28-29 June Trans Siberian / Trans Mongolian - Stop 3 - Ekaterinburg

28 June, Tuesday

It had been raining on and off through the day, and as we approached our destination, it got increasingly wetter.  As we disembarked on to the platform. our Go Russia meeting lady was there with her sign  She suggested that we each pay 200 roubles (4 AUD) per bag for the porters to cart our luggage to the vehicles.  We were a little reluctant until Suzi reminded us that otherwise those guys might not eat for the day.  One porter was already shivering in the cold rain.  So we all did.  We were glad that we did as there were multiple flights of stairs to negotiate between the platform and the parking lot of the station.  

Ekaterinburg

Organisation was not be best as there were not enough cars for all the passengers to go with their luggage.  It was quite a squeeze.  Our meeting person did not speak sufficient English to make us feel comfortable about her intended course of action.  We ended up three to a car.  We went with Suzi and Wolfgang.  

We did not notice much on the way to our hotel other than that it was drab, cold and wet.  We hoped that the following days would not be this way.

The Novotel where we would overnight was upmarket compared to our hotels in St Petersburg and Moscow.  The entrance to it though was a little challenging due to construction on the street.  Our room 301 was not only clean and spacious but also very quiet with very comfortable beds.  Even though there was still light, it was still raining so there was no chance of taking a walk outside.  We had arranged to meet with the others for a drink at the restaurant.  Martin found out that there was a haman in the fitness centre.  We decided that we would do that instead.  At the restaurant, we found only Suzi and Wolfgang. We asked if they would minded were we to use the haman first as it was closing shortly.  They did not mind so we took off to the haman and sat there for some 20 minutes.  It was a great idea as it really warmed us up.

After a shower, we headed back to the table.  Suzy and Wolfgang were still there.  We were hungry so we ordered supper, ural fish soup, some bread and a banana orange smoothie.  Martin ordered a beer and something else.  Wolfgang left shortly after but Suzi stayed to chat with us.  She showed us a video on youtube and said she would send me the link.  We exchanged email and phone numbers so that we can whatsapp.  Shortly after that, she left for bed.  Martin and I finished our food and decided to call it a night too.  We were going to pack but thought the better of it.  Instead we charged everything that could be and needed charging, did all things we needed the internet for before going to bed at around 1am.  

The next night would be the start of the longest leg of our Trans Siberian trip on the train, a 3 day journey to get us from Ekaterinburg to Irkutsk.  

29 June, Wednesday

  

Beautiful traditional
wooden house 

Our alarm went off at 7 am.  Both Martin and we woke up with a start as we were still exhausted somehow.  He said something about weird dream that he could not remember much about.  We wanted another hour of sleep.  So we reset the alarm.  But then he started to move around so we got up too.  We decided to go for a walk before breakfast.

Street art

It was drizzling slightly outside but we made our way to the Lake / River – photographing traditional Russian houses and some attractions along the way.  There was a graffiti of a babushka on a wall that was more street art.  We found a garden where there was a giant topiary bear, and a very tiny church in the middle of a square which we popped in to check out.  We did not realise then that this church marked the spot where the first church in Ekaterinburg stood.  The Chapel of St Catherine is tiny but impressive.  People passing by were seen to cross themselves as they past it.  

St Catherine Chapel

We saw a sign for Europe-Asia marathon. We went as far as the bridge on the River, before turning around and went back to the hotel, getting there by 8.30 am.  

We found Suzi at the breakfast table who informed us that Wolfgang was doing much better. We were glad.  She left to wake Wolfgang up for breakfast and Martin left before we finished our coffee so we decided to call and chat with Roy.  Paul and Wendy appeared, so we chatted with them for a while before we went back to our room to pack everything in.  

When we got to our room, Martin said that Suzi had come by to say that Wolfgang had deteriorated and that she had called a doctor.   We wanted to check on her before we left for the day.  As it was already 10 am, we decided to deal with luggage first.  On the way down to reception with our luggage, we noticed a group of paramedics in the corridor.  We had a premonition that something was amiss.  Our day guide was waiting for us together with Paul and Wendy.  There was also a German speaking guide who mistook me for Suzi.  

