russia: nizhneangarsk, severobaikalsk, and tynda

My last post was about time I spent in two cities, this one is going to be about three cities: Nizhneangarsk, Severobaikalsk, and Tynda. None of these three cities had much to see or do, in fact I stopped in two of them simply because I needed a break from the train. 

My train from Bratsk arrived in Severobaikalsk the next morning. If I had driven, it would've been a 12 hour drive minimum, covering nearly 700 kilometers. The train ride was a bit longer, but as it was my nighttime accommodation, I was fine with the time.

I'd visited Severobaikalsk during winter, and this visit was in summer, so of course everything looked completely different. I remembered that there wasn't anything else I wanted to see in Severobaikalsk, but it made for a decent place to get off the train from 12 hours.

I left my bag in storage, then walked out of the train station, trying to figure out how to get to Nizhneangarsk. Nizhneangarsk is a small town of less than 5000 people, only 25 kilometers from Severobaikalsk. There is an elektrichka between the two towns, but it wasn't until the evening, which defeated the purpose of a day trip, and would've made it impossible to come back the same day.

I knew there was a bus too, but it took me a minute to sort out where to catch the bus.

When I boarded the bus I had to write my name, passport number, phone number, and residence (or was it destination? I didn't know) as part of the local Covid contact tracing protocol. The ride wasn't long, and everyone wore a mask.

Though Nizhneangarsk is pretty small, it is several hundred years old, having been founded in 1643. I'm not sure if there was a main reason for it being founded then and there.

The plan in the 1970s was to have Nizhneangarsk be the headquarters of the western end of the Baikal on Amur trainline, but the powers that be realized the land wasn't suited to having big buildings (they would've sunk) so the planned HQ was moved to Severobaikalsk instead.

Unfortunately, when I got off the bus, it was raining. Not a complete downpour, but definitely more than misting. I knew I'd be in Nizhneangarsk for just a few hours, if that, so I didn't want to waste the time by hiding from the rain, but I also really really really don't like rain when I'm traveling.

Nizhneangarsk is a small town, stretched out along the northern banks of Lake Baikal, there are small mountains behind town. In addition to the rain the clouds were hanging pretty low, so I wasn't able to see the mountains, argh.

The maps show a few memorials spaced out along the lake, and I had seen a mention of a local museum. There were also a few wooden homes/buildings, still in pretty good shape. It looked as if they were all painted regularly, which definitely helped their appearance.

I loved the gray sky against the water of the lake, though I wish I had been able to see a blue sky. I also wish the clouds hadn't been covering the mountains, as I assume the views of the mountains would also have been lovely. Sigh.

The museum marked on the map was not open, I assume for Covid reasons. Darnit.

Before leaving Nizhneangarsk I tried to find a supermarket, but they don't exist there. Smaller grocery stores are as good as it gets. I don't know what people who live there do for an income, but there can't be very many opportunities.

From there I took the bus back to Severobaikalsk. I took the pedestrian bridge over the train station, which put me pretty close to the lake, it was easy to get down to the beach.

When I was here in January, I couldn't see the beach. I couldn't see the lake either, as everything was under a layer of snow. I knew there was ice under the snow, but I didn't get to see it. I wonder if there is ever 'clear' ice near Severobaikalsk, or if it is always broken up, refrozen, and covered in snow.

Since I was able to see the beach this time around I walked along for a while, enjoying the solitude. Severobaikalsk doesn't get many visitors, I don't think. When I got tired, I walked all the way back, over the train station, and to a cafe in town. I spent the next few hours there, basically killing time until heading back to the train station to pick up my bag and board my next train.

Unless I'm guaranteed good weather, I doubt I'll come back to Severobaikalsk or Nizhneangarsk themselves, though I might be more tempted to visit hot springs in the area, or hike in the area, or take photos of the bus stops or city signs.

I was on a train for more than 24 hours to get to Tynda. I stopped in Tynda for the same reason I stopped in Severobaikalsk: I wanted to get off the train. There really isn't much for a traveler like me to see in this area of Russia, if traveling by train. If I had an off road vehicle there would be heaps to see, and plenty of hiking to do.

Tynda is a city of about 35,000 people, nowhere close to anywhere else. The train ride was 27 hours (I arrived in the middle of the night, argh,) and curiously, the train tracks do not follow a road. If driving, it is about 29 hours of driving from Severobaikalsk, going nearly 2000 kilometers.

