Read this post in Russian, translated by Google. Читать этот пост на русском языке, перевод Google.
We have experienced the Siberian winter.
When I first received an invitation to visit Siberia in December, Mimi and I had the same reaction: Siberia in December? Really? What about June?
But on reflection, I was pretty glad the invitation was for December. If you’re going to a place known for its harsh climate, you should get a taste of the climate. Not necessarily a feast, but at least a taste. And we have.
Thursday and Friday, temperatures in Barnaul were down to minus-25o C (about -13o F). We didn’t spend any more time outside than it takes to rush from the hotel to the van and from the van to the Altapress building. But we bundled up for that rush. And when I stayed outside to shoot a photo of the Altapress building, Mimi rushed ahead without me. So we experienced the frigid cold.
Fortunately Saturday was quite a bit warmer, just -5o C (23o F). So we spent nearly three hours walking around Barnaul in light but steady snow on snowy and often icy sidewalks and streets (I fell flat on my back once, fortunately padded by several layers of clothes and some natural padding).
We saw men scooping snow off the sidewalks everywhere we went, but somehow the sidewalks were still always covered with snow.
Ekaterina Karavaeva (Kate), who has attended to our needs in planning my workshops and conference with the Press Development Institute-Siberia, was our guide. Though she lives in Novosibirsk, she found her way around Barnaul with ease, telling us about various monuments, statues and buildings as we went.
The highlight was the outdoor market. We always enjoyed visiting farmers’ markets in Omaha and Cedar Rapids. And many Saturdays during our time in Virginia, we drove into Washington to shop for food and craft items (or just ambience) at the Eastern Market. I’ve also shopped outdoor markets in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Caracas, Venezuela; Otavalo, Ecuador; and outside the Guadalupe Shrine in Mexico. Charming as all those markets were, they aren’t quite as memorable as merchants bundled in fur hats and heavy boots, selling their wares from tents or the open air, brushing the fresh snowflakes from the handmade boots, hats and mittens they offered for sale. Mimi bought some mittens and a pair of woolen booties for our first granddaughter, due to be born in March.
Of course we shopped indoors some, too: an antique store, a needlework shop and a couple of gift shops. We’re all ready for Christmas.
We enjoyed the variety of architecture: churches with traditional onion-shaped domes, blocky gray Soviet-era buildings and more recent buildings with curves and angles expressing a new freedom, even in design.
We enjoyed the variety of statues, too — two of Lenin, one of a former KGB chief and one of a revolutionary whose importance Kate could not recall (“We have many streets named after them, but we have no idea who they are.”) The statues also included a scholar, a peacock and an intriguing rooftop sculpture.
Memorials reminded us of the grief the Russian people have experienced. A flame burned in front of an obelisk honoring Barnaul’s dead from World War II. And Kate took us past the site of a planned memorial to people lost in the Stalin purges. Like New York’s memorial to victims of the World Trade Center attack, the memorial has been delayed by disagreements over the proper way to remember such a tragedy.
We enjoyed people-watching: Stylish young women in fur hats and coats and high-heeled boots, stooped older women and men wearing hats that made their heads seem 2-3 times normal size, babies bundled so heavily they were immobilized, college men in jeans and light jackets, oblivious to the Siberian winter (or relishing a day above zero Fahrenheit).
Mimi and I dressed warmly ourselves, with multiple layers under heavy coats and boots. We stayed warm during the walk, though I missed the beard that I shaved off in June.
I think I’m ready for whatever Iowa has to dish out this winter.
See more photos or a slideshow of our walking tour of Barnaul on my Flickr page.
Mimi’s blog, Rubyeyedfox, also tells about our visit to Siberia. Sometimes we’ll write about the same things, but our perspectives will be different.
Nice post. Though I grew up in Belarus, there are a lot of elements in the post that remind me of the “mother land.” I have yet to go back to visit – though this summer may be my best bet.
LikeLike
Very nice post …
We were in Barnaul in March ’05, and again in August ’09 on the way to my wife’s hometown ( Rodino ) about 250km west of the city. We saw many of the places in your photos. We even stayed at the same hotel, and our room had the same view of the kindergarten !!
Barnaul is a nice city with a nice feel to it and is a good, and quite cheap place to visit. But as you will know, a local guide, or a reasonable command of Russian is most definitely required.
LikeLike
Thanks for sharing your memories, Dave! Good thing Kate was a fabulous guide, because my command of Russian was entirely dependent on the translation app on my iPhone.
LikeLike
I’m so happy you enjoyed Barnaul in such a weather – it’s my hometown! The coldest i can remember during winter time was -53 C.
LikeLike
[…] outstanding interpreters helped me understand the programs, a host fluent in English took us on a walking tour of Barnaul and she lined up a friend to do the same in St. […]
LikeLike
[…] trip to Siberia included a wonderful walking tour in the December chill of Barnaul, the city where the conference was held. And after the conference, Mimi and I visited St. […]
LikeLike
[…] and I shivered together in the Siberian winter, cruised Venice in a gondola, straddled the equator, climbed a Mexican pyramid, marveled at the […]
LikeLike
[…] and I shivered together in the Siberian winter, cruised Venice in a gondola, straddled the equator, climbed a Mexican pyramid, marveled at the […]
LikeLike
I love coming across blog gems like this. I shared it via my farmers market feed. It’s winter here in northern alberta (not entirely different from siberia, we even grow HASKAP berry bushes brought over from Siberia!
Hope you’re still enjoying travel life and getting many happy returns from your digital adventures!
LikeLike
Thanks, Michael. Lymphoma treatment has limited my travel for the past year. But I expect to finish treatment by the end of the year and get back on the road again in 2016. I always enjoy my visits to Alberta. I have visited Calgary a couple times, Edmonton once and Lethbridge once, as well as Banff. Maybe I’ll be back in 2016.
LikeLike