russia: kungur

I wanted to do at least one day trip while I was in Perm, and while reading the guidebook I came upon what seemed like the perfect idea. Kungur is about 95km from Perm, easily reachable by train.

Kungur is mostly known (for those who have heard of it at all, mostly in Russia, I assume,) for its ice caves. According to Wikipedia the town was founded in the 17^th century, and burned down 14 years later. 

Obviously, it was rebuilt, and is one of the most populated areas of the Urals. (Which isn't saying much, buuuuut.)

My train arrived in Kungur a couple hours after leaving Perm, at the main (only,) station of Kungur. I found a statue of Lenin straightaway, I couldn't have missed it. The man was in the front yard of the train station, birds seemed to enjoy standing on his head. Or maybe they didn't like standing there, based on the stains I could see. 

From the train station I had to catch a bus to get out to the caves. I got off the bus at the stop closest to the caves, but it still wasn't completely obvious where to go. I ended up cutting through the parking lot of a hotel that looked to be state run, and finding the entry to the ice cave area.

I found the ticket office, and even though I was there before 10, and the sign said there would be a tour at 10, I was told that my earliest option was available at 11. 

Not only did I have to wait an extra hour, I had to pay extra for a laser light show that took place during every other tour. I wasn't keen to see it, but didn't really have the option not to, unless I wanted to wait until noon for a tour. Sigh.

While waiting for my tour of the ice caves I ended up taking a look around the small museum nearby. It was mostly a geologic museum, since this area of the world has interesting geology. (To people who are interested in such things. I liked looking at the pretty rocks and such, but it wasn't all that interesting to me.)

When my tour finally started I noticed a small family among my tour group. They had a toddler with them, and the guide double checked with the parents that the kid could handle it. He couldn't, which isn't surprising for a toddler. He wandered all over the place, with the guide having to stop him from going places a few times. The parents were too busy taking photos of each other to pay attention to the kid. Argh.

The caves themselves were okay, but not outstanding. There wasn't a whole lot of ice, I assume it builds up throughout the winter? The biggest grotto is called Friendship Grotto, each of the grottoes had a name. All of the grottoes had lighting to show unique features, like rock formations. My favourite grottoes were those that had water, as the water was incredibly clear.

The laser light show was not all it was cracked up to be. At all. Oh well. 

The caves are part of a huge system, one that has not been fully explored. Our guide told us that they used to allow divers in one of the watered areas, but after one diver never came back, that option was closed.

After the tour I went back to the bus stop and caught the next marshrutka back into town. I rode past the train station, into a more central area of town. The town is small, at least compared to Perm. 

While walking I found a fur salon, named after me :)

I also found a samovar (Russian style teapot,) monument. Who doesn't love a quirky monument?

From there I just wandered around, trying to see the whole town. Several churches were closed, at least one of them for renovation. Several others were open, though none were mind boggling.

I found the expected WW2 memorial, this one included a tank. There was also an obelisk as part of the monument.

I found a bridge to cross the river, (the town is set on the Kungurka River,) and walked across. The other side of town wasn't any more exciting than where I started, but at least I saw it.

I walked back across the river, taking the time to enjoy the reflection of the banks on the water. 

There is something about the way things reflect on water that always catches my eye.

I found a bus stop and caught the next bus back to the train station, and from there the next train back to Perm. I did another dinner of grocery store food, and called it a night.