So I just rechecked
what I had reported and realize I stopped in Votkinsk. I forgot to mention that
the tip for the hotel there I had gotten from an excellently German speaking
teacher who walked by 'Datcha'. The museum was quite interesting and eventually
I'll upload the pictures, but I need time that I presently don't seem to have
as I am under constant hospitality and sightseeing stress. But now I can say I
ave been at his birthplace and his grave.
Today I arrived
about 10 am in Novosibirsk (after again going through smoke from the various forest fires) and was received by the local area manager Andrei
Pochesnev. He is responsible for the whole area from Omsk to the Kamchatka. For
those of you who don't have an atlas at hand: that's an area covering 5 time
zones and about double the area of Australia... And from here to Irkutsk it's
almost 2000 kms and I want to be there in 2 1/2 days. So that will be strong
driving...
But back to Andrei:
It was like we had each other known for years. When I told him that I needed a
locksmith or similar to fix my broken motorcycle carrier he went with me to a
'treasure shop' (for boys) to get the parts/materials and then we proceeded to
the bank's own workshop in the basement where at times 4 people worked to get
the parts I needed produced. After that he showed me the branch, the town and
his house where he kept his toy (similar to me), a 1965 GAZ light army
transport in excellently restored condition. His garage also was similar to
mine, only a little tidier... Naturally I couldn't avoid being treated for
'tea' including quail's eggs, a kind of turkey egg and 'normal' eggs plus
cucumbers and tomatoes all from the premises supervised by his mother.
For 'dessert' (of
course it was lunch) we went to a steak house where Gerhard Grund hosted a
lunch for 2 collegues from Raiffeisen Investment Moscow and Andrei's deputy
Pavel Losev before they left for customer visits in other places in Siberia...
It' really amazing and highly enjoyable at which places on this trip I meet
friends from the bank... Then we briefly got back to the place in front of the
main bank office (there are 8 in Novosibirsk, almost 300 people) where I wanted
to repair the carrier when everything had been put right already... I was
embarrassed...
Then I got a special
tour of the 'Town of the Academics', a town founded about 50 years ago to be
Russia's answer to Silicon Valley, Harvard, Princeton, Yale and Columbia
together. I might exaggerate a little but certainly not much. It is the
brainpower of Russia, set in a park-like environment very much like in the USA
and the newer buildings most likely even match the build quality you find
there. Andrei had studied and graduated there. Nearby is a little town that
specializes in space technology. And very close is a huge lake (the 'sea')
formed by an also about 50 year old dam of the Ob river (remember you crossword
puzzle?). So again, half the evening was gone when we arrived back at my
'Datcha' where I'll spend the night in comfort after this will have been done.
So now I want to
fill you in on all the geography between Votkinsk and here... So my next stop
was Perm. I arrived in the evening and after a round around town to get a first
view I found a guarded parking right behind our branch to spend the night. The
next morning I met Roman Nebabin, the branch manager and after a brief tour
around the branch Victoria, his charming assistant showed me around town
whereby due to time constraints we looked at the sights from outside... Perm is
principally a modern city. Not very much is left from the old Perm but what
there is, is nicely presented and explained, even in English. But I had to go
on to Yekaterinburg which was about 400 kms further...
But Roman told me
that I have to stop by Belaya Gora, a monastery on top of a hill which
according to him was a very special place. On the way there I also stopped by a
little church that was being in process of restoration. An old man was there
who, as he saw me, walked towards me, stretched out his hand and seeing that I
was driving with a German license plate greeted me in German. He apparently was
a retired lawyer who had learned a little German in school. He told me
everything there was to know, but unfortunately in Russian, so I can't reproduce
it here...I got the impression that the village was also one of those villages
where Stalin had sent people of German origin as quite a few houses were
abandoned, most likely people had emigrated.
Belaya Gora was
about another 20kms but already visible as it really has a commanding position.
I arrived late afternoon and had spectacular light and views. I saw that church
I mentioned and much further. I guess the visibility must have been over 40 kms
and I really 'felt' the vastness of Sibiria. Also this monastery was in
terrible shape after Communism but is in process of being restored/rebuilt.
Eventually I'll show some pictures. In the church I also found some
documentation of the murder of the tsar's family in Yekaterinburg.
Due to this
excursion I wasn't able to make it to Yekatrinburg that evening but I met a
Dutch guy with his microvan on the way and shortly before it got totally dark
we stopped at a truck stop about 120 kms before, had dinner and went to sleep.
The next morning I
got up early and left and arrived about 10 am at our branch where the branch
manger's deputy Anatoly Sosunov and his assistant Yulia Yakimova who proceeded
to help me with my Mongolian visa which now proves to be a little more
complicated than I was told by the Viennese embassy, but in Irkutsk I should be
able to get it now... (also thanks to Matin L-W's contacts). I was treated with
lunch and a short city tour and the most interesting bit: the tour through the
museum dealing with the murder of the imperial family in 1918 in the building
next to the church built on the site where the events happened. All these
buildings were raised over the past years with private funds and quite a few
artists are employed to re-paint frescos and icons. Finally we went up to the
53rd floor of a newly erected skyscraper and enjoyed a wonderful view over the
city. As it was Friday evening almost 8pm we bade farewell and they went to
their datchas not without Yulia first accompanying me to a bookstore to get
some better maps.
Before looking for a
place to park for the night I made a visit to the local railway station where,
as I stepped onto the platform the train from Irkutsk to Moscow just pulled
out. It must have had over 20 carriages... The idea occurred to one day doing
this again by train...
The next morning I
went on to wards Tyumen which is an oil area where we also have a branch. The
town itself doesn't offer much but I at least had to inspect the branch from
the outside (it was Saturday) and take a picture. On the way in I had my second
police check since I entered the country but this one apparently was because of
boredom. The policeman came to my car, introduced himself with rank and name,
asked for my documents with a smile, checked, asked where I was going and sent
me off with a 'bon voyage' (in Russian, of course). Later, when leaving town I
had my third one: an unmarked 4x4 cut me off at a roundabout. got out of his car
with drawn smart phone, smiling and asking if I would mind him taking a picture
of my (then still ok) motorcycle carrier. Obviously I didn't and it appeared to
me that he was one of the guys checking me earlier...
And off I went to my
next stop in Omsk about 300 kms to the east (for details, pse refer to part 1).
And now again it is after 1am, but at least you (and I) are literally 'up to date'
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