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A final statue.

Monday, February 15th, 2010

It is rather fitting that the last piece of real sightseeing that we will complete in Russia is to go see the trans-Siberian Builder’s monument. There was a pleasant surprise on our return to the Downtown Hostel. Anthony had returned early from his tramping around Baikal. The weather forecast had not been good to want to be out of doors. Certainly the conditions this last day in Irkutsk was encouragement to head south. [read on]

Posted in Irkutsk, landmark, literature, market, monument/memorial, Russia, Siberia, Trans-Siberia | No Comments »

Blowing up the kitchen.

Thursday, June 18th, 2009

Being in a city for only a few days you are really only trying to build a slight impression of the place.  For Yekaterinburg that would be unfinished buildings.  Most strikingly was what I assume was supposed to be a communications tower.  Instead of one aerial thrusting upwards there were many strands of concrete reinforcers forming a bamboo fence like crown.  Also impressively on this particular structure was some of the graffiti.  Not in itself but more from where it was being right at the top of this maybe thirty story structure with only a very rickety metal ladder up the side to climb.  For a city supposedly showing off its new found mineral wealth it was not doing a very good job.  Perhaps the highlight was getting halfway down the central city river walk only to have the path end and end up scrambling around rubble and through collapsing buildings to break through back onto the street grid.This river walk had sucked us in with the promise of perhaps the most inexplicable monument ever.  Richard was as excited as I think I have ever seen him.  In his words ‘a rendering of something I’ve spent half my life at.’  What else could elicit such emotion from our implacable companion than a twenty metre long stone Qwerty keyboard.  Recessed into a grass bank and with two sullen types occupying the number keys it was magnificently improbable.  The look on myself and Arnika’s faces mimicked the bemusement shown on our host’s face that morning when he got asked to locate it on a map for us.  We jumped around the keys for a while spelling our names and the like.  The teenagers glowered at us.

 Keyboard monument

Humour I suppose. [read on]

Posted in Church/cathedral, evil old people, food, landmark, monument/memorial, Russia, Yekaterinburg | 1 Comment »

Sleeping Beauty & Assorted Animal Abuse.

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
With all the hostel dramas it was quite an effort to force ourselves to get out and explore a little bit and make some use of the day remaining.  A major incentive was the Sunday only market which Ivan informed ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in animals, kremlin, landmark, market, Moscow, Russia, theft | No Comments »