PALACES

We arrived in Petersburg after yet another overnight train(!) and set out to visit some of the outlying imperial palaces.

The oldest are at Peterhof, where Peter the Great first built himself a place to lodge when overseeing the construction of the base for his new navy on the off-lying island of Kronstadt in the early 1700's. Over the years the park came to contain a complex of ever more ornate palaces. We visited Monplaisir, his favourite, a relatively simple building by the seafront. It was enlarged and enriched by Catherine the Great at the end of the century. Further along the front is the private dining retreat called the Hermitage - not to be confused with the giant art collection in St Petersburg! It is a two-storey box with the dining-room on the first floor and a lift system from the ground-floor servery so that the footmen did not need to enter the the room and disturb the diners!

The glory of Peterhof is the Grand Palace started by Peter and developed during the course of the century by first Elizabeth and then Catherine. The most remarkable
feature is the array of fountains and cascades in the surrounding park, partly engineered by Peter himself - a highly practical man... The fountains and statuary are all in classical style, contrasting with the barroque palace. Some of the cascades are tricks which go off when a certain stone is stepped on or at irregular intervals to soak the unwary! One we watched was being manipulated by a very po-faced attendant apparently just lounging on a bench...

The whole of Peterhof was seriously damaged in WWII, partly by the Germans and partly by bombing raids carried out by the Russian air force on Stalin's orders, to frustrate Hitler's (rather premature!) plan to hold a victory celebration here for New Year 1942. The stautes were buried for protection during the war, the rest is entirely restored.

From Peterhof we returned on the hydrofoil to Petersburg and then took the train to Tsarskoe Selo. This railway line was the first in Russia, opened in 1837 to link the capital with the imperial summer residence.

Here too there is a complex of palaces, the main one being the blue barroque extravaganza of the Catherine palace, started by Elizabeth (who employed the Italian architect Rastrelli) and finished by Catherine in the more subdued classical style of Charles Cameron. We stayed in a little hotel installed in the old servants' quarters of the barroque palace, with a marvellous view of the main facade. (Our window is behind the last tree on the right). Inside, the rooms open to the public are a blaze of colour, gold leaf and mirrors, and filled with 18th century furniture, paintings and objets d'art. In a huge operation when the nazi invasion began, all the movable objects were packed up and shipped eastward for safe keeping: with good reason! By 1945 the palace was little more than a roofless shell with snow thick on the debris which covered the beautiful parquet floors. All that one sees now has been painstakingly reconstructed, and the objects brought back from safekeeping. The result, if not exactly authentic, is breath-taking, and must be very similar to what Elizabeth and Catherine envisaged. It is unusual to see such a palace looking fresh and new.

A couple of miles away is Pavlovsk, built by Catherine the Great for her very un-great son Paul - who was stifled after 6 years on the throne. Also by Cameron, it is an open oval shape and the most attractive of the palaces for my taste. It is set in a huge and beautifully landscaped park. The railway station mimics the palace.

The most poignant palace is the Alexander, built in severe classical style for Alexander the First. It was the residence of Nicholas II and Alexandra for most of their married life, and where they were held prisoner for the first year after the tsar's abdication, before being transferred to Tobolsk. The view down the avenue from the back of the palace is now interrupted by a monument to the heroes of the revolution...

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Llegamos a Petersburg despues de otra noche en tren y salimos en seguida para conocer algunos de los palacios imperiales de los alrededores.

Los mas antiguos estan en Peterhof, donde Pedro el Grande hizo construir un alojamiento en la decada de 1700 para supervisar la construccion en la isla de Kronstadt de una base naval para su nueva armada. A traves del tiempo, se construyo en el parque un complejo de palacios cada vez mas ornados. Fuimos a Monplaisir, su preferido, una estructura relativamente sencilla a la orilla del mar. Fue extendida y enriquecida por Catalina la Grande a finales del siglo. Tambien en la orilla del mar hay una casita para cenas privadas, el Hermitage - distinto de la enorme colleccion de arte del mismo nombre en Petersburg! Es una casita de dos pisos con el comedor en el segundo piso y un sistema de ascensores desde abajo para que los criados no tuvieran que entrar al comedor, interrumpiendo los comensales.

