A Trans-Siberian Christmas Part II

If you're just joining us, this is the second installment of A Trans-Siberian Christmas. The first can be  found here. Now, where were we? Ah, yes. Irkustk.

When we first arrived in Irkustk we drove straight out to Listvyanka where we spent two nights.

Листвя́нка

pronounced LISTVYANKA

Population approx. 1,834

70 km from Irkustk

The view across the valley from our hotel room. The lake is to the right.

Our hotel in Listvyanka was located above the valley. A beautiful big log cabin that smelled of wood and was extremely warm inside. They also had a Russian "banya" where we spent a couple hours sweating in the sauna and then plunging ourselves into a pool full of cold water fresh from the lake. We also had a go at whipping ourselves with the traditional birch leaves... um, I have fairly sensitive skin and so did not love this part. In fact, I don't really love sauna/steam rooms in general... but Derrald does. So when I was done, I got to sit and relax in on one of the benches around the plunge pool and watch Derrald continuing on with the ritual. HOT!! COLD!! HOT!! WHACK!!! COLD!! HOT!! WHACK!! COLD!! And so on and so forth.

Icicles hanging from our hotel window.

Listvyanka was more "village-y" than the other cities we visited. It was quiet and quaint. If New Zealand was the holiday of befriending cats, Russia was the holiday for dogs. We kept seeing them everywhere and made particular friends with these ones when they followed us through the town:

On the shores of Listvyanka-Lake Baikal with my new friend

Thankfully, I did NOT let Derrald convince me to go skinny dipping in these ice cold waters... beautiful as they are

There were a few scattered "modern" buildings (read: concrete) that consisted of multiple stories, otherwise, the buildings were mostly wooden and looked like these:

A typical building to be found in Listvyanka

Shutters Shutters Shutters

I think some of my favorite views of Lake Baikal were from the train. The train ride journeys around the lake for several good hours. It's a highlight for passengers.

This picture was taken from the shore of Listvyanka. I loved the low hanging fog.

We left Listvyanka in a minivan jammed full of Russians. One of those vans where you pull down the seat to fill in the aisle, so you are literally shoulder to shoulder from one side of the vehicle to the other. We sat in the very back row, which is fine because we were going to the last stop anyways. We couldn't help giggling to ourselves when the van stopped en route to pick up a young mother and her two children and one of the babushka started complaining that they were taking too long to get in! The whole van turned on the grumpy old woman and thus ensued an exchange of words that I only wish I could have understood fully. Statements like "Baaaaah-bushka, calm yourself" (from the driver) and "I'm not even a babushka yet!" (from the babushka). We spent an hour and a half with those people.

We return to the train for the second leg of our journey. Shorter than the first, it would take us 50 hours to get to Ekaterinburg.

This time our roommates were of the slightly more boisterous variety (read: DRUNK RUSSIANS). We boarded the train at 10:30pm and they had already consumed two bottles of vodka and a bottle of cognac between them. 

Left to Right: Derrald aka "Captain America", Nikolai, Slava, Andre (the second)

This made for some very boisterous conversations, including a debate over politics (how's your Russian holding up now D-spot?), Slava continually asking us if we were spies and refusing to believe we lived in HK because our skin was not tanned enough. He actually dropped his pants about two inches from my face to show us his white legs and prove to us we were as white as he was. Then it was Andre's turn to convince us that beer would make us feminine and that we should never ever ever drink beer. Vodka is fine. Cognac is fine. Wine is fine. Spirits are great. Just don't drink beer. It had been made clear from the moment we entered the room that we didn't drink any kind of alcohol, yes, that includes vodka. And we patiently refused offer after offer of the sauce and only failed to keep them out of our cups when Slava decided to poor half a bottle of apple juice on top of our already brewed chamomile tea. Um, yuck. We drank it anyways. Dancing around etiquette and the need not to offend our spirited friends, it was becoming too much. 

