The Hike to Vvedenskaya Sloboda

There really isn't much to do at Innopolis. Like there is one grocery store and that's it. If you want to do something other than work out or hang out on campus you either have you make sure you are able to find a seat on the bus to Kazan, pay an outrageous amount for a taxi which may not even come, or find some other alternative like hiking through nature. On our way to Innopolis from the airport we drove over the Volga River and from the bridge you could see sands and people laying on the beach. Elmira decided at that moment that she wanted to go to the beach. Unfortunately, we didn't know how to get there. Then, Zach told us he knew a way to another beach, we convinced Elmira to go through nature, and then on our day off we headed down to the river.

Can you see the Volga River in the distance?

Within five minutes my feet were already covered in dirt from the pile we had to climb over to get to the grass. The grass we walked through was up to my waist and I was continually covered in burrs. We had to watch our for holes and dead animals. I even experienced krapiva, the Russian name for stinging nettle. I don't think we have nettles in Ohio, if we do then we care more about poison ivy. All Russians know krapiva. It's not as horrific as poison ivy but it definitely leaves your skin with a burning sensation that lasts about 15 minutes. Are you familiar with Indian Rug Burns? When you twists the skin on someones arm to make it burn? Surely you did it to someone as a child. Well, in Russia they don't call it Indian rug burns they call it krapiva.
Zach had walked the path before so he kept pointing out landmarks he remembered last year when him and a group of guys decided to walk to the river after a fire drill. We came upon a dried up stream that he said had water in it last year. This summer has been HOT! Both in Kazan and Ufa it's been in the upper 80s to 90s, and it'll rain once every 2 weeks. I'd rather take this heat over Cleveland's though because there is a lot less humidity. My hair and humidity don't get along.

After the river we continued walking and eventually made it to a path made by car wheels. The path led us to a little village where we saw some chickens and you could even see Innopolis in the distance. We weren't exactly sure where to go from there so Elmira stopped to ask a boy directions to the river. He told us where to go, so naturally we took the complete opposite direction because Zach didn't want to walk on the asphalt.

We eventually made it to the road and took the road the rest of the way. In case you plan on walking on the road in Russia (which I don't recommend) you need to walk on the side of the road as the oncoming traffic. It's Russian law, just so you know. We met a goat along the way and I took way too many pictures of it because it was so cute and friendly. We stopped in a little store where we got some ice cream to give us energy and cool us down. Right before we got to the beach we walked past a natural spring where you could fill up your water bottles for free. I wish I had taken pictures of the building because it was pretty neat. It reminded me of this spring my mom used to take us to to fill up jugs of water for our water cooler until chemicals were found in the water and the stopped people from doing that.

Does that island in the picture below look familiar? Yep, that is Sviyazhsk Isand. It's pretty cool that the island is so close. There is also a ship near the island digging up sand from the river and it sounds like something out of Jurassic Park. I would not have been surprised if I saw a Tyrannosaurus Rex break out of the ship. When we settled down Elmira lay out in the sun while Zach and I stayed in the shade to relax. Elmira didn't understand why we walked all that way to act like we wanted to go back but we said the adventure was the best part! I enjoyed watching all the children swimming and reading my book. I didn't want to go in the water though because it seemed kind of dangerous to me, but I spent a lot of time at Lake Erie and I don't think it can get much worse than that.

We wanted to hitch hike back since we were all tired and hangry but our attempts to do so were unsuccessful. Eventually a taxi driver drove past us and Elmira flagged him down. He was kind of a jerk overcharging us when we were actually doing him a favor, but Elmira talked him down 50 rubles. The ride was still overpriced but split three ways it was definitely worth it. There is a way to the river that is much easier, but I'm kind of glad we took the path less traveled because I haven't experienced much Russian nature since being here almost a year! Has there been a time where you took the path less traveled either physically or metaphorically? How was it?

The Kazan Universiade Mural

Do you ever feel like you know a place so well but then see it from a different viewpoint and you notice something you've never seen before? It happens to me all the time. Although I can't claim to know Kazan like the back of my hand, I thought I knew Bauman street pretty well considering that is where Anton and I spent most of our time. In the taxi, on the way to Innopolis, the taxi driver took us through downtown but on a street parallel to Bauman. I happened to look out the window at the exact time we passed this art and I vowed to come back to take pictures.

