Old and new

The Frozen Lake

---

April 16th 2010
Irkutsk felt much more Russian than the bigger cities. It was -5 when I arrived so at last my winter coat came into play. As on the train, very few people spoke english so finding my hostel was a bit of a mission. After wandering several back alleys and madly gesturing at locals I found the totally unmarked door in an un-named square behind a camera shop. As it turned out, both the hostel and the ... read more

Europe » Russia » Siberia » Irkutsk

---

Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy, was able to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb surrounding principalities. In the early 17th century, a new Romanov Dynas... ... read more