Krasnoyarsk

Thursday 18/04/2013 to Saturday 20/04/2013 - KRASNOYARSK (Russia).

Krasnoyarsk, Красноярск, town of about one million inhabitants, Siberia's third largest city (after Novosibirsk and Omsk).  The place where I set my first footsteps in Russia.

Landed in Russia.

Lugage disembarkment (including my blue rucksack) before the passengers might leave the plane.

Reason for that delay: one by one measurement of the body temperature by sanitary service
(Avian Influenza H7N9).

Disembarking, after one of the Chinese passengers was taken away by ambulance.

Krasnoyarsk international airport (few flights a day).

 The hotel.  My room was on the street corner, 1st floor, 1st window on the left

(you can find all the hotel names and the prices in the page "OVERVIEW").

Nice room, two windows, well heated.

In town.

 Many old Lada cars, on and along the road.

Lenin monument on Ploshchad Revolutsii (Revolution Square).

Outdated Soviet decoration: the double-headed imperial eagle is now phoenix-reborn

(refer for instance to later pictures in my blog).

 Trolley busses.

 Wooden houses from the early 20th century.
Most of them are in bad conditions.

You must turn left in a one-way road, and you must give priority, is that right?

Other question: are you already on a one-way road? 

Reindeer children transportation, in front of the puppet theatre.

Note: this picture was postprocessed, so to remove all wrinkles  ;-)

Little hike to the Saint Paraskeva Pyatnitsa chapel.
The tiny chapel, appearing on the ten rouble banknotes, stands on the hill above the city.

House along the hiking trail. 

 View over the city.  The snow on the mountain behind belongs to a ski resort.

The Saint Paraskeva Pyatnitsa chapel, and a little girl's family celebrating her 1st communion.

The Opera and Ballet theatre.

The Opera and Ballet theatre.

Tonight, 19/4, Antigone and Elektra (Modern Ballet).  Let's go!

The theatre.

Restaurant.

Restaurant 'Shkvarok'.

 Borsch: vegetable soup with some meat.

 Chicken Kiev.

Tea.

Hiking the Stolby Nature Reserve.

 Here we are
(Russia covers about 1/6th of the world's land mass and 11 timezones)!

The nature reserve is famous for the giant boulder formations, known as stolby (pillars).

Entrance is free.

The first (little) stolb.

A more serious one, equiped for rock climbing. 

Happy to cross 'Andrei', speaking some english on my way to the second big stolb.

Sometimes my foot sunk through the thick snow.

Reaching the top of the Stolby.

View onto the toundra.

On the return.

Museum of Regional Studies.

Interesting museum, but not clear to me why it is located in a building resembling an Egyptian temple (note: pronounce 'Kacca' as 'Kassa'.

Cossack riverboat.

Retro Soviet articles.

Leaving Krasnoyarsk for Irkutsk.

(moving 1000km eastwards by the Transsiberian train, about one full day).

 Krasnoyarsk's railway station.

The ticket office

(paying just a little more, one can also obtain tickets at travel agencies).

The waiting room.

The train waiting on the platform,
mostly they halt for some 20-30 minutes in the bigger stations.

(Click here to consult the home page)