After a train ride of little over a day and a night I arrive in Yekaterinburg at 8:19 PM. As soon I leave the train station, I immediately feel as if I arrived in another part of Russia. In the darkness of the night, the unambitious concrete blocks and heaps of snow live up to my expectations. At this point, the polished European cities of Sint-Petersburg and Moscow feel very far away.
Yekaterinburg is the city where European Russia and Asian Russia meet. The actual border is actually a few kilometres outside of the city. It is possible to visit this border, either by going to the historic marker from 1837 (40km ) or to the newer oblisk (17km ). That is stuff to explore the coming days, let’s for now focus on getting to a bed and a welcoming shower after the long train leg.
Warm welcome
When planning this trip, I chose to stay in an apartment close to the train station to save me some unnecessary lurching with my luggage. There are plenty to choose from and the prices are very affordable.
After a slippery stroll of 15 minutes I am greeted by a nice guy named Korney who shows me the apartment and gives me the key. Again, everything is very clean and tidy. I also have the luxury of having a washing machine at hand. Perfect as my supply of clean clothes is running low by now.
The apartment is again a good example of the Russian preference for indoor heat. Boy, it was warm in there… As I tried to fight my way out of my Siberian-proof down-filled coat whilst my glasses were severely fogging up, Korney apologizes for the ‘cold’ temperature in the apartment. He had been airing the apartment after the cleaning session which resulted in a drop in temperature. Not in any way bothered by this drop, I am starting to question why I brought all these warm clothes as (up until now) the times I felt like I was overheating vastly exceeds the moments I felt cold. I can only recommend undertaking the Trans-Siberian in March if you are not a big enthusiast of cold temperatures but still want to see Russia covered in snow and ice.
Not just another rural city
Sure, Yekaterinburg does not have the external shine and wealth of Moscow, but there is still plenty to see and do to fill a two day stay (or more). In the Netherlands, Amsterdam is already considered ‘a big city’. Size easily gets relative in a country as Russia though. With twice the amount of inhabitants as Amsterdam, Yekaterinburg is the fourth city in Russia (after Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Novosibirsk). It also has a serious skyline with some skyscrapers and buildings fully covered in LED lighting.
In this case I can understand that there is a certain appeal to live in a city such as Yekaterinburg. During the latest leg in the train I realised that the vast Ural Mountain Region (in which Yekaterinburg is located) is not to be underestimated. Both in size as in the unforgivable harshness of the nature. I guess that living in the countryside here has a different meaning than in our densely populated country…
Getting around
It takes approximately 30 minutes to walk from the train station to the city centre. Compared to the distances covered in Moscow this is of course a piece of cake. But there are also busses driving on a regular basis for as little as 28 rubles (approximately € 0,30). A bus ride in these ancient busses is an experience in itself! I am sure that these busses are older that the average passenger it carries and (again) gives me the feeling that I have entered true (and lesser polished) Russia.
Not only does the bus date back to older Soviet times, the ticketing system seems pretty ancient as well. Each bus is equipped with a person who is responsible for making sure everyone pays for their ticket. So far so good, but the absolute lack of structure and efficiency in paying for the tickets is fascinating. With each stop (and there are a lot!), people can enter and leave from every door. The poor lad responsible for the tickets has to push himself through the congested bus after EVERY stop to verify if new persons entered or not and subsequently arrange the (CASH) payment. These busses are usually quite full, and I especially do not envy the persons responsible for the extended harmonica busses.
Red or blue? Turns out to be the same
Locals have made quite few efforts to make this city more appealing for people visiting. One of them is the so-called Red Line. This is a walking route through the city centre of around 3 hours, allowing visitors to see the cities’ highlights. It is very easy to follow as they actually painted a line on the streets to follow. Oddly, the lines are painted in blue rather than red. But hey, almost every Russian who I met on this trip said that I should step away from trying to find the reason behind many things as simply in Russia ‘things generally do not have a rational behind them‘
Did you know that Yekaterinburg is known for its particular love for ….mayonnaise? Especially the ones in the blue jars produced in Yekaterinburg. During my attempts to explore the local cuisine in Russia I already encountered my fair share of mayonnaise as the Russians love to smother as much as possible in every dish. A ‘salad’ is more ‘mayonnaise with vegetables’ than the other way around and I even found mayonnaise in some soup (borscht) I ordered. People in Yekaterinburg top this as they (proudly) claim to eat the most mayonnaise per capita per year and even obtained a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. I find this mind-boggling considering that the average consumption of mayonnaise per Russian is already 2.5 kilograms per year. They surely love their fair share of mayo!
Romanovs; end of an era in Yekaterinburg
Although churches with shiny golden domes are becoming an acquainted sight, I am still in awe every time I come across one. The most significant one in Yekaterinburg is the Church on Blood (in Honour of All Saints Resplendent in the Russian Land). This beautiful church was built on the site where Russian’s last tsar and his family were killed in 1918. It was here where the Russian empire came to an end. Back then, a lot of effort was made to hide the location of the Romanov family, but now there is fortunately sufficient information available about the tragic faith of this family in museums, exhibitions and memorabilia. Which is good to see as there is so much to learn about this part of Russia’s history.
Tip: Netflix airs a good The Crown-like series about this family and the events that led to their assassination call The Last Czsar. I would certainly recommend watching this if you have a slight interest in this subject.
Theatres
Yekaterinburg houses several theatres throughout the city. I decide to buy a ticket to the historical Ural theatre to a ballet show of three acts. The prices of tickets vary between 200 roubles (appr. € 2,80) and 2000 roubles (appr. € 28,00), depending on your seating and location in the theatre.
Going to the theatre is seen as a special night out and people dress occasionally. I understood that a visit to the theatre starts in the clerk room, so I make my way down to the lush basement of the theatre. It is so nice to see the audience all dressed up in their prettiest dresses and the clerk room almost changed to a runway for people of all ages. I must admit that the average Russian already pays a lot of attention to their appearance without having a special occasion. So far, I have not been able to catch any Russian looking unpresentable on the streets. They probably thought quite the opposite of me when I turned up in my travel outfit, which was a bit shabby compared to all the sparkly gala dresses in the theatre that night.
Not many other tourists this time of year
During my entire stay in Yekaterinburg I did not see any other foreigner. That was until I got to the train station and met the first three tourists undertaking a similar route, however skipping Novosibirsk. These were also the first non-Russian speaking people I met on the train. This shows how much of a true sense of Russia you can experience when travelling this time of year. The chance of meeting other tourists is probably much higher during the summer months (when some trains actually get fully booked). As I am preparing for another leg on the train, I am very happy that I chose this time of year to go out an about.