La gloria de Peterhof es el Gran Palacio empezado por Pedro y desarrollado durante el siglo por Elizabeta y posteriormente por Catalina. LO mas impactante es la serie de cascadas y fuentes en el parque, el mismo Pedro hizo una parte del trabajo de
ingenieria... Las fuentes y las estatuas estan en estilo clasico, en contraste al palacio barroco. Hay algunas fuentes de trampa que funcionan cuando uno pisa cierta
piedra, mojando a los inocentes...

Todo Peterhof sufrio danos serios en la segunda guerra mundial, tanto por los Alemanes como por los mismos rusos quienes lo bombardearon - bajo ordenes de Stalin - para frustrar los planes de Hitler de tener una celebracion de victoria en el palacio para el ano nuevo de 1942. Las estatuas fueron enterradas para su proteccion, el resto esta restaurado.

Desde Peterhof volvimos a Petersburg y tomamos el tren a Tsarskoe Selo. Esta linea ferrocarril es la primera construida en Rusia, en 1837, para unir la capital con la residencia imperial de verano.

Aqui tambien hay un complejo de palacios, el principal siendo la extravaganza barroca celeste del palacio de Catalina, empezado por Elizabeta (con el arquitecto italiano Rastrelli) y terminado por Catalina en el estilo clasico de Charles Cameron. Alojamos en un pequeno hotel instalado en los antiguos cuarteles de la servidumbre con vista a la fachada principal. El interior, en la parte abierta al publico, hay un ambiente increible de color, de hoja de oro y de espejos, lleno de muebles, cuadros y objetos del siglo 18. En una operacion enorme, cuando empezo la invasion nazi, todo lo movible fue empacado y enviado al oriente para su seguridad: con razon! Hasta 1945, el palacio era una ruina sin techo, lleno de nieve y escombros. Todo lo que se ve ahora es el resultado de una restauracion detallada, y los objetos han sido traidos de vuelta. El resultado, si no exactamente autentico, es de quedarse boca abierta, y sin duda muy parecido a lo envisionado por Elizabeta y Catalina. Es poco comun ver un palacio con aspecto tan fresco.

A un par de kilometros esta Pavlovsk, construido por Catalina la Grande para su hijo 'NO' grande, Pablo - matado 6 anos despues de ascender al trono. Tambien por Cameron, tiene forma ovalada abierta y para mi era el palacio mas hermosa que vimos. Se encuentra en un parque enorme con paisajismo belisimo. La estacion de trenens imita el palacio.

Para nosotros, el mas emocinante de los palacios es el de Alejandro, construido en estilo clasico para Alejandro I. Fue residencia de Nicholas II y Alejandra durante su vida casada, y donde quedaron detenidos durante el primer ano despues de la abdicacion del tsar, hasta que fueran transladados a Tobolsk. La vista por la avenida atras de la casa esta interrumpida hoy en dia por un monumento a los heroes de la revolucion...

THE 'GOLDEN RING'

North east of Moscow lies a group of historic towns closely bound up with the first 3 or 4 centuries of Russia's history. Several of them served as capitals of small or large principalities, and later of the burgeoning state of Muscovy, which had subsumed them all by the late 14th century. The history of 'Russ' (roughly, the eastern slavs) began further south in Kiev (now Ukraine once more) but linked slav principalities grew up in the north and a northern capital was established in 1015. From the end of the 11th century the Golden ring cities began to grow and prosper, usually on the back of a religious foundation which worked the land - huge tracts of it in some cases - and the commerce of local traders whose dealings stretched from the Baltic to Turkey.

The wealth of historic buildings - kremlins (fortified citadels), monasteries and nunneries (generally also fortified), churches and cathedrals - has survived the soviet era remarkably well. One, Sergiev Posad, was allowed to start to function as a monastery again in the sixties and was tolerated as the home of the orthodox religion and its patriarch from then on.
It contains the graves of tsar Boris Godunov and his family. Boris died in 1605, just as an uprising started in which his son was lynched. His wife died soon after, but his sister lived on (in the monastery) until 1622. (The 7,--- dates are of the orthodox system, counting from the creation.) There is also a sacred well supposed to have sprung up miraculously when the monastery was being besieged (unsuccessfully) by a Polish army. People queue to fill bottles with the Holy Water.