Tynda was founded in 1917 for the same reason I stopped there: as a rest stop. The original name was Shkaruby, and was changed to Tyndynsky in 1928, and shortened soon thereafter. It is currently a stop along the east-west Baikal on Amur line, as well as the north-south Amur Yakutsk line. (Yakutsk is also on my list of places to go in Russia.)

Tynda boomed while the railway was built, not much has happened since. The population has dropped drastically since the fall of the Soviet Union, like so many towns built for specific reasons during the expansion of infrastructure of the empire. There is very little left, basically nothing for visitors.

I can usually find a few things to see, but in Tynda that didn't happen. There is one Lenin statue, a memorial honouring those who built the railway, and a museum with history of the building of the Baikal on Amur mainline.

Unfortunately, the two days I was in Tynda (because I really wanted to sleep in a proper bed as opposed to a train bed,) were the two days a week the museum is closed, so that knocked it off my list. I can't imagine it would be any different than the BAM railway museum I saw in Severobaikalsk, this one is just further away.

I visited a couple churches, neither was very exciting inside or outside. I found the giant memorial honouring the railroad workers, supposedly locals call it man with a hammer. Lenin was lifesize, meaning a lot smaller than most Lenin statues I've seen. He was also tucked away at the end of a dead end street.

Most of the buildings in Tynda were super boring. Not big enough to be interesting boring, just plain ol' boring. A couple of them have Soviet art deco style 'art' on the sides, but that's about it. 

During two days of walking around Tynda I didn't see 'fun' things for people to do when they want entertainment. I imagine there is at least a small movie theatre, but who knows if there is anything else. Or what people do for fun.

The best part of my time in Tynda was when I found a pedestrian bridge that goes over the Tynda River. The bridge isn't anything exciting, but the river curves a bit at that spot, so it's quite photogenic.

Both days I had a main meal at a random cafe that had cheap burgers. Not amazing, but adequate.

I do not feel at all inclined to come back to Tynda. Not at all.

russia: olkhon island

Last year at in March, at the beginning of my spring break, the girls and I went to Listvyanka so we could see a frozen Lake Baikal. It turned out to be one of my most favourite places I've ever been. Even though we didn't spend more than a few hours on the ice, it stuck with me, and I wanted to go back.

We did go back, about two months later. We visited the other side of the lake, from a small town called Babushkin. Though it was nearly mid May, we expected the lake to be ice free, it most certainly was not. Just walking along the beach on the lake was awesome, and again, I knew I wanted to come back.

When I planned my spring break this year, going back to the lake seemed obvious (to me.) Lake Baikal is so big that there are a number of places people go to see it, and experience its natural beauty. One of those places is Olkhon Island.

Wikipedia doesn't tell me when the island was first settled, but it does say there is a long history of habitation, and the first people there were the Kurykans, who were forefathers of two current ethnic groups, the Buryats and the Yakuts. Ethnic Russians didn't arrive until the 17^th century. From what I could see, the island is currently a mix of Buryats and Russians.

Olkhon Island is currently much more reliant on tourism than it ever was in the past. People come in droves, though the numbers have come down somewhat since the start of the COVID 19 epidemic. With the rise in tourism, transportation has also increased, which made it feasible for me as a single tourist.

My flight from Moscow landed at Irkutsk International Airport 45 minutes early, woo hoo! Since I was flying one of the super budget airlines (which only allow a small personal bag as carry on,) I had had to check a bag, which I had to wait another 20 minutes to get. 

From there it was easy to find the bus stop out front and get into the city.

Since the girls and I had only spent a day in Irkutsk last year it didn't seem very familiar, I was glad I had my phone to use for directions. It was easy enough to find the spot for Olkhon Express, a shuttle service to the island. I bought my ticket, then had to wait about 45 minutes for departure. I used that time to stock up on baked goods and drinks from a nearby bakery and supermarket.

The drive to Olkhon Island seemed like it took foreva, partly because there was a lunch stop, and I always hate those.

The last hour, after we were actually on the island, felt even longer. It's just short of 300 kilometers from Irkutsk to Khuzhir, but the roads once you're on the island aren't exactly full on roads. Since this was winter, the sand is pretty stable and solid, I imagine it's not much fun in summer. Even so, the bus wobbles all over the place, it's not a smooth ride. Surprisingly, I didn't get sick, but two kids on my bus did.

