Well, as so often is the case , my day turned into a week, but I'm back to Novosibirsk (after several days on the train across the Siberian taiga, including a talk on the train about "Soviet to Modern", a Russian language lesson, a talk on populating Siberia, and finally - for now - a talk on Russian culture.)
......it continued to be a surprise to me that there were such big buildings - and traffic jams - in Siberia.
All of us readers of Russian novels know about dachas, the summer homes of Russians forever. Well, included on our list of cultural events was a visit, including dinner, to a family's dacha. I may have my facts a bit wrong here - my notes are scanty - but I seem to remember our guide saying that it was Kruschev who organized a plot for everyone who claimed it and thus provided land for the common people to grow fruits and vegetables and build a cabin for the summer holidays....
......here is Tamara, our infamous guide, with our host....
........I don't think this was exactly your typical dacha, but it did manage to fit us all in, 19 plus two guides, and the family itself, of course....
.........One of our group, Aires, brought along his harmonica and amused us...
.......yet another outdoor concert....
.......juxtaposed against remains of the Soviet Union....
.........huge buildings....(alright, just big)
....juxtaposed against (now protected) old wooden houses....
........and the world-wide phenomenon of the locks on bridges....
.......and, finally, a stop at a local indoor market, on the way back to the train...
......I don't know whether I've mentioned how surprised and pleased I was with the produce - in Siberia! Not only was there a huge supply, there was incredible variety, and, well, the tomatoes tasted like tomatoes not like cardboard, ditto for cucumbers, and apricots, and, well, anything else I tasted...
......it continued to be a surprise to me that there were such big buildings - and traffic jams - in Siberia.
All of us readers of Russian novels know about dachas, the summer homes of Russians forever. Well, included on our list of cultural events was a visit, including dinner, to a family's dacha. I may have my facts a bit wrong here - my notes are scanty - but I seem to remember our guide saying that it was Kruschev who organized a plot for everyone who claimed it and thus provided land for the common people to grow fruits and vegetables and build a cabin for the summer holidays....
......here is Tamara, our infamous guide, with our host....
........I don't think this was exactly your typical dacha, but it did manage to fit us all in, 19 plus two guides, and the family itself, of course....
.........One of our group, Aires, brought along his harmonica and amused us...
.......yet another outdoor concert....
.......juxtaposed against remains of the Soviet Union....
.........huge buildings....(alright, just big)
....juxtaposed against (now protected) old wooden houses....
........and the world-wide phenomenon of the locks on bridges....
.......and, finally, a stop at a local indoor market, on the way back to the train...
......I don't know whether I've mentioned how surprised and pleased I was with the produce - in Siberia! Not only was there a huge supply, there was incredible variety, and, well, the tomatoes tasted like tomatoes not like cardboard, ditto for cucumbers, and apricots, and, well, anything else I tasted...
Okay, I'm off. In spite of the fact that I am still taking you all through Russia, I am busy going to concerts, theaters and dinner here in Vancouver. (Hopefully, I will catch you up with all that soon). Meanwhile, Ekaterinburg next.....
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