Vladimir is now one of the largest cities in the area and contains a magnificent 12th century cathedral with beautiful carvings outside,
and another larger one with frescoes within.
It also has a "Golden gate", modelled on the great gate at Kiev;
and a statue to Alexander Nevsky, who defeated a Swedish army in 1240 and was subsequently made Grand Prince of Vladimir (back view!) The cathedral on the right was converted into a planetarium... There are also some fine 18th and 19th century buildings.

Suzdal is a complete contrast - quiet and rural, although tourism is being fast developed on quite a large scale. There are three large monasteries, some smaller ones, a kremlin
and 30 or more independent churches, mainly sponsored by merchants from the 17th-19th centuries.
One monastery has a tall classical bell tower built to celebrate the defeat of Napoleon in 1812. We stayed in a 17th century merchant's house, now a B&B, with a sunny flower garden.

The St Euthymius monastery has a beautiful herb and vegetable garden which inspired Magda to several photos!
All the plots are labelled, with Russian and latin names and the uses of the plant.

It is a remarkable fact that the traditional building style is the same here as we met when we first entered Russia in Ulan Ude. Presumably as Russian colonists drove east they took their techniques with them, and these are faithfully reproduced even down to details of the ornate fretwork surrounding the windows. The same techniques are still being used...

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Al noreste de Moscu existe un grupo de ciudades historicas estrechamente ligadas a los primeros 3 o 4 siglos de la historia de Rusia, conocidas en conjunto como el Anillo de oro. Varias de ellas sirvieron de capitales de estados pequenos o medianos, y algunas, posteriormente, del estado Muscovito, el cual las habia absorbido hacia el fin del siglo 14. La historia de los pueblos 'Russ' (aproximadamente, los eslavos orientales) empezo mas al sur en Kiev (ahora nuevamente capital de Ucrainia) pero luego se formaron principalidades en el norte, y en 1015 se establecio un capital norteno. A partir de fines del siglo 11, las ciudades del Anillo de oro empezaban a florecer, normalmente basado en algun monasterio que trabajaba la tierra - grandes extensiones en algunos casos - y del comercio que se desarollaba desde el Mar Baltico hasta Turquia.

Una gran cantidad de edificios historicos - kremlins (ciudadelas fortificadas), monasterios (en general fortificados tambien), iglesias y catedrales - sobrevivio la epoca sovietica. En una ciudad, Sergiev Posad, el monasterio fue permitido funcionar nuevamente a partir de los anos 60, y tolerado como el hogar de la religion ortodoja y de su patriarca. Contiene las tumbas del tsar Boris Godunov y su familia - Boris murio en 1605, en el momento de una rebelion en la cual mataron a su hijo. La esposa de Boris murio poco despues, pero la hermana vivio en el monasterio hasta 1622. Tambien existe un pozo milagroso, que supuestamente broto durante un sitio por parte de los polacos. La gente hace cola para llenar botellas de agua santa.

Vladimir es hoy en dia una de las ciudades mas grandes de la region y contiene dos catedrales magnificos del siglo 12. Hay un "Porton de oro", copiado del Porton grande de Kiev; y una estatua de Alexander Nevsky, quien derroto un ejercito sueco en 1240 y fue convertido por el tsar en Gran Principe de Vladimir. Otra catedral fue convertida en planetarium... Ademas hay unos edificios esplendidos de los siglos 18 y 19.

Suzdal es un contraste completo - tranquilo y rural, aunque el turismo se esta desarrollando. Existen tres monasterios grandes, algunos mas chicos, un kremlin y 30 o mas iglesias independientes, la mayoria auspiciadas por comerciantes de los siglos 17 a 19. Uno de los monasterios tiene un campanario grande construido para celebrar la derrota de Napoleon en 1812. Alojamos en una casa de comerciante del siglo 17, convertido en hotel, con un bonito jardin. El monasterio de San Eutimio contiene un hermoso jardin de hierbas y verduras, el cual inspiro a la Magda a tomar varias fotos! Cada pedazo tiene su etiqueta con el nombre de la planta en ruso y latin, y sus usos.

Es un hecho remarcable que el estilo de las casas tradicionales aqui es igual al que encontramos cuando llegamos a Rusia en Ulan Ude. Supongo que a medida que los colonos rusos avanzaban hacia el oriente, llevaban consigo las tecnicas conocidas; y estas reaparecen, hasta en el detalle del trabajo ornado alrededor de las ventanas. Siguen construyendo casas de la misma manera...