One of the nice things about the bus service is that it drops you at your accomodation. It was 1545 when I arrived, and my landlady checked me in straightaway. I could see that wifi wasn't very good, but the heater was, and the duvet on my bed was nice. (The heater in our room last year was insufficient, so this was pretty important to me this time around.)

I chatted with the landlady about my plans for my visit, and learned that while there is one sight closeby, pretty much everything else is visited by tour. 

Normally I hate tours, but I wanted to see places that weren't going to happen by walking. I'm guessing nearly everyone on the island provides these same tours, but I'm glad she dealt with the logistics of signing me up.

After relaxing for a few minutes, I went out walking. The big sight of Khuzhir was only a 10-15 minute walk from my room: called Shaman Rock.

As you're approaching Shaman Rock you're treated to views of the lake, which are amazing.

It was mostly snowcovered, so I didn't get to see the 'clean' ice I really wanted, but it wasn't as if I was in control of the weather. Along the way I saw a tree wrapped in prayer flags and ribbons, as well as a row of totem poles wrapped in flags and ribbons. I don't know how often someone adds a ribbon or flag, or how often prayers are specifically made in this spot.

Continuing on I figured out how to get down to the lake. Even though I knew it was solid ice, there was still a moment of combined trepidation and glee as I took my first step out on the 'water.' Nature is amazing.

I walked all the way around Shaman Rock, taking photos the whole time. The weather as winter comes is different each year (duh,) so the ice formations on the rocks are different too. I loved seeing how it was all built up in different places. I didn't see any caves there, but it was still gorgeous.

I did see the start of sunset, which is amazing. I can see where the iconic photos come from, they happen when there is clean ice around Shaman Rock, during sunset. 

I didn't see the clean ice, but sunset still made the rock look fantastic.

From there I hiked my way back up to my room. Even though I hadn't actually done that much exploring, the full day of travel combined with a serious lack of sleep had me zonked out. Fortunately, that made getting on the right time zone pretty easy.

The next morning my tour picked me up right on time, at 10. There were seven other people, three groups I think. I think nearly every tour on the island is the same, and the guides know that people are there to take photos more than learn. (Sad, but true.) 

Our driver took us down to the ice and whizzed along, I think we were going 90km/hr most of the time.

He knew the ice though, quite well. A number of times he slowed down way before I could see anything coming, and soon enough we'd go over a bump or around something. Sometimes we continued slowly for a while, driving over ridges and such. As the lake freezes it is smooth in some places, but definitely not over the whole thing.

This is what we did for the rest of the tour: arrive at a spot, get a quick bit of info, then a time as to when we needed to be back on the bus. I call it a bus, but it isn't in the American sense of the word. Think of a Soviet style high riding van. Pretty much every tour has this same van, so you have to check the license plate of the one you're in to keep track.

We stopped at a number of different spots where ice had formed around the western side of the island, all the way to the northern tip. Some places were bigger, some were not. In some places the icicles almost pointed out. In some places I found small ice caves, those were what I loved most.

I was sad to see that some people hadn't respected nature, inside some of those caves I found poop and toilet paper. From dogs or humans, I don't know.

As expected, some people seemed more concerned with taking photos than with appreciating what they were seeing. Why is it so hard for people to behave nicely? 

There are even signs in a few places, reminding you to behave, and as they say, keep the ice nice for other visitors.

My favourite spot was a small cave where you could see the blue colour of the ice the best.

As the day went on, clouds and snow came in, making for a different experience. The clouds were slightly dark, and made for flat white light, which is awful in terms of being able to see anything. Meaning, at times it was hard to distinguish the horizon and divide the lake from the sky. 

At times we almost couldn't see the ice sculptures that had been made from big slabs of ice carved out of the lake. Too bad, but that's nature, you can't control her.

The tour included lunch, which was fish soup. Despite it being a common food in Russia, I don't think I'd ever had it. The guide cooks the soup while tourists are taking photos, then you come back to a hot meal. Simple and good.

At some point we turned around and stopped at a couple more places, one of which looked like frozen waves. 

I imagine a boat had come through just as the water was freezing, throwing up some pretty big slabs of ice. Fun to climb around, and since it was in the middle of the lake, it gave a better idea of how small humans are in the grand scheme of things.