The table was covered with half eaten bread and smoked fish. The whole room smelled so smokey, from the fish, and, because Slava would light up his cigarettes IN the room before heading down to the smokers area. You are not allowed to smoke in your rooms but the train has designated smoking spots at the end of carriages for smokers. We knew if we waited long enough they would eventually drink themselves into a stupor and hopefully sleep... so, having done my duty and sitting mutely by on the bottom bunk with Derrald  for quite long enough, I scurried away to my top bunk and tried not to think about how hot it felt in that room and how the smokey smell was giving me a headache. Derrald (or "Stas", a version of "Stice" that he had called himself during his mission and used again on this trip to make his name easier for people to understand) decided to try the "pretending I'm already asleep" approach in order to let the conversation die out... he'd roll over on his bottom bunk and face the wall but Slava would call from his bunk on the other side of the table "Stas!! Wake up! You can sleep when we're gone tomorrow!" Eventually, this rotund, middle-aged Russian man played himself to sleep on his pan flute. NO JOKE. It is possibly one of the most bizarre experiences of my life. Seeing this full grown man blowing randomly into a pan flute, making the most awful, shrill recorder sounds that to him sounded like angels singing and eventually playing himself to sleep. He slept. I did not. He snored. And snored. Much louder than the pan flute. I don't know which was worse. Until Andre (the second) joined in on the snoring. A musical cacophony of snores in harmony. If the windows could open I may have thrown myself out. Instead, I peered wide-eyed over my bunk down into the wide-eyed expression of my husband and erupted into giggles. 

Slava continued to play the pan flute the next morning and happily gave a demonstration for my camera.

I have not mentioned Nikolai in all of this. He wasn't actually staying in our cabin. Derrald picked him up after a run to the bathroom at 4am, when he followed Derrald back to the room and proceeded to rouse Slava for another round of drinking. Un. Be. Lievable. Oh, and did I mention that Derrald introduced me as "Galia" to these people? Bah! The word "galina" in Italian means "chicken" and it is just much too similar for my liking. I got this name after spending three days with Andre (the first) and he sat down so pleased with himself because he had found a "russian equivalent" for Hayley. He proudly told me I would be a "Galia". Then he looked at Derrald and sadly shook his head. The name Derrald had defeated him. There is no Russian equivalent. So Derrald brought back "Stas" and started calling me "Galia". I insisted he re-introduce me with my actual name. Chicken, I am not.

Luckily, these guys were only with us for one night, the next night we had the cabin all to ourselves. A little "recovery" time.

On the platform in Krasnoyarsk

Crossing the tracks

Екатеринбу́рг

pronounced EKATERINBURG

(sometimes spelt Yekaterinburg)

Population approx. 1, 350, 000

1,778 km from Moscow

Our hotel in Ekaterinburg was only a couple miles from the train station so we decided to walk it. It felt good to be out and active after spending several days supine. We did lots of walking in every one of our stops. I think this helped combat the potato/bread/dumpling weight :)

Walking across the bridge to our hotel

 This is where we spent our New Year. Enjoying the ice-playgrounds in Lenin Square. We also watched the address by President Medvedev who wished us "interesting work" for the 2012. Indeed!

Another ice-carnival, this one at night on New Year's Eve

 Enjoying the lights

We didn't find much open the next day seeing as it was a public holiday but the streets were still filled with people out enjoying the new day... except for this one next to the river.

People enjoying the main street

Who doesn't love a little European graffiti?

Only in Russia

Getting into the feeling

This is the kind of building you expect to be associated with European Russia.

It was in Ekaterinburg that the Romanovs were held captive and murdered. There still remains the Ipatiev mansion where they were held hostage (but the basement, where they were murdered, was destroyed in the 1970's by Boris Yeltsin) and a small wooden chapel dedicated to the Tsar's sister (who was thrown down a well to die). The Church is dedicated to the memory of the Royal Family. We were able to go inside and have a look around. There are pictures of the family and shrines dedicated to each member. 

Church of the Blood

On the river

Literally, on the river

Checking out some discarded New Year's fireworks on the ice of the river

Look's like we are going to need a third installment! Still to come, Moscow, my favorite pictures from the train, fun street graffiti and Christmas trees...