On the train from Irkutsk to Yekaterinberg

Woke up in time to walk around the platform of Ishim. Sleepy little town, but it was only 7am local time. I have spent much of the time on the train catching up on my journal and planning what to do in Yekaterinberg, Moscow and St. P. I haven’t planned the trip at all past St. P. I’m a bit worried because I like to have a plan (or at least an idea of what my plan would be if I were to get my act together and make a plan). Don’t even know what cities we are visiting, just the countries.

We got into Tyumen at 9:38am Moscow time. It is supposed to be the most affluent city in Siberia (lots of oil equals lots of money). Lenin’s body was hidden here during WWII. From the platform it looked suspiciously like every other Russian city I’ve seen so far.



Larisa met us at the train station in Yekaterinberg and drove us to the apartment. We walked to an internet place which was locked up so we went next door to the “American Pizza House” (decorated with scenes of Times Square and serving mediocre pizza). We tried to check out internet at a shop bizarrely named “My Beauty Cafe.” There were 3 non-working computers and a tanning bed. Weird stuff in Russia.

Woke up in the middle of the night and had a battle with a baby cockroach. He kept running around a pipe, but I finally got him—death by conditioner bottle.