VOLGA VALLEY

The next leg down the Volga took us to Samara, an unpretentious city with a lot of sandy beach! There is some nice architecture, including an 18th century theatre (closed), and we went to a chamber concert in the Roman Catholic church built around 1900, used as a museum and then a cinema during the soviet period...

We stayed in the Bristol Hotel, built at the end of the 19th century and recently refurbished. The next door to ours bore the legend "Shalyapin's Room" - the great operatic bass stayed here in 1909 and gave a series of concerts in the theatre. He also gave an impromptu recital from his balcony to admirers in the street below!

During the war, Samara was the alternative capital of the USSR, and a bunker was built for Stalin 9 floors below ground level - but never used. The only people who moved here from Moscow were the members of diplomatic missions to Russia, who had a very pleasant time far from the horrors of the war...



From Samara we took another river trip three hours up to a little village called Shiroyaevo, made famous in the late 19th century by the visit of the artist Ilya Repin for a few months. Here he made studies for his famous painting (now in the Russian Museum in St Petersburg) of Barge-haulers on the Volga - using villagers as models. The village now is burgeoning with the construction of lots of new dachas by the Samara middle class; cruise ships journeying from Moscow to Astrakhan (the mouth of the Volga on the Caspian Sea) also call there to see the Repin House museum.

The next - rather undistinguished - city which we visited was Saratov. We arrived in time for a late breakfast in a pleasant French cafe, and later went to have another swim in the river, returning to the centre just in time before the heavens opened.

Our final stop on the Volga was Volgograd - better known to history as Stalingrad after the emblematic battle of 1941-42. Probably the turning point of the war, it cost over 1,000,000 Russian lives and 750,000 German, not to mention the many prisoners who died in labour camps. The city was virtually destroyed, but the invasion of Russia was stopped definitively and the German army's winning streak was broken.

For Russia it is the strongest symbol of the "Great Patriotic War" and the memories are very much alive, not just in the memorials but among the people - we saw two elderly people on the bus wearing their medals, apparently on an ordinary Monday.


We went to see the statue of Mother Russia and the eternal flame on Kurgan Mound, just north of the city centre and a key tactical point. The names of a 'token' 7,200 Russian soldiers are inscribed in the memorial. There is also a brand new church, but it is insignificant beside the 83 metre high statue.

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La proxima etapa por el rio Volga nos llevo a Samara, ciudad de pocas pretensiones y mucha playa! Hay algunos edificios interesantes, entre ellos un teatro del siglo 18 (cerrado), y asistimos a un concierto de camara en la iglesia catolica de 1900, ocupada durante la epoca sovietica como cine y museo...

Nos alojamos en el hotel Bristol, del decada de 1890 y recien redecorado. La puerta al lado de la nuestra decia "Pieza de Shalyapin" - el gran bajo estuvo alojado aqui en 1909, cuando dio una seria de conciertos en el teatro. Tambien hizo un recital impromptu desde el balcon de su pieza para sus admiradores en la calle!

Durante la guerra, Samara era el capital alternativo del USSR, y se construyo un bunker para Stalin, 9 pisos debajo del suelo - nunca se ocupo. Los unicos que abandonaron Moscu era los diplomaticos, quienes pasaron un rato muy agradable lejos de la guerra...

Desde Samara hicimos otro viaje por el rio al pequeno pueblo de Shiroyaevo, famoso por la visita (siglo 19) del pintor Ilya Repin durante varios meses. Aqui hizo estudios para su pintura famosa (ahora en St Petersburgo) de los hombres que tiraban las barcazas por el Volga. El pueblo ahora esta floreciendo con la construccion de muchas dachas nuevas por la clase media de Samara; los cruceros que pasan desde Moscu a Astrakhan (embocadura del rio en el Mar Caspiano) tambien paran para que los pasajeros conozcan la casa/museo de Repin.

La proxima ciudad - no muy distinguida - que conocimos es Saratov. Llegamos a tiempo para un desayuno tardio en un cafe frances, muy agradable. Fuimos a la playa del Volga por la tarde, volviendo justo antes que se pusiera a llover a chuzos.