I got back to my room around 1600, and warmed up for a bit. The van had been warm, but obviously the ice, snow, and wind were not.

My landlady had told me about a set of ice sculptures not too far away, so I went to check those out. I've found that ice sculptures are best seen after dark if they are lit up, and these were. 

Getting to the spot wasn't as easy as I'd hoped, since I hadn't brought a head torch with me, whoops.

The sculptures were far more intricate than anything else I'd seen around Russia. A human heart, a mermaid in waves, etc... There weren't too many, but I loved them. I don't know how late the lights stay on, but I was the only one there at the time, and it was only 2030.

The next morning I was picked up by another tour. I wasn't exactly sure where it would take me, but I figured it would be much like the day before, and it was.

We started by visiting one of the smaller islands in the lake. Even though the island was smaller than Olkhon, there were still plenty of ice caves and sculptures to see. It was a perfectly sunny day, which was amazing compared to the day before. It also made it really clear how much direct sun factors in to the temperature you feel.

When I stood in the direct sun, I could strip down to my t-shirt and pants and be okay. Cold, yes, but ok. When I was in the shade my fingers started to freeze up rather quickly. During this tour and the day before my fingers got cold a lot, then warmed up in the van, got cold again while taking photos and climbing on ice, then warmed up again.

We drove again and at the next stop could see a stupa on top of the island. The driver gave us a time, and we all started hiking up. The hike wasn't long, but I kept stopping to take in the views all around, which were lovely. I know my photos didn't capture how I felt about what I could see.

On the side of this island were a lot of memorials, I don't know from who, and for who. Rocks piled on each other, like cairns. Some were smaller, some a little bigger, nothing massive.

At the top of the island I was happy to see people circling the stupa in the correct direction (clockwise.) and not climbing on it.

I'm pretty sure that I went past the time limit the guide had given us for this bit, but no one seemed to mind, at least not that I could tell. The driver took us to our next stop, and again gave us a time, and said we'd have lunch after this. He drove the van a little bit away and started making the soup.

He cut up the tomatoes, fish, and potatoes, then started a fire, boiled the water, and cooked the whole thing.

Meanwhile we took more photos of ice and rocks. I'm pretty sure that anyone looking at this post will be tired of ice, snow, and rocks.

Lunch was good, I ended up having two bowls of soup. After lunch we had a couple more sights, just like the day before. One of them was an area with a lot more ice. Beautiful. Then we dropped off all the other people in the tour group. They had booked the tour but said they needed to get back to Irkutsk for the evening, so they missed the end.

I got the last sight all to myself for a good thirty minutes. I mean all to myself, there were no other groups there yet. We drove on the island, up to a 'mountain' top, from which the view of the lake was amazing. I loved the silence more than anything, and the chance to climb around and look at everything.

I was sad to go back to my room, but the tour was quite good and I was glad I had done both of them. I would gladly do both of them again.

The next morning the shuttle picked me up a little before ten, and I arrived back in Irkutsk at 1530.

russia: ulan ude, ivolginsk, and babushkin

The last stop of our May holidays was a city called Ulan Ude. It's the capital city of the Republic of Buryatia, on the eastern side of Lake Baikal. (The republic surrounds the lake.)

Ulan Ude has just over 400,000 people, according to Wikipedia and the 2010 census in Russia.

Ulan Ude was settled the same way much of Siberian and Eastern Russia were settled: as a fort, by the Cossacks. They did this in 1666, and called the fort Udinskoye. The arrival of the Trans Siberian Railway is what caused/helped most of the growth of the city.

Our train arrived on time (of course,) the next morning in Ulan Ude. The sun had already come up, so we didn't need to hang out in the station. We wanted to take photos with the train station sign, but the back side of the station was under renovation so that didn't happen. Argh.

We knew we wanted to do a day trip that day, and we couldn't check in early, so we put our bags in storage for the day and started walking. About 10 minutes after we walked out of the station it started snowing, hard.

Yes, I know we were in Siberia, which is pretty much legendary for winter, and winter weather, but we were soooo not ready to deal with a blizzard in nearly mid May. 

There was no shelter nearby, so we just kept walking.

Our first team photo was in the snow, at the world's largest Lenin head. I have no idea why anyone would think to make his head this big, but they did. It's 7.7 meters tall, or 25 feet!