Our guide, Tatiana, informed us that an ambulance was here to take Wolfgang to the hospital.  Suzi then appeared and she was explaining to this German speaking guide.  Tatiana said that she would keep us informed of further development, but that we should go.  At that moment, Wolfgang was rolled out of the lift so we all went over to wish him all the best and advised that he should be good and listen to the doctors.  It was terrible to see poor Wolfgang so sick and Suzy so distraught.  Wolfgang had an IV line in him and his colours were not too bad as he was lying down.  With a heavy heart, we left our friends in the good hands of their guide and followed ours out of the hotel.

Tatiana reminded us of Marina.  She is smart, articulate and has a great sense of humour. She also responded well to our questions and requests.

Ekaterinburg was one of the earliest industrial cities in Russia.  It is also the fourth largest city in Russia.  Its claim to fame is related mostly to the lives of the Romanovs.  It is also the administrative centre for the Urals.

Our first stop that morning was the Cathedral of Spilled Blood.  That shrine was built in 1992, shortly after the fall of the Soviet regime.  There had been a competition to determine which plans to use.  In the end, the most expensive plans were chosen.  The shrine commemorates Tsar Nicholas and his family.  They have been sanctified as mathyrs because of the way they had died.  The Cathedral is built over the house where the Tsar's family had lived when they were exiled and in which they were shot to death.

Church in memorial of
Tsar Nicholas II and his family
who were slained

Tsar Nicholas had abdicated after the 1917 revolution.  Lenin blamed all the ills of the country on him.  The Tsar and his family were exiled.  They were sent to several cities in succession.  Four of their servants who refused to leave them traveled with them – the parlour maid, the cook, physician, and servant.  

On the day 17 July 1918, they were all taken to the basement room in the house that stood where the temple now stands.  Tsarina Alex was wondering why all the furniture had been removed.  She asked for two chairs to be brought – for herself and her son, Alexis, who was weak from hemophilia.  The Tsarina was the grand daughter of Queen Victoria.  Her husband was also a relative, hence the reason for the disease.  The family was guarded by Polish guards as Russia then was divided into white for the Tsars and Reds for the Communists.  To prevent the Tsar from being rescued by the approaching white army, the Reds decided to execute him and his family.  Each of these Polish guards wanted the honour of executing the Tsar personally so all shot the Tsar at the same time that night. They then proceeded to shoot all members of the family.  The girls had jewels in their corsets which reflected some of the bullets so the guards finished their deed by stabbing them to death.  

All the bodies were originally meant to be thrown down a single shaft in a mine in the woods outside Ekaterinburg. That shaft had been water filled and water had iced that night so it was not possible to put 11 bodies into it.   The result was that they put 9 bodies into it – all the servants and 4 members of the Tsar family.  They burnt the bodies twice, the second time with sulfur. 

The American lady who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia was actually related to one of the polish guards which might have explained why she knew the intimate details of the royal family as those guards had access to all the Royal family all the time.  Interestingly, not long after the execution of the Tsar and his family, the White army arrived in Ekaterinburg.

The church itself is a shrine.  In accordance with Orthodox customs, we all had to cover our heads to enter.  Scarfs were made available at the entrance by the church.  Tatiana handed each of Wendy and us, a scarf each.  Tatiana showed us the photos of the family and the décor of the church, explaining also that the left side of the church is where a candle can be lit only for the dead.  Candles can be lit for the intentions of both the living and the dead elsewhere in the church.  Because of the horrible way that they died, the last Romanovs had been sanctified as mathyrs of the Orthodox Church.  

As the Orthodox Church holds as a tenet of faith, the right of the king of Russia to rule over all of Russia, the Soviet occupation was also considered punishment for the sins of regicide. We bought some books from the bookshop in the church.  One of the books had explained that Single is the Tsar over Russia.  Franking both sides of the entrance are two cisterns of holy water with drinking cups provided.  One must drink only from these communal cups. Believers  believe that drinking of that holy water would cure one of all of their ailments.

Our next destination was out of town.  As we headed out of town, we drove past those beautiful wooden houses which the last remaining ones in Ekaterinburg, preserved for their heritage value.  We also passed the building where rockets used to be made.  