La ultima parada era Volgograd - mejor conocido como Stalingrad por la batalla emblematica de 1941-42. Probablemente el momento de quiebre de la guerra, costo mas de un millon de vidas rusas y 750.000 alemanas, sin hablar de los que murieron en los campos de trabajo. La ciudad fue destruida casi en su totalidad, pero la invasion nazi de Rusia fue parada y la suerte del ejercito aleman fue cambiado.

Para los Rusos, constituye el simbolo mas fuerte de la "Gran guerra Patriotica" y los recuerdos siguen muy vivos, y no solo en los recordatorios formales - vimos a dos viejitos en el tranvia luciendo sus medallas. Fuimos a ver la estatua de Madre Rusia, junta a la Llama eterna, en el monte Kurgan al norte del centro, un punto clave en la batalla. Estan inscritos 7.200 nombres de soldados rusos - como simbolo de los muertos. Tambien han hecho una iglesia nueva, pero se pierde al lado de la estatua, que tiene una altura de 83 metros.

KAZAN

Kazan is the capital of the 'autonomous' republic of Tatarstan. The Kremlin contains a splendid 19th century presidential palace, which, like much of the city, had an extensive facelift for the 1000th anniversary of its founding in 2005 - work still continues, and while dilapidated corners still exist they are being eliminated.
As in Tobolsk, the Tatars form a significant percentage of the population, and there is a large and splendid new mosque in the Kremlin, replacing one destroyed by Ivan Grozny (the Terrible) in 1552!

There is a leaning tower near the presidential palace, reputedly built by Ivan for a local princess, widow of three Khans, whom he wanted to marry. She agreed - on condition that he build a tower taller than the mosque (before it was destroyed) inside a week. To her chagrin, he achieved the challenge; the legend says that she then committed suicide by jumping off the tower, rather than marry the tsar. However he went on to capture and sack the city anyway and Tatarstan has remained part of Russia to this day.

The city also has a splendid 18th C (?) university where Lenin was an undergraduate -
although he was in fact sent down for revolutionary activities and forming undesirable associations... Surprise, surprise... There are at least two youthful statues of him near the university. He was born in Simbirsk (now Ulyanovsk) a couple of hours downstream.

We took a trip down the Volga on a local ferry, although the weather was not very photogenic... The river is of course a great artery of traffic, both cargo (mainly barges) and cruise ships. Cruises are booked up well in advence so we had to settle for short trips.

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Kazan es capital de la republica 'autonoma' de Tatarstan. El Kremlin contiene un palacio esplendido del siglo 19, ocupado por el presidente. Fue restaurado en 2005 en un programa de restauracion para los mil anos de la fundacion la ciudad - siguen trabajando y quedan pocos rincones sin restaurar. Igual a Tobolsk, hay una poblacion importante de Tatares, y existe una nueva mezquita grande y esplendida en el Kremlin, para reemplazar una destruida por Ivan Grozny (el Terrible) en 1552!

Cerca del palacio hay una torre inclinada, supuestamente construida por Ivan para una princesa local, viuda de tres Khanes, con la cual se queria casar. Ella acepto, bajo la condicion que construyera una torre mas alta que la mezquita (destruida posteriormente) dentro de una semana. Lamentablemente para ella, lo hizo; entonces ella se suicidio saltando de la torre, antes de casarse con el tsar. Sin embargo el vencio y destryo la ciudad y sigue siendo parte de Russia.

La ciudad posee una esplendida universida del siglo 18 (?) donde estudio Lenin - lo echaron por actividades revolucionarias y por asociaciones indeseables... Que sorpresa... Existen por lo menos dos estatuas del joven Lenin cerca de la universidad. Nacio en Simbirsk (hoy Ulyanovsk), a unas horas hacia el sur por el Volga.

Hicimos un viaje por el rio Volga en un ferry local, el tiempo no nos acompano, aunque no llovio... Por supuesto, el ria es una gran arteria de transito, tanto de carga (principalmente en barcazas) y cruceros.

TOBOLSK

Those who are following our travels on the map will be surprised to see that we have jumped back eastward for a final sally into Siberia! We arrived on the overnight train from Ekaterinburg and our first stop – once we had managed to leave our rucksacks in the lockers at the mosquito-infested station – was a refreshing breakfast in the Sibirsk hotel!

Tobolsk is a peaceful little town beside the broad river Irtysh. It was the original capital of Siberia (when no one knew for sure how far Siberia extended) and consists (like Gaul) of three distinct parts: the ancient Kremlin on the high ground, based on the fort originally built in 1587;
the "old town" which is sinking peacefully into the marshes along the river bank beneath the Kremlin; and the rather uninteresting new town, basically soviet era, on high ground to the east.