More walking brought us under a Victory Arch. This one crossed the street, painted beige. Not as photogenic as other arches we've seen around the country. Since it crossed a busy street there was no way to take a centered photo, which is usually what I prefer.

As it was May, the fountains of the city had been turned on. Since it was also blowing snow, this made for an amusing contrast, at least for us. I tried to take a photo, but the snow didn't show up well, oh well.

This particular fountain was right in front of the theater, which was gorgeous as usual. One of these days I'm going to plan a trip well enough that I book myself tickets to a performance in one of the theatres I see. (Probably in the warmer months, so I can wear appropriate shoes with nice clothing.)

We found a small cafe for breakfast. It wasn't amazing, but it was warm, which was much appreciated at that point. 

Trying to order was confusing, though I don't know why. Language issues, I think. We thought we were ordering off the menu, but it seemed as if the lady put in a basic order then added various items as 'extra.' In the end they forgot to bring Claire's drink, she was disappointed. Sigh.

From there we walked to a mini bus station to catch a marshrutka to a big Buddhist temple complex. We had to wait a bit for the marshrutka to fill up, then we had an hour long ride. The landscape was beautiful, but marred by the rubbish caught in the bushes all over. Plastic bags, ribbons, etc... 

So sad that people can't seem to put rubbish where they should. Or better yet, use less so there is less rubbish to begin with.

The temple complex in Ivolginsk is beautiful. Colourful, and quiet. There are rows of prayer wheels all over, as well as several different temples. As far as we could tell, not all the temples were open, but that was okay. There were small cabins on one side of the property, I think you can rent them for a day or two, as if you're a pilgrim. It would certainly be a calm place to stay, though I'm pretty sure that even I would be bored. 

I kinda led us clockwise around the property, as much as I could. We went inside two of the temples, which were awesome. We spun most of the prayer wheels we saw as well, always following those clockwise. There was one spot with several large stupas, though I didn't see anyone praying near those. I'm not sure of the difference between what is inside a temple and a stupa. There was another large temple under construction on the property, I wonder how long that will take to finish. And what it will look like, and how it will be different from the other temples that already exist, and who is paying for it.

We left because the wind and snow were picking up, and we were cold. Angela went off to the toilet and just a minute later the bus to go back pulled up. We yelled her name, hoping she would hurry, because we didn't know how long it would be until the next bus came. Thankfully she came quickly enough, and I think the driver understood we needed our friend, so all three of us were able to take the bus.

We got off the marshrutka as it went back through the city, not too far from the Lenin head, instead of waiting to get all the way to the mini bus station. 

It was a lot easier to walk back to the train station from that point to grab our bags, then check into our flat for the next couple nights.

As our flat was located right near a whole bunch of restaurants, we didn't have to go far to get food for dinner, yay.

The next morning we got up early so we could do another day trip, this one to a small lakeside town called Babushkin. We'd all loved our visit to Lake Baikal in March, and were hoping to see it again, but from the other side of the lake. During part of the train ride we got glimpses of the lake and realized that some of it was still frozen!

The train station in Babushkin was really modern and new. The rest of the town, not so much. Half the roads we followed to get to the lakeshores were dirt, or at least unsealed. The walk to the lake shore went through town, and wasn't the least bit interesting.

Then we got to the lake, and it was all worth it, all over again. Despite the cold, it was beautiful weather, and we were on a 'beach.' Our initial views had all of us just standing there taking it all in. So pretty. I need to come back to this lake in summer and fall, because I bet it is just as gorgeous.

Babushkin is not where people come to see Lake Baikal. There is no tourist infrastructure, at all. We walked along the beach, not seeing a single other soul, except for the guys out fishing. They were out in the water, all wearing waders.

One of the guys was sitting in a rubber raft, the others were standing in the water. I imagine they were all cold.

Further along the beach we founded a couple abandoned train cars that are probably used as shelters or homes at various times. We also found a lighthouse, totally covered in graffiti. I wonder if it is still used at all, or when it was last used.

Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous every time we looked at the water. The beach was not sand, it was small rocks, most of which were pretty smooth. Even though we thought everything was beautiful, I don't think locals hang out on this beach in the summer.

Eventually we went back into town, and go figure, another snowstorm rolled in, fast. It only last about 15 minutes, but whoa, it was fast.

The map showed a museum in town, but it was closed. It wasn't a Monday, so we figured it was for the holiday weekend. Or maybe locals just open it wheneva they want? It's not as if keeping it closed was going to miss a lot of foot traffic.