The building that used to be rocket manufacturing facility

As rocket manufacturing was deemed high security during Soviet era, the town was "closed".  To enter the town, one needed to have a special pass.  All residents had to have such a pass especially when they worked or studied outside the town limits. This was when we learnt that our traveling companion, Wendy, used to work in one such factories in her young days.  The interesting things that you ultimately learn about the lives of your non-attention grabbing travelling companions.

A Soviet Bloc in Inner City Ekaterinburg

As we passed some Soviet blocks, Tatiana told us several funny stories about life during the Soviet era.  There were lines for the shops.  Dresses of one style and size only was available.  Her mother had been so happy to get one only to find two other colleagues in the same dress the next day when she decided to wear it to work to show her friends what she found.  All three were upset.  They then had to schedule which day of the week they would wear that dress so they did not look like triplets.

Apartment blocks looked alike.  And as furniture availability were also limited, interiors of apartments also tended to look alike.  She told us about when she visited her ex-boyfriend and thought they were rather alike because the things in his house were like those in hers, but then realised that it was a matter of availability rather than choice.  We asked if people went into the wrong house and slept with the wrong person.  So she told us about the movie “Hope you have a good bath” or “the Irony of Fate” where that exact scenario occurred.   A group of men went to the baths and then to drinks.  One was supposed to go back to St Petersburg but they forgot who it was in their inebriated state, so one of them was put on the train.  Getting out the station, that man gave directions to the cab driver and was delivered to the destination where he found his apartment.  As his key fitted, he entered.   Since the layout inside was the same, he laid down to sleep.  Later, the female owner came home to find him there.  There was a discussion as to how the situation came to be.  It appeared that everything was the same – his address and hers – except that his was in a different town.  They fell in love and all ended well.  The irony was the sameness in the décor facilitated the possibility for such an error.

We arrived at our next destination, the Memorial to the victims of Gulags during Stalin's era. 

Memorial to victims of Gulags

Tatiana told us the story of her great grandfather who was sent to the gulag after he sang a song about Stalin among his friends at a wedding.  He thought he was among friends and could speak his mind openly but the policemen came to take him away the next day and he was never seen or heard off again.  Her grandmother learnt of his death only just before she died after Russia became independent.  She had tried to find more information about him in the archives before Russia came out of the Soviet era but she was allowed only an hour and could bring no pen, pencils, paper or any recording device.  She was not able to find any information.  Later when Russia became a democracy, she went back again.  This time she was allowed all the time she required but a lot of information had been sanitised so again she found nothing.

My travelling companions at the Europe-Asia border

From there, we proceeded towards the Europe-Asia border.  It is an interesting place near the forest next to a highway.  People who visited there tie ribbons to the trees nearby to show that they have been there.  There is a park next to it.  A monument stands where the dividing line is.  Tatiana explained that it is the watershed line that stretches from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea.  Martin and we decided to represent our respective continents for a photo, and shook hands across the Asia-Europe divide.  My travelling companion had left me in the car so I did not get a picture of bear there. :-(

Making key chains
the old way

We bought key chains of aluminium who made it for us instantaneously the old fashioned way, with a giant mallet and dies.  We also discovered there that Ekaterinburg is the sister city with Guangzhou in China.  Ekaterinburg is actually in the Asia while Moscow and St Petersburg are in Europe.

We delved into Tatiana's history as she had been our most impressive guide in Russia.  We found that she had been the interpreter when National Geographic team from the United States came to verify the remains of the Romanovs.  She had also studied in the US.  She told the story of her 4 year old daughter who refuses to learn English and hates it when her mother speak English on the phone.  To her, it is as if her mom has become someone else.  She said that she threatened to speak English all the time if her daughter refuses to learn English but that just upset the daughter, so she had to stop.

