Wednesday 10th October 2012 - Day 7 - Yekaterinburg - Irkutsk

We woke up to a lovely cool air conditioned room. We both had a great nights sleep as I tested out my ear plugs for the first time as Jon snored all night. We showered, Jon used up all the cold water so mine was nice and hot! We checked out and went to breakfast which was a unique experience. Neither of us have ever had a breakfast in a nightclub before. With the low level lighting, sparkly décor, musicians on the wall, blacked out windows and the baseline pumping we definitely woke up and I even cut some shapes which Jon caught on camera. The breakfast itself was not very appetising with bubblegum tasting apple juice and burnt toast on the menu. We are now 5 hours ahead of the UK and still trying to get used to it.

We met our guide Dariah who was dressed to go clubbing herself! She had 5 inch heels minimum and short dress but spoke good English. We piled into the minibus and set off out of the city to head for the Europe - Asia Border 17km up the road. It was very misty and cold and set in the woods. We straddled the borderline and stood in Asia to make a wish then stood in Europe to repeat the wish and apparently it will definitely come true. Did you know that the symbol for Asia is a dragon but the symbol for Europe is a hen, seems weak in comparison. We saw ribbons tied to trees in the woods and heart shaped locks attached to railings. These are all from newly weds securing their future together. This is very popular at all major attractions.

Back in the bus we went to some different woods where there were six wooden churches deep in the woods occupied by monks. Dariah informed us of the history of the Romanov family that were all murdered in Yekaterinburg and were taken to this area to have all their possessions burnt and their bodies dumped in the mine. However, the mine was full of ice and so although the burning of the items took place here, but the bodies were taken to another mine to be buried. The ladies had to wear a head scarf and a skirt while wandering the area which I think we pulled off rather stylishly.

It was quite sad to learn that the family had 4 daughters and a young son who were all murdered along with their parents and 4 dedicated servants who died with the family through choice. There were many statues and photographs of the family doing normal things like boating, playing tennis etc. As we wandered we were pursued by a snow leopard a.k.a. a playful white cat. We then went to the city via the suburbs and communist buildings.

We arrived at a church of spilled blood that was in memory of the family in the basement and for all the saints above. We saw a rich guys house that he had built over a gold mine as this city is all about mining and factories. We visited the old factory site in the city centre that was built on a river. We walked through a tunnel to see one of the three lakes and the presidential building which was painted dark green just like the malachite that was mined here. We then drove over to the administrative building where the local government reside and gazed at the skyline. We saw some awesome machine that spelt out words in droplets of water, very clever.

We went to see the first Russian Presidents statue of Boris Yeltsin that was controversially covered in purple paint and costs millions to restore. At the end of the tour we got dropped off at a traditional Russian restaurant that had an English menu. Jon’s stew came out with a bread lid and I had a traditional chicken Kiev. It was lacking garlic. We then walked to find an ATM that had an English menu but had to give up and just press all Russian buttons until money was eventually dispensed!

We then set off on a hike of the city trying to find a coffee shop that was non smoking, with air con, comfy seats, free wifi and a loo. The trouble is every shop is disguised as a normal building so it is pure Russian roulette as to what is inside! We gave up looking for a postcard shop! Approximately an hour later we found ourselves busting for the loo and in the subway (fast food chain) at the basement of our Guru Hotel and it’s a miracle we even found that! With legs that are simply unable to put one foot in front of the other we sat there for about 3 and half hours using free wifi and drinking tea every so often so they wouldn’t throw us out! Our pick up from the hotel was at 9pm and we transferred to the train station to catch our train to Irkutsk leaving at 10.30pm where we will arrive in THREE DAYS TIME! Pozhelayte nam udachi!