We found a 'cafe' with basic Russian food. I was okay with that, because I can always have solyanka, which is basically a kitchen sink meat soup. Then we went next door for boozy, because we were all still hungry.

Obviously we had nothing left to do at that point but kill time until the train back to Ulan Ude. We looked into at least three different stores, but there was nothing of interest. Really cheap Russian ice cream bars are not tasty.

We found one memorial on the way back to the train station, I think it was a general war memorial.

By the time we got back to the train station we only had another hour to wait. All three of us had our phones, so it was no problem to pass the time.

We got back to Ulan Ude too late to get dinner, so we had to make do with the snacks we hadn't yet eaten. Oops.

The next morning we got up and walked back to the train station to cross the tracks and find a bus stop. We didn't have to wait long for the bus we wanted, which took us up a hill to a Buddhist temple sitting on top. The views over the city and surrounding area were great from up there. There were a couple big gold stupas right at the entrance; one of them was a museum and the other was filled with small Buddhas inside.

There is a 'tunnel' of prayer flags around the entire back side of the temple, while walking through it we saw people adding more flags. So many prayers, I hope most of them came true.

Claire and I went into the temple, though Angela wasn't interested. There was a small sign that said photos were allowed with a small donation, so I put money in the box. 

I took photos, trying not to get in anyone's way, and following the respect rules I know. I hope I remembered them all. It was a nice temple, with a giant Buddha in front, and small cushions the monks sit on while praying.

We took the bus back down the hill, mostly because it was a steep hill, which would've wrecked our legs, not because it was all that far. Near the train station we tried to find the railroad history museum, but that didn't seem to exist anymore. There was a spot with a locomotive on display, looking the same as other Soviet trains.

While trying to find this museum we stumbled upon another Lenin statue. This one was full body, but not nearly as big as the head in the city center.

After resting up in the flat for a while we went back to the city center to find more to see. We found the city history museum, which wasn't big. Just three small rooms, all on the same floor. Even so, we liked the photos, items, and descriptions exhibited. It's always neat to see what people used in daily life 100 years ago.

We walked all the way to the end of the main street, as we could see a church down there. 

Only the bottom half of the church was open, I wonder what the 'main' sanctuary looks like, or if it is used at all now.

A couple blocks away from the church we found the memorial to the victims of repression. It's a dramatic memorial, including barbed wire, and a wall with names. To get there we passed the original 'mansions' of many of the city's merchants. They had historical/informational signs in front, but weren't open for visitors.

More walking brought us to the central market. Set up like the central markets of a lot of towns, there was a meat section, dairy section, produce section, pickled food section, etc... 

I got some dried fruit, and wanted kimchi but couldn't figure out whether I'd be able to take it with me on the plane or not.

Park Pobedy was the main park of the city, and there were heaps of people out having fun with friends and family. There was a giant fountain in the middle, also running. Of the fountain we'd seen in the snow and this one, one of them is called the musical fountain, but we didn't hear music around either of them.

At the back side of the park there was a giant set of stairs, at the top of which was a WW2 memorial, complete with tanks, wreaths, and plaques with 3D profiles of soldiers. There was also an eternal flame, one level above the whole thing.

We had dinner at a random restaurant in town. We got to look at menus in both English and Russian, it was interesting to compare the two. Not all items were listed on both items, and the English translations were entertaining at times.

On the way back to our flat we picked up Subway sandwiches for breakfast the next day, since our flight left in early morning. 

I used this walk to find a moment of no traffic near the Victory Arch, and stand in the middle of the street to take the photo I wanted.

We'd twice checked with our landlady about leaving early in the morning, as we knew she had to travel an hour to get there. We wrote the time in 24 hour time, so there was no question about when we were leaving. Despite this, she didn't show up when she said she would. We called over and over again, waking her up, argh. We used texting to figure out where we could leave the key; she returned our deposit by bank card, so it wasn't a huge issue but it was still annoying.

Fortunately it only took about 20 minutes to get to the airport, the rest of our journey was easy enough. We were on a budget airline, and boarding started an hour early because they checked the carryon bags of everyone. If your bag didn't fit, you had to check it, and they were on it. Since we'd paid for checking a bag, we were happy to see this happening.

I can't wait to get back to the eastern half of Russia.