines. I feel like I have exhausted Russian food and in Russia there is not a lot else available. There's pizza and pasta (though it tends to be a Russian take on it), sushi (there are many sushi restaurants in Russia and it is ... read more