Train to Irkutsk

My window seat on the train turned out to be on the side away from the lake, despite my efforts to get a lake-side seat. So I spent a couple of hours in the dining car, which I had to myself other than the staff. I didn't get great photos because the windows were really dirty. The train ride was about 7 1/2 hours. Nobody who spoke English on the train, nor so far in Irkutsk, except at my hotel..

I'm taking the Circumbaikal Railway tour tomorrow, so I felt free to take a nap on the train today, and also didn't worry so much about the lack of a lake-view seat. More to come about Lake Baikal tomorrow.

I saw a lot of what I think were dachas outside Irkutsk with fantastic gardens, with riots of color from flowers, families harvesting  big piles of potatoes, and the cabbage still standing in rows of bright green orbs. There were hummocks of hay here and there in the fields as well, and I wanted to get off the train and walk through the gardens.

Arrival in Irkutsk was painless because I'd scheduled someone to pick me up from the hotel, and there he was, with a sign that said "Irene Flack" - I felt slightly famous for a second.

Natalia, my hotel is near the Circus and Kirov Square. I walked down Rossiyskaya, Stepana Razina, and Sverdlova this evening before ending up on Bulvar Gagarina, which I followed to Karla Marksa. I can see why you love this city so- aside from it being where you grew up, it's a beautiful city.

To go and to see, what more is there?

Tomorrow morning I take the train from Ulan-Ude to Irkutsk, so I went out and wandered the streets for a while after I parted from Uda. Despite its usefulness, it was good to be free from Google translate and just wander and look.

A few more photos from today-

No explanation needed

Who knew cows could use crosswalks?

The Selenge River

Glorious, glowing amber

Bee carcasses, which the beekeeper said is good for the joints and other ailments

Pails of garlic, being braided in her spare time as she waits for customers along the road

Uda Part II

I think Uda was done with me by the time we left the beekeeper's garden,but it was still early, and so I suggested we see the Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Ulan Ude. I was somewhat interested in seeing it, and it was too far to walk, and too hard to figure out public transport there. So I figured I'd get my money's worth of Uda's time, even though I too was done with Uda by then!

Despite Uda's intentions

I like being completely out of my element when traveling, but even in that situation, I also enjoy finding connections to the life I know, including things that people I feel connected to care about.

Thus today was a red-letter day. It was a gorgeous crisp autumn day, the kind where the sun still holds warmth and you want to hold onto it for a while, but they slip away so fast. I had arranged to go out into the countryside to a couple of small villages with a car and driver, and we met at 10 am at the hotel. Uda spoke about as much English as I do Russian, so we used Google translate to establish what we were doing, and who each other is. For instance, I know that he is a retired police officer, his wife is a nurse, and he has three daughters: 17, 13, and 5 years old. He is 43, is Buryat and a Buddhist, and was born in the north region above Lake Baikal.

Unfortunately, Uda had his own agenda, which did not include stopping for photos of ordinary things that thrill me- he wanted me to take photos of statues and important places that have little meaning for me, and he thought I would want him to take my photo at every stop. I really don't need that many photos of myself, so I declined. I did snap some photos to please him, because deleting them later is a painless option.

We went to an Old Believer's Village, and if you have to look that up, you are not the only one. Here's the Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Believers

These groups split from the Russian Orthodox Church in the early 1600's over what appears to be a little trivial (ways to form the sign of the cross, for instance), but apparently it was really a political issue (aren't they all?) and for hundreds of years the Old Believers were denied many rights, were outright persecuted, and in many instances, fled Russia. Some even ended up in Woodburn, Oregon and Kodiak, Alaska, among other places. There are many sub-groups, most of which don't appear to approve of each other. At least one requires the men to grow their beards.

Walking through their village today, I saw that the houses have electricity, and most people wore fairly modern western-style clothing. What was fascinating were the houses- the wooden designs, the paint colors, and the fanciful window treatments.

But the prize of the day came when I saw a series of small roadside stands selling honey and related products.

I had to practically climb out of my seat to convince Uda to stop, but he finally got the message. We met this lovely lady and thanks again to Google translate, I got to see her hives and garden.

 Her hives are clearly quite old, and well-used, and it was a great delight to be allowed to walk around and soak it all up. When I asked about seeing hives, she asked if I was afraid of being bitten (Google's translation, anyway). I said no, my brother has hives in my yard at home, and she opened the gate and led the way!

 I asked how she keeps the bees warm in the winter, and what Google said she said was that she has a hostel for them! I'm pretty sure that wasn't quite right but I nodded and smiled.

 Her greenhouse is mostly empty now, other than some garlic hanging, but it's obviously a place of great activity in the spring. There are no frills, but it was beautiful to me.

She pulled three big beautiful carrots from her garden and washed them off with at the spigot to give me a gift- not sure what I'll do with them, but they are incredibly beautiful sitting in my hotel room.

I explained that I have carrots and other things growing in my garden as well, and that I too have chickens (I could hear but not see her chickens). I had so many things to ask her about, and yet nothing needed to be asked, just admiring her garden and hives was enough.