Sverdlovskaya Oblast’

Since my last entry I have taken my second overnight train and spent two days in Yekaterinburg near the Ural mountain range. Lets get you caught up.

Train 2: Kazan to Yekaterinburg

Kazan is not actually on the so called "Trans Siberian Railway" but was a more interesting stop than i would have had on the first part of the official route. As a result my second train, since not directly servicing Moscow was noticeably less clean than my first Russian train. It was still the usual platzcart layout, but with older rolled mattresses on the beds and a toilet that you definitely do not want to sit on (it is times like these that I curse the female anatomy!). What also made my second train journey less enjoyable was the two very loud Russian guys who were sharing my section. Due to the fact that I obviously can't speak Russian, and the train conductors can't speak English, it is very obvious to anyone in earshot that I am a foreigner. And unfortunately this then led to Loud Russian Guy Number 1 staring at me for most of our waking hours on the train. And when i say staring I mean staring me dead in the eye! Anyway, aside from the unwanted attention and unwanted odor of the train, the journey itself wasn't too bad, and as usual we arrived on schedule.

Day 1

The train arrived at around noon, and by the time I got to my hostel, checked in and found my room, the 14 hour train journey had caught up to me. I decided to have a quick power nap before i ventured out. Unfortunately my body had other plans and I woke up at 5pm! As i only had this half day and the next full day in the city I couldn't waste the rest of the day and had to pull myself together and see a little bit of the city. I decided to walk to a colourful building I had seen a picture of in the north of the city, away from most of the tourist sights and then find somewhere for dinner. Well after walking for 20 minutes to where I thought the building was, and being surrounded by lots of less than attractive soviet buildings I admitted defeat and turned around now on the search for food. Thanks to the Happy Cow app i found my vegan heaven in the city, a little cafe in the middle of a sports and exercise only shopping mall (such a thing does exist). While I tucked into my falafel burger I had a look on the couchsurfing app as I was informed that in addition to finding people with spare rooms in the city, you can also find people who just want to "hang out". I had a look to see who was online and saw there was a girl nearby called Kristine. I thought "when in Rome!" and started chatting to her. It turned out she was actually from Novosibirsk (my next stop) and was in the city for work and wanted to sight see. We decided to meet the next day at 1pm at the Visoscky Tower, where there is a viewing deck. With my plans for the next day now more interesting than just me and my iPod, I decided to call it a day and head back to the hostel.

Day 2

Although I wasn't going to meet Kristine until the afternoon I didn't want to waste the morning and so decided to head out at 10am. I walked to a park I had passed on my way from the train station. There was a frozen pond with a gazebo and bridge in the centre, and the park was covered in snow, all the elements of some good pictures. Next to the park was a pretty blue church and right opposite that was the Church on Blood. This is one of the cities most famous buildings, although it was only built less than 20 years ago. It is actually built on the site of Ipatiev House which was where Nicholas II (the last Tsar of Russia) and his family where exiled to and later shot by Bosheviks during the Russian Civil war in 1918. The entire family was canonized as martyrs in 2000. As i walked around the church I noticed a large red line painted on the pavement. I decided to follow it as it seemed to be headed in the direction I wanted to go. As I followed the line it was clear that this was the tourist route of the city. It took my to the literary quarter of the city, and then to the riverside. The last stop on the red line before it crossed over the river was none other than my colourful building! It is actually an administrative building but is very ornately designed. A quick check of my watch let me know i had just enough time to get some food, at my trusted vegan cafe (the only vegan place in the city!) before I met Kristine.

I got to the Visocksy Tower ten minutes early and waited near the entrance. a few minutes past 1pm I spotted a girl who looked like Kristines picture, and feeling a bit like a Tinder date, tentatively waved at her hoping it was Kristine. Thankfully it was! (otherwise I would've looked like some random waving girl). After making pleasantries we decided to follow the trusted "Red Line" through the city. It took us to all the major tourist sites, including a monument of the Beatles and of a QWERTY keyboard (which legend says if you type out your dream it will come true, obviously we had to give it a go!). As we walked around the city we talked non stop. She told me about life in Russia and also about Armenia where she is originally from. One of the nicest things about meeting new people from different cultures is not only leanring about the differences we have but also the many similarities. Kristine had a ticket to the Museum of Yeltsin, Russia's first president (after the USSR collapsed) so we decided to visit. I didn't know anything about him before the museum, and although most of the information was in Russian (though Kristine translated) I learned a lot about what it was like in Russia during the collapse of the soviet union. After the museum we were both pretty hungry and so stopped at a nearby Japanese restaurant for dinner where we chatted some more.We then decided to go to the viewing deck on the Visocksy tower, where we met. We were lucky enough to get to the top around sunset, which made for some good pictures of the city (and a few selfies). It was now quite late and we were both feeling pretty tired so decided to end our "hang out" there. We now both a contact should I want to visit Armenia or Kristine visit the UK. What travel is all about.

And so there you have my one and a half days in Yekaterinburg, probably my favouritte city in Russia so far.

Next stop: Novosibirsk.

Until next time
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