Yekaterinburg Day 1

Karina and I took the overnight train to Yekaterinburg, and it was incredibly convenient. We left Ufa around 6pm and arrived in Yekaterinburg around 8am - just in time for breakfast. After filling up at McDonald's we started walking towards the city center. Neither of us had been to Yekaterinburg before, so we didn't really have a plan. I saw that a main road near the train station headed towards The Church on the Blood so we took off in that direction. It's never a good idea to judge a city when you first arrive, but my first impressions were, "This is not what I expected." Of course, we were not in the center, but it didn't seem that much different than Ufa. Sidewalks were falling apart and everything was kind of just bland. I definitely had a different reaction when I first visited Kazan; however, my impressions of Yekaterinburg changed later.

Our first stop was The Church on Blood. This place is historically significant because it is where the Romanov family, the last royal family of Russia, was killed. The house they were assassinated in was torn down and this church was erected in it's place. It was so surreal being at the place that made me fall in love with Russian history. Out of all my high school classes I remember sitting in Mr. Kimmy's world history class learning about the death of the Romanov family like it was yesterday. I remember learning about Alexei's hemophilia, the strange Gregory Rasputin, and the fact that it took the women longer to die in the basement of the house because their coats were lined with jewels. Russia became a fixation after that, yet it always seemed so far away. I never would have guessed that I would end up living here one day. Also, if you were wondering why I am so fascinated with Vladimir Lenin you can thank Mr. Kimmy. I remember we got a list of topics for a project and while I wanted to research the Romanov family I knew it would be something other people would choose, and I wanted more of a challenge. Sticking with my new found love of Russia, I somewhat randomly chose Lenin. The rest was history.

After visiting the church we continued to make our way around the city. I didn't plan too well on this trip because I was busy all the way up until we got on the train. For this reason we didn't have much of an itinerary to follow, just a handful of places we wanted to see. This was fine for both of us because we enjoy walking. About an hour in, though, I started experiencing problems. The first was that we couldn't bring our bags to the hostel beforehand because the fine print told us we would be charged for a day (or half a day depending on the time), and I didn't know this until after I booked the room and it was too late to cancel. Check-in wasn't until 2, and carrying my bag full of stuff for just one day didn't seem like a bad idea until it was. Side note: what hostel doesn't allow you to leave your bags there for free? Secondly, we expected it to be cold and rainy the entire time we were there. Fortunately, the rain held out for most of the trip, but it was so hot and we were not dressed appropriately. We also didn't want to pack a ton of clothes because we knew we'd be carrying our bags with us.

One of the places I wanted to see was Sevastyanov's House. I didn't know much about this house, but based on the colors and intricate details, I knew I had to see it. The house had several lives. First, it was a home that changed owners until Nikolay Sevastyanov came to own it in 1860. Under his ownership, the house was designed to look like it does today. Then, the local government came to own it after his death in 1880, and during Soviet times it was a home for labor unions. Today, you can't go inside because it houses Russian presidents, most notably Vladimir Putin when they come to visit the city.

I only took the picture above because I'm immature, and I thought the bird sitting on his head was hilarious.

Across the street from Sevastyanov's House was this cute little church and a few hundred feet away was the river embankment. There were a lot of tents set up and later in the day there were a lot of people walking around. I think it might have been some kind of food festival because there were many tents offering different kinds of foods. There was also some music. We continued walking a lot more but it started to get too hot. We decided to try to seek some relief at Vystosky Tower.

We were finally able to check into our hostel, and when we felt rested and our phones charged we decided to grab some lunch, and then we headed to Shirokorechenskoe Cemetery. The rain held out until we were on the bus back to the center. It wasn't raining hard enough to go back to the hostel, so we decided to suck it up and continue walking around. Not long after the rain stopped, but we continued to see dark clouds coming in from the distance. At first it looked like it was going to miss us so we continued around "Gorodskoy Prud" (City Pond). At a certain point the rain, wind, and lightning got so bad we made the conclusion that being out in the open with umbrellas probably wasn't the best idea. In fact, the umbrellas weren't even helping at that point because they kept flipping inside out. We sought refuge under the Yeltsin Museum. The rain lasted about 10 minutes and then we were back out walking. We went to McDonalds because my blood sugar was starting to drop (I'm not diabetic but this is a common occurrence for me). We sat and talked in McDonald's for over an hour.

We eventually made our way back to our hostel where we both were both desperate for a shower. Before I continue, I want to just say our hostel was very nice. The woman who ran it was friendly, and the building and rooms were beautiful. It was an old house that she is converting into a hostel. However, when we got into our room our two roommates were already sleeping with the lights off and curtains drawn. It was only 8:45 pm. I was incredibly annoyed, and I wish I was vindictive enough to turn on the lights and be as loud as possible. I made the suggestion that we go into the common area/kitchen to organize our things and charge our phones. Everything was fine, then the one roommate came in and turned on the tv without asking me. I completely get that it is a common area, but, for me, I was just so annoyed with the whole room thing that her not even asking if she could turn on the tv really rubbed me the wrong way. I would have completely said, "yes," if she had asked, but it was more just the principle. After a while, many people came in, including quite a few babushkas. It was kind of awkward and I'm pretty sure they thought Karina and I were weird because we were just sitting there on our phones and laughing at the texts we were sending each other. Oh, well, it's not like I will ever see them again.