Statue of Grand Duke & Duches

Entrance to Ganina-Yama

On the way to the Ganina-Yama Monastery, built over the mining shaft where the Romanov remains had been dumped, Tatiana told us the different versions of what is believed.  It appeared that when they were wanting to dump the bodies, the killers found that the shaft was frozen at the bottom so they were not able to dump all 11 bodies into it.  So 9 bodies were dumped into the shaft.  DNA proved that 5 of the remains were related to each other.  The other 4 were not related, thus these must have been the remains of the servants.  A body is supposed to produced 8 kg of ash, but not that amount was found.  This could be due to the bodies have been burnt twice, once by heat and then by acid.  On the other hand, DNA could be due to clothing rather than bodies.  The skull of the Tsar was missing the dent that came from the assassination attempt injury suffered in Japan.  But then there was also a rumour that a double had been sent to Japan earlier because there had pre-knowledge that an assassination might be attempted.  The DNA of the Tsar was verified against that of his then living cousin who had since died and whose body was exhumed to enable the verification.  The DNA of Grand Duchess Maria and heir apparent Alexis had not been verified beyond all doubts.  In any event, it was known that the shaft had something to do with their deaths.  It was the horrible way in which they had died that resulted in them being sanctified as martyrs of the Orthodox Church. 

Entrance to walkway
around the mine shaft

One of the churches

Cross in front of the
walkway to that mine shaft

The visit to the Monastery was a pilgrimage for Orthodox Russians.  The rule was that every women must have skirts of a certain length below their knees even if they were wearing pants.  They also had to cover their heads the entire time they were on the grounds.  Red cotton wrap skirts as well as scarfs of various colours were provided at the entrance.  There were seven churches within the borders of the monastery.  The monastic part of the site was closed to public.  None of the churches appeared to be open either.  There were seven wooden crosses and churches, one for each member of the Romanov’s family.  That was also the reason for the seven churches.  


None of these churches could be used for celebrating weddings or baptisms.  There was attempt to build an eighth church to celebrate wedding and baptism but it burned down.  A pavilion now stand on that site.  Churches here continued to be built from wood even though they had been burnt down in history.

The pavilion

At the end of the visit, we spotted and eagle being harassed by crows.  We explained why the crows were harassing the eagle.  Tatiana and the rest were genuinely interested.  It was quite strange to have everyone listening to us as explained the behaviour of the birds.

When we got outside to get back into our vehicle, we were approached by a gentleman who said that he needed a ride home.  He looked homeless and had a plastic bag of several cans of food.  Tatiana told him to move on.  She explained that she has seen this man each time she had been there.  They were taking advantage of visitors.  He was working just like she was working.

Afghanistan War Memorial

On the way back to into town, we made a stop at the Afghanistan Soldier Memorial.  Russia lost 50,000 soldiers to that war.  Sharing the same space is a memorial for those who died in Chechnya wars. 

We passed this very tall and thin unfinished tower.  During the Soviet time, there was an attempt to build the tallest TV tower in Russia.  The calculations were discovered to be wrong during construction in 1989.  Then the Soviet Union fell in 1991 and no one was interested in completing it.  The tower was never used as intended and there is now the question of whether it should be dismantled as it is in disrepair and had not been maintained since.  We also passed the Ekaterinburg Circus theatre, an impressive building with a "skeletal" dome.

Back at the hotel, we found out that we would be picked up at 9pm.  We also found out that Wolfgang was in intensive care.  We typed out a Whatsapp message to Suzi.  Then we sat down to lunch.  We had a starter soup followed by risotto with spinach for mains, then Altastian apple pie for desert.  Needless to say, it was delicious.
 

After lunch, we all decided to walk towards Yeltsin Memorial along the river.  It was a good slow walk with frequent stops along the way.  The museum actually cost 380 roubles to enter.  Martin decided to go in while the rest of us were not all that interested. The rest of us stopped for a drink at the coffee shop.  We had warm non-alcoholic gluwine cost 180 roubles (less than 4 AUD).  Martin said that the exhibition was all in Russian as we had expected but there were videos of actual events that had English subtitles.  

Yeltsin was smart politician.  He was the first President after the Soviet era. When there was an attempted cue de tat, and some folks where killed, he said that Russia need to get over this fratricide – the killing of brothers, without recriminating the Reds for attempting to take back power.  The siege happened at the TV station where a live programme was airing.  The Russians had themselves also suffered immensely through the Soviet era.

