So another birthday has come and
gone. So much has happened, and yet it
still feels like a dream. May 1-5 Gabi
and I went to Yekaterinburg, which was amazing…perhaps I’ll start with that.
Sasha escorted me to the train
station, and no trip is complete without journey juice, this time it was vodka
with lemons and sugar. For some reason,
we, as in Sasha, Gabi and even I were a bit more nervous than usual; however
the moment we were on the platform I felt it.
The big IT that I love almost as much as I love life itself, the
sensation that comes with every new adventure.
My blood starts pumping, and I can’t stop smiling, the thrill of just
knowing and not knowing what the near future may bring. For lack of a better word, it’s like a
hit. A big hit of the travel drug.
The train ride itself was fairly
uneventful. I got some much needed
sleep, day dreamed and stared out of the window as we left Siberia behind and
entered the Ural region. Landscape wise,
we couldn’t tell one tree from another.
Just in case we all forgot, Russia is a vast forest, and it’s rather
difficult to tell the difference at times.
Anyway, upon arriving in Yekat (that’s the short name and it’s what I’m
going to call it from here on out) we were greeted with fairly warm
weather. Happily, for once I had the
foresight to obtain a local taxi number and arranged to have a taxi waiting for
us once we arrived. After the mishaps in
Tomsk and Krasnoyarsk when it comes to hoping for the best when it comes to
arriving late, I just wanted to save my nerves and grief and wanted to avoid a
problem.
The hotel was impressive and they
didn’t mislead us when they advertised that they were located in the center of
the city, it really is. And they were
quite friendly, and even though they didn’t speak English, it wasn’t a
problem. Our room looked exactly like
the pictures on the website, which was even better, overall, so far, so
good.
Our first real day in Yekat was
cloudy yet warm so we went to Храм
на Крови – Church of Spilled Blood where the
Romanov’s were killed. Such places
really get to me, and I don’t like them, I can feel the energy and sorrow and
it kills my mood. However, this trip was
not about me, it was about seeing the city and making sure that Gabi and I got
to see what we both wanted. To be fair,
the inside of the church is quite beautiful.
Yes, of course you need to cover your head, and yes, you can’t talk or
sit or take pictures, but really, would you really want to? After spending quite a long time at this
location, we were in need of warmth and coffee.
One problem we can never seem to
avoid is finding coffee. I even had a
fancy new smartphone and it was still a problem. It’s never a good sign when we start snapping
at each other about which brand of water is better or the correct way to
describe the color of the grey sky.
During the endless hunt for a coffee shop, we found ourselves in the
midst of a marathon, or at least what looked like a marathon. On a good day we wouldn’t have minded, but
since we were still a little tired from the train and caffeine deprived, we
weren’t in the mood to deal with people running in jeans or even sandals and
calling it a marathon. But since I can
only run after a bus or a cat, I’ll let that slide.
At some point we came across a
coffee place and were much happier. The
universe was allowed to continue. Along
the way we were impressed with the modern architecture and overall showing of
wealth. One of the impressive things
about the city are the wide streets and cream colored buildings. It gives the city an air of wealth and for
lack of a better word, European. I’m not
a huge fan of European architecture, but I can appreciate the finer details of
statues and crown molding. Architecture aside, the people were
friendly and patient with our less than perfect Russian. The Urals yield some amazing stones, such as
amethyst, magnetite and various colors of quartz, and the people seem to be
quite proud of it. Magnetite is by far
the most stunning; the dark yet bright green color offers the eye something
different from the standard gold and silver variety. After strolling around the Romanov
Death Site, the Church of Spilled Blood, the city center and endless streets
and alleys; needless to say, we were exhausted.
The only way to remedy the situation was to take up our hotel on their
offer of using the sauna, compete with steam room and cold water pool. It was perfect, just what we needed. After an hour of breathing in the lavender
and pine scents, then jumping in the cold water, just to run back to the steam
room; we felt rejuvenated.
Then came time to make the big
decision, which night club to check out?
A few people had recommended a place called Chili which was within
walking distance from the hotel, but the hotel staff recommended a place called
Agave which was a resto-club. Such
places really make me crazy: you should either dance and then eat, or eat and
then go dancing, not both. A dance club
is meant for dancing, not for eating salad.
But somehow I got talked into going to this place.
We arrived at around midnight, and
were surprised that there weren’t more people there; it was a Friday night
after all. Slight disappointment aside, the interior was spacious and unusual,
the best room where we spent most of the night, was a mix of American and
African decorations. The music was
intoxicating, I can’t remember the last time I heard such a great mix of dance
and lounge music. I would suggest this
for the simple fact of great music, but not good for dancing. At four in the morning we finally managed to
crawl back to our hotel. So I can't say it was all bad, after all, we almost saw the sunrise. Almost.
After a few precious hours of sleep,
we were up once again and were greeted by a bright sky and warm weather. It was the perfect day to see the monument
which separates Asia and Europe. We had
to take a taxi out there, which was huge disappointment to me since it’s a
tourist place and tourism means public transport. The perk of a taxi was that we were able to
nap for another thirty minutes. The
monument was nice. What can I say about
it? It was excited to see it, but
dismayed that there wasn’t more to it; we did take a taxi out there after
all. I was pouting about having to pay
for another taxi when a man overheard me asking the manager of the small store
which sells instant coffee to use his phone so I could order another taxi. He then asked me where I was going, and not
really sure how to answer, I said the one place that Gabi and I had casually
discussed. He offered to take us back to
the city free of charge. Trusting my
sixth sense, I agreed then told him that I had to tell Gabi that we’d be
hitching a ride. Naturally, she was a
little less than enthusiastic about this idea, but didn’t have much of a
choice. Further discussion revealed that
he was the accountant of the monument and had live in the city for his whole
life and was more than happy to show around the two foreign girls. We learned that Yekaterinburg is home to
making tanks, and mining. Mining was
obvious, but tanks? Not so much. He then drove us to Boris Yeltsin’s monument
and dropped us off at a photo museum.
Thus proving people can still surprise you by random acts of kindness
and generosity.
The museum which Gabi wanted to see
was filled with black and white photos about life in the rural
countryside. After another exhausting
day of urban hiking and picture taking, we decided to take a load off in a
mall. I was pleasantly impressed with
the discovery of Stockman, an import store which specializes in products form
Europe and America, namely fun stuff such as maple syrup and ranch
dressing.
Our last night in Yekaterinburg was
spent in an Italian restaurant sipping wine and relishing in the comfort of the
experience overall. It’s not often that
a person can feel so comfortable or at home in a foreign city, but I have to
admit, it’s easy to fall in love with this place. It’s a nice mix of the hustle and bustle of
Moscow, but without the prices or attitude.