The Kremlin contains two recently restored churches, one with old paintings on the ceiling, and a museum – our old friends from Irkutsk, the Decembrists, also feature prominently here, forming an intellectual local society and promoting an institute for training lady teachers. There is also a bell tower built to house a bell tolled in Moscow to start a rebellion in the late 16th century. The revolution failed, and tsar Boris Godunov had the bell flogged and its tongue removed, prior to exiling it to Siberia! No doubt the perpetrators were treated in similar fashion, or worse.

The old town consists mainly of rather decrepit typical wooden houses, a number of churches, some restored, a little mosque and a few houses of solid material. The biggest and best served as "home" (prison) to the imperial family from November 1917 to April 1918, prior to their final removal to Ekaterinburg. They were reasonably treated here, and the tsar's study has been "recreated" as a little museum. There is also a pile of logs in the garden as he used to chop and saw as his only way of getting exercise. It is all rather touching.

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Los que estan siguiendo nuestro viaje en el mapa se sorprenderan de ver que hemos partido nuevamente hacia el este – una ultima visita en Siberia! Llegamos a Tobolsk en el tren de noche desde Ekaterinburg y depues de dejar las mochilas en la estacion (un desafio!) fuimos a tomar desayuno en el hotel Sibir!

Tobolsk es una pequena ciudad pacible al borde del ancho rio Irtysh. Fue el capital original de Siberia (cuando no se sabia a ciencia cierta hasta donde se extendia Siberia) y consiste (como Gallia) de tres partes distintas: el antiguo Kremlin en un cerro, basado en la fuerte originalmente construida en 1587; la "ciudad antigua" que se esta desmorronando tranquilamente en los pantanos al lado del rio, y debajo del Kremlin; y la ciudad nueva, no muy interesante, de la epoca sovietica.

El Kremlin contiene dos iglesias restauradas, una con pinturas antiguas en el techo; y un museo – nuestros amigos de Irkutsk, los Decembristas, tambien estuvieron aqui, formando una sociedad intelectual y promoviendo un colegio para la formacion de institutrices. Tambien existe una torre construida para una campana que se toco en Moscu para llamar a una revolucion a fines del siglo 16. La revolucion fracaso, y el tsar Boris Godunov mando a castigar la campana a latigazos, se le saco la lengua y se mando exiliada a Siberia! Sin duda los rebeldes sufrieron un destino parecido - o peor.

La ciudad antigua consiste principalmente de casas tipicas de troncos, algunas iglesias, una pequena mezquita y algunas casas de material. La mas grande sirvio de casa (carcel) a la familia imperial entre Noviembre 1917 y Abril 1918, antes de que la mandaron a Ekaterinburg. Los trataban bastante bien, y el escritorio del tsar ha sido "re-creado" como museo. En el jardin hay un monton de trncos, ya que su unica manera de tomar ejercicio era de cortar lena.

EKATERINBURG

From Almaty the train rattled us north across the steppe once more, through the oil-rich city of Karagandy and the new capital of Kazakhstan, Astana, and into Russia where the countryside turned green and forested again.

Ekaterinburg is an industrial city of 2,000,000 inhabitants, with two main claims to fame: it was in this highly militant revolutionary city that the last tsar and his family were murdered in July 1918; and it was here that the T34, “the tank which won the Great Patriotic War (WWII)” was produced. The tank factory still exists, but the house where the tsar was killed was bulldozed in the 70’s. A tiny and moving wooden chapel marks the exact site. Unfortunately, the large square “Church of the Blood” has been built just next door to commemorate the imperial family (who have been promoted to sainthood) rather spoiling the effect.


We stayed in the Hotel Sverdlovsk – the name borne by the city from 1924 until the 1990’s in honour of Lenin’s principal crony. The hotel has kept its soviet name, along with the facilities in most of the rooms (at least ours!) and its service ethic. However it more or less satisfied our needs (good breakfast!), and my Russian was probably part of the problem; a noble minority of the staff were very kind and helpful, and a major face-lift is in progress. View of the station from our window.