During the bootcamp we finished at 4 pm which meant we had enough time to go to Kazan after work. On my first attempt to come to the city I was too tired to stay. I literally took an hour bus ride to the city just to get back on the bus 20 minutes later. During that first trip I almost came to this art but happened to turn left instead of right completely missing it. It was on my second visit to the city that I found it again and was able to take pictures. 
I'm always interested how certain murals or street art came to be but usually there isn't any information about the artist. Fortunately, this mural had the website of the artist written right on the wall. It was painted by Daniel Fay an Uzbek who moved to Russia when he was 10 years old. It was painted for 2013 Summer Universiade which was held in Kazan. The Summer Universiade is an athletic competition between universities and is similar to the Olympic games. If you take a taxi from the airport you can see many of the buildings they constructed for the games.  What city has the best mural you've ever seen?

Sviyazhsk Island

For the last two weeks I was working at a bootcamp for incoming students at Innopolis University. Since it was a bootcamp we were required to work every day, Monday-Saturday, with a day off on Sunday. One of the teachers who was working with me suggested we go to Sviyazhsk Island because it is a popular tourist destination for those visiting Kazan. It is outside of the city, so I thought it would be a good idea to go because I probably wouldn't visit if I were to come back to Kazan again. We had trouble getting a taxi to and from Innopolis because it is so far out of the city that taxi drivers don't want to make the trip out, even though Innopolis is closer to Sviyazhsk than Kazan. One finally agreed to take us, and ended up having to make two trips so all seven of us could go.

Sviyazhsk has been around since the 16th century when Ivan the Terrible asked for the construction of a military base near Kazan in his attempt to take over the region. The fortress was built some 700 km away, in the town of Uglich, and all the pieces were shipped downstream so the construction of the fortress would not bring attention to Ivan's plan. The name, Sviyazhsk, was given to the island by Ivan because of its location on the Volga and Sviyaga Rivers. 
After Ivan defeated Kazan it was no longer needed as a base and was turned into a center of Orthodox Christianity and Russian influence in the area. Ivan asked Postnik Yakovlev to build the churches and monasteries at Sviyazhsk. Yakovlev is best known for his design of St. Basil's Cathedral in Red Square. Today, Sviyazhsk is a livable city with a school and most of it's residents working in the cafes and shops on the island. I really enjoyed walking around the town and seeing the architecture of the houses. While many wooden towns are falling apart it seems the residents are trying to keep up the charm of the town. There was a lot of construction of many of the houses while I was there. 
As I was walking around I noticed a lot of the Orthodox crosses (pictured above) in random spots around the island. While doing some research I learned that they mark the areas where churches used to stand. Unfortunately, during the Revolution, the Bolsheviks destroyed many of the churches on the island. The buildings that weren't destroyed still stand today. During Stalin's rule the island was turned into a Gulag and many of the buildings were turned into prison cells. The Monument  to Victims of Political Repression (pictured below) stands at the front of the town in remembrance of the island's dark past.

There are several cafeteria style cafes, a restaurant, and plenty of places to buy souvenirs in addition to the historical sites. One of the teachers and I actually met each other while sitting on a bench and decided to get something to eat on the island. Keep in mind the restaurant near the front fills up pretty quickly and doesn't have many places to sit. I would recommend the cafeteria though. I believe there were also activities for young children, but I didn't get a good look because I was tired, hot, and hungry while I was walking around alone and just wanted somewhere to sit.
The island is definitely worth visiting. Entrance to the island is free, but you must get a ticket from the office to the right of the stairs leading up to the town. The also allow purchase of tickets for a guided tour and to the museums at a cost. Also, you should note that in the areas housing the monasteries (the areas surrounded by walls) will require you to wrap a long cloth around your waist if you are wearing shorts or pants. I learned this the hard way and was told by one of the priests to wrap it around my waist. The island provides them at the entrance to the monasteries. A lot of women were wearing head scarves which you should wear inside most Orthodox churches. I heard that they usually allow tourists to enter the churches without them, but I didn't even try because I didn't want to risk it. Plus, I hate getting yelled at in Russian.  Would you add Sviyazhsk to your Kazan itinerary? Why or why not?