Yeltsin Museum as seen from Vysotsky

The Yeltsin memorial building was impressive with light and fountain displays.  Also on display were Yeltsin's armoured cars and the gifts given to him during diplomatic visits. There was a private art exhibition in the lower floors.  The building also houses other offices.

View from Vysotsky Tower
TV tower on left, Ekaterinburg Circus with skeletal dome

Afterwards, we made way towards Vysotsky Tower, the tallest finished tower
in town which Tatiana had advised that we should go to for a great view over the city.  We got there around 8pm.  There is a fee that one has to pay to go to the lookout deck.  We were a little reluctant to pay considering the queue and the time we had left.  Martin asked what it would cost to go to the restaurant and was told that it would cost nothing.  So up we all went to this very posh restaurant which has a white piano and dinner singer, for a drink and a look at impressive view.  We stayed for only 30 min as it was time to get back to the hotel to catch our train.

Lavish interior of the restaurant
at the top of Voltsky Tower

Suzi came down to see us off and gave us good bye hugs.  They had decided to stop their trip and go home after two days when Wolfgang stabilised.  He had an ulcer in his stomach that had erupted when he was in Moscow.  He had not known of the ulcer as he never had one before.  He also had not realised that it had erupted.  He had lost lots of blood.  They had to give him two units of Russian blood.  He was stable and the German speaking guide had helped immensely.  Suzi had also gotten hold of the Austrian / German consular and they would also help.  He has been admitted into the intensive ward and will be monitored for the following two days.  She advised the doctors in Ekaterinburg are well versed with this conditions as many Russians who enjoyed rich food suffered from the same.  The doctor also spoke some English.  She expected a good outcome to ensure.  We were sad that we had to leave Suzi and Wolfgang behind but were glad that a medical emergency on a 3-day train trip was avoided.

The journey back to the train station was less disorganised than the day before.  The same guide that had picked us up explained that she normally speak French so her English was limited.  We pulled our own bags rather this time.  Paul and Martin helped the ladies pull their bags up the stairs to the track.  Track 5 on Platform 4 was where we had to be.

The more spartan look of
our carriage corridor

Our train for this leg of the journey, Train 70, was even less impressive than the Moscow train.  The train resembled more the ones we rode from Sofia to Bucharest.  This time though, Martin was sharing a cabin with us.  That made it life on the train a lot easier.   The cabins were like those in 2nd Class except that we did not have anyone sharing our upper bunks.  Some cabins in the same carriage were occupied by 4 rather than 2.  We figured out how to put the top bunks away.  We used the bedding meant for the top bunks to double pad our bunks.  We had to make our beds with the linen provided.  The train provided sheets, a towel, tea cups and utensils for each of us.  Brilliant.  That would work just fine.  We got ourselves organized so that we would have heaps of space.  Our bags went under our bunks or in the space above the door.  Martin removed the curtains from our windows so that we could have unobstructed view like that from the dining car.  There were still draw-able shades so those can be used during the night so that we were not interrupted by passing lights.  Instead of facing the door of the cabin, both of us had decided to face our cabin windows instead.  

A peek at our humble cabin

We were informed that there was a dining car, so Paul and I went to check it out.  It looked exactly like the one that was on our Moscow train.  To get to it, we had to walk through two 3rd class carriages.  The entire carriage were packed with bunks with barely any passing room.  Men were smoking in the spaces over the carriage connectors between doors that prevent smoke from entering the carriages.  We also had to pass through another 2^nd class which was more packed than ours.  We were really lucky folks to have all these spaces for our three days on the train.  We did not order anything from the dining car.  The staff appeared desperate to sell us something. The dining car appeared to hold a huge stock of alcohol for sale.  There were quite a few tall and big men in the 3^rd class who obviously were travelling as a group.  We wondered what mayhem may ensue in the carriage next to us should those all got drunk.

We noted that there was no ability to charge anything inside our cabin.  There were power points rated 220V near the washrooms but the guidebooks had warned us about charging anything there to prevent damage from power surge.  So we powered down all our electronics to conserve power.  We got ready for bed.