Have you ever been to Yekaterinburg? What did you think of the city?

Shirokorechenskoe Cemetery

I try to find the most unusual places in the new cities I visit. However, I know that when I travel with certain people suggesting an abandoned building might seem like a lot to ask. So, for me, I feel like a cemetery is a happy medium. I dragged Karina to Shirokorechenskoe Cemetery. I should just say that we dressed and packed for cold and rainy weather only to meet hot and humid weather. It was too hot to walk to the cemetery (with what we were wearing), so I suggested we take the bus. However, once on the packed bus of an interior temperature of at least 90F I noticed that we weren't following the right route. We were stuck in traffic for at least 30 minutes, yet Karina didn't complain. I thought, at first, the bus wasn't going to take us to the cemetery, but I didn't say anything to Karina because I thought she might kill me. Luckily, we ended up where we needed to be, but she did a good job of not openly telling me she hated me!

The cemetery is famous for a number of gang members buried here. Unfortunately, like I will probably mention in later posts, I did a terrible job of planning because I was so busy in the time leading up to our trip, and with the free time I had on the train I didn't have wifi. I wanted to go to this cemetery, but I didn't do research to find where the tombs of the former mafia lie. To make up for that you can read this post or this post. I suggest checking those blogs out because some of the tombstones are amazing, and by amazing I mean kind of hilarious.

One thing I've noticed about all the cemeteries I've been to in Russia is that they are very heavily wooded. It's common for trees and plants to be growing in and around the grave site. I even saw some graves that looked like someone literally just threw dirt over a body, although, I'm pretty sure it was a coffin. I, fortunately, haven't experienced much death in my own family *knock on wood* so I don't frequent cemeteries to pay respect to my dead relatives, but when we were there I noticed a number of people cleaning the headstones or pulling weeds. Maybe it's because the cemetery is literally in the middle of a forest that they get dirty more frequently or maybe it's just because I don't go to cemeteries enough to notice the same things in the USA. Also, you will notice all the bright, artificial flowers. I don't know why they do this, but it's kind of cute especially when you see people placing them among real flowers.

I didn't take many pictures because we didn't spend very much time in this cemetery. It was bigger than I thought, and I felt bad making Karina come with me. I felt guilty that I didn't look to see where the famous people were buried, if there were any. Also, it started to rain after we left, so it was probably a good thing that we didn't spend too much time there. There were also a lot of people visiting the cemetery that I felt kind of awkward taking photos of tombstones. I kind of wish we had walked further back though because, based on the other blogs, it looks like we missed a lot of the "interesting" graves.

Are Russian cemeteries surprising to you?

My First Russian Train Ride

This past weekend my friend, Karina, and I went to Yekaterinburg. We opted to get there by train because it was the cheapest and most comfortable option. Flights in Russia almost always go through Moscow, so the travel time would have almost been just as long with the Moscow layover. We decided not to take the bus because the return trip time wasn't convenient. So, overnight train it was! We bought our tickets online and I was able to print them myself. It was convenient to arrive at the train station and get on the train right away without the hassle of lines or waiting.

I really didn't know what to expect when booking the train. The coupe compartments just happened to be cheaper than the open bunks in different cars. We also got lucky that it was only the two of us on the way there. The train provided mattresses, pillows, blankets, and sheets to cover everything. They also gave us a small towel to use which I thought was rather surprising. Our room was small but comfortable. The only problem we had was that there was no air circulation. I think there was some at night, but Karina suffered from it the most. You are able to purchase tea, water, juice, and even beer. They also had a restaurant car but we didn't take advantage of it because of the timing of our train. As far as bathrooms go it was gross, but I was expecting it to be a lot worse. It took me about 5 minutes to try to figure out how to get the water out of the faucet when I finally gave up and had to ask Karina. You have to push up on the spout, if you were wondering. *Pro tip* Bring a pair of slippers or sandals with you so you look like a real Russian. I forgot mine and felt very out of place.

The ride there was nice, and I loved seeing the scenery from our window. Sorry for the terrible quality of the photos. I just wanted to give you an idea of what the room looked like, and I loved the views. I'm not good at taking photos without a glare though. We went through the Ural Mountains, and it reminded me of driving to North Carolina. I saw so many abandoned buildings too, and I wish we could have stopped to take pictures. I definitely preferred the landscape from the train than what I've seen from the bus going to Kazan. Of course Kazan is in the opposite direction, away from the mountains, so it's going to be more flat. It took about 14 hours, but it felt like it went by quickly. Karina and I spent most of our time talking or sleeping. I actually slept like a baby, but I think it was a mix of being exhausted and loving the feeling of being rocked to sleep. Unfortunately, Karina didn't have the same experience. Also, my only other train experience was in Thailand, and as much as I've heard Russians complain about the trains, it's definitely not as terrible as Thailand.