The city lies near a gap in the Urals, an ancient mountain chain resulting from the clash millions of years ago of two tectonic plates, more recently designated as Europe and Asia (roughly). We stood astride the official border between the continents, on the main ridge. The Urals here are low and wooded, rather reminiscent of the Cotswolds. Further north they stretch up into the Arctic, bare and snowy, while further south they rise to nearly 2,000 metres – but that meant a full day’s drive each way. We went therefore to a little national park called Deer Streams and had two of the idlest days ‘Adventure Tourism’ I have ever enjoyed, drifting down a gentle trout stream in a rubber dinghy!
We got out to visit a few limestone caves, and the furthest we walked was about 3 km.
The most exciting part was the drive out down a muddy track in a Russian 4x4.

Yekaterinburg was industrial from its foundation by Peter the Great in 1724, to take advantage of deposits of minerals and semi-precious stones. The museum has a model of the original foundry, run by water power from a dam which still blocks the river Iset in the city centre.

School of architecture!

I broke my glasses and we had an entertaining time trying to get them fixed - in Russian...

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Desde Almaty, volvimos hacia el norte a traves de la estepa, pasando por Karagandy, ciudad petrolera, y por el nuevo capital de Kazakhstan, Astana. En Rusia, el paisaje era nuevamente de bosques verdes.

Ekaterinburg es una ciudad industrial de 2.000.000 de habitantes, famosa por dos motives principales: en esta ciudad revolucionaria militante mataron al ultimo tsar y su familia en Julio de 1918; y es aqui que se producia el T34, “el tanque que gano la Gran Guerra Patriotica (II Guerra Mundial)”. La fabrica de tanques existe todavia; la casa donde murio el tsar fue destruida en los ‘70. El sitio exacto es marcado por una pequena capilla de madera. Lamentablemente, han construido una iglesia nueva al lado, cuadrada y grande – la Iglesia de la Sangre – para conmemorar la familia imperial, ahora elevados a santos.

Nos alojamos en el Hotel Sverdlovsk – el nombre de la misma ciudad durante la epoca sovietica, nombrado por el colega principal de Lenin. El hotel retiene todavia su nombre sovietico, junto a las facilidades en muchas de las habitaciones (incluyendo la nuestra), y el etico de servicio sovietico. Sin embargo, satisfacia nuestras necesidades – un buen desayuno! – y sin duda mi ruso defectuoso era gran parte del problema; algunos de los empleados se demostraban amables y cooperadores; y estan mejorando la infraestructura.

La ciudad se ubica en un corte en la cordillera de los Urales, cordillera antigua producida por el encuentro de dos placas tectonicas – ahora Europa y Asia. Nos paramos en la frontera continental oficial. Son unas colinas bajas, cubiertas de bosque, que se extienden hacia el Arctico, mientras en el sur suben hasta 2.000 metros. Fuimos a un pequeno parque nacional para dos dias de “Turismo Aventura” – lo mas flojo que he conocido!! bajando un rio tranquilo en balsa. Conocimos un par de cuevas, caminando hasta 3km!! Lo mas emocionante era la vuelta por un camino muy malo en un 4x4 ruso.

Yekaterinburg era ciudad industrial desde que la fundo Pedro el Grande en 1724, para aprovechar los depositos de minerales. El museo contiene una maqueta de la fabrica de hierro original, con energia hidraulica de una represa que todavia atraviesa el rio Iset en el centro de la ciudad.

ALMATY

The main reason for including Kazakhstan in our schedule was to catch up with Christopher and Mandy, friends from university days who are on a British Council posting here. It has been marvellous to see them again, to enjoy their hospitality (not least the Saturday lunch with a bottle of vodka and Russian-style toasts) and learn something of their experiences in Kazakhstan and Russia. Chris is still a keen photographer and we had a lovely day together in the mountains above the city.

Almaty has a fantastic setting, rather similar to Santiago, backed by a wall of mountains to the south. These rise to nearly 5000m (from under 1000) in less than 20 km, to form the border with Kirghizstan.

The city climbs south from the centre with its splendid cathedral. Orthodox religion is a bit less formal than in Russia, for example the women are not expected to wear headress in church, although many of the older ones do. The muslim rules are also more relaxed – plenty of mini-skirts in the streets! There are a number of mosques and there is a concerted attempt to recover the country’s pre-soviet, muslim, Kazakh-speaking identity. The language is of the Turcik group, part of the language chain which stretches from the Mongolian border to the Aegean. The languages are as close as the romance languages of western Europe, and there are a number of Turks in business here who can use their own language to communicate.

