2019 Russia #9

Krasnoyarsk June 25-27, 2019

Remember this? It is the ‘hot water’ on the train that everyone seeks for their noodles and instant coffee/tea.

The trip from Irkutsk to Krasnoyarsk is a comfortable leg, leaving Irkutsk in the early evening and arriving at Krasnoyarsk in mid-afternoon of the following day.  The only stressful part was getting the ticket. Nothing has changed; you get your number from the dispensing machine, and once your number shows up on the big board, you go to the turnstile indicated, show the nice lady your paper reservation, and she prints you out a ticket.

To view a photo full-size, left-click on the image.

The Irkutsk Train Station.

Before Irkutsk, that was a 5-minute job, but now all the tourists from the trains that arrived from Beijing have joined us, and when I got my number, there were a LOT of numbers ahead of me.  Forty minutes worth of numbers.  Happily, I am a planner, so I was there fifty minutes early.  Still, it was a very nerve-racking experience; from now on, we’ll be there 60 minutes in advance!

Krasnoyarsk is a big city of over a million people on the Yenisei River, and as a primarily commercial and industrial hub, it is definitely not a common tourist stop.

Note the riverwalk on the left. Every city seems to have one!

We had intended it as an opportunity to Get Off The Train but also as a chance to see a ‘real’ Russian city, and we were pleasantly surprised to find a very nice city with the buildings along the main streets refurbished, broad sidewalks, and lots of restaurants, amenities, and things to see and do.

Getting to the apartment was the usual gong show. Once out of the train station, we flashed up the phone and Yandex WORKED!  I just love it when that happens.  The driver took us straight to our building, dropped us off, it started to rain, and – we couldn’t find the entrance.  Sigh.  After much backing-and-forthing and frantic texting, which had to be translated from Russian, the host lady came out onto the street and rescued us.  The apartment entrance is off an interior courtyard, and after only one flight of stairs and the usual KGB-proof 2-door entry, we were introduced to a perfectly acceptable studio apartment.  All is good.  Wine and cheese time whilst we contemplate braving the intermittent rain to find a restaurant or just continuing with the wine and cheese.  The wine and cheese won.

The weather was pretty good the next morning, so off we went in search of a decent breakfast place and a walking tour of the area around us.  It turns out that there are at least five restaurants within a block of the apartment, many of which are very good, plus a small supermarket to stock up the apartment.  As further proof that we are in an alien land, we discovered that Russians sell their eggs in packages of 10.  Who does that?  Now we have to eat 5 eggs per meal, instead of 4 or 6.  Mexico has had revolutions over smaller issues than that.  But I digress.   Also, apologies to my Mexican friends lest they revolt again.

Krasnoyarsk isn’t a touristy place, so no hop-on-hop-off bus, but virtually everything we wanted to see is within a kilometer of our apartment.  With the apartment properly stocked up (wine, cheese, bacon & eggs, bread for toast) it was time for a walk down to the river, which was just two blocks away.  There’s a nice series of walkways, boat docks, and restaurants along the river, but it takes some planning to get there as the road is below-grade and can only be crossed at designated overhead walkways.

We wandered down for about a kilometer and then crossed back into the city park.  It’s pretty big, has lots of broad walkways, and is very leafy.  It’s rather unremarkable but there were lots of people using it and it has a kids section, and of course a Ferris Wheel!  Had to do that, naturally.

Yes, it was that windy!

The view from the Ferris Wheel.

Just in case you weren’t sure which city you were in. Entrance to the park.

You can rent these bad-boy scooters.

By now, we are just about back up to Karl Marx Avenue, so we followed it to walk back to our apartment.  It is very nice, with broad sidewalks and 18th/19th century buildings that have been refurbished to look like new.  There are lots of quirky statues and local artworks.  It’s a very pleasant walk.

There were quite a few very interesting statues, this just being one but I could add several more. They were awesome and fun.

It must have been good luck to rub this guys nose and his right shoe because it was a shiny gold.

This is the library. A very impressive building but we did not go in.

The next morning, it was time to check out the Opera House, which is halfway between our apartment and the city park, so it’s not a very long walk at all.  The opera house was, of course, closed. It was the middle of the day and operas only happen when it’s dark.  But they leave the building there during the day, along with the fountains, the big-ass lions, and the Big Ben clock, which is probably called Big Karl or Big Vladimir here…

The Opera House.

The street entrance to the Opera House. There are two lions.

Right beside and downhill from the opera house, there is a cascade of fountains that is called “Rivers of Siberia”.  It is at least 50 meters long, represents the Yenisei, and has six statues of ladies along the side representing the six main tributaries of the Yenisei.  It’s very striking!

The fountains from above.

Big Vladimir.

Then it was time for the regional museum, which was just a block downhill.  It’s on the main street along the river, and the outside looks Egyptian for some reason that only the Russians know.

The rear of the museum.

Yes, yes this IS Russia.

OK maybe not.

Once we got inside, there were three floors of arcades with a big open space in the center.  The arcades had excellent sections on indigenous peoples, natural history, settler history, religion, and some amazing artwork.  And in the center- a full-size wooden sailing ship, complete with statues, equipment, etc!  They were used to travel up and down the Yenisei River, trading western goods for furs. Which is, of course, why the city is here.

A Russian Ibex.

An indigenous hunter in summer and winter (rear) garb, with some of his gear.

A 17th-century schoolhouse in a log building.

A 17th-century Orthodox priest’s vestments.

“Farm Life”.

A Cossack saying goodbye to his significant other.

This ship is two floors tall.

A Russian river-sailing ship.

We only had two days for Krasnoyarsk, but we found it a very pleasant experience.  We found lots of good food and interesting things to see and do.  For anyone with more time, there is a LOT to see around the city.  There is a hydroelectric dam on the Yenisei River, and the large lake behind it is lined with summer dachas and is used for skating and ice-fishing in winter.  There are also large islands in the river that are developed as nature parks, and the countryside around here is noted for its camping, hiking, and viewing opportunities.  But not for us, sadly; we’re off to Novosibirsk!