12 to 14 January 2019 – Irkutsk and Lake Baikal (Russia)

Just a two and a half day trip on the train this time and the train a reasonable temperature for sleeping, not too hot. I’ve been booked into different carriage numbers on the trains but always bunk No.5 which meant I had a bottom bunk so no need to climb. One meal was supplied on the train but when I saw the condition of it I put it in the bin then existed on salami, rolls, biscuits and pot noodles again. People continually changed within the compartment during the journey, one couple arriving with a huge box of KFC, enough for a couple of meals. It’s been –19C most of the time outside while I have been travelling. Arriving at Irkutsk (clocks had to be put forward by three hours) just after six in the morning I was picked up and taken to the Hotel Irkutsk, an old Intourist hotel but very much changed for the better so it would seem. It seemed to take ages for the shaking of the train to wear off, much longer than the feeling after getting off a plane.

Not to waste any time I arranged a city tour for the afternoon and was taken round by a well spoken elderly Russian lady who didn’t throw too many facts and figures at me. Photos below are from the places I visited.

St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church

Inside St Nicholas Church

Statue attributed to the founders of Irkutsk, representing Cossacks

The Spasskaya Church of Our Saviour

Znamensky Monastery   

Memorial to commemorate the death of a man who hand no male relative to carry on his name. His wife and daughters were considered to be of no worth so the memorial was carved as a trunk of a tree with no branches or roots. What a sorry person he must have been!    

 Monument to Admiral Kolchak

An area of buildings made of wood logs 

Buying fish at the central market-no freezer required

 I had an evening meal of dumplings with meat and  vegetables at a local Russian cafe.  Just up the road from the hotel and in one of the back streets was a Kiwi Pie Shop where I bought a lovely fruit pie for afters with the idea of having a meal there another evening.

Although I thought it would be too late I was picked up at 11am the following day to visit Lake Baikal. The driver had said previously that the sun did not rise high enough if we were to go any earlier, and he was right. By the time we were half way to the lake the sun had burnt off the mist and it was a beautiful day. I was taken to the town of Listvyanka on the shore of Lake Baikal where the lake was frozen but still dangerous to get to as the shore had lumps of ice everywhere making it difficult to get onto the ice proper. The local fish market was renowned for having smoked fish of a particular sort only found in this lake but I don’t know what it is called. The driver  bought a lot to take home with him.

Frozen shore of the lake

  

Fish market

The church in Listvyanka, The Church of Nicholas of Myra, has a legend associated with it’s construction. At the beginning of the XIX century, a Russian trading ship steered by merchant Xenophon Serebryakov ran into a gale in the waters of the lake.  The merchant thought that the ship was going to sink so began to pray to Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of seafarers.

Serebryakov and his crew were saved and the merchant built a temple in honor of the Saint. Its construction in Nicola village began in 1846 on the Angara riverbank. Then, the church was moved to the lakeside. In 1957 it was moved once again, with the beginning of construction of the Irkutsk hydroelectric station. The church is now the only ancient architectural monument in the village and is in regular use besides being a museum with relics dating back to the middle of the XVIII century.

The Church of Nicholas of Myra

The guide wanted me to walk to a lookout near a ski slope so off we went up an icy and slippery slope the walk was worth it in the end as the views were excellent. From another vantage point the edge of the ice could be seen. There are over 300 rivers flowing into the lake and only one flowing out and it the speed of this outflow that stops the lake from freezing at this point.

Views over Lake Baikal

The day was not over yet as I went for a dog sleigh ride, not that I actually controlled the dogs but sat in a sleigh while the owner went as fast as the dogs allowed down a very bumpy road. Fresh air by the ton on the ride, somewhat uncomfortable but fun never-the-less.

In the forest

Dogs ready to run

Nearby other people were making ice-houses

 I asked to be taken to an old icebreaker that I had seen from  distance the previous day so on the way back to the hotel I was taken there. There’s quite a story regarding the icebreakers on the lake, copied below.

The first icebreaker at Lake Baikal was ordered as a shuttle ferry for railway carriages, a "swimming bridge", to connect the Trans-Siberian Railroad across Lake Baikal, where tracks approached from the west and from the southeast. The first icebreaker (later called Baikal) was transported from Britain in sections, traveling by ship and by horse, and was assembled in Listvyanka in 1898-99.

While Baikal was being transported in parts from Britain another smaller icebreaker was ordered, which would be named Angara, for transporting goods and passengers on the same route. The parts of this new icebreaker were shipped from Britain to Revel (now Tallinn), and then went by the Trans-Siberian Railroad to the shore of Baikal. It was assembled and first touched the water on July 25, 1900.

While Baikal was being transported in parts from Britain, the committee decided to order another smaller icebreaker, which would be named Angara, for transporting goods and passengers on the same route. The parts of this new icebreaker were shipped from Britain to Revel (now Tallinn), and then went by the Trans-Siberian Railroad to the shore of Baikal. It was assembled and first touched the water on July 25, 1900.

Angara shuttled between Port Baikal and Mysovaya twice a day until the Circumbaikal Railway was finished in 1905. In 1918 Angara was refitted for transportation of passengers. During the civil war the icebreaker was supplied with canons and was ordered to guard Listvyanka. Angara continued to transport goods and passengers until 1962. After that, it was docked in Port Baikal and later in Irkutsk. While docked, it has been swamped several times. Angara was refurbished in 1989 and is now a floating museum. The Baikal was sunk during the civil war.

Icebreaker Angara

Icebreaker Baikal

This evening I did go to the Kiwi Pie Shop for dinner and can recommend the pies, especially the apple and cinnamon ones. Pies with the minimum of pastry and plenty of filling suit me well.