Other impressions of Almaty, more or less haphazard: seeing a legendary bluebird (about the size of a collared dove and deep blue) flashing across a stream; the crowded and colourful “Green bazaar” (the central market) where you can buy just about anything; the iron-wheeled soviet tractor in the museum, possessed of neither tyres nor springs; the massively ugly soviet war memorial (600,000 Kazakhs died fighting in WWII); drinking real Pimms at the Queen’s birthday party, courtesy of HM ambassador; Mandy’s beautiful flower-garden.

Magda writes: This has been the most multi-culti, multi-ethnic, multi-social place we have seen. There are so many unknown codes; people may speak Russian or Kazakh, the cars may have left or right hand drive, there are not many traffic-lights but pedestrians always – or almost – have right of way, especially at marked crossings. This is real adventure tourism! The information is not always complete or correct, you have to reconfirm everything and even so you are not sure about what you are getting. Perhaps because of the weather or their history – or both – people tend to look grumpy and introverted, almost unhappy, although if you can establish contact in whatever language, including the use of gestures and intuition which seldom fails, they are very friendly. We are strange animals and clearly identifiable. Where we are staying there are two beautiful cats (of course), and they together with Mandy and Chris make this place an oasis of calm with unforgetable after-dinner sessions!

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El motivo principal de nuestra visita a Kazakhstan era de ver a Christopher and Mandy, amigos mios de la universidad quienes estan aqui por el British Council. Ha sido maravilloso estar con ellos nuevamente, disfrutar de su hospitalidad y aprender algo de sus experiencias en Kazakhstan y Russia. Hubo un almuerzo el dia sabado con una botella de vodka y con brindis al estilo Ruso... Chris sigue siendo fotografo entusiasta y pasamos un dia hermoso juntos en los cerros arriba de la ciudad.

Almaty tiene una ubicacion fantastica, parecida a la de Santiago, con una muralla de montanas atras. Suben hasta casi 5000m (desde menos de 1000) en menos de 20 km, para formar la frontera con Kirghizstan.

La ciudad sube hacia el sur desde el centro con su esplendida catedral. La religion ortodoja es menos formal que en Rusia, por ejemplo las mujeres no estan obligadas a llevar un panuelo en la cabeza en la iglesia, aunque muchas lo hacen. Las reglas musulmanes tambien son mas relajadas – muchas minifaldas en las calles! Hay varias mezquitas y se esta haciendo un esfuerzo concentrado para recuperar la identidad pre-sovietica del pais – musulman y de habla Kazakh. El idioma es del grupo Turcico, una cadena de idiomas desde la frontera con Mongolia hasta Turquia. Son tan parecidos com el castellano con el italiano.

Otras impresiones de Almaty, sin orden especial: ver el legendario “Pajaro azul” – del porte de un zorzal (o un poco mas) y de un azul oscuro e intenso; el mercado central, lleno de gente y de colores; un tractor sovietico en un museo, con ruedas de acero, sin neumaticos ni resortes; el enorme y feo monumento a los caidos de la Segunda guerra mundial (murieron 600,000 Kazakh); la fiesta de cumpleanos de la reina!

Magda escribe: Hasta aqui ha sido lo mas multiculti, multietnico, multisocial que hemos visto. Hay tantos codigos desconocidos, hablan ruso o Kazakh, los autos tienen manurios a la derecha como la izquieda, no hay muchos semaforos pero los peatones siempre o casi siempre tienen la preferencia, sobretodo si esta marcado en la calle. Hacer turismo es toda una aventura, la informacion no siempre es la correcta o esta descontinuada, hay que reconfirmarlo todo y ni asi se esta seguro de lo que se obtiene. Por el clima o la historia o ambas dos, la gente en general se ve hosca, introvertida casi descontenta, si bien cuando uno puede contactarse con ellos, en el idioma que sea, sin descontar las manos, gestos varios y la intuicion que pocas veces falla, son muy agradables y atenciosos. Uno es un bicho raro plenamente identificable. En la casa donde estamos hay dos lindos gatos, como no, entre ellos, Mandy y Chris hacen de este lugar un oasis e tranquilidad y sobremesas inolvidables.