Russia
Ostrov Sibirskiy

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    • Day 24

      Rückfahrt nach Irkutsk

      September 24, 2019 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

      Außer Rückfahrt, Ankunft im Hostel, Wäsche waschen und Abendessen gibt es für diesen Tag nicht viel zu erzählen...

      Auf der Fahrt haben wir einen kurzen Stopp gemacht und dort haben wir ein buntes und künstlich schmeckendes Eis gegessen... Ein Unicornetto ☺️

      Zum Abendessen gab es mal wieder leckeres russische Gerichte 😊 (in einem Sovjetstyle Restaurant. Neu war für uns die Suppe Rassolnik. Sehr lecker war auch der Tee. Leider haben wir mal wieder vergessen Bilder vom Essen zu machen... 🙄)
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    • Day 27

      Yekaterinburg plus

      September 12, 2019 in Russia ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

      This post comes from train number 100, Yekaterinburg to Irkutsk, travel time 53 hours, local time at destination three hours ahead of departure.

      We hopped on this train in Yekaterinburg, after a couple of days looking around. Yekaterinburg is a bit dour and dusty; the cars and in particular the 1960’s (or prior) buses, trolley buses and trams haven’t seen any soap and water for many a year.

      It is, however attractive around Istorichesky Skyver, the parkland around the expansive City Pond, and we enjoyed walking around, following a red line painted on the pavement joining the attractions.

      The handsome Church Upon the Blood marks the spot where the last of the Russian Royal Family - the Romanovs - were rather cruelly done in by the Bolsheviks, and the city was, of course, the birthplace of Boris Yeltsin.

      We rode up 52 floors to the viewing platform of the Vysotsky Tower, and enjoyed the views to all ends of the city from there, but in truth it was really just a big city without a lot to see.

      We checked out of the pleasant Marins Park Hotel, with their free laundry service, and wandered over to the station to catch our next train. Due to some flaw in the system the Brickwoods actually checked out with still-damp laundry, which they proceeded to hang all around their compartment Chinese laundry style.

      It was our third overnight train, so we were familiar with having people speak in Russian to us and send us on our way without knowing what on earth they were talking about or asking us to do.

      We had smuggled some wine and beer on board, but naturally this was gone pretty quick smart, so from then we had cause to use the dining car, and that was quite interesting.

      Not interesting for the food, perhaps, which would best be described as nourishing and rather bland (the sort you should have when sharing two toilets between 36 people, in fact) but eating out is all about the experience, after all.

      We walked in for lunch, and a waitress with a set of metal front teeth to rival Jaws from the James Bond films plonked down a couple of wrinkled old menus and stood with her pen poised.

      There was English on the menu, but it didn’t help really, as almost everything we pointed to she shook her head and said “Nyet”. For dinner we ordered three pork somethings and one chicken, and got two of each.

      We ordered a bottle of wine, which arrived sans glasses, and every time we ventured up to tell someone they shooed us away. Then when you picked up your glass to have a drink the carriage would get up such a shimmy shake that you nearly lost all of it anyway.

      At dinner time the dining car was a bit rowdy. It’s a requirement that you eat, so two funny young guys opposite were having a meal of potato crisps, washed down with endless beers to which they were adding some kind of mystery hooch. They were actually very friendly, if completely pissed, and we had a long and unintelligible conversation with them. They took one look at Don then used (probably) their only English word - Santa!

      In fact, a few other people used the expression Santa when we left the train. Despite being completely innocuous and keeping entirely to ourselves (as indeed did most of our fellow passengers) we (or at least Don) had apparently made an impression. We were even given gifts by some of them.

      At the next table were two older guys, already red eyed and staggering, settling down to lose a few more days with a freshly opened bottle of vodka.

      Kim and Sharon asked to have their photo taken with the provodnista, who had been exceptionally friendly the whole way and insisted on putting her whole uniform on for the photo.

      The scenery was amazing, particularly if you are partial to trees. Trees when you have lunch, trees when it gets dark, trees when you wake up. Trees when you wake up the following day. Winter comes early and hard so the leaves were already turning quite beautiful shades of yellow with the odd patch of red.

