18 November
Novosibirsk on the map
Nice tasty start to the day. Chicken and fried potatoes kindly prepared by Victor, Olga’s husband – Olga and baby Annie spent the evening at her Mum’s flat I think. I slept like a log on the sofa! Had a little wander round the city last night to get my bearings but didn’t go far. A good few inches of snow fell last night and according to the thermometer in the flat it’s -6C today. I must be the least busy person I know right now – and I like that!
Done well so far. Had a pleasant walk through the park near the flat which led to the Cathedral of the Ascension. Bit small for a Cathedral I felt (not Lincoln that’s for sure). There was a service going on and an all female choir which was nice. It seems worshipers always stand in Russian Orthodox services. After that I wandered down Krasny Prospect for a bit until I got to Lenin Square and the famous Opera and Ballet Theatre there. Bought a ticket to Cinderella (Золушка) by Prokofiev tomorrow night. Hopefully I won’t have too much trouble being admitted in my jeans and mountain-climbing boots (I think Russian’s dress up more than Brits for the theatre).
After that I went to my 4th Regional History museum and it was a good one. Definitely best value so far – 40Rub compared to the rip-off in Khabarovsk. Had a great exhibition on Shamanism – a type of religion prevalent in Siberia before the Russian Empire’s expansion east. Stopped off for lunch at a café near by with a large contingent of the beautiful people. Had a blini with sour cream and salmon. Ok.
Later on I went down to the State Art Museum where I saw a really excellent exhibition by a Novosibirsk cartoonist/satirist called Konstantin Valov. Lot’s of really cool satirical caricatures of Russian and international celebs and political figures. Great stuff! Some of them made me laugh out loud. Highlights were a crucified Mel Gibson, a genuinely spooky Michael Jackson and a great one of Putin and Medvedev strutting down a red carpet together. Also bought a new sim card – a bit more successfully than last time I think. Doing well today!
After the gallery I wandered a bit further down Sovietskaya until I got to the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. A red brick Catheral built in the early part of the 20th century. (Novosibirsk is quite a young city which really took off after the Trans Siberian was built). There was a baptism going on. The baby was making a bit of a racket but that’s hardly surprising seeing as it was being dunked into a bucket of cold water.
Stopped off for a beer at an English-themed pub near the flat. Not overly proud of myself but it was either here or the Irish pub. Actually a pretty nice place! Not sure about the VH1 ‘We are the 80s’ video complication showing the naffest videos from Duran Duran, INXS et al.
(c) Richard Breeson
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