Dom Hotel Krasnoyarsk

... sense of humour. Breakfast beckoned, and I asked the large woman, who was sleeping under me, whether she wouldn't mind moving for a little while, so that we could have a meal, Nikolai, the 65 year old chicken farmer from Chelyabinsk, reached under the table, and started pulling out a large piece of chicken breast, some gherkins. When I asked him what is he eating too, he just waved his hand, and carried on setting the spread, with vigour and gusto, cutting up the roast meat ...

... several cool rock formations and tons of wildlife and along with two guides we went wandering on ice and snow for a 5km uphill climb.. What was funny was we thought the guide was going to fall over with a heart attack... it was freezing and i was wrapped up and here was the guide sweating buckets and gasping for each breath.. But cracking views just the same from the rocks and mountians over endless forest and the city in the distance.... next stop is Irkutsk.

... osvajanju Sibirije (z maketo ladje Kozakov v naravni velikosti) , tukajsnjemu zivljenju od 16. do 20. stoletja ter seveda obdobju Lenina ter boljsevikov. Povsem majhno vitrino sva nasla posveceno se morilcu Josefu, ki je Lenina nasledil in tam sva tudi zakljucila najin ogled. Lenin kot osrednji lik oktobrske revolucije je se danes pozitiven lik (kar si zaradi svoje izjemnosti podobno kot Ho Chi Minh v Vietnamu tudi zasluzi), ki ga je mogoce ...

... stations the temperature outside is revealed - 15 degrees so not so bad. We've just made another brief stop - this one for 20 minutes. Most people (including me) take the opportunity to stretch their legs and take in some fresh air. The platforms are lined with older ladies selling all manor of food, drinks and furs. Here you can stock up on beer, dried fish, ice cream, cakes, bread, fruit, salad etc. I always have plenty with me (especially with the meal I had in the restaurant car today ...

... of these things, plus two hours of Tom Waits last night on the bus has put me in a black and white, Jarmusch kinda mood and i wonder what it would be like if Roberto Benini and Tom Waits were in our compartment? Stats - this leg is 1954km, 32 hours, 2 time zones. Moscow to Tyumen was 2144km, 31hrs, 2 time zones.

... the first 4 hours I was in the flat! My chairs are falling apart, the poor quality seriously deteriorated after you sit in them for a short period of time! The cupboards don't close, the toilet seat is ripped (so when you sit down your butt feels nice sharp plastic), the kitchen tiles fell off, shall I go on? I kept my flat lickity-split clean, and at my last "inspection," Larisa (who inspects the flats) calls it a disgrace because I have a few dust-bunnies around ...

... breakfast, almost everyone had 3 shots of vodka...at brunch (morning coffee break), 3 shots of vodka...at lunch, 3 shots...afternoon coffee break, 3 shots...dinner, 3 shots of vodka...and in the evening, uncountable amounts of alcohol! I abstained from this phenomenon (mainly because I had to teach the entire time!), but I couldn't believe my eyes. And nobody was a slobbering drunk, like I used to see in Athens, these people can hold their alcohol! And ...

... had to get over the fact that Russians think "boots" refers to all shoes, even heels. 13) Football. Soccer, you numbskulls! Really, I have no idea why American "football" takes this name, because the main idea of this American sport doesn't revolve around your feet...aside from a field-goal kick! 14) Chips. I hate this word! This word confuses me all the time! "Chips" = "fries." 15) Crisps. I hate this word also! "Crisps," as you can tell from their textural name, are "potato chips ...

... see men out in the streets, drinking. In my neighborhood, people sit on benches outside their flats drinking. Another fun filled outdoor activity, ARSON! In the past month, my neighbor Griffin (one of my colleagues) and I have witness about 6 cases of arson around our building. Kids gather rubbish and light it on fire...when it gets too big (what a thought, fire growing?), they run away! People throw away furniture, instead of one man's trash being ...

... Iraq, Bush referred our war to "a crusade," what's next, Bush? Are we going to kill all the Muslims? (oh wait, that's kinda why we're already there...) Please pardon my sudden attack of liberalism...sometimes it feels like epilepsy or turrets... Whoah, straying waaaaay too far off topic! Anyways, the 9th of May was quite the day of celebrations. Morning parade, and afternoon shashleek (bbq). I might have mentioned this before, but Shashleek is, what I see, a hobby. People ...