Ekaterinburg -Tsentralny Hotel Yekaterinburg

... to wake up and draw the curtains and see the snowy Siberia stretch out ahead of us. It covers one twelfth of the world's entire land mass! <br><br>It felt about time to be leaving Moscow too. Of course it's an incredible city - steeped in history, hugely rich in culture, formidable architecture unrivalled by anywhere else I've seen, a metro system I've totally fallen in love with, and all the Moscovites we've met have been absolutely delightful ...

I awoke to find myself in Asia, my train having crossed the Urals in the night, the mountain range marking the Europe/Asia boundary. Ekaterinburg is just three hundred km from the beginning of Siberia and the inhospitable cold winds whirling round the station certainly suggested this, as did the row of shops selling big fur coats and hats, on the main street.<br><br>As well as crossing the Urals, the 'Trans-Siberian Handbook' informed me that we had ...

... to get off. We spent the day reading, and watching the lush green forests and meadows roll by trying to comprehend the size of this vast country.<br> <br><br>Being the fifth largest city in Moscow, Yekaterinburg was surprisingly quiet when we got off the train at 8:30pm on Saturday night. The city is famous as the location of the imprisonment and subsequent murder of the last Tsar Nicholas II and his family by the Bolsheviks. The ...

... of-factly, with a tilt of his head. "Where are you from?"<br>"Canada. What's your name?"<br>"Timur. Tiiiimmmmmuurrrrrr," he said slowly. <br>We exchanged pleasantries (he was from Yakutsk and going to Krasnoyarsk for his friend's wedding) and then he left. When he returned, some time later, he was sans shirt, dripping wet and promptly curled up and went to sleep after fastidiously making his bed and straightening our table cloth. It was 7 pm. This ...

... it anywhere. I haven't had it out everyday because I've just been using it when I needed it for an odd text (when it worked) or call home if I needed too. I searched everywhere but it was gone. Somehow I must have left it at the hostel or on the train. It could have been worse, I still had my wallet, camera, laptop and ipod, but it was just damn annoying. I guess I'll wait until I get to China and try to pick up a cheap one there. In the meantime I have brought a calling card ...

... that the tsar and his family were disposed. There are several (10 or 11 I think) old fashioned wooden churches built at the sight and all of the women have to where a skirt and head covering as is the custom in the Russian Orthodox Church. Fortunately they provide head coverings and makeshift skirts for the visitors and Renata looked very cute in her babushka. The actual place where the tsar and his family were discovered is a filled in mine shaft. The bodies were first burned with ...

... city hall and the beginning of the main pedestrian shopping street. We walked through this square to another square beside the river where the current city government building sits. The city's first 5-star hotel is under construction there and a huge fountain dominates the square. We walked beside the river on a large promenade and looked across at a spectacular view of old merchant's buildings and the enormous Church of the Spilled Blood, built on the site of the ...

... toilets and having to pay for the privilege of having a shower (of which there was only one for the entire block of some 50 rooms or more) we were pleased to leave. We did the sights of the city (this takes about half an hour) and took a tour out to the site where the Romanov bodies were dumped and destroyed. Now a Russian Orthodox monastery, Alex was made to dress up like an old Russian washer woman in order to be let in. Much to ...

... especiall y historic place on the surface, but it  is at least interesting for a day. First and foremost though, Yekaterinburg has always been dominated by industry. Founded during the reign of Peter the Great as a mining center (named after both his wife Catherine and the patron saint of mining - St. Catherine). The Soviets merely boosted its dependence on the industries it was always oriented around. So it's to be expected that it looks a little rough ...

... When the Bolsheviks took power in 1917 Russia changed. It became a land where in 'theory' all people had equal rights and a classless society existed. Experimentation in architecture was an immediate casualty and resulted in the creation of characterless blocks that now cover much of the modern Russian cityscape. Today the older buildings look more tired and drab than ever, as rusting steelwork is exposed by the crumbling cement and the ...