All of these photos are from the ride to Yekaterinburg because our train back was packed. There were SO MANY CHILDREN. We ended up having two other people in our room on our return trip. It actually ended up being okay, and the older woman was so friendly. I just felt bad that I couldn't say much to her. There was some creepy guy we referred to as "orange shirt" (then "blue shirt" because he changed) and we were glad that at least he wasn't in the car. Karina kept telling me how she wished I could experience a real Russian train on our way to Yekaterinburg, but he wishing paid off because the ride back was very Russian. Lots of children, tea, drunk men, and smells of instant soup were in the air. I'm also pretty sure the man who was in our room with us put back 2 liters of beer. I was getting a headache just watching him.

The children weren't that big of a problem, but the train was bound for Anapa, a 2.5 day ride from Yekaterinburg, so I can only imagine how horrible it would be after the kids are cooped up for that long. Luckily, most of our time was spent sleeping. We did have a funny experience though. Karina and I had the top bunks and we were lying in bed talking. The woman below me was sleeping and I think the guy who was with us went to smoke. Our door was open because it was hot and we wanted air. All of a sudden a woman walks in, like she walks all the way in, and the entire time she is looking at this guys soup. I'm thinking, "Wow, is she going to take his soup? Russians really are ruthless when it comes to taking people's food." The woman then realizes she's in the wrong room and leaves, but Karina and I spent the next 20 minutes laughing so hard about the experience. Honestly, it wasn't even that funny, but for some reason, even now as I'm writing this, I can't stop laughing.

Karina jokingly told me that she is going to buy me a ticket in the platscart, but I think she had a bit of seriousness in her voice. Jokes aside, I think traveling by train is a great way to see Russia, and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested. I definitely want to ride on the Trans-Siberian railroad one of these days. It's not the most luxurious form of traveling, but I think if you have the option to take a bus or pay a few hundred rubles more for an overnight train, definitely go with the train.

Have you ever had a Russian train experience? How was it?

Ramadan

If you've been following my blog for any length of time you've probably noticed, by their hijabs, that some of my really good friends here are Muslim. Ramadan started on Saturday, and if you don't know what it is, it is a month of fasting from sunrise to sundown. Here's a good article on non-Muslim etiquette towards Muslims during the month of Ramadan. At night, they join together for the Iftar, the community meal after fasting. My friend invited Elizabeth and I to join them that night for the meal. There was so much food, and I was shocked at how slow my friends were eating. If I had gone all day without food, you best bet I would have smashed on everything. I already did, and I didn't even fast that day. One particular thing I noticed about this meal was that men and women eat separately; we were in the same room, but we ate at different tables. Also, Tansulpan recommended we cover our heads, and I kept worrying about my hair showing.

It's been such an amazing opportunity to have Muslim friends. Tansulpan and I have been friends for a while, but just recently I started asking her and Fadwa more specific questions about their religion. Maybe it's because of all that's happening in the USA, maybe it's because I feel comfortable. Whatever it is I have learned so much. Like, did you know, Muslims also believe Jesus will come back and save them, as well? Also, I think it's important to share that most of my friends chose to wear the hijab. I think many people are under the impression that they are forced to, but Tansulpan told me that it was her choice and her parents were shocked when she chose to do it. Same with my friend, Fadwa. Fadwa is from Tunisia and, according to Tansulpan, the choice to wear a hijab means that you could be denied work. Also, even though we live in a majority Muslim area, they still experience discrimination. Fadwa told me the other day that sometimes at night drunk men will still act aggressively towards her when the see the hijab. This came as a shock to me, partly because this is a Muslim area and partly because I've NEVER had a problem with anyone here, even as a woman walking alone at night. She told me that she understands why people do this. They believe what the media tells them. When she told me this my heart broke because the media should not give anyone the right to act hateful towards another person.

I share these stories because I hope they will open your eyes and bust some of the stereotypes you have. I will leave you with my favorite story. I hope I tell this right, but if not the gist is there. A few weeks ago they told me a story about how they were at Rahat cafe having a good time. If you meet them you will notice right away how much they joke and laugh. Apparently, a Muslim man from another country told them that women should not behave the way they were, meaning they shouldn't be so loud. In turn, they responded by quoting the Quran about how men should not look at women the way he was looking and so on. I wish I had been there to see them do that.

This old woman literally took all the leftovers from dinner and put them in bags to take home with her. It was amazing! Also, don't ask what I'm doing. I don't think I knew I was in the picture.