3rd and 4th March 2017 Ulan Ude to Krasnoyarsk
The wonderful Tumun came and picked us up, delivered us to the station, and onto the train, for the next part of our adventure. What would we do now! We had been made to feel really welcome, our every need had been looked – all more than we expected and now we were on our own again!
What a difference a train makes! After our slow busy train to Ulan Ude we boarded the train to find ourselves in a First Class cabin with comfy beds, a little bag of treats for the ride, slippers for getting around in.
The first part of the day was beautiful as we tracked along the still frozen Lake Baikal remembering that only a day ago we had been out there on the ice. Chatted with an Englishman, John. who had great travel experiences and shared Chris’s love and knowledge of history.
Arrive in Krasnoyarsk and we are met at the station by Katya our bubbly, enthusiastic guide for Krasnoyarsk. Katya is a a self made business woman who has her own language school. She speaks German, English and Spanish as well as her native Russian.
We have two people pick us up as more room is needed for luggage (we don’t have so much). Katya announced that she was worried that she would be late to pick us up as she had been parked in by a drunken neighbour who had had a heavy night. She told him if it happened again that next time she “vould break his veels”.
After checking in to the oddly named but comfortable Soft Hotel today is a free day and we had thought we would need a lay day however new places call us. Dump bags, layer up and off we go slipping and sliding along the streets of Krasnoyarsk.
First stop the Lenin Museum a strange but compelling blend of history and modern art. As we open our mouths and are discovered to be English speaking the Director, a cheery man who left his spot behind the counter to welcome us effusively and declared us as his dear friends . After showing us where the facilities were he introduced us to the Docent in an exhibition of Andre Pozdeev – the main featured artist . This begins a guide to a museum the likes of which we had not experienced before but loved. Older Russian women passionate about their section showing us around and animatedly describing the exhibits – in Russian. Becoming even more enthusiastic when charades, and common words made meaning.
The most stunning exhibit was a powerful and heart wrenching exhibition about the wars in Chechnya and Afghanistan. It featured a photo of each of the war dead with a small electric candle under each one. We then entered a darkened area which had scoria on the floor, was dimly lit, and featured graphich graffiti like art on the walls. A soundtrack featured screams and gunfire. It was real and confronting. One panel featured Brezhnev and was obviously an attempt to sheet home the blame to another generation. The bottom line we were left with was no matter how you cut it people died and that’s a waste.
There was also a great photo exhibition, which just seemed to encourage us to find new places to travel. We left the gallery after the director called us over to sit at the entrance desk and write our view of the gallery in his guest book.
On leaving Museum we ventured back along the Embankment when a fisherman stops us and greets us warmly in English “Are you from Switzerland?” – No idea why maybe the Swiss are then only other group who visit in winter! He became ecstatic when we told him where we were from. The familiar “Kangaroo” with accompanying Roo gestures follow.
As we wandered around there were interesting buildings in varying states of repair, street murals and even a cute little coffee van to remind us of home!
A quick lunch in a fast food place where we found ‘point and get’ is not so easy when the menu is on the wall behind the cashier. However a man behind us in the queue assisted a translation which saw us with Lamb wraps and coffee. Then back to the hotel where we were picked up by Katya and her husband Pasha for a Shaslick meal.
We had been promised shashlik but we were a little unsure where we would eat it. After being driven to an island in the middle of the Yenisei River which divides the city-we found out that the barbecue would be held in the snow with a temporary steel barby which housed a small cooking fire. The condiments and bread were stacked on the boot of the car and we stood around eating and laughing. Pasha can’t speak English but his sense of humour and Katya’s translation created a laughter filled afternoon.
On the way back to the hotel Katya invited us to see their apartment, which we kindly accepted. Their block was a bit daunting with bare globes in the hallway and graffiti on the walls. On entering their apartment the world changed – it was a lovely, elegant and cosy escape. Recently renovated and complete with a closed in balcony.