      We slept pretty well, and our accommodation was quite adequate, but we are still looking forward to our next stop in Irkutsk, where we will no doubt be swaying for a day or so until we regain our land legs.
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    • Day 31

      Irkutsk and Olkhon Island

      September 16, 2019 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

      We left the warmth of our cocoon-like train 100 and emerged into a cold, rainy Irkutsk night. Temporarily discombobulated, we ended up paying about ten times the going rate for a taxi to the hotel. The driver then stayed straight faced enough to ask for a tip as well!

      The following day we explored Irkutsk, which has been called the “Paris of the East”. That’s a bit harsh on the original Paris, to be honest, but the riverside is very nice, with parks, churches and memorials.

      We spent some time looking around the Eternal Flame, a World War 2 memorial. School children stand guard over the flame (hopefully not in winter, but who knows?), diligently goose stepping their way to and from their posts with eager parents and teachers looking on.

      We walked through the old part of town, full of timber houses in various states of painting and repair, and made our way down to the city centre, with numerous Paris-esque buildings and a smattering of other items of interest.

      Then our walk took us back to the waterfront, where we took a snapshot of the statue of Tsar Alexander III, the man responsible for starting the whole Trans Siberian Railway thing in the first place.

      The following day, after spending 28 days either in the middle of a city or on a train or plane, we took a tour to Olkhon Island, largest in Lake Baikal and about 5 hours drive north.

      What a change. The drive, through yet more of Russia’s endless supply of trees, was good in itself, our guide friendly and informative.

      Apparently the usual lunch stop cafe was closed, so we drove on to the next one. When it came into view it turned out to be - an Irish Pub. Mind you it was Irish in beer and decoration only, with nary a beef and Guinness pie in sight. We had dumplings for lunch.

      Khuzhir is the largest settlement on the island, about two thousand people and a slightly lesser number of dogs, with wide, dusty potholed streets on which there are apparently few restrictions on which side to drive.

      The scenery was second to none. We visited Shamanka Rock, late on a bitterly cold afternoon, taking in the vibe of this sacred site in a howling gale and surrounded by fifty other jabbering, selfie-taking tourists.

      The following day we drove to the northern tip of the island in a UAZ minivan, a sturdy, grey vehicle like a high stumpy bread van originally developed for the Soviet Army. It needed to be sturdy, too, as the roads which criss crossed the open hills weren’t the best. It seemed that whenever a track got a bit rough the enterprising drivers would just forge a new one next to it, meaning there were often four or more alternative tracks, all joining up again in fifty metres or so. The driver belted along, bouncing his load of tourists all about the cabin, and decided at the very last second which of the alternative tracks to take.

      At the northern tip of the island we joined a host of other little grey vans and took in the highlights of the area - spectacular cliff views and the foulest, smelliest toilets in Russia - while our driver cooked delicious omul (it’s a local fish) soup for lunch.

      We also enjoyed our rustic accommodation, a yard full of small cabins and a communal dining hall in which meals were taken. Many mysteries remained but we did work out a few things about the food - “cutlet” actually means “rissole”, and all the varieties of cold meat taste exactly the same.

      By the following evening we were back in Irkutsk, still savouring our recent island experience and packing for the train to Mongolia.
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    • Day 16

      Irkutsk 1. Tag - Baikalsee

      September 1, 2018 in Russia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

      Heute fahren wir mit einer Marschrutka (Kleinbus, fährt los wenn er voll besetzt ist) zum Baikalsee. Er ist der tiefste See der Erde, sein Wasservolumen ist knapp 500 mal so groß wie das des Bodensees.
      Mit dem Sessellift fahren wir zu einem Aussichtspunkt mit alter schamanischer Tradition. Ansonsten spazieren wir am See entlang und gehen schön essen - zum Baden ist uns das Wasser doch zu kalt.
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    • Day 18

      Irkutsk - Ein erster Eindruck

      January 13, 2020 in Russia ⋅ ☀️ -15 °C

      Heute ging es mit dem Minibus von Listwjanka nach Irkutsk. Für 70 km haben wir pro Person ca. 2,70€ bezahlt.

      Unser Hostel hier in Irkutsk ist klasse. Es ist super ausgestattet, blitzsauber und das Personal ist sehr freundlich.

      Nachmittags haben wir einen ersten kleinen Spaziergang durch Irkutsk gemacht. Wir waren in der Markthalle in der es alles von Gemüse, Fleisch, Fisch bis Käse gab. Anschließend sind wir an den alten Holzhäusern vorbei geschlendert. Viele wurden/werden renoviert. Ein paar sahen jedoch auch sehr verfallen aus. Insgesamt ist Irkutsk eine sehr lebendige Stadt mit vielen schönen Ecken. Besonders am Flussufer des Angara herrscht eine tolle Atmosphäre. Aufgrund des großen Temperaturunterschiedes zwischen Wasser und Luft bildete sich nach Sonnenuntergang sehr schnell Nebel über dem Fluss.

      Abends waren wir sehr günstig und lecker essen. Es gab Buuzi, Tscheburek und Lagman Suppe.
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    • Day 41

      Auf dem Weg nach Irkutsk

      June 16, 2018 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

      Tagesetappe 400 km.
      Heute war die Landschaft sehr abwechslungsreich. Bis 600 m hoch, Wald, riesige Felder, kleine Dörfer, Transsibirische Eisenbahn und jede Menge Baustellen.

      Deshalb war es heute auch sehr anstrengend. Nun stehen wir auf einem Hotel Parkplatz mitten in der Stadt.Read more

    • Day 47

      Irkutsk am Irkut

      June 17, 2018 in Russia ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

      Es regnet! Trotzdem werden wir heute eine Stadtführung machen - mit dem Bus! Unsere Stadtführerin Ludmila hat eine witzige Art- zum Thema Ehe und nebenbei noch eine Geliebte sagte sie: in jeder Schweinerei hat es auch einen Schinken.
      Durch Irkutsk fliessen 6Flüsse, der grösste davon ist der Irkut.
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    • Day 15

      Transsib - Irkutsk (670, ges. 8.232 km)

      August 31, 2018 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

      Irgendwie sind heute Nacht mal die Wagen eine Zeit lang gegeneinander gestoßen, es hat gekracht, geschüttelt, geschlingert ....
      In Irkutsk steigen wir aus - es war eine spannende und besondere Erfahrung- 5.182 km am Stück im Zug- fünf Zeitzonen weiter!
      Unser Hostel Rolling Stones (20 € die Nacht im Doppelzimmer, zentral und sympathisch) steht fest und kommt uns fast wie ein Palast vor, trotz des Gemeinschaftsbades 😀
      Nachtrag: Manfred ist immer noch beeindruckt - auf der ganzen Strecke war der Zug an jeder Station auf die Minute pünktlich!
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    • Day 17

      Irkutsk 2. Tag

      September 2, 2018 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

      Heute schauen wir uns in aller Ruhe Irkutsk an - inklusive einer Bootsfahrt auf der Angara. An Bord läuft, wie fast überall in Russland, 80er-Jahre Pop.
      Es gibt einen sehr lebhaften Lebensmittelmarkt. Wir schauen uns die netten alten Holzhäuser an, ein paar recht schicke und auch weniger schicke Häuser. Und bummeln mit den Irkutskern am Fluss entlang ...
      Wir waren auch heute wieder sehr nett essen, hübsch angerichtet und lecker.
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    • Day 6

      Irkutsk

      March 4, 2017 in Russia ⋅ ❄️ -3 °C

      Den letzten Tag im Zug haben wir gut überstanden. Nach dem 3. Tag im Zug waren wir dann doch ganz froh endlich in Irkutsk angekommen zu sein. Die Dusche im Hostel war eine Wohltat.

      Hier haben wir auch unsere erste Reisebekanntschaft gemacht. Der 78-jährige Herbert, der auf seiner 3. (!) Weltreise war. Er erzählte von seinen Abenteuern und gerne hätte ich ihm noch weiter gelauscht. Aber ich war doch sehr müde und freute mich auf das richtige Bett.Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Ostrov Sibirskiy, Остров